The Billionaire and the Monk makes literary splash globally
New Delhi: Vibhor Kumar Singh debut book ‘The Billionaire and the Monk’ published by Pan Macmillan in India is making international headlines amidst the response it has generated among the readers globally and in India. The book has been translated into several global languages: Greek, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese. Translations in Turkish and Bulgarian are underway. The book was published in India by Pan Macmillan in November 2021 and will be published by Balance, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, in the USA and Canada on May 24, 2022.
The book speaks about finding happiness in your daily life. Happiness is not an enigma for a select few but a pearl of attainable wisdom for everyone. Vibhor Kumar Singh, a London School of Economics and Political Science, Shri Ram College of Commerce and Sherwood College alumni, uses a conversational style in which the Billionaire and the Monk learn from each other as they try and decipher the answer to a simple question ‘Are You Happy?’. Being an entrepreneur himself, the author brings out the practical and doable aspects of daily life that lead to the happiness bounty.
Set against the pristine beauty of the Tibetan highlands, the book explores areas of minimalism, meditation, money management, discipline, relationship and happiness through health. The book surprises and challenges conventional thinking by elaborating upon topics of ambition and the power of saying NO and linking them to our daily happiness quotient. At the end of the book, the author lists practical and feasible takeaways which can be adopted by everyone who is lost and looking to find their happiness road.
Author Vibhor Kumar Singh commenting on his writing process said, “’The Billionaire and The Monk’ is my first book, and it has been accepted by a global audience. Mental health is an issue profoundly affecting our society. Happiness, which is a fundamental right, is becoming a rare commodity. I intend to continue writing about finding happiness”.
He further says, “We all love to complicate our lives. Probably, it gives us a sense of achievement trying to clean up our own clutter. I think it is time for people to realise that happiness is not a celebration. It is possible to be happy everyday.. Every moment.. You don’t need a vacation to be happy.. You need to be you to be happy, that’s it. Don’t fall for the marketing of happiness.. Happiness is very simple..’
Written in a lucid and straightforward language, the book is easy to read and leaves a powerful impact. Overall, the story brings forward extraordinary wisdom through the most common knowledge.
Teesta Guha Sarkar, Editorial Director, Pan Macmillan India said, “The Billionaire and the Monk, with its quietly powerful story and lucid, accessible prose, reveals to anyone who reads it how one can find happiness in their daily lives – this is precisely what makes the book timely and valuable.”
Nana Twumasi, VP, Publisher, Balance – an imprint of Hachette Book Group said, “In this special book, Vibhor Kumar Singh takes two characters, drastically different from each other, and brings them together for a meeting of the minds to contemplate what it means to be happy. In a world with so many paths, it’s hard to remember that ultimately, you should enjoy your life—as far as we know, we only get one. So I invite you to take a peek at Vibhor’s tale. This is a book that makes you think; it makes you wonder; it puts a smile on your face… and what more could you ask for?”
The Billionaire has money; the Monk has the knowledge. Yet, both know that they do not have a satisfactory answer to the most simple question of their lives, Are You Happy?