Prakashmishra1991: put up a data v1

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put up a data v1

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{{short description|Indian entrepreneur and writer (born 1965)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Arjun Shekhar
|image = File:ArjunShekhar.jpg
|image_size =
|alma_mater = [[XLRI Jamshedpur]]<br>[[Delhi School of Economics]]<br>[[Delhi University]]
|alt = photo of Arjun Shekhar
|caption = Arjun Shekhar
|birth_name = Arjun Shekhar
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1965|4|20}}
|birth_place = [[Jalore]], [[Rajasthan]], India
|occupation = Founder at Vyaktitva
|spouse = Ashraf Patel
|children = 1
|parents =
|website = {{URL|http://vyaktitva.net/|Vyaktitva}}
}}

'''Arjun Shekhar''' (born 20 April 1965) is an Indian entrepreneur and writer. An XLRI alumni, he is the founder of the Vyaktitva. He is also the writer of the books, ''A Flawed God'' and ''End of Story?''.

== Life and education ==

=== Early life ===
Arjun was born in [[Jalore]], [[Rajasthan]]. His mother is from [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]] and his father is from [[Rajasthan]]. His father is a retired [[Indian Police Service|IPS]] officer who was the [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] Director during the start of the [[Bofors Case|Bofors case]] and also the Director of Police in Rajasthan.

=== Education ===
Arjun graduated from [[XLRI]] in 1990 after having studied at [[Delhi School of Economics]] previously. He captained the XLRI [[cricket]] team during that time.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Borges|first=Andre|date=2014-06-25|title=The author is a meta-character and reveals his own secrets through his characters: Arjun Shekar|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-the-author-is-a-meta-character-and-reveals-his-own-secrets-through-his-characters-arjun-shekar-1995790|access-date=2020-08-10|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref>

== Professional career ==
After 7 years of [[corporate]] citizenship, dissatisfied with following other people's agendas, Arjun decided to begin his own venture. According to him, "Entrepreneurship makes you take complete responsibility for something – you suddenly have a baby and you can't blame anybody else when it cries or pass it on. In this claiming as against blaming, you learn so much – it's the best way to learn about yourself and the world around you – by taking complete responsibility of something and committing fully to it."

He is the [[Entrepreneur|founder]] of Vyaktitva, an organizational development firm that works with companies, [[NGOs]] and individuals to bring out the true element of their character. Services include leadership [[training]], people system [[design]], coaching, facilitation of groups, and many other services in the people management domain. Vyaktitva works with clients of varying scales, locations and outreach.

== Writing career ==

=== ''End of Story?'' ===
His book, ''End Of Story?'', is a thriller that features [[questions]] as chapter headings to run through a plot featuring a [[fictional]] unemployed [[Journalist|journalist's]] experience with [[subliminal advertising]].

The book is inspired by Shekhar's business venture's 'Get Real' journeys that focussed on identity as a [[species]] instead of individual lives. According to him, "Humans represent what is not present through stories. The ability to interpret a story and create authentic stories ourselves – what I call symbolic literacy – isn't taught unfortunately in schools or colleges. And yet it is the most important meta process that humans need to learn. Through my workshops I realized how inadequately understood this field of symbolic literacy is in spite of us being a symbolic species."

The book has met with mostly positive reviews. Heena Khan from ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' calls it an "effortless read, reading through which one often does not want the story to end, quite contrary to its title."

=== A Flawed God ===

Shekhar's first book, ''A Flawed God'', was [[published]] in 2010. It followed the experiences of a consultant through his choices in his dealings with the corporate world and the stock market.

"A brilliant satire of the boxwallah’s world in which every incident makes you chuckle.." says Jaya Bhattacharji Rose from the Asian Age. The book reached the Sunday Guardian bestseller list of July 2011.

=== ''The Ocean in a Drop'' ===
He co-wrote the book ''The Ocean in a Drop''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/books/review-the-ocean-in-a-drop-inside-out-youth-leadership/article1-1035164.aspx |title=Review: The Ocean in a Drop: Inside out Youth Leadership - Hindustan Times |website=www.hindustantimes.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205042818/http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/books/review-the-ocean-in-a-drop-inside-out-youth-leadership/article1-1035164.aspx |archive-date=5 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with Ashraf Patel, Meenu Venkateswaran and Kamini Prakash in 2013, exploring "how young people have contributed significantly to society in the past, and suggests ways in which they can take centre stage again."

== Personal life ==
Arjun married Ashraf Patel, who studied with him at [[XLRI]] in 1992. She left the corporate sector as well to start up a social enterprise. He likes [[cricket]] and [[trekking]], and has trekked to [[Annapurna]] and [[Nanda Devi]] base camps.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131213075244/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-21/jaipur/43249158_1_book-lovers-bibliophiles-advertising Jaipur bibliophiles interact with Arjun Shekhar]
* [http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5019971.Arjun_Shekhar Arjun Shekhar's profile on Goodreads]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131205042818/http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/books/review-the-ocean-in-a-drop-inside-out-youth-leadership/article1-1035164.aspx Hindustan Times' review on The Ocean in a Drop]
* [https://www.facebook.com/Booked.ArjunShekhar Social media page for A Flawed God]
* http://www.sagepub.in/authorDetails.nav?contribId=682928
* [http://thehungryreader.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/an-interview-with-arjun-shekhar/ Interview with thehungryreader]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131211145405/http://alumni.xlri.ac.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=139:qa-flawed-godq-novel-by-arjun-shekar-90-pmir&catid=40:in-the-news&Itemid=111 XLRI]
* [http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/DOT0sOGxnr8xD3UHX82GqK/Arjun-Shekhar--Its-time-to-give-youth-a-chance.html Arjun Shekhar on Livemint]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140221210018/http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/thriller/end-of-story-arjun-shekhar-bookreview/ End of Story? on BookGeeks]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shekhar, Arjun}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian male novelists]]
[[Category:Novelists from Rajasthan]]
[[Category:People from Jalore district]]
[[Category:XLRI – Xavier School of Management alumni]]

Arjun Shekhar - Revision history

Prakashmishra1991: put up a data v1