The Journey to Masala@Work
There is a particular kind of silence that comes with writing a book, the kind filled with thoughts that circle your head, waiting to be caught before they disappear again. When I look back at the journey of Masala@Work, what I remember first is those long moments of wrestling with myself, my expectations, and the weight of the topic I had chosen.
I often joke that Masala@Work was raised on coffee, nighttime ideas and interrupted attempts at discipline, but there is truth behind the humour. I spent years collecting the pieces that would eventually form the book: conversations in training rooms, stories gathered during my time in India, interviews, questions from clients, personal experiences, deeply human misunderstandings that revealed more about cultural lenses than about “mistakes”. All of that lived inside me long before I sat down to write.
And yet, when the time to write finally came, I faced three very real difficulties.
The first was perfectionism, the kind that convinces you you’re not ready, even when you’ve been preparing for a decade. I believed the book had to be immaculate — as if there was such a thing. I postponed chapters because I wanted to “read one more paper”, “double-check one more detail”, “do one more interview”. And the more I postponed, the more impossible the task seemed.
The second difficulty was time, or rather the lack of alignment between the time available and the creative flow. I had moments of inspiration at midnight on a Wednesday — and complete emptiness during the quiet Sunday morning I had reserved for writing. Sometimes I felt like my brain and my calendar were living in different countries.
And the third difficulty was sensitivity. The topic itself — India, intercultural misunderstandings, power dynamics, communication styles — is wide, nuanced and delicate. I wanted to be thorough without overwhelming, practical without simplifying, honest without stereotyping. That balance took time, attention and many rewrites.
But despite all that, something kept pulling me forward. Maybe it was the belief that this book could help someone avoid a painful misunderstanding, or perhaps it was the desire to put stories living in and around me into words?
Finishing the manuscript felt like taking a deep breath after holding it in for too long. When Masala@Work finally arrived in its printed form, I held it with a mix of disbelief and tenderness. Years of work, condensed into pages. Stories that had once lived only in my memory are now shared with others.
And then came the premiere.
I didn’t expect it to be so emotional, but oh, it was. The room was full, warm, present. I saw curiosity in people’s eyes and kindness. I remember thinking: This is why I wrote it, for connection. For the possibility that someone would walk away feeling more confident, more informed, more equipped to navigate cultural complexity.
The reactions that followed were humbling. Readers told me they felt guided, not lectured. That the book’s stories felt real. That the advice was practical and clear, that they recognised themselves in the frustrations, and found comfort in the explanations behind them. Each message felt like a quiet confirmation that the long journey had been worth it.
Which brings me to the next chapter of this story.
As the Polish edition began to travel on its own, the idea of an English edition started taking shape. A new language, a new audience, a new responsibility. Translating the book was easier in some ways, harder in others. English opens doors, inviting a global readership with its own cultural nuances, expectations, and sensitivities.
I wanted the English version to feel just as warm, just as respectful, just as helpful as the original. I wanted Indian readers to feel seen, and non-Indian readers to feel supported. I wanted the humour to remain, the gentleness to remain, the honesty to remain. At times, the challenge was not the translation itself, but the emotional task of re-feeling the stories in a new linguistic landscape.
And now, here we are, standing at the edge of another beginning.
The English launch of Masala@Work is just around the corner.
A new room, new faces, new conversations — but the same heart behind the book.
I can’t wait to meet the readers who will join this next part of the journey.