Rohan Monteiro

 Everytime I read a non-fiction book that I like, I make a few notes. I decided to start publishing them here so that the zero followers I have could also appreciate them. The following excerpt is taken from ' Paper -Paging through History by Mark Kurlansky'. Studying the history of paper exposes a number of historical misconceptions, the most important of which is this technological fallacy: the idea that technology changes society. It is exactly the reverse. Society develops technology to address the changes that are taking place within it. To use a simple example, in China in 250 BCE, Meng Tian invented a paintbrush made from camel hair. His invention did not suddenly inspire the Chinese people to start writing and painting, or to develop calligraphy. Rather, Chinese society had already established a system of writing but had a growing urge for more written documents and more elaborate calligraphy. Their previous tool—a stick dipped in ink—could not meet the rising demand. M...

 Went to a board gaming event at the Asian Civilization Museum - It was a really fun evening and I ended up meeting a group of board gamers here in Singapore.   I also played 4 games - 3 of which I had never played before - Chai Garam , a worker placement mechanic where you are running a tea stall to collect reviews; Century Golem where you build a gem collection engine - similar to Splendor but different mechanics & Secret Hitler which is a social deduction game. It was only the next day that wifey pointed out something I didn't notice at all - I didn't play any games exclusively with my daughter. Girl z is 8 and Boy Z is 10 - I tend to play games with him more often because he instinctively picks up and understands more complex games. Except, she still needs my attention. And I need to get better at recognizing it. Boy Z is cautious, careful, diligent, loves to read. Girl Z is a happy skipping lark who likes shiny objects. Boy Z takes time to open up. Girl Z will...

 https://asian-reviews.com/2025/03/11/fiction-mirrors-the-truths-emotions-and-complexities-of-the-world-we-inhabit-rohan-monteiro/   Fiction mirrors the truths, emotions, and complexities of the world we inhabit.” Rohan Monteiro By dhanukadickwella on 11 Mar 2025 • ( Leave a comment ) Q: Not everyone writes, nor can everyone write. Tell us what inspired you to pick up a pen and start writing, along with a brief introduction of yourself. A: It was 2014. I had just learned I was going to be a dad. I was at that point a research consultant in Singapore in a job and role that wasn’t going anywhere. I felt I needed to do something with my life that my kid (s) would look up to. Something that felt more meaningful instead of sitting in an office all day. That’s when I decided to write a book. My name is Rohan Monteiro, and my first non-fiction novel, ‘Keep Calm and Go Crazy’, was published in 2015 by HarperCollins. My most recent book was relea...

 

  Writing, requires the wearing of many hats. Its tempting to focus on honing your craft and leaving everything else to the professionals. It was one of those lessons hammered into us during our MBA days — outsource everything that isn’t a core competence and focus on what you are good at. The real world challenge, however is that we still need to find semi-competent sources to outsource the other processes to. Bear in mind, these are still essential processes, they are just not ones where we have an edge and so we tend to rely on those who claim they are good at their jobs. For ‘ Shadows Rising’ I chose one particular agency. In retrospect, I should have done a little more research before selecting them. But on the surface, they seemed good enough and I figured what’s the worst that could happen? Turns out, quite a bit. I worked with them for social media posts and Amazon Ads. I have no real complaints about the social media post aspects — there were challenges but nothing that c...

 When I was a kid, something happened that I still remember. Maybe kid is the wrong word — I was in 9th grade, so not exactly small and cuddly but not really an adult either. Was just learning how to deal with the idea that the world is full of all sorts of people. Some could be nice, some could be massive dicks. Case in point, we were at Fantasy Land — an amusement park in Mumbai. My first visit there -I was very excited. There were 5 of us — 2 older aunts and me and my two male cousins My two older cousins did not like the idea of babysitting me — they were a year and 2 years older and decided they would ditch me.  And so, at one random ride, they decided to run off in two opposite directions, leaving me alone to find my way to the two older aunts. Like I said, i was maybe 13 or 14? - not exactly helpless, but not in that great a state of mind either. My dad was pretty overprotective back then - I hadn't ever travelled by bus or train by myself, I absolutely sucked at direct...

  Folks, Ive made a copy of this story on Medium. If you like the stark, shiny interface that Medium provides, please head over and read the story here . If you want bleeding cool textures and edgier backgrounds, I dont have it here either , but only because the buddy I normally rely on for layouts and formatting is guzzling pina coladas on a beach in Goa at the moment and wont be back till next month. Onwards to the article... The problem with seeking advice from the internet is that people are all too prepared to give it without any thought to how qualified they actually are to be dishing out said advice. This is especially true for writing. You can master the intricacies of grammar and bend it to your will, yet good sentences will elude you. You can craft vivid and beautiful plots in your mind but they turn into steaming piles of putrid garbage when they are penned down. And there is abysmally poor advice out there that frankly nobody should listen to, even if the writer...