Priya Kumar (born 4 March 1974) is an Indian motivational speaker and writer. She is an author of 17 books including novels and self-help books. Her works mainly deal with inspirational and spiritual themes. Her book License to Live (2010) was nominated for Vodafone Crossword Book Award in 2010. In 2019, her novel I Will Go with You (2015) was adapted into web television series The Final Call, starring Arjun Rampal, Sakshi Tanwar, Javed Jaffrey.[1][2]

Priya Kumar
Priya Kumar in 2024, Mumbai
Priya Kumar in 2024, Mumbai
Born (1974-03-04) 4 March 1974 (age 50)
Chandigarh, India
OccupationWriter, motivational speaker
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
Notable works
Website
priya-kumar.com

Early life

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Priya Kumar was born on 4 March 1974 in Chandigarh, India. She took her schooling at St. Kabir Public School, Chandigarh. She graduated from the University of Bombay in economics, and obtained master's degree in psychotherapy and counter selling. She later done her post-graduation in marketing and sales from NMIMS university. She started her career as a motivational speaker at the age of 22.[3]

Works

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Priya is an author of 17 books. Her works mainly deals with inspirational and spiritual themes.[1]

In 2010, she published her first book License to Live, a self-help book with spiritual theme, which she termed as 'inspiration thriller' and 'spiritual fiction'.[4] It won the Eric Hoffer Award in 2012. It is a collection of fictionalized fables with first person narration. Her next book I Am Another You: A Journey To Powerful Breakthroughs was published in the same year and became bestseller. It deals with the themes such as self-realization and shamanism. It narrates Priya's experiences with shamans tribe, an ancient traibal group in Netherlands.[5][6][7][8] I Am Another You was shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award.[9] Next year she published her novel The Perfect World.[10]

In 2014, she wrote biography of Om Prakash Munjal, an Indian businessman and founder of Hero Cycles, under the title The Inspiring Journey of a Hero. Written in the style of self-help book, it narrates Munjal's life journey with motivational approach. The book covers Munjal's major aspects of life including his early life, partition, and handling his bicycle company.[11] It was published by Penguin Books in 2014. Writers Alice McDermott in Sunday Tribune and P. P. Ramachandran in The Free Press Journal reviewed the biography and praised for its inspiration portrayals of Munjal.[12][13][5] It was translated into Hindi under the title Ek Super Hero Ki Shandaar Kahani (2015). In 2015, Priya Kumar published a biography of Mr. Subhasish Chakraborty, the CEO of Desk to Desk Courier & Cargo (DTDC) called Dream Dare Deliver: The Inspirational Journey Of Subhasish Chakraborty And The Making of DTDC.

In 2015, she published suspense thriller novel I Will Go with You. Its plot follows a pilot of flight, who decides to commit suicide while on board. Instead of dying alone, he chooses to endanger the lives of 300 passengers of the flight and dies in mid-air along with them. It deals with several themes including afterlife, karma, mortality and spirituality.[14] I Will Go With You became bestseller, and was adapted into 2019 web television series The Final Call, starring Arjun Rampal, Sakshi Tanwar, Javed Jaffrey.[2][15] In April 2019, Priya announced that she is writing the second season of The Final Call.[16]

In 2016, she released a spiritual thriller novel titled The Calling: Unleash Your True Self (2016). This story follows a man overwhelmed by life's challenges who embarks on a transformative journey to the sacred site of Hemkund Sahib to rediscover himself.

In 2017, Priya Kumar released the self-help title How to Write a Book in 8 Days.

In January 2019, ZEE5 announced another web-series adaptation of her book The Wise Man Said (2017).[17][18]

In 2019, Kumar published another self-help book titled Turn the Tables: From Challenges to Opportunities. This book features 28 chapters, each presenting unique stories and valuable life lessons for readers.

Priya Kumar published Man Hunt (2020), a thriller set in India's Nagarjuna Tiger Reserve. The narrative explores the themes of loyalty and love between a man and an animal, addressing issues of environmental conservation, animal cruelty, and deforestation.

In 2021, Kumar released My Little Book of Love, a collection of inspiring quotes and reflections designed to encourage readers to pause and reconsider their perspectives on life.

In the same year, Priya Kumar published the biography of Olympic badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, titled Shuttler's Flick: Making Every Match Count (2021)[19][20][21][22][23][24][25] . This book chronicles Gopichand’s journey from being the number five badminton player to becoming a master coach, detailing his experiences training some of the top badminton players in India and around the world.

Kumar released A Regal Man: The Life & Lessons of Vasu Shroff (2021). This biography illustrates how he transformed a single shop in Dubai into a multi-billion-dollar empire, further solidifying Kumar's reputation as a biography specialist. In 2023, Priya Kumar published a novel titled Millionaire’s Island, which explores themes of corporate success and spirituality. The story follows a man who journeys to Millionaire’s Island to learn how to become a millionaire but faces various challenges before completing the program. This book focuses on self-discovery and personal truth.

In 2024, Kumar released a biography of A.M. Naik, the magnate behind Larsen and Toubro, titled A.M. Naik: The Man Who Built Tomorrow [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. This biography highlights A. M. Naik's significant contributions to transforming L&T into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

Publications

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  • License to Live: A Seeker’s Journey to Greatness (2010)
  • I Am Another You: A Journey to Powerful Breakthroughs (2010)
  • The Perfect World: The Journey to Infinite Possibilities (2011)
  • Thinking Aloud: A Collection of Original Inspirational Quotes (2013)
  • The Inspiring Journey of a Hero (2014)
  • I Will Go with You: The Flight of a Lifetime (2015)
  • Dream, Dare, Deliver: The Inspirational Journey of Subhasish Chakraborty and the Making of DTDC (2015)
  • The Calling: Unleash Your True Self (2016)
  • How to Write a Book in 8 Days (2017)
  • The Wise Man Said (2017)
  • Turn the Tables: From Challenges to Opportunities (2019)
  • Man Hunt (2020)
  • My Little Book of Love (2021)
  • Shuttler's Flick: Making Every Match Count (2021)
  • A Regal Man: The Life & Lessons of Vasu Shroff (2021)
  • Millionaire’s Island (2023)
  • A.M. Naik: The Man Who Built Tomorrow (2024)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Jain, Arushi (2019-04-14). "With success of The Final Call, I learnt content is king: Writer Priya Kumar". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  2. ^ a b "Priya Kumar's novel 'I Will Go With You' to be adapted into a Zee5 web series". Scroll. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  3. ^ Gina, Justus (2007-05-31). "Dealing with your fears and learning to cope up with the demands of today's lifestyle can be challenging". Gulf Today. Sharjah.
  4. ^ Ansari, Humaira (2010-10-10). "Spirituality spun into fiction". DNA India. Mumbai. ProQuest 757196459. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  5. ^ a b McDermott, Alice (2014-04-06). "Spectrum". The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  6. ^ Khatri, Manoj (2012-09-09). "License to live: A seeker's journey to greatness! by Priya Kumar". Complete Wellbeing. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  7. ^ "I Am Another You". The Times of India. 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  8. ^ Chandra, Vaishalli (2009-09-12). "Whack yourself before life does Priya Kumar's first book, I am another you, was launched in Banglaore on Friday". DNA India. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  9. ^ "Priya Kumar - I am a woman and I get paid to talk". iuemag.com. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  10. ^ Virmani, Ashish (2011-12-21). "'I'm a messenger of hope': Spiritualist and self-help author Priya Kumar talks about her new book and her world view". DNA India. Mumbai. ProQuest 912140541. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  11. ^ Venkataramakrishnana, Rohan (2014-02-16). "An Inspirational read that does not deliver". Mail Today.
  12. ^ Swamy, Narayan (2014-06-21). "Story A 'Hero' every Indian can be proud of (Book Review)". Indo-Asian News Service. New Delhi. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  13. ^ Ramachandran, P. P. (2014-06-14). "Book Review: The Inspiring Journey of a Hero". The Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  14. ^ Shankar, Anuradha (2015-04-01). "I Will Go With You: The Flight Of A Lifetime By Priya Kumar". Complete Wellbeing. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  15. ^ "ZEE5 to launch web series on Priya Kumar's bestselling novel 'I Will Go With You'". Indian Television. 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  16. ^ Shah, Chandni (2019-04-20). "Exclusive: 'The Final Call' Screenwriter Priya Kumar Reveals Season 2 in Making, Says she Wants to Direct it This Time". LatestLY. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  17. ^ Rajesh, Srividya (2019-01-28). "ZEE5 to launch web-series on Priya Kumar's novel 'The Wise Man Said'". IWMBuzz. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  18. ^ "This World Book Day, ZEE5 announces eight new book adaptations". Zee News. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  19. ^ Achal, Ashwin (2021-11-11). "Pullela Gopichand: I did not want my autobiography to be dull and preachy". The Hindu. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  20. ^ Kiranmayi (2022-03-08). "Shuttler's Flick: Making Every Match Count by Pullela Gopichand & Priya Kumar". Financial Express. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  21. ^ "Pullela Gopichand unveils memoir Shuttler's Flick". Telangana Today. India. 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  22. ^ "A teacher's praise". ISB News. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  23. ^ "I found it odd to talk about myself: Indian national badminton team coach Pullela Gopichand". The New Indian Express. India. 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  24. ^ "Pullela Gopichand in Shuttler's Flick: You have to be stretched and beaten, so you can learn to be smarter, faster". Moneycontrol. India. 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  25. ^ "Will retire when world-class players become coaches: Gopichand". The Times of India. India. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  26. ^ Srinivasan, Suresh (2024-07-20). "A.M. Naik: The man who built tomorrow". The Hindu Business Line. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  27. ^ "Book on A.M. Naik". NDTV Profit. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  28. ^ "A.M. Naik, L&T, and the Biography by Priya Kumar and Jairam N. Menon". Mint Lounge. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  29. ^ "A.M. Naik: The Man Who Built Tomorrow by Priya Kumar and Jairam N. Menon". Investment Guru India. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  30. ^ "A.M. Naik steps down as L&T's Group Chairman, passes baton to S.N. Subrahmanyan". Business Today. India. 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  31. ^ "Dream No Small Dreams: A.M. Naik's scale of ambition propelled L&T's speedy growth". The Print. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  32. ^ "A.M. Naik: The Man Who Built Tomorrow - A Journey of Metamorphosis". Devdiscourse. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  33. ^ "Passion, Devotion, Conviction, Commitment: Four Words That Can Change Your Life - A.M. Naik". India Education Diary. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  34. ^ "L&T and the Growth of a Self-Dependent India after 1947". Forbes India. India. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
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