Manoj Kerai who is of Indian heritage and was born in London, where he has lived his entire life. He started his career as an elected officer at Goldsmiths College Students' Union where he designed and developed many services to meet the needs of students. Manoj now works for Macmillan Cancer Support where he is rolling out a new pilot service to help meet the emotional needs of people living with cancer. He loves to use his writing skills and ability to entertain people to make people laugh but also to inspire them and raise awareness about various human and animal rights issues. He is a Samaritans volunteer and a major Harry Potter geek. Manoj loves to exercise but unfortunately, he does not love to eat healthily. He is a practising Hindu and Krishna’s devotee, and he spends at least an hour everyday chanting.
1. Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?
Definitely London. People say that I am an eccentric character, so I feel the diversity of London means that I fit right in. I think London’s diversity also means I get to meet people from all walks of life and people can be their true selves, which makes it so homely.
2. What are your proudest achievements?
Writing my debut novel, The Burning Bride, which went onto be a Kindle No.1 Best Seller is definitely up there. Other things I am proud of is winning first place in London for Millennium Volunteer of the Year and running 5 marathons for charity to date.
3. What inspires you?
I am inspired by the Bhagavad Gita and Krishna’s words around seeing him in all living entities. This inspires me to strive to create a better world for others. Having a vision for what a better and more compassionate world could look like, keeps me going to try and achieve it.
4. What has been biggest obstacle in your career?
I think the biggest obstacles I have experienced has been due to the perceptions people have of me. These perceptions have resulted in homophobia and racism, which made things harder. Things are slowly getting better now, and I am involved in the BAME Network at Macmillan to drive changes.
5. Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
The biggest influencer of my writing is George R.R. Martin. I loved his format of telling one story from multiple perspectives and this is how I wrote The Burning Bride. My charity sector work was inspired by Bindz Patel and other Goldsmiths colleagues who opened the way I think about the world.
6. What is the best aspect about your current role?
I love the people I work with at Macmillan, they’re some of the most inspiring people I have met. They know how to get the most out of my skills and how to actively develop me. I also love the fact that the work I do everyday changes lives.
7. And the worst?
This is tough, but I would say that Macmillan still has a long way to go in terms of diversity and inclusion. Thankfully, Macmillan acknowledge this and are working hard to change, and I am currently working with the CEO to reverse mentor her to help implement these changes.
8. What are your long-term goals?
In terms of my charity sector career, I want to be a director one day. Maybe not CEO, as I feel there might be a bit less pressure at director level. In terms of writing, I want to sell ideas I have for TV series’ which would go onto win BAFTAs.
9. If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
If I was the Prime Minister, I would work closer with stakeholders in various areas to guide the decisions my government make. The national policies would not be led by people voted in with hidden agendas, education policies would be shaped by actual teachers. Healthcare policies by actual NHS workers, etc.
10. If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
Ved Vyas, the compiler of texts like Mahabharata, Vedas, Srimad Bhagvatam. It would be amazing to learn more about his scientific discoveries and concepts of ahimsa and equality. It would also allow me to better identify ways in which people misrepresent things to suit their own corrupt agendas.
