Arnab Ray

Arnab Ray is an Indian novelist, blogger and podcaster who currently lives in the United States. While finishing his PhD at Stony Brook University,[1] he started his blog with the name Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind, in August 2004,[2] using Greatbong (bong is an Indian slang for Bengali) as his pen name. The blog focuses on satirical social and political commentary.

Arnab Ray
BornKolkata, India
Pen nameGreatbong
OccupationResearch scientist, blogger, novelist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityIndian
EducationBE, Jadavpur University
PhD, Stony Brook University
GenreSatire
Horror
Crime-thriller
Drama
Notable worksThe Greatbong Blog
May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss
The Mine
Years active2004-present
Website
greatbong.net

Ray embarked on his writing career with May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss, a non-fiction book that came out in 2010, and contained much of the commentary that Ray was known for by then through his blog. This was followed by The Mine, a psychological horror novel that came out in 2012, followed by books in the drama[3] and crime-thriller[4] genres.

In 2019, Ray renamed his blog as The Greatbong Blog and started a podcast called Attention Pliss!.[5][6][7]

Career

Ray was born and brought up in Kolkata.[1] His father Alok Ray is an ex-professor of IIM Calcutta. He graduated from Jadavpur University as a Bachelor in Computer Science and Engineering and went on to finish his PhD in Computer Science from State University of New York at Stony Brook.[8]

He is known for his sarcastic takes on the Indian film industry, Indian politics and society in general. His blog, then called Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind, was awarded the "Indiblog of the Year" at Indibloggies in 2006[9] and 2008.[10] He has written for several media outlets such as The Washington Post'',[11] Outlook magazine[12] and Live Mint.[13]

He is an agnostic with moderate political beliefs as he has written about in his many blog posts.[14][15] His first book May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss, published by Harper Collins, was on India Today's Bestsellers list.[16] His second book, The Mine, has also been well received. His third book, Yatrik was published in September 2014. His fourth book Sultan of Delhi: Ascension, first of a two-part crime-drama, was released in October 2016.

The print version of fifth book The Mahabharata Murders, published by Juggernaut Books was released in August 2017, even as the e-version of the book was released through the publisher's app in India. The book has been optioned by Junglee Pictures for a web series.[17][18]

Novels
  • May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss, Harper Collins, 2010 ISBN 9788172239374
  • The Mine, Westland (Amazon[19]), 2012 ISBN 9789381626382
  • Yatrik, Westland, 2014 ISBN 978-9384030506
  • Sultan of Delhi: Ascension, Hachette India, 2016 ISBN 9789351950929
  • The Mahabharata Murders, Juggernaut Books, 2017 ISBN 9789386228369
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References
  1. Basu, Dyuti (7 August 2017). "Meet internet's funniest Bengali". The Asian Age. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  2. greatbong (20 August 2004). "Start of a new life". The Greatbong Blog & Podcast. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  3. Varma, Nikhil (5 October 2014). "Back from the dead". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  4. Dutta, Nirmalya (7 November 2016). "Book Review: Arnab Ray's Sultan of Delhi is a desi Godfather-style thriller". DNA India. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  5. "On the Podcasting couch..." Deccan Herald. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. Venkataramakrishnan, Rohan. "Podcast picks: These shows will guide you through India's hectic election season". Scroll.in. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. "Attention Pliss! with Arnab Ray on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  8. "arnabray". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  9. "The 2006 Winners are here | Indibloggies - The Indian Weblog Awards | Indian Blog Awards". Indibloggies. 22 February 2007. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  10. "Results | Indibloggies - The Indian Weblog Awards | Indian Blog Awards". Indibloggies. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  11. "The Spider". The Washington Post. 18 November 2007.
  12. "Acidwash Adonis | Arnab Ray". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  13. "IPL2: Hits, ifs and misses". Livemint. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  14. "Arnab Ray". Facebook. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  15. "The Question of Suffering « Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind". Greatbong.net. 24 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  16. "Bestsellers for April 2010". India Today. 1 May 2010.
  17. "Junglee Pictures enters digital space with an adaptation of Arnab Ray's novel". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  18. "Raazi co-producer Junglee Pictures to adapt The Mahabharata Murders for digital debut; Srijit Mukherji will helm web series- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  19. Agarwal, Anirban Sen,Sapna (28 October 2016). "Amazon to buy publishing business of Tata-owned Westland". Mint. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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