Anees Salim: One of India’s famous dropouts

He is sure about one thing: if he had not dropped out of college, he would have become “a disaster”. He, however, had a hard time convincing his parents.

“They were shattered, especially my mother,” says writer Anees Salim, who hails from Varkala, a coastal town in Thiruvananthapuram. “My father, who worked in the Middle East, sent doleful letters to my mother and eldest sister. I stole and read them. They did not touch me then, but now they do.”