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Lighter than Yesterday (Rupa Publications, 5 October 2026) is the debut novel of Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, a serving officer of the Indian Administrative Service. It follows Jai, who inherits a dream from his grandfather, clears one of the country’s toughest examinations, enters the Service — and finds that arrival has not settled anything. The book carries a cover endorsement from the Dalai Lama. 448 pages, ₹595, ISBN 978-93-7957-698-9.
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1. The novel begins where most success stories end. Why start there?
2. Jai inherits his ambition from his grandfather. What do we owe the people who dreamed for us before we could consent?
3. The Dalai Lama’s words are on your cover. How did that come about?
4. Lighter, rather than happier. What is the difference, and why does it matter?
5. The Indian Administrative Service is a world our fiction rarely enters from the inside. What did you want to get right?
6. You cleared the examination on your first attempt. What does the week after the result actually feel like?
7. You read Eastern thought and Western existentialism side by side. Where do they disagree, and which of them wins in the novel?
8. You wrote four hundred and forty-eight pages while serving as an officer. When?
9. What did you cut?