Authors’ Background: Rahul Nakra is a Cost Accountant and a passionate traveler currently working in the consulting field. At 29, he hails from Alwar and is presently based in Gurgaon. His love for travel has taken him across Kinnaur, Spiti, Kashmir, and Uttarakhand—journeys that not only shaped his perspective but also inspired the creation of his book.

During these group trips, Rahul formed meaningful bonds with people who were once strangers, some of which grew deeper while others naturally faded. These experiences—filled with friendships, moments of connection, and inevitable heartbreak—ultimately led him to pen this book, a project he had been wanting to create for years.

For Rahul, life continues to move forward, and he embraces every emotion it brings. He believes that even heartbreak can lead to something beautiful—and in his case, it gave him the story he always wished to tell.

Questionnaire:

The Literature Today: Your novel, “The Way To Belonging,” feels deeply personal and emotionally grounded. How much of this story reflects your own real-life experiences from your travels to Kinnaur, Spiti, and beyond?

Rahul Nakra: This book ismostly derived from my personal stories, travels, feelings, emotions, and lost & found friendships. I have travelled to a lot of places, but Kinnaur and Spiti have left a lasting impression on me. I have been to Spiti only once to date, but I have been to Kinnaur five times in the past 22 months. The place almost feels like home now. I can go there many more times and still feel something is missing.

The Literature Today: You’ve mentioned that this book was born from heartbreak and healing. Could you share what that emotional journey looked like for you and how writing helped you process it?

Rahul Nakra: This book is not just about a heartbreak. It’s an emotional ride of friendship, love, and feelings found during the journey to the Himalayas but lost somewhere in the noise of the cities. Writing this book did help me process my feelings better and understand what I have been through and what I really wanted from life.  

The Literature Today: As someone who works in consulting and finance, what inspired you to step into the world of fiction writing? Was there a particular turning point that made you realise this story had to be written?

Rahul Nakra: I have always liked the art of storytelling, and this is something personal. The professional world does serve the hunger and finances more trips but storytelling serves my personal hunger and fills the space within my heart. There is no as such turning point but stories gathered over a period of time need to be told and the emotional roller-coaster of life made it possible.

The Literature Today: The title, “The Way To Belonging,” suggests a search for connection and meaning. What does “belonging” personally mean to you, both as an individual and as an author? 

Rahul Nakra: ‘Belonging’ means a lot of things. In life, we are always trying to belong to one thing or the other. Belong to a place, belong to a person, belong in the job, or maybe belong to oneself. Our hunt in life is for belonging only. As a person, I’m still trying to belong to a lot of things. As an author, I’m trying to find belonging with my readers.

The Literature Today: Your story captures the essence of travel, the friendships, the fleeting connections, and the lessons in letting go. Why do you think travel often becomes a metaphor for self-discovery in literature?

Rahul Nakra: We as humans are always bound by our job, relationships, friendships, and travel is an experience that gives us freedom. Freedom to think, freedom to explore, and freedom to be at places that we never thought existed in this world. So, maybe whenever a writer thinks of breaking the boundaries of human lives, they think of travel as a source to explain that.

The Literature Today: The novel brings together a diverse mix of characters from Rohan, Ritika, Aditi, Bhavya, to Rishi and Surbhi, each navigating love, loss, and uncertainty. How did you ensure that each of them had an authentic emotional arc?

Rahul Nakra: Writing the different aspects of life for each of the character was not a pre-planned notion. It just came on naturally while writing the story. A couple can have problems in marriage; no marriage is perfect. Everyone faces financial issues at one point or the other point in life. And unexpressed feelings, this is the story of every other person falling in love.  

The Literature Today: Heartbreak is a recurring theme in your book, yet it’s not portrayed as an end, but rather as a transformation. Was that a deliberate message you wanted readers to take away?

Rahul Nakra: I honestly don’t have an answer to this. It was not at all a deliberate message. I just went with the flow of writing, and it became a story. Maybe it came out this way because every heartbreak leads to some transformation in a person’s life. I believe the transformation that a heartbreak can bring, no other emotion can ever do that to a person.

The Literature Today: Many parts of the story unfold against the backdrop of the Himalayas, which is serene yet unpredictable. How did the mountains influence the tone and emotion of your storytelling?

Rahul Nakra: Mountains are peaceful, they are relaxing, they are an escape. The transformation that mountains can bring to you is no less than any other emotion, just like heartbreak. Being there only would make you feel how small you and your problems are, so small and how big this world is. Being connected to nature makes us humble, and maybe for a small window only, but it helps us forget every problem that we have in life.

The Literature Today: The book also touches on financial and emotional struggles, especially through Bhavya’s storyline. Was that your way of grounding the narrative in real-world challenges beyond just romance and travel?

Rahul Nakra: It was not a planned attempt. Originally, I had a plan of writing Bhavya and Aditi having a perfect relationship and getting married, and revolving a part of the story around their marriage. But life is not so grateful to all of us. We have our own share of sorrows and miseries, and that’s what Bhavya and Aditi had. The change in plotline was inspired by something real that I saw at the same point in my life when I was writing this story, which made me change the storyline for Bhavya and Aditi.

The Literature Today: As an author, what were the biggest challenges you faced while transforming your real experiences into fiction without losing the emotional authenticity?

Rahul Nakra: Describing the locations has been one of the most difficult aspects of writing this book. I remembered the feelings that I had when I visited those places; the scenes were still in my mind, but the minutest details of the places were the most important to give readers the feel of the place. I wanted to describe the locations in the best possible way, so that when readers actually visit that place, they should feel that I have already been there. And today, when I get reviews that by reading the book, you actually feel that you are in the valleys of Kinnaur, Spiti, and Kashmir, I feel that I did justice with my writing for my readers. 

The Literature Today: Lastly, now that “The Way To Belonging” has found its place in the world, what’s next for you as a writer? Are you planning to continue exploring themes of travel, connection, and healing in your future works?

Rahul Nakra: Definitely, I believe connection and healing are the most important human emotions, and without them, any story is incomplete. And travel, it definitely complements these emotions. All of these would definitely be part of my stories, maybe in a different way, but yes, they will be there.