Stellaris VP's Ritesh Banglani on his love for comics and cricket, and why 'The Great Gatsby' is his all-time favourite

The 1925 classic, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is set in New York City, is an all-time favourite of Stellaris VP’s Ritesh Banglani. One he reads every few years.

“Not because anything would have changed in the book, but something had changed in me or my life that allows me to appreciate it better,” he says. But that is just a part of it.

For the 43-year-old tech VC, who cannot stand business books, there is another reason why the book is more relevant now. “It is particularly more relatable in current times, where people are living in the time of great wealth and excess,” he says.

In the 21st edition of All About Books, Banglani spoke to Moneycontrol’s M Sriram and Swathi Moorthy on why he considers The Great Gatsby one of the greatest fictions of all times, his love for comics and reading Indian authors.

1920s New York is today's Bengaluru

“I think 1920s New York could be today's Bangalore. The startup wealth and lifestyle, and juxtapose it against our own valley of ashes. I actually see Jay Gatsbys (the novel’s protagonist) all around me,” he said.

For context, the book narrates the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, who flaunts his newfound wealth and throws lavish parties to attract the wealthy Daisy Buchanan, his lady love.

For Banglani, the newfound wealth, and what is being done with it more or less relates to the current startup ecosystem.

“Men from humble backgrounds, who throw fabulous parties, drive fancy cars and live in palatial bungalows, are still not able to break into elite society. The fact that the new wealth will not enable the new rich to break into that elite society, causes great resentment. A lot of the ambition that we see around us is actually not so much an ambition for wealth, but it's a desire to belong to that old elite,” he said.

I cannot stand business books

Banglani, unlike other executives, is not a fan of business books. “I find most business books bloated and too self-important,” he says.

He would rather learn about business through essays or articles instead of books. He quipped that he has a whole rack of business books that he hasn’t read but keeps as souvenirs.

Reading comics

If there is one thing that Banglani deems as a guilty reading pleasure, it would be comics. In fact, his friend from the US gifted the entire Calvin and Hobbes collection as his wedding gift. While he occasionally goes back to reading Calvin and Hobbes, he also reads his children’s comic books.

Marriage of cricket and history

A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramachandra Guha is the kind of book that Banglani said he wished to write. “I love it because it marries my two great interests, cricket and history. And it does it in a sort of seamless fashion,” he says.