Barry O'Brien was a school teacher for several years before evolving into a pioneering author of school textbooks for leading publishers, three decades ago. Prolific, and out-of-the-box in approach, he has created several bestselling titles in Literature and Language, General Knowledge, Life Skills and Value Education. His debut work of narrative non-fiction, The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community, published in 2022, has won critical acclaim from scholars, writers, and readers worldwide. Ruskin Bond has called it 'a stupendous work' while several others have referred to it as a magnum opus that has been brilliantly researched and is easy to read. Restless, Barry is neck-deep in his debut novel, and his collections of short stories for children and adults-all this between conducting quizzes, public speaking courses, and motivational sessions. He was nominated to represent the Anglo-Indian community in the West Bengal legislative assembly (2006-11), and has been the elected president-in-chief of the All-India Anglo- Indian Association (founded in 1876), since 2016. But what keeps his batteries charged is his hands-on involvement with the running of a home for the elderly, and other outreach initiatives of the East India Charitable Trust and the Telegraph Education Foundation in Kolkata.