Tag Archives: event

My Friend Christine

In a world where everyone is immersed in their own circle of problems and work, it is refreshing to find a friend who takes a day off to support you and be there for you. Christine and myself spent a lovely afternoon together at the Miami Book Fair, for the second time. Looks like we might be on our way to making this an annual tradition.

I met Christine quite by chance at a writer’s group. She loved what I was reading, which at the time was an excerpt from the unpublished manuscript of “When the Lotus Blooms.”I never imagined that she would volunteer to read and edit the book before it went to print. We met for coffee and I gave her a draft of the manuscript. Christine gave me a whole bunch of tips on what I should do in terms of marketing my book in terms of social networking.

Christine has an amazing eye for detail and can find errors no one else sees. She was a very valuable resource when it came to presenting material in a way that non-Indian readers would appreciate it. Sometimes while writing you tend to use words you are very familiar with without realizing that an international audience requires more detailed explanation.

Christine’s recent passion is her new website , “I see dead Books,” a beautiful journey into old and forgotten book treasures. Christine Zambrano is an amazing, loving, warm and caring person. She always sports a cheery smile and her nature just comes through. She is talented at what she does and you can see from her review of my book, she writes beautifully. I cant wait to read her first book whenever she is ready to publish, although something tells me that I might be involved in the editing .:))

Long Island Book Launch

On March 24th Dr. Kusum Viswanathan arranged a book reading at Herricks Middle School under the auspices of the Young Indian cultural Group of Long Island.

I sound a little naive saying this  but being the first time travelling alone and navigating the trains of New York and New Jersey was daunting. I worried more about getting places than talking at the readings

 

I reached Mineola, Long Island, without a hitch and was so happy to meet Kusum. What can I say about her? I have never met a more amiable, dynamic, erudite, multifaceted, talented, well spoken, friendly, cultured person in my life. Kusum takes my breath away, for I have never seen one one person with so many selfless qualities. She had spoken with Rathi Raja who very kindly agreed to host the event. I went there expecting nothing which turned out to be a great thing.

When we reached the school, no one had arrived and at 2pm only 3 of us were there. Kusum had arranged tea and snacks and we were busy setting up. As we turned around almost 30 people had come for the reading. This was unbelievable!

Other than a couple, no one had read the book and the reading took on a more informative tone.I introduced the characters and read out sections pertaining to each. It was also interesting to note that we had men in the room including an 87 year old who had read the book in its entirety. I also got a chance to talk about connected topics like self publishing, getting books into a library (almost impossible if you are self published) writing style and editing, areas of publishing that have taken up all of my time this past year.

I felt very satisfied as I boarded the train for New Jersey. I had sold all the books and perhaps generated enough interest for others to pick it up and spread the word.

Its is not enough to have good book. You have to tell others about it and though marketing is a bottomless pit, out of the blue a friend helps you out and when you speak to small groups like this it fills you with a feeling of accomplishment. For me this accompanied by waves of gratitude and awe as I looked back at Kanchana 4 years ago; miserable and lost and I wondered where and how  she had disappeared

Kolkata Book Launch

February 13th was a special day. It marked my very first Book Launch of my debut novel “When the Lotus Blooms.”

I reached Kolkata the previous day and was surprised to note that even after a lapse of 25 years, little had changed in the city. Other than the metro and a few fashion Malls the landscape seemed uncannily familiar. From our suite in the Taj Bengal in Alipore, we could discern the outline of the Victoria Memorial appearing out of Kolkata’s famous smog which typifies its winter. I was only 9 years old when I last lived in Calcutta (which was how I knew it) and the images were emerging from my consciousness in fits and starts. Hathrickshaws and yellow Ambassador cabs still ply the streets which are surprisingly navigable. Kolkata has apparently not been drawn into the culture of muliple family cars and its streets thankfully are not jammed with traffic.

The next day we reached Oxford Book Store on Kolkata’s famous Park Street at arounf 5 PM. I was greeted by the cherubic staff of Supernova Publishers and introduced to the bookstore’s PR Director Mrs. Maina Bhagat and we chatted over a cup of tea waiting for the media to arrive.

It was like a dream, sitting sitting in front of a camera, microphone attached to my blouse, lights and attention focused on me! Was this really happening? I talked to Zee Bangla, ENews and 24 hours, all on their local channels.  I wanted to try out my Bengali but didnt want to make a fool of myself, so the Queen’s English took precedence.

One delight of the Kolkata book launch was meeting old friends; the Das’s and Majumdars whom I had lost touch with for years and we were lost in nostalgia as we moved into a loft of sorts which was converted into the event area. I think the greatest  joy was in seeing stacks of neatly placed  books with my name on it for sale in a store; something that I was robbed of by self publishing in the US. The Chief guest, Moon Moon Sen looked as lovely as I remembered her onscreen.

My editor Indrani, who knew the book well took over once Mrs Bhagat had introduced us. She seamlessly began the proceedings with questions about the genesis and streams of consciousness through the book. What emerged through the conversation was the timeless circumstances of women and that was reflected in the subsequent press reviews. Both Moon Moon and myself read several sections and as I heard her reading the letter Dharmu  writes to her mother with so much emotion, I sat in disbelief, marveling that I had actually written that.

8 interviews later my head was reeling. I had just launched my book in Kolkata. How amazing was that!