An Evening spent with Preeti Shenoy, Agnimitra Paul & Arupa Lahiry at the Book Launch of The Secret Wish List (Starmarks, South city Mall, Kolkata)

Presented by Starmark, at South City Mall, Kolkata, the book launch of The Secret Wish List by Preeti Shenoy was a great success. Meeting the Author in person, anchored by Arupa Lahiry and the honourable guest invitee, renowned fashionista Agnimitra Paul, was like leading to a land of mesmerism with all the discussions on the novel, thoughts provoking to it, prolonged with a question-answer session. Preeti Shenoy had written already three novels and this one was the fourth one. I had read Preeti Shenoy’s third novel Tea for Two and a Piece of Cake and literally liked it, reviewed it.  

Meeting an Author in person is always a gainsaying job when prior attachment and an elusive relationship grow in between his/ her works and the reader. We, readers always portray a naïve calibre about the Author through the reads come to our way. So when we meet an Author in person it becomes quite challenging to confront him/her to match with the fictitious portrayal that we already created in our mind. But when I met Preeti Shenoy, I was too happy and inspired by her humble and down to earth characteristics. Preeti was a lady who could easily inspire anybody, too resonating and energetic when she spoke and above all too friendly who talked individually with her fans and gave her autographs to us.

The Famous Books and stationary retailers and one of the biggest uprising chain of book stores in Kolkata, Starmarks organised the launch of the Book The Secret Wish List on 26th April'13 at 6.30pm at their South City Mall book store. With a minimum of 20 audience, Author Preeti Shenoy, Fashion Designer Agnimitra Paul and anchor Arupa Lahiry, the launch event had become a booming success. I reached to the session a little late so I missed the exact moment when the book got launched. But other way lucky enough to be a part of the discussion that sprung up slowly through a question-answer dissertation. I enjoyed and loved the part when the discussion bloomed on about the Search of Identity of women and how could they achieve it. Preeti referred to homemaker's frustration and how can they too earn their Identity.  In India she referred women were mostly designated as someone's daughter or someone's wife or someone's mother.  That was one of the points that inspired Preeti to write something about the Indian woman and their daily frustration and how to cope up with it. Every woman has a dream imbedded inside her to secure a respected place for her and prove her Identity. That was what Preeti said, she wanted to portray in her latest novel The Secret Wish list, where the protagonist Diksha became from Nothing to Something. Angimitra Paul also added strong vibes how her women artisans were able to acquire their own Identity and became the proud earning members of their families.  Literally got motivated when Agnimitra Paul referred that her show stoppers for the Fashion shows were sometimes the common workers of her leading organization.

Arupa, when asked about the inspirations behind the book, Preeti shared some short anecdotes with us.  One I am sharing here:

"One lady was abandoned by her husband she was expecting that time. After some years she moved to USA with her daughter and on a snowy evening she sat with her daughter and playfully wrote 11 wishes listed down on a plain book. Before start writing the fiction Preeti talked to the lady and she informed that 9 out of those 11 wishes came true."

Talking about Diksha the Protagonist of the book did something of her own from zero to success. So Preety said that she did believe in the law of attraction what we did believe that really sometimes had come true.  Therefore at the end of her book she added an empty page which was quite a novel idea what I felt, titled it:

"What is your wish list? Go on write it down. You never know how it can change your life."

Preeti aded: "Unless and until you are writing down your wishes you are not giving a concrete shape to it".

Preeti is here launching her fourth fiction but she is already on to her fifth one. And she was characterised as a Voracious writer by Arupa. Preeti pointed out all the characters in her novel were borrowed from her own life and she had a real life experience with it.

Preeti confidently declares this book was different from her other novels and she ensured that everybody would like the book. And Arupa vouched for it when she shared her story while starting reading this book she denied visiting an invitation only because she could not leave the book in between. For her this book was absolutely a page turner and unputdownable. Arupa also wished for The Secret Wish List that may be in future it might be got screened as it has the perfect Cinematographic elements in it and Preeti wished too with her fingers crossed.

A glimpse of the Question & Answer session in between Preeti and the audience:

1.    How long you used to write?

Ans: I used to work for 8 to 10 hours a day. It took almost 8 months. 

2.    It is seen in the different part of the book you challenged the stereotypes.  Did you?

Ans: Yes I did challenge somewhere the stereotypes what I tried to illustrate in the book.

The overall experience of the event was wonderful. Preeti Shenoy herself looked very young, vibrating and enthusiastic and through her conversation she compelled us to listen to her that much confident and attitude she carried with her. Love the way Agnimitra Paul carried herself. With the minimum make up and not a single accessory on her, she is a true beauty and soft speaker too. Quite moved by the magnificent anchoring by Arupa Lahiry who is a professional dancer and studied English literature. She was well versed and swung the event giving totally a relaxed feeling creating a homely atmosphere. 

All is well when it ends well. I returned home almost flying high with pride with the exquisite joy of talking to the author in person and having her own signature in my copy of The Secret Wish List as a lifelong asset.

To know more about Preeti Shenoy visit her website and she is an avid blogger too: http://www.preetishenoy.com/

Review on The Secret Wish list will be coming shortly..