The Print and social media is buzzing with the latest novel launched in the country. Yes, yes, i am talking about Kiran Manral's debut novel,'The Reluctant Detective'.
Kiran Manral needs little or no introduction. A freelance writer, an active tweeter, an avid blogger at Forty and Counting and Karmic Kids, a Media consultant and the founder of India Helps, a volunteer network which works with disaster victims.
And last evening i had the privilege of meeting the author in flesh. Yes! No kidding :).
I was very excited about meeting her at Quill and Canvas Gallery
in Gurgaon as i had been following both her Blogs for some time and was also in touch with her virtually.
The Reluctant Detective is the story of the protagonist Kanan Mehra, aka Kay, a thirty something suburban housewife with a kid whose life takes an unusual interesting turn with two murders in her neighborhood......This is what the book blurb says... i have yet to read it. Not read?you might scream out aloud. But there is a reason why i waited. I knew about the scheduled launch at quill and Canvas and like any eager fan i not only wanted an autographed copy of the novel, but wanted to hear the author red excepts and discuss about the novel. and you bet, both my wishes came true last evening. And now i am a proud owner of an autographed novel by Kiran Manral.
Eventually she arrived, looking dapper and elegant in westerns. I couldn't wait any longer and went up to her and introduced myself. a little later my friend IHM also reached the Gallery and she too met the author of by now famous, 'Joote wali Kitab'.
This was my first ever opportunity to attend a reading session with an ace author and i was glad i took the pains to travel solo from Faridabad.
She eventually settled down on the couch along with
Smriti Lamech, a Journalist and Blogger.
The Gallery was full of anxious and excited people who waited for the action to unfold. Kiran started reading ..she read a portion where Kay goes to pay condolence to the house of the deceased person. The humorous thoughts of Kay kept us laughing.... as so did the excepts from the second portion where an ambitious Kay sets forth to catch the murderer, equipped with pepper spray as her weapon.... Did she catch him? Well.... you'd be surprised at what happened there! Read the book and find out.
The reading session was followed by a discussion where Kiran answered a lot of questions about the making of her novel. She shared that besides her close friend, it was her mother who pushed her to writer a novel.
When asked how much of Kiran Manral was in Kay,she said, 'Yes, there is bits of me in Kay...as i can relate to a lot of thirty plus women who post marriage and kids shuffle between the quest for a purpose in life and the habit of being in comfort zone where you have everything easy...the hubby earning the bread , domestic help, social outings with friends........and yet a restlessness lingers in the heart of many urban SAHM Mums".
As the interaction session progressed, Kiran encouraged the visitors to ask questions
As the session ended, Kiran, the gracious host invited the gathering to sample the snacks which were arranged by a young and enterprising chef, Natasha of 'tasha's ARTISAN FOODS'.
The Chef had even baked special custom pink-and -green biscuits
to go with the cover of Kiran's novel. So everything was perfect..... the great ambiance of the Gallery, the tastefully crafted food, the eager readers and above all the presence of the charismatic author , Kiran herself. Undoubtedly the gathering enjoyed the whole evening.
Kiran happily autographed the books for her readers
and i went up to her with my copy, i was floored by what she said to me...double AA as in Aabha?", I marveled at her memory and sharpens of mind. She happily obliged by posing for a picture......
I had gone to meet Kiran Manral, the author but came back after having met Kiran Manral the person. Elegant. Candid. Eloquent. Gracious. Grounded. Intelligent. Modern. And immensely lovable!
It was a lovely evening spent with you Kiran Manral. Wishing your book smashing success and thanks for the live interaction.
And now only one thing remains on my agenda.... to READ the book in one go!!!
Cheers!
