DEBAJANI MOHANTY | Author Interview

I am also a big foodie and have tried cuisine from almost all continents in the world. Above all, I wish to work for women upliftment. Financial independence of every woman is my dream.

I wrote a very complex story comprising many characters that went on for 70 odd years. However, before narrating the stories of so many individuals I heard them.

I heard them since my childhood days from numerous women in our society, be it our elderly maids whosoever migrated from Bangladesh in their teens, my grandmother and her contemporaries.

I read numerous books written on the horrendous atrocities during the India-Pakistan partition and communal riots or articles on newspapers in yesteryears.

The story points out certain prime issues that are so far not taken seriously either by our people or government. Women constitute half of the manpower, and in a society where they are treated lowly, would lack progress. Rape and discrimination against women are not only a social issue.

It weakens the resolve in women to come out of their closed premises of home and embrace education & career. It blocks our progress as a nation.

This book is an attempt to bridge the gap between the genders and uplift our society as a whole.

There are people on earth who have created miracles out of their efforts. I only manage three things at the moment; my career, family and writing.

Of course, I’m blessed with the best husband in the world and very supportive in-laws with me. Above all, I am grateful to the Almighty who showed me the path to complete my work successfully.

The nature of my work, as well as my passion for travelling, has taken me to half of the world and many years abroad before I got married and settled down in India.

Over the long lone years, I have visited several places across the globe, met numerous ladies of different ethnic origins and tried to analyse what makes the women of our country weak in comparison to the west.

I am sure my adventurous journey will interest my readers.

My dream is to see all women of my country financially independent, education alone would not be enough. And I wish to see this in my lifetime.

Around 60 million (i.e. 6 CRORES) have been systematically exterminated from India’s population in three generations.

That is nearly the entire population of the United Kingdom. They have either been aborted before birth, killed once born, died of neglect because they were girls, or perhaps fell victims to dowry-related deaths.

My request to my readers, do not just read the book, please pass on my message to the world. We must all contribute so that our girls survive and lead a safe and secure life.

Apart from the good work that you are already doing, we all should do something philanthropic so that our children and grandchildren would live in a civilised as well as safer world tomorrow.