A lot has been written about Subhas Chandra Bose, from his deeds of valour that helped India achieve independence from British rule to his differences with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to the circumstances around his disappearance or death in August 1945. Yet all these writings have focused on Bose, the leader, often at the expense of Bose, the person.
On 30th November, Prabha Khaitan Foundation organized a session of an author’s afternoon with Vaibhav Purandare. Vaibhav is the senior editor at the Times of India and is the author of many books. He has a passion for public affairs, history, culture, politics and the global and national landscape which is reflected through his many literary works. In conversation with him was film journalist, festival curator, author and national award film recipient Ratnottama Sengupta.
Prabha Khaitan Foundation organized a session of An Author’s Afternoon with Vidhie Mukerjea. Vidhie is a young, dynamic author born in India and raised in Bristol. She is the daughter of Peter and Indrani Mukerjea. She has poured her heart out in her book, ‘Devil’s Daughter’, a personal reflection on one of the most harrowing experiences one could possibly encounter. In conversation with her was Ehsaas woman of Kolkata, Esha Datta.
A virtual session of An Author’s Afternoon was hosted by Prabha Khaitan Foundation. Introducing and welcoming the guests was Modhurima. The guest was Rijula Das. Rijula received her PhD. in creative writing in 2017 from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where she taught writing for 2 years. She is a recipient of the 2019 Michael King Writers Centre Residency in Auckland and the 2016 Dastan award for her short story, “notes from a passing”. Her other short story, “The grave of the heart eater” was long listed for the Commonwealth short story prize in 2019. Her debut novel, ”A death in Shonagachi” was long-listed for the JCB prize for literature in 2021. Rijula hails from West Bengal and currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand. In conversation with her was Bharti Harlalka, an interior designer, wellness enthusiast and has even staged plays. She is also a disciplined reader.
An Author’s Afternoon, Kolkata, hosted Payal Kothari for the afternoon, presented by Shree Cement Ltd. in association with Taj Bengal. Payal Kothari embarked on her health and wellness journey with the world’s largest nutrition school, IIN—Institute for Integrative Nutrition, New York USA, IIN Advanced Business, Medvarsity, India’s leading training academy, Kaizad Kapadia’s K11 and QI academy. She has 150 published articles under her belt from prestigious publications like Times of India, Vogue, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and ET Panache. She holds practical certifications from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and has been a part of some of the most powerful global Transformation Programs like Date with Destiny & Unleash the Power Within with Tony Robbins. Today, Payal is one of the rare few IIN-certified coaches in India who practises Integrative Nutrition and Transformation.
On 5th February Prabha Khaitan Foundation in association with Ehsaas women of Kolkata, The Taj Bengal and Shree Cement Ltd. organized a virtual session of An Author’s Afternoon with Mr. Abhay Kumar. Mr Kumar has authored nine poetry collections, most recently of ‘The Alphabets of Latin America’, and the editor of ‘The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems’, ‘CAPITALS’, ‘The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems’ and ‘New Brazilian Poems’. His poems have been published in several literary journals including ‘Poetry Salzburg Review’ and Asian Literary Review.’ His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 50 languages. He received SAARC Literary Award 2013 and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 2018.
The first live session of An Author’s Afternoon Kolkata hosted Dr Meha Dixit In Taj Bengal. She has a PHD in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her thesis, ‘Human Security in Post Conflict Reintegration of Child Soldiers; Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration Programmes in Macamba in Sara Lyon”, is inspired by her expertise in Peace and Conflict Studies and her interest in analysing the process of reintegration. She has worked with MST international and save the Save the Children Organisation and also taught at Kashmir University.
An Author’s Afternoon, presented by Prabha Khaitan Foundation in association with Taj Bengal and Shree Cements hosted Koral Dasgupta. Dasgupta has published 5 books ranging from comedy to classic. Her 4th book, a comedy called ‘Summer Holidays’ has been optioned for screen adaptation. Her 5th book, Ahalya, is also the 1st of a five-part Sati series. She is a literary entrepreneur, discovering new voices through her laboratory, www.tellmeyourstory.biz Her work is recognised in the list of the Innovator 25 Asia Pacific 2019.
The guest for the 85 th Author’s Afternoon was Karnal Singh. Karnal Singh, a 1984-batch IPS officer and an engineer from the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, has over 34 years of experience in the investigation of corruption, terrorism, money laundering and criminal cases. In the Delhi Police Special Cell, he spearheaded the investigation of the 2008 Delhi blast cases, which led to the Batla House encounter. He is a recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
On 12th September, Prabha Khaitan Foundation organised a virtual session of the Author’s afternoon with Hindol Sengupta. He is a celebrated author, media personality, he has won multiple awards for his 9 books and is the Vice President and head of research at Invest India, the national investment promotion agency of the government of India. He is the only indian to have won the Wilbur Award. In conversation with him was Mrs. Oindrilla Dutt.