Gaiety, garnets, gulmohar, conversation and curation defined the recent launch of novelist, columnist and former journalist Chetna Keer’s fourth book, a gripping suspense saga, ‘Garnets Under My Gulmohar’.
The book launch, colourfully crafted and curated from recycled waste paper and scrap, was held under the aegis of the Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) at the Press Club, Chandigarh. CLS Chairperson Sumita Misra and Hindustan Times Executive Editor Ramesh Vinayak were the chief guest at the occasion. The guests also unveiled Chetna’s ‘Gulmohar’ poetry that has just been published as part of an anthology.
Anchoring an engaging conversation with the author, eminent author-poet Nirupama Dutt, said, “Chetna’s storytelling has all the elements that Somerset Maugham alluded to in a classic novel — aristocracy, beauty, suspense, love and loss.”
Vinayak felicitated the author thus, “Chetna has lived up to the meaning of her name. Her post-pandemic micro narratives of restarting India and climate change mirror realities and raise social awareness.”
Misra was all praise for the author’s craft of writing, “Chetna is a wordsmith and comes with up with interesting coinages.”
Encapsulating the essence of the new suspense saga, Chetna said, “The Gulmohar in my new novel is a metaphor for the compelling subtext of climate change, as much as for the many moods of the mystery shrouding a matriarch’s lost legacy.” The author described her journey from being a satirist to suspense writer with a food analogy. “Garnets Under My Gulmohar is my literary lasagna. It was about learning to do the layers (of suspense) perfectly.”
The happy housefull saw the show start with a soulful Saraswati Vandana and wrap up with a recital of Dushyant Kumar”s ‘Gulmohar’ poetry. Both the presentations were presented by Surjit Singh Dheer, a connoisseur of culture.