The year ahead
Dear friends,
Thank you for being a part of my journey. I know that many of you have been here from the time I started writing and publishing and I can only express my appreciation to you all for sticking around for so long.
Over the years, I have constantly shared with you all, the many ups and downs of my life. As you all know (I’m sure I would have told you so already), that I faced two terrible losses in the year 2021. My husband Mansoor and my mother-in-law Najma, both passed away following Covid complications.
My children and I have come to terms with this loss slowly, painfully and gradually. But I just want to stop a moment and tell you all, that the support of so many people online, virtual friends but strangers in real life, boosted me, kept me afloat and helped me heal. All of you are a part of this too. So, obviously, I’m taking this space to tell you all about the most difficult book I’ve written in my life.
It’s a memoir that covers the past few years of my life but also delves a wee bit into my childhood. I always thought writing a memoir is for someone who has lived a full life. And given my protected upbringing, I didn’t think I had anything worth writing in a memoir about.
Also, grief isn’t unique to me. It isn’t something that only I processed and underwent. It’s universal, more so during those terrible pandemic years. So many losses, so many promising futures destroyed. I felt like I had to pen down my thoughts, put down what I went through and how I endured it. Not as a lesson to others (far be from it) but as a fellow human who underwent a universal human experience.
And thus my memoir – Learning to Make Tea for One – was born. It’s being published by Speaking Tiger in April, 2025. I hope you will all read it.
I leave you with a small excerpt from the prologue –
Prologue
Rain battered the window. Outside, everything was now green and fresh. As it slowed, I could hear a koel calling out clearly. It seemed like a serene moment as I stared outside the open window, sipping coffee, but I was in a Covid ward, in a much-coveted hospital room, and the coffee was watery, and my thoughts chaotic. Behind me, my mother-in-law was sleeping on another hospital bed. I checked on her every now and then to make sure the BiPap device was fixed properly to her face. At a time when hospital beds were scarce, we had managed to get not one, but two beds for us, in the same room and for that, I was thankful.
Pre-monsoon showers in May were common in Bangalore. We were used to the skies suddenly darkening, rain pelting us suddenly, only to disappear soon enough, leaving hardly a trace of it. But this time of the year, the month of May has always held important memories for me. My husband Mansoor and I got engaged on 5 May 1996, and married the following year, on 1 June . For most of my life, these two months have seen celebratory moments for us. I had no idea then that May and June 2021 were going to be devastating for me, in ways I hadn’t imagined possible.
Writing this book has been one of the most difficult things I’ve done. It made me go back to those dark, dark days, and relive the moments that happened before, during and after. Editing it has been equally difficult, but I’m getting through it.
Anyhow, on to other things. I have a YA novel coming out with Harper Collins later this year (I think). And I’m working on a new romance series for Amazon KDP, which I’m quite excited about.
So, see you all next month!
Oh, and if you finished reading the Hotel Moonshine Series, please do leave ratings and reviews on Amazon/Goodreads. It’s not just for our personal gratification (although it does help there too!). Ratings and reviews boost the algorithm (yes that dreaded word) to show our books to prospective readers. So I’d greatly appreciate it!
Okay, here I bring you some free books, courtesy Bookfunnel (also another marketing thingy I have to do for my indie published books. Don’t mind!)
That’s it for now! Hopefully, I’ll have more updates for you next month!
Oh, and I’m going to be in Kolkata for the Kolkata Literary Meet 2025. I have a session on 22nd and one on 24th January. Do check my social media for more details about the events. See you around if you’re in the city and come to the festival!