Landmark at Citi Centre recently saw the release of the book, Letters from my Beloved, written by Akansha Bhatia, a Delhi-based 17-year-old who has now relocated to Chennai. The story revolves around the protagonist Sonia Sharma and her childhood love. The book was released by popular VJ Paloma Rao. As Akansha spoke about her debut attempt, she beamed, “It is overwhelming and amazing. The fact that my book is out still seems like a dream to me.”
The highlight of the event was the participation of children from the orphanage Shelter India that houses HIV positive children. When Akansha and her family gifted these kids with copies of the book, one young girl from the group said that the author had inspired her when it came to reading and writing. Paloma, who pointed out that romance is a genre that has been missing for a while now in the reading scenario, said that she was glad to have found a “refreshing tinge of romance” in this new book. “This is a really cute novel. Every teenager can relate to this story and older people can walk down memory lane,” she said as she flipped through the pages of the book.
Akansha, who was still flushed from the excitement of releasing her book, recalled how she always chose to write instead of watching TV, while still preparing for her board exams. This, she said, led to the successful completion of her book. Having faced rejections from almost six publishing houses, Akansha said that it took her over two years to get her book out. Sashirekha, a teacher at Good Shepherd school and a volunteer at Shelter India, was all praise for Akansha, “We need more socially-responsible people like Akansha to invite these kids to such gatherings.”