Priyanka Mookerjee, who had successfully ruined her eyesight by the time she was in Class 3 by incessantly reading Enid Blyton in moving cars, says that it was totally worth it. Why, you ask? Because that’s what cradled her childhood dream of becoming an author. After a couple of years of reading books under the covers in semi-darkness, her book Hedon was something that happened naturally, she says.” I started writing vignettes, that would later go on to take the shape of Hedon, when I was nineteen. The topic just sort of chose itself because I was at that sweet spot between being in the middle of an experience and removed enough from it to build some perspective,” she says.
The book occupies that space between being a young adult and an adult, flirting with a range of issues like leaving home for the first time, heartaches, re-discovering the roots and vagaries of love.
The book revolves around the relationship between its characters Tara Mullick and Jay Dhillon. Amidst pressing priorities in life, she manages to find him again but in a different time and space.
The diverse plot makes us believe Priyanka when she says that the romance in the novel is almost incidental – it serves more as the backdrop for Tara’s character than anything else. “I would never ask a potential reader to pick up Hedon for the romance alone. For me, that’s not where the heart of the story lies,” she says.
Just like the character in her book, Priyanka also went through different phases as a teenager, but being born in Kolkata was a blessing in disguise. “The Kolkata that I grew up in was wonderfully supportive of reading and writing, so I always felt very nurtured and encouraged,” she laughs. For someone who always found solace in putting pen to paper, writing a book seemed like an inevitable extension of that habit. “The surprising part has been getting published! That’s actually been the hardest part of the process – finding someone who understood the novel and stood behind it,” she believes.
When is finally happened, there was only one takeaway – experience. “That old saying about experience being the best teacher is right. I did have vague plans in place to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing, but once I dove headfirst into writing Hedon, I found the experience so enriching and educative that I put off those plans indefinitely,” she adds.
She has a similar heads up for the aspiring writers in the country, “Hone your instincts like a knife. I’ve found that being able to trust and stand by your own judgment makes for easier, happier, and all around better writing. It somehow also helps to distil constructive criticism in truly helpful ways, so you end up with a finished product that can actually be better than what you’d initially envisioned,” she signs off.
Bitter-sweet journey
Edgy and compelling, Hedon is a debut novel that explored the dynamics of love and heartache, and what it means to to not know where you belong
19 Priyanka Mookerjee started writing during when she was just nineteen-years-old
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