HYDERABAD: You always need to be one step ahead of your readers. They should not be able to understand where you are leading them,” says city-based writer Sharmistha Shenoy at the launch of her debut novel Vikram Rana Investigates at Gallery Cafe, Banjara hills, last week.
The book narrates a tale of murder that has elements of detective thriller. Interestingly, the plot of the story is based in Hyderabad. Although Sharmishtha is a Bengali from Kolkata, her affinity for all things Hyderabadi is obvious in her references to the city. She worked for Microsoft before she chose the pen to write a book.
Sharmistha spoke about her journey of writing the novel after being a short story writer. Her love for murder mysteries dates back to her teenage years.
She says that when she is reading a murder mystery she is solving a crime mystery, doing a number of adventurous things all from the comfort of her bed and sofa and this made her love the genre. “But as an author of a murder mystery the challenge is slightly different”, she says, She is confident enough that she will keep her readers engaged throughout her book. Subraya Shenoy, her husband, and Sanjeev her son also spoke about their experiences of reading the drafts again and again and supporting her in her journey. “It was fun in the beginning, boring in the between and today it ends up being awesome” says her son.
The night ended with music and attendance of Chandana Khan, IAS offier, and ad producer Vijay Marur.
Dateline Hyderabad
by Sharmishtha Shenoy Rs 300
A Hyderabadi writing for the Hyderabadis about a story set in their own city is surely a positive sign. The familiarity of names - protagonist detective Vikram Rana, Inspector Reddy, places such as Necklace Road, Somajiguda and Jubilee Hills gives the city reader an instant connect. The 189-page paperback book is about how the detective resolves two high profile cases – one the murder of a glamorous socialite Richa Lohia in her Jubilee Hills mansion and the other a property developer Krishna Dhavala in Necklace Road. For a first time writer, the style is simple and free flowing. The family tree of Lohia family gives us a glimpse that the case is going to be one involving families, relationships, and possibly the dynamics of that. Similarly the long list of possible suspects in the Sonia Sinha case also makes the book intriguing. Ideal for a weekend afternoon read.
Dateline Hyderabad
by Devulapalli Amar Rs 500
The 768-page paperback book with a stark and striking cover depicting the dice with various political parties on it is a sign of things to come. Top journalist Devulapalli Amar’s legendary column titled Dateline Hyderabad published in Praja Tantra has been brought us a book marking Amar’s journey as a journalist for 40 years and 18th anniversary of Praja Tantra. A foreword by top writer K Ramachandramurthy gives a glimpse of the impactful writing one can expect from the book. An exhaustive compilation of 248 of his columns panning from 1998 to 2010, the essays touch upon every single aspect of the political turf.. from dynasty politics to prohibition to political charisma and hero worship and many other interesting topics. A must-read for all those who want to track down India from late 1998 to 2004 (and 2010 as a bonus) through powerful writings.
