Considering the inclement weather that evening, there was a fairly sizeable crowd which attended the launch of Preeti Shenoy’s latest book, “The One You Cannot Have”, at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj last week.
Preeti, who started writing as a student, became quite serious about it in 2006 when she turned to writing blogs after her father’s demise. She has earlier written the books “34 Bubblegums and Candies”, “Life Is What You Make It”, “Tea for Two and a Piece of Cake” and “The Secret Wish List”. The author, whose interests range from blogging to writing poetry, said she was inspired to write her latest novel when several male fans asked her how to cope with life after being dumped by their partner. Hence she wrote the story from a man’s perspective, dealing with the pain one goes through after a break-up and how to get over it.
Vinita Dawra Nangia, columnist and journalist, launched the book along with the author. Vinita candidly admitted that she had read the book recently and that too in one sitting and said “it was bound to appeal to young and old alike”.
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Preeti and Vinita discussed the book in the context of love in the times of Google. Exploring the influence of modern technology, especially in communication, on love, both said e-mails, Internet, Facebook, et al have made it very easy to strike up friendships and foster relationships, though it has a flipside too, as even after a break-up the same modes lead to constant reminders of the partners.
Both stressed that a certain sanctity should be attached to intimacy, and emotions should not be displayed over the electronic public domain. Giving an example, Preeti amused the audience by recalling the instance of a couple who met over Twitter, joined in matrimony and still continue to fight over that application. She opined that break-ups or disagreements should be sorted out face-to-face and not on social media.
Emphasising that it was easy to enter into a relationship but difficult to maintain it, Preeti said most couples think that the courtship will sustain and carry them through. Vinita added people are unwilling to work and iron out their differences and would rather go to town through social media.
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While discussing different facets of life and characteristics of human beings, Preeti read excerpts from the book to highlight her point. Like all her earlier works, this book too wants people to be positive about life since it is short and unpredictable. Drawing the event to a close, the author answered several questions from the audience.