All-woman club interacts with author

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 9

Book Lover’s Retreat – an all women endeavor to promote reading and interacting with writers, today held a discussion with ‘Patiala Quartet’ author Neel Kamal Puri and Rahul Bedi, a defense expert writer with The Daily Telegraph London.

Talking about her experiences about Patiala, Puri said her personal experiences in the city helped her a lot when she wrote the book. “So much has changed over the years,” she says as she talked about her book.

“As you get to know the protagonists - Michael and Karuna, Monty and Minnie - you learn to ignore simple, yet impressive characterisation as to how the story unfolds: an insider’s account of “normal life” in the bloody Punjab of 1980s. The book talks about some really difficult moments,” says the writer.

Puri is an Indian author, columnist and a college teacher. Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, she grew up in the erstwhile princely state of Patiala, where she did her schooling from Yadavindra Public School.

“The book club was started a few months ago with a group of six friends coming from different stages of life and age but with a common passion for reading. It has over 20 members and is growing rapidly,” said Neetu Narula and Cherry Garg, founder members of the club.

“It was indeed a pleasure to engage Puri in an interesting conversation on her way of writing, life as a professor and challenges faced while authoring the book,” said Dr Aeyna Sood. 

Those present were Neetu Narula, Rajni Dang, Simret Matta, Daman Chattwal, Dr Aeyna Sood, Ritu Tiwana, Kiran Grewal, Khusnuma, Cherry Garg, Dr Birinder Chopra, Dr Kiranjot Behl, Neetu Chopra, Sangeeta Sharma, Shaifali Gupta, Anu Brar, Camie Thind and Chandni, all members of the club.