I have always been keen on writing,” says chemical engineer Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta who launched her debut novel Introspection in Mumbai on December 13. The novel was launched by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actor Dino Morea.
Ask the engineer how did the book happen and Sengupta says, “I am working with Reliance Industries as a senior technologist and the shift happened parallelly. A few years ago, I started writing as a passion and I also have a blog, where I have been sharing my feelings and thoughts. But three years back, I started writing this book seriously.”
The reason she wrote the book is because she wanted to create a fictional space where in through the characters she could portray the realities of life and give certain subtle messages about the things that are ingrained in people’s mind.
“It’s a true story but has a lot of messages and that’s the reason I decided to write,” she says adding that society, and both known and unknown people around her have inspired her to write the book. “Also, my love for words. I love the power that fiction has and wanted to use that power to convey a message to society.”
Since the novel has released online, it’s been receiving positive reviews and Sengupta says that it’s quite encouraging.
Being a Bengali, she says that she is highly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. “Of course, I cannot think like him but he is part of everything that I do. I have always been influenced by his writing and his work has given me emotional support since a very long time. He is my all-time favourite author,” she says.
She adds that while writing her own novel, she was also influenced by Emily Jenkins’ (E Lockhart) novel We Were Liars. “The plot was so simple and subtle. The best part was that each sentence was short, which was unique. I believe that every writer has their unique style of writing and so do I.”
She says that as a first-time author she wanted to avoid certain elements like explicit details of personal space of people. “This story has a couple of beautiful moments but nothing explicit,” she mentions.
Ask her if she faced any challenges while writing the book and she replies, “Finding time to write. I have a fully-engaging job and getting time to write was a task. There is a shift of brain when you are writing because it’s in a completely different space.”
However, her husband has been a huge support. “Also, writing rejuvenates me. Whenever I am low I write. When I started writing Introspection, I was going through a low phase and wanted to get out of it.”
What is Introspection all about?
After a blissful courtship, Aniket and Arushi finally tie the knot and shift from Kolkata to Mumbai. Life is beautiful. It is a fairytale romance. But how long? Little do they know, what lies ahead in their journey. Things change and personalities alter, as hard reality hits their abode of dreams.
When the extremely careerist Aniket faces an unprecedented downfall in his career graph, his persona goes through a radical change. Addiction and depression change him into a draconian. Or is it the unveiling of his true face? Arushi watches him in dismay and exhausts herself, to regain the bliss of their companionship.
However, her efforts prove futile. But there is more to this story. When eminent psychiatrist Dr Priyadarshini Ray takes up the case, revelations from Aniket’s past shocks Arushi. What makes Aniket the egoist, insecure monster? Will the two be able to regain the lost beauty of their relationship? Will introspection, change the course of their tale?
