New Delhi: Oxford Bookstore Connaught Place and Ocean Books celebrated the launch of Tanuja Shankar Khan’s first novel, ‘Flames of Paradise’ on July 31st, 2014. The book was unveiled by Ms. Anurradha Prasad, MD, BAG Films Network and Guest of Honour, Mr. Tripurari Sharan, Ex. Director General, Doordarshan. The evening was moderated by Ms. Geetika Ganju.
The novel ‘Flames of Paradise’, published by Oceans Books, is an adventure romance set in the turbulent terrorist infested Kashmir. The story revolves around the feisty young woman Snigdha, who is a professional cinematographer and who bags a plum project of a documentary drama to make in the disturbed land of Srinagar. She lands up in Srinagar to film the documentary only to find that a very tense situation awaits them there. One of the most infamous terrorist outfits ‘Qurban E Jihad’ and ‘Al Faran’ are on an abduction spree.
PR
Snigdha encounters an educated, enigmatic young man, whose identity she is not sure of but who makes her heart beat faster. In the course of their shooting, Snigdha gets abducted and taken hostage and to her horror she realizes that the man she had felt a sharp attraction for, is none other than the man who has played a major role in her abduction. She runs away from the camp in the midst of thick eerie jungles. She is followed and saved by none other than the man who she hates most in the world, called Roshan Khan. She is shocked to realize that she has not come to kill her but to protect her from the stealthily following terrorists. The story thereafter oscillates between danger and adventure, between hatred and attraction, like and dislikes, admiration and mistrust.
Would Snigdha come to know who Roshan is? Why is a terrorist protecting her? Would Snigdha reach her destination safely? Or would she be caught by the terrorists? The story of ‘Flames of Paradise ‘ unfolds with each step Snigdha takes in the deadly, dark jungle, where she is torn between love and hate, doubt and faith.
Tanuja Shankar on the launch of her book, "Writing ‘Flames of Paradise’ for me has been a natural progression from a film maker to an author. Being an incorrigible romantic, my first novel to be a love story seems absolutely natural for me. A dream come true, to be releasing my book at the hub of literati intellectuals and book lovers, Oxford Bookstore Connaught Place.”
Oxford Bookstore Connaught Place offers a carefully curated list of titles for booklovers to browse through and buy and perhaps the world’s largest assortment of teas in the hip Cha Bar, to create a holistic experience for book lovers. The entrance leading to the bookstore houses a big Neon Wall, a cloud of words in English-Hindi-Latin that envelopes book lovers in a universe of emotions linked to reading. Inside, in the tranquil space, hands-on staff, knowledgeable and highly trained book specialists, offer suggestions of handpicked titles from major, independent and indie publishers: a great selection of books, some exclusive to Oxford Bookstore. The selection features both emerging and established authors from India and the world. Shelves stocked with the best in Indian Writing, International Fiction and Translations take one into a spacious, elongated Reading Room which opens onto a dedicated Events Space. Well-researched sections on Languages and New Age books address issues of addiction, relationships, unexplained phenomena, and showcase the best of thinkers and Indian gurus. A wide range of titles in Travel Writing, books that showcase the very essence of New Delhi and a specially curated section of books on tea are other highlights. Children have an exclusive space for browsing, activities and reading and parents can look forward to the Top 10 Gift Books in each age group for a quick and easy pick. Amongst the best in books for different age groups are ones that help the young ones deal with experiences relevant to their age.
About Tanuja Shankar : Born on 13th May, 1968,
PR
Tanuja Shankar Khan, was brought up in Patna, where she stayed till 1996 with her family. Masters in English Literature from Patna University and Diploma Holder in Mass Communication, Tanuja was brought up in a very academic and artistic environment, where she along with her three bright siblings was given all opportunities to participate in various forms of performing arts and media like Theatre, Music, Drama, Radio, Writing and Television by her erudite parents. Starting her career from media education by teaching at the prestigious Patna Women’s College till 1996, she entered television and created content for various TV channels and production houses creating lifestyle programming, documentaries. Her feature length film is also ready for release. At present she is working as Channel Advisor, at Doordarshan National, New Delhi. ‘Flames of Paradise’ is her first novel, after being into writing of short stories and scripts for last 20 years.
