Working in an extreme-pressured media job for a while gave way to existential questions for author Shambhavi, and showed her the need to take a step back and find her purpose in life by placing herself close to nature. Her debut novel Somewhere To Go (Rupa Publications; 208 pp; Rs 195) mirrors similar thoughts that many of us face at some point in our lives — to find our true selves.
Shambhavi traces the journey of a contemporary relationship wherein the couple, Aysher and Risha, both holding jobs in television, is made to rethink their bond when Aysher faces an existentialist question and takes on a route to discover himself. Her husband Rajesh Kumar, DIG of Patna, was a key in helping her find the author in her, the Patna-based author says.
“I always enjoyed writing and was told that my writings were very thoughtful, but I never took the leap to get them published. One day my husband suggested that I put my thoughts into a book. We thought we would print few copies ourselves and give them to our friends and family to read. The environment and nature were the sole inspiration for me to write the book. I would sit down to observe the world outside, ponder and the book just came by. After my husband read the draft, he told me that he was amazed,” the 35-year-old recollects.
“The place where we reside in Patna is nestled in nature. I think that also helped kindle my thoughts on wanting to get away from a fast-paced life and learning to appreciate what’s around us. Unfortunately, our lives have turned only virtual for the most part, and we keep running a mad race in it. I wanted to show people ways that they can find themselves closer to the real world and nature,” says Shambhavi, who’s also a mother of two children. She adds that it was not easy managing a home and wanting to write a book alongside. “It took me longer than one usually takes, about three to four years since my kids are still young.”
While pursuing her Ph.D. in mass communication, she is also working on her next book already.
