13 young writers share their urban tales, in a new book, ‘Urban Shots’
Bookstores are brimming lately with stories, novels from young writers. The Indian landscape is changing because of internet; more people are reading and writing. Unlike earlier times, today it’s much easier to write and get published. Hashmita Chander, an accomplished writer of ‘Brownies for Christmas’ commented “Lots of people are writing today for they feel it’s easy to do so. Their work lacks quality but as they are published they get rave reviews. Writing requires effort, hard work, skill, observation and time. We need to promote literature and improve our quality of work, so more talented writers can get the opportunity to come forth.” She has recently written a short story in a newly released book Urban Shots.
The book was launched by Suchitra Pillai and Nauheed Cyrusi at Crossword book Store, Kemps corner, Mumbai.
Urban Shots, is a novel published by Grey Oak publishing, it’s a compilation of 29 short stories by 13 young writers. Written with the backdrop of life in the metros, these urban tales focus on an epiphany. The stories reveal the urban deceptions, glitz, trials & tribulations. Ahmad Faiyaz, writer & publisher, Grey Oak and Paritosh Uttam author of ‘Dreams in Prussian blue’ were reviewing each other’s work and over a chat, thought of putting together a book on short stories. Paritosh Uttam has edited the book and written 10 of the short stories.
Suchitra Pillai said “I’ve read few stories, some of them are profound and my favorite one is ‘Liberation’. We have all been through different emotions love, of love, betrayal, happiness and unrequited love. In the hustle bustle of everyday life, while going to work, in between breaks one can dig into the book, it’s an easy read. That’s the good thing about short stories.” Suchitra quizzed the writers on whether their stories were based on real life and about the personal writing process. Kainaz Motivala a debutant writer replied “I have written from observation. I like to imagine how someone would react in a certain situation. I took 4 days to write the first draft. I have worked in journalism before and I find digging story ideas and writing a pain. My main focus is modeling & movies. As I had to write a short story the task seemed easier.” Naman Saraiya, author of Trial & Error said “50% of my story is fiction and 50% is drawn from real life experiences.”
Urban Shots is an attempt to bring together a similar age group of writers and to draw from their personal observations.
SHIKHA SAKSENA
