Weaving experiences into a contemporary story

As most of the people present had not yet read the book, Priti gave the gathering a brief outline of the plot and an overview of the characters. “The story revolves around Sadhavi, a married woman, who finds herself attracted to Kanav, a scholar and a teacher, whom she meets in Paris. An intelligent woman with a traditional upbringing, a modern liberal education, married into an orthodox Brahmin family, Sadhavi has not actively thought about or pursued a path which would fulfil her as an individual — till she comes to Paris,” she explained.

Basically a poet with a background in English Literature, writing a full-length prose novel was something of an adventure for the author.
“I loved Paris and it influenced me in so many ways. While this novel was a project waiting to happen, it was a chance meeting with one of my professors in India in 2004 that worked as a catalyst. She advised me to write, using my extensive travel experiences as a background. That’s when I spurred myself on to write and finish this work,” says Priti.

 She also talked about the intense personal experiences that linked her to the book including the search for her characters’ names. “My heroine is called Sadhavi as it is a name I have always loved. I even wanted my sister to name her baby Sadhavi if she had a girl. As for the name Kanav, I met a lady who had named her son Kanav which means ‘dream’. My character was nameless till I heard that name and realised it suited the brooding intellectual kind of person I had in mind perfectly,” she adds. Full of descriptive passages and emotional exchanges, Priti  weaves a contemporary love story set in a beautiful city. A city that always evokes pleasurable images of romance, culture, food and fashion.