PRESS RELEASE and Video footage of the book launch of Earth Republic

Hello everyone!

Though this is my blog for creative writing, mostly poetry, I think people here might be interested in the knowing about my recent non-fiction book, Earth Republic: Chatter from the Capital's Cauldron (and Beyond) by V Shruti Devi

Here's the press release and the video footage, enjoy! -shruti

ALMOST-RAW VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE NEW DELHI BOOK LAUNCH

PRESS RELEASE dated 21^st March, 2018

BOOK LAUNCH OF EARTH REPUBLIC BY V SHRUTI DEVI AT MAVALANKAR AUDITORIUM, CONSTITUTION CLUB OF INDIA, ON 15^TH MARCH, 2018

Earth Republic, V Shruti Devi’s second book in quick succession after Deep Wood Trance (which is a work of fiction published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta), was launched at an event at the Mavlankar Auditorium of the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, on the 15^th of March, 2018.

Published via the Notion Press publishing platform, Earth Republic: Chatter from the Capital’s Cauldron (and Beyond), is a set of ten essays, of which nine were written within a span of three months in late 2017. One of the pieces, a commentary on Imran Khan’s election campaign of 2013, was written during that period.

The free-wheeling articles written in a deliberately conversational style sometimes quote from the author’s diaries of the 1980s, her Facebook posts, and an interview of her grandmother’s personal food history that the author had conducted before her grandmother passed away in 2013.

The running themes through the apparently chatty curation of topics are the themes of global governance, world peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

Topics that range from sports to legal concepts are mooted for discussion, with a strong peppering of autobiographical elements that draw the reader into a participatory approach to the reading experience.

In keeping with the author’s grassroots approach to politics, the first edition is a populist glossy paperback, rather than a hard-bound book.

All versions of Earth Republic are easily located online via the following methods:

Print version in India: amazon.in ; Flipkart; Infibeam

Print version International: amazon.com ; amazon.uk

E-books: amazonkindle ; googleplay ; kobo ; ibooks

The book launch at the Constitution Club was on the eve of the meeting of the Subjects Committee of the Indian National Congress Party that conducted its AICC Plenary at New Delhi from the 16^th to 18^th of March.

The author, V Shruti Devi, was in town as an AICC Member to attend and participate in the AICC Plenary.

While the book launch did not follow the traditional practice of inviting a designated chief guest to launch the book, there were speakers from the fields of Politics; Law; Spirituality and Theatre:

Prof. Saugato Roy, former Union Minister from the Trinamool Congress party, who discussed aspects of secularism in Indian politics spoke straight from the heart. He pointed out that he knows the author since the late 1970s, when he was a colleague of the author’s father in Parliament. His erudite and distinguished presence, and the sharing of the highlights of a recent conversation on modes of worship with the new Congress Party President brought the world of politics even closer to an already tuned-in New Delhi audience.

Advocate Karuna Nundy from the Supreme Court of India, deftly gleaned legal concepts from the overall work, and described parts of the writing as being “stream of consciousness”. Her articulate and able manner held the crowd in rapt attention.

Deepika Kumar, awarded as an Iconic Leader in Peace and Spirituality at the Women’s Economic Forum, referred to various points of the book that she had enjoyed reading. Emitting positive vibrations and energy, Deepika Kumar’s cool, calm and unhurried pace of conversation reflected the approach she employs to tackle tough questions and situations.

Theatre personality, Jaya Iyer, delineated some of her work in theatre in which the author has been a participant and activist. This includes networking with international theatre personalities from South America and elsewhere. Jaya’s wealth of experience in grassroots theatre, and simplicity and austerity would accord to her, the tag of being a Gandhian theatre activist.

All the speakers mentioned how they knew the author, and their comments were acknowledged by the author during the first half of the programme that was dedicated to speech-making.

The second half of the event was a format that the author had devised: The Insta-Review segment. A novel idea, whereby members of the audience who had submitted their names volunteered to select and read out a passage from Earth Republic. This was followed by a brief conversation with the author about why they had chosen the piece. A roving mike then went around the auditorium for instant comments/reviews from the audience, based on a hearing of the specific paragraph, thus generating instant reviews of those pieces.

Among those who did readings were: Ezeugo Nmundi Lawrence; Malati Rao and her daughter, Annika; Pranab Dhal Samantha, and Ishita Deb Burman Ahirwal.

Copies of Earth Republic were handed over to the winners of the insta book review segment by Kavi Kapur, who has been associated with the Delhi Stock Exchange, and by Ms Madhavi Goradia Divan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, among others.

Members of the teaching community, including those from Mater Dei Convent and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, were present, as were members of the bar, and friends and relatives of Shruti from different walks of life.

The event organizers were Kriti Team, whose founder leader is Aanchal Kapur. The main compere for the event was Veenu Kakkar. The organizers, as well as a member of the audience, Rohini Chauhan of The Angels Network livestreamed the event on social media.

Shruti Devi, a true believer of the concept that the world is now connected in all ways, chose to do a livestream of the event, which was keenly followed by many people of the community.....In a way, reiterating the title of her book, "The Earth Republic"!

Shruti Devi's spontaneity came across through the very flow of events at the launch. It was intellectually stimulating to observe the author holding relevant dialogues after each speaker had expressed their views on various topics of the book. Her impromptu comments & conversations kept the audience’s attention invested in the moment.

One would indeed say the book launch was an event which brought "The Earth Republic" together!!!

The evening was an eclectic mix of thought and creativity, vignettes of life and politics, reflection and experiences expansive of environment, spirituality, rights and more, much like the book which is a light and yet insightful read into the minds and spirit of the Republic we belong to.

Shruti’s book will be a great read, as she brings so many different perspectives, and, of course, her great experience, to the work.

From

Kriti Team, the event organizers of the New Delhi book launch

The author may be reached at shrutidevi@gmail.com