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Monday, March 24, 2014

To My Daughter in print


Some people have lots of books inside them, some have just one. I have written a great deal of stuff since my writing was first published at age 13, but where whole books are concerned, I tend to think I belong to the second category.

Many years ago I wrote a book. It was meant to be something for my own daughter, for my many thousand ex students now scattered around the world, and a kind of summary of all the most important things about life and living that I had learnt and have always tried to teach for anyone who might be interested.

The manuscript was gathering dust for a long time. Now, thanks to the patient goading of a lot of people, my parents and daughter not least among them, it has finally seen the light of day. The book (click on the picture for a bigger view) is currently available via the websites of amazon, flipkart and the publishers themselves, notionpress. Some of us enthusiasts are hoping that it will eventually hit the bookstores. But of course then it will be a bit more expensive.

So – any reader of mine who was ever really interested in me – go ahead, buy the book, read it, get some friends and relatives and neighbours to buy it, and tell us what you felt about it via your reviews at any of the sites mentioned above, or my website, of which you can become a member and participant. Also talk about it on any social network you might be on, Facebook or some such: that will be a nice favour. It thrills me to see that five copies have been bought almost as soon as the book was formally launched: I wonder by whom!

I promise you nothing except – to quote what I have written in the introduction to the book itself (yes, do please read the introduction too) – it is not the most trivial book that I have read in my own life.


P.S, April 02: It seems the book is slightly cheaper if bought from the amazon store than from flipkart. And now that I know that a lot of people have already ordered/got the book, I am hoping that they are reading it avidly and thoughtfully, and that many of them will make me happy by spreading the word and by writing reviews about the book on the amazon or flipkart pages, or at my own website (links given above). Meanwhile, thank you to all 78 people who have rated the book with four or five stars on the flipkart page: I am luckier than I thought!

P.P.S.: The book is now also available on Kindle.

23 comments:

Shilpi said...

Yes, Suvro da! I've been waiting since 2002, at least, for your book to be published. You hadn't started writing 'To My Daughter' then (but I had been waiting).

Goes without saying that I hope lots of people buy and read the book and I was terribly glad to see that two people have bought the book already. I can say it's not only an interesting (and amusing) book but it's a strange book: one's life changes in colourful ways when one really remembers, puts (at least some of) the things you've written to practice and sees the truth through experience..'. One does get into arguments too with others and sometimes one stays quiet. But I won't write a review here.

I don't think you have just one book in you...there might be some grand novel as well, when you get some free time: who can tell. See this one (somebody had once called it my 'favourite hobby horse') came about so I can wish.

Vaishnavi said...

Dear Sir,

I am so glad and I already purchased my copy on flipkart as of ten minutes ago :) I can't wait to get a hold of the copy and read TMD all over again in print this time!

Regards,
Vaishnavi

Saikat Chakraborty said...

Dear Sir,

It feels good to know that this year is running on a positive note for you- from meeting your old students to the release of your book. I pray to God that this 'Happy hour' keeps continuing. I hope that this book will gain popularity and consequently we will have more publications from you.

With regards,
Saikat.

Anonymous said...

Dear Suvro'da,

I had heard many a time from you and in oblique references in our discussions about this book! Well, then it was just taking shape in the form of scattered thoughts and notes. It is delightful to see all that now composed in a fantastic Book !! So, first of all...Heartiest Congratulations to you for this !

Having ordered a copy already and just waiting to read the book now, I am sure that this book will be a delightful and inspirational read to all of us and many others like us !

I sincerely hope that it reaches as many readers as possible and brings you the authors' satisfaction as they say !! Best wishes :-)

Sayan Bhattacharya
Chennai.

sayantika said...

Dear Sir,
Congratulations! I am eagerly waiting to read this one. And I hope that this is not the only one.:)
Thanks and with regards,
Sayantika

Unknown said...

Dear Sir,

Congratulations on the publication of the book. I have already ordered a copy on Flipkart, can't wait. It will be interesting to read the advice and information and suggestions that you provided, in print, and to discover a lot more. Flipkart's synopsis on the book tells that it is a vivid account to read for all ages, then It must be composed of a lot of different stuff. And the good news is, I have already been able to persuade four of my friends in school to buy and read it and I am on the verge of persuading another two.

The end of I.C.S.E. for me will be greeted by a wonderful task, thank you Sir. Hope you publish more of your works.

Regards,
Akash

Aakash said...

Dear Sir,

Many Congratulations!

I'm sure you're still smelling the fresh print of the pages, and I bet it feels good. I sincerely hope the book makes its way into the hands of the readers you have hoped to reach out to!

Warmly,

Aakash

Tanmoy said...

Dear Suvroda

Congratulations. I will try and buy a copy online. Hopefully, they ship here, otherwise I will request my father.

Kind regards
Tanmoy

Aki said...

Dear Sir,

Congratulations on the publication. Very happy for you, Sir. Have ordered a copy online. Hopefully it will reach me before I leave for Durgapur next Friday.

Love,
Arnab

Rajarshi said...

Dear Sir,

Please accept my congratulations on this accomplishment. However, skeptical I may be of self-help books pretending to carry life-altering wisdom, I know this is going to be different.

After having followed your blog all these years, I know it is not going to be one of those sermonising books which make achieving nirvana just about following an n-step approach and neither is this going to be 'Life is unfair' rhetoric.

So, I look forward to reading this. As an aside, I just thought that the book cover resembles a lot to Hosseini's "And the Mountains Echoed" or may be it is just me.

On another related note, the other day, I was wondering about the fact that most of the men I admire in my life - and all of them are outside my family - had daughters and most of them did a splendid job of raising them.

With Best Wishes,
Rajarshi

Subhanjan Sengupta said...

WOW! Great! Finally after so many years :)

Soham Mukhopadhyay said...

Dear Sir,
As soon as I saw this post of yours today, I ordered the book online on amazon. It came as a big surprise to me and I'm very happy that your book is published. Congratulations Sir and I'm sure that this will be a successful venture of yours. Now I'm just waiting for my order to be shipped as early as possible. :-)

with warm regards,
Soham Mukhopadhyay

Soham Mukhopadhyay said...

And another thing...the cover picture of the book looks really nice- with sober colours and the silhouette of a father holding his daughter's hand touches a lovely chord in one's mind.

Navin said...

Dear Sir,

This is phenomenal. I always wondered why you were never publishin this book. I for one am certainly going to buy it and give it as a gift to many daughters. Pupu is indeed a fortunate daughter. You have immortalized your love for her for ever!

Regards,

Navin

learning and growing said...

I too will get it.The first time you told me about this book was on the 25th of December 2011.And finally it is done now.Will be reading it soon.:)

Subhadip Dutta said...

Dear Sir,

It has been a long time that you had completed the book, maybe back in around 2007 or something like that. You had already had plans then about bringing this book out in print. It is a very nice feeling to see that the book is finally out now, and people all over the world are buying it and reading it. I think that apart from being a very good read, this book will also be a very useful book in the lives of many people.

Regards,
Subhadip.

Suvro Chatterjee said...

I am most thankful for all the nice comments which have come in so far - though, it goes without saying, I am also expecting many more! - and most particularly for the one from Kamalika. I didn't know you still cared to remember old Sir, or read his blog! And Soham, it's funny that some people like and some dislike the same things - the cover, in this instance :)

Let us see how much this enthusiasm translates into sales. As I have said in the book itself, if it does sell and people do read it, they will benefit vastly more than I will, this much I can confidently claim.

learning and growing said...

I read your blog every saturday ever since i was in class nine.I was reading some of the quotes from the book and i came across two contradictory(correct me please,if i am wrong)quotes.One said that never be afraid to walk alone and the other that every person needs a friend even the wisest(not the exact words but close to it).Can you please explain it sir.

Suvro Chatterjee said...

I think you are wise enough to resolve the so-called 'contradiction' in your own mind, Kamalika :) and maybe more if/when we next meet?

Suvro Chatterjee said...

But that is the whole point indeed, Sriranjani. TMD aims determinedly to change people, hopefully for the better, and people who are stuck in their pathetic little comfort zones would hate to change, won't they? I am sure they didn't/won't read the book seriously at all. Such an utterly common type! Which is precisely why I don't have high hopes about the book selling well... and you know what I meant when I said I wrote it for Pupu, and she's read it, and it's seen the light of day, and so I am content. If a few hundred other people read it as in really read, fine. If not, it doesn't matter. I have done my job. And what I have done is far more than any of my contemporaries I know can dare to claim...

Unknown said...

Sir,
I congratulate you from the core of my heart to see that your sincerest endeavor to find a proper way of living a "healthy" and "peaceful" life, (of course in the true sense of their terms) has been published in the form of a book and it is available for the people to read. I seriously wish the so called "cool" gadget freak, gen Y to go through this book and explore the true path to achieve happiness rather than finding cheap pleasure in malls and i-pods.
Just as I come across books like "Lectures on Macroeconomics" which are the compilation of teachings of famous macroeconomists like Blanchard and Fisher, this book will also be another addition to my collection which shall be the compilations of the valuable words that our dearest sir used to tell us in class.
And lastly, the cover picture of book is truly beautiful. It strikes a feeling of peace and happiness to see a father guiding his daughter through the path of her life.
yours faithfully
Soumallya Chattopadhyay

Rajdeep said...

Congratulations Sir! This is really good news! I wish I could have ordered the book here. I'm glad and proud of being one of the first readers' of your book when you had sent me the file years ago. Really happy with this news and hope for more such news in future. All best to you and pranaam.

Unknown said...

Congratulations sir!

I came to know about this yesterday and has already placed an order for the book. After knowing you in person for almost 9 years now I know how more enriched I will be after reading this book. It will be like having a piece of you with me, always.

I hope this will not be your only book. There is no end to learning and education, especially when it is coming from you.

Take care.

Regards,
Aritra