In conversation with The Sati Series author Koral Dasgupta

DIMAPUR — On Monday evening, The Sati Series author Koral Dasgupta engaged in an animated conversation with book lovers at ‘The Write Circle’ organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation at Zone Niathu by The Park, Chümoukedima.

The literary event was held in association with Zone Niathu and the Ehsaas women of Dimapur with senior journalist from Nagaland Kallol Dey as the moderator.

The Sati Series is a fiction based on the Panch Kanyas from Indian mythology and the five books of the series – Ahalaya, Kunti, Draupadi, Mandodari and Tara – reinvent these women and their men, in the modern context with a feminist consciousness.

Koral Dasgupta is an author, painter, entrepreneur and professor, and has authored works of fiction and non-fiction.

Talking about the characters in the Sati Series, Dasgupta said that when she tries to look at the characters from an animal point of view, she, being a human, has to accept that she will not know enough.

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However, she jocularly remarked that she took the step to write from that point of view because “animals are not coming back to protest.”

The author also shared on differences between humans and animals, citing that animals too have a wonderful world of their own with ethics and principles.

“They (animals) never attack unless they feel threatened but we have never tried to understand that,” she added.

She said that the plots in the Sati Series are mostly her interpretation. She also maintained that she always tries to look from the perspective of “men and women coming together to build that world, but every time it is not happening and something or the other is going wrong.”

On the erotic elements in her book, she confided that she did not plan them but that “desire is part of all books.”

When asked what inspired her to become a writer, she shared that she had working parents and since there were no phones during those days, the only entertainment was reading books.

She also said that they had lots of books at home as her mother was also very fond of books. So, when her parents were not home, she had a lot of time to read and also a lot of time to think.

Viketuno Rio, Ehsaas Woman of Dimapur, shared that Write Circle strives to bring together authors and their readers in an informal and engaging setting with a discerning audience and with sessions structured around the lives and works of authors.

Abokali Jimomi, Ehsaas Woman of Dimapur, extended her appreciation to the author, moderator and all the participants, in her word of thanks.