British-born-Indian author, Sonal Sachdev Patel returns to India to discuss her book GITA-The Battle of The Worlds

When eleven-year-old Dev’s father dies, he can’t stop lashing out at those he loves. Until he meets Sanjay, a sprite-like being who claims the incredible: that there is a battle raging inside Dev’s ow
British-born-Indian author, Sonal Sachdev Patel returns to India to discuss her book GITA-The Battle of The Worlds

Although taken from Hinduism’s scripture the Mahabharata, Sonal and co-author Jemma Wayne-Kattan, are keen to emphasise the universality of the GITA and hope that by transforming it into a story aimed at children aged 8 to 14 will help promote greater spiritual understanding and tolerance from an early age. 

British-born-Indian author, Sonal Sachdev Patel returns to India this October to discuss her latest book, GITA: The Battle of the Worlds at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai on Friday, 26 October 2018 at 2:30 pm. The author will conduct a walkthrough where a few of the artworks that resonate with the key messages and theme of the book will be explored for a younger audience. The walkthrough will be followed by an interactive session including reading from the book, fun word puzzles and colouring exercises from the beautifully reimagined adventure story that transports the sacred verse of the GITA into a book that is universally relevant."

When eleven-year-old Dev’s father dies, he can’t stop lashing out at those he loves. Until he meets Sanjay, a sprite-like being who claims the incredible: that there is a battle raging inside Dev’s own body. But despite the mystery of the moment, Dev feels his dark thoughts circling and his emotions and anguish once again rushing into his mind. Not to be put off Sanjay explains how he can help him control his emotions and with Dev’s agreement disappears inside his body to embark on a perilous journey beginning in the darkest realm at the bottom of Dev’s spine. As he searches for the noble warrior Prince Arjun, the only hope to defeat wicked Prince Ego, Sanjay encounters starving mobs, thieving gangs, water worlds and lands of fire, until at last, he finds Arjun on the battlefield, ready to fight for Dev. The children’s fiction book is published by Harper Collins in India is priced at INR 250. 

Sonal Sachdev Patel is a British born Indian Hindu who has graduated from Cambridge University with an award for academic excellence and has been meditating for over 25 years. Living with her family in North London she maintains strong ties with India via the charitable foundation that she runs –GMSP Foundation. As a social entrepreneur, Sonal endeavours to take well-known but complex social challenges and retell them in powerful ways that challenge convention; bringing acid attack survivors to the London catwalk in LFW and curating an ethical luxury fashion line to give a voice to Indian artisans. Through her work, she has also taken a leading role in the philanthropy space in the NRI community acting as an advisor to the Prince’s charity –British Asian Trust– and has been recognised for her work to stop gender violence in both India and the UK. She is also head of Global Partnerships an award-winning global initiative THINK EQUAL which due to the alarming statistics on children’s mental health is currently working across twelve countries to bring a system to change in education. 

Jemma Wayne is a Woman’s Prize listed author. After graduating from Cambridge University with an academic scholarship for her achievements in Social and Political Science before going on to obtain her PGDIP in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Westminster and becoming a journalist and writer Her work has featured in, amongst others, The Evening Standard, The Independent on Sunday, National Geographic, Red, Standard Issue and the Jewish Quarterly. Her debut novel After Before (Legend Press 2014) was, amongst others, long-listed for the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for fiction. Other books include; Chains of Sand (Legend Press 2016) and Bare Necessities (Piatkus 2004). She lives in North, London with her family. 

Together Sonal and Jemma personify the East meets West mix of this story. With a friendship that has spanned over thirty years, Sonal and Jemma have danced as toddlers in ballets together, studied alongside one another at Cambridge University and now have worked together on this epic story. With Sonal spear-heading Gita expertise and insight, and Jemma taking the lead on the book’s text, the result was a truly collaborative work, made all the more meaningful by the history and understanding between its creators. Each with two daughters, Sonal and Jemma are proud feminists and both strive to incorporate ways to speak out on important issues within their careers.

Event Itinerary
Friday 26 October 2:30 pm at CSMVS, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai.

Related Stories

No stories found.
Indulgexpress
www.indulgexpress.com