Noted fiction author and food and lifestyle blogger Karan Puri launched his new book #MeToo – A collection of Short Stories. The book, which was launched on a popular e-commerce platform on June first week, 2020, is receiving good response from the readers and book fan community. Karan Puri’s has written this book during the Covid-9 lockdown period which gave him time to complete his latest book and release it all over the world through a popular e-commerce’s self publishing platform.
With #MeToo movement gained significance in late 2018, when Tanushree Dutta who took India by storm as she opened up about getting sexually harassed by some big names of tinsel town and also confronted them through the platform of social media. Soon many of other familiar names joined her tagging their #MeToo experiences. This book encompasses the life stories of not only celebs and public figures but also some extra-ordinary commoners.
Through this book, Karan Puri has tried to capture the mood of the nation on the MeToo issue through short stories which reveal the real side of the controversy to shock the readers while at the same they are inspired by encouraging stories of people narrated in the book.
Speaking on his new book, Karan Puri said, ““It was never easy to pen down the reality on papers on such a controversial and highly debated topic. I was always intrigued by the relationships between men and women. Society plays a major role in shaping up the mindset. It is this mindset which I wanted to change with my book. Cruelty and inhuman behaviour should be ridiculed and that is what made me share some personal stories of some sexual abuse survivors. It is always better to be vocal about the checkered past for a sound future and life, and I am glad that they chose to share what happened with them and how they dealt with their respective situations.”
The author delves deeper into deep dark stories and deepest crevices of scars of women as well as men, rural as well as urban, celebrities as well as common people; across age groups, financial backgrounds, educational and social credentials, and most importantly, genders, to bring to the fore real ‘MeToo’ stories of those who loosened their seals of silence… turning the ‘Shy’ to ‘Why???’.
The stories come from contributors as young as 16 years old to as old as 72. It is time to see the writers of these stories as more than victims, but as whom they really are: Survivors. Advocates, Mothers, Daughters, Sons, Friends, Brave, Bold, Courageous women & men. Each of these stories are incredibly different and unique, written from a human perspective, without wearing any glasses, that perceive only women as more vulnerable, men as more callous and vice versa.
Remembering the days of research, Karan said “Wanted to put my pen to its best use during this lockdown, and had the responsibility of sharing the real Metoo stories. The stories are not only real but life changing as well. I was moved to the core while doing in-depth research on this ultra-sensitive topic but also realized that some of them have come a long way and evolved leaving behind their dark past.”
In our life there is an equal importance of day and light. Akin to them are success and failure, they seek at par emphasis. Showcasing only positives cannot be the complete story and this book is indeed so close to reality of our society.
About the Book
The book is a miniature of human life as it comprises real life sentiments. Readers can feel this book close to their life as they continue floating between emotions like dreams, passion, love, betrayal etc. just like in real life. The foreword of the book has been written by Padma Shree awardee & top photo journalist, Shri Raghu Rai.
It talks about speaking up for oneself irrespective of their age, gender, profession and financial background etc. #MeToo comes as an eye-opener for the people who think it is okay to be hurt when it is not. In India, where individuals and institutions give tremendous amounts of significance to respect and social image, living with a hampered self-esteem is so wrong.
The book highlights that every human is eligible for a personal space. Anybody violating the pre-defined boundary is disrespecting and harming that individual space of yours which is nothing but a serious crime.
There is no denying that there is no place for violence in any relationship, be it professional or personal. Molestation or sexual harassment is probably the worst kind of violence against an individual. It has to be stopped and it is high time that people stop hiding their experiences. Because when a person chooses to keep mum against the crime done against him, he/she accepts defeat. In such a scenario, this person compromises with his or her self-respect.
Author has come up with these stories just to make people who have ever gone through something of the kind, feel alive. It is okay if it happened with you too as it was not your fault and you are as deserving as others to lead a baggage free life. It is time to transfer the weight of their wrong doings to the doers.
About the Author
Karan Puri is a best-selling fiction author and freelance writer in Lifestyle for various publications. His first work was published in 2012 as a fiction novel named “Shit Happens- A desi boy in America”. His debut novel was a best seller and it also grossed a mention in India Today Top 20 books in the publishing year. A former marketing professional with corporate experiences in Coca-Cola and Ernst & Young to name a few is a widely known lifestyle blogger and prominent food influencer.
He runs a digital marketing business and is an active blogger for over a decade span. A chain of striking incidences during these years brought him again to pen and paper. He realized his writing potential can be best used to transform lives deeply. This proved to be a life-changing moment for him and the glorified journey continues.
