Those interested in knowing more about the Doon Valley must read “Memories of Another Day” authored by senior journalist and writer Jaskiran Chopra. This was the view of eminent personalities from varied fields attending a reading session on the book here in Dehradun on Tuesday.
Expressing his views on the subject of the book, veteran journalist and author Raj Kanwar said, “I have been living in Dehradun for 70 years now and in the last 15 years my heart cries at what is happening to Doon. We loved Doon as it was in the past- a quaint peaceful town of grey hairs and green hedges. There was a time when homes in Dalanwala area had green hedges instead of the boundary walls that stand now. However, this and the varied aspects of old Dehradun have been expressed in an organic style by
Jaskiran. Urdu Shayari has also been interspersed among the stories in an appropriate manner. While going through the book, it occurred to me that I too could have written this book but then it would not have the beauty of expression that she has exhibited by writing a book that no one else could have written,” he opined.
Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Hammad Farooqui of The Doon School’s Hindi department said, “My view on nostalgia differs from the author’s view as I think dwelling on it makes one conceited and sad because we also have sad memories. When she gave me this book, I was initially hesitant to read it lest it evoke a feeling of despair. However, this book has the fragrance of the Basmati rice, litchi and tea- the soil of Doon, for which the town was known. The author has not presented dry facts but merged memories with history to come up with a book which gives relief and hope not depression to the reader. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about Doon,” he said.
Former State director general of police Aloke B lal said, “The idea of writing a book on nostalgia can be difficult to address but Jaskiran has put her nostalgia and thoughts in an interesting manner in this book. At a time when Urdu language is slowly but surely vanishing, she has written an entire chapter based on Urdu Shayari which made the book all the more interesting for me,” he said. lal also read out passages from the book on the occasion.
Hindustan Times, Dehradun bureau chief Anupam Trivedi said that he had found every story he had read so far in the book very interesting. He said, “She has written precisely about Doon in a manner that evokes feelings old residents of towns like Dehradun, Nainital, Mussoorie and Shimla can associate with. The stories in this book reminded me of the fragrance of autumn she mentions and how my birthplace Nainital was in the past. Additionally, all the stories in this book are comparatively short, making it more readable to a person like me who is otherwise not much into reading books on such subjects,” he added.
Thanking the gathering for attending the book-reading session, the author said, “The book is about nostalgia but also about a world that we have lost. Such aspects of Doon Valley are gone now but I wanted to capture these by penning down my memories in this book. At a time when we see change occurring daily on a physical level, one can still enjoy the charm of old Doon Valley in these stories,” she said. The Pioneer, Dehradun’s senior feature writer Anupma Khanna also read out passages from “Memories of Another Day” published by Investcare Publications Private limited on the occasion.