The beautiful and touching description in this book of how life was in the past in Dehradun and Mussoorie will compel the reader to think of nature. Uttarakhand Governor Dr Krishan Kant Paul said this after launching Memories of Another Day, a book on the vanishing old world charm of the Doon valley and Mussoorie authored by senior journalist Jaskiran Chopra and brought out by Investcare Publication.
Speaking at the launch held in the Raj Bhawan on Friday, the Governor congratulated the author and publisher for bringing out the collection of stories he described as “a trip in nostalgia”.
He said, “Reading this book, one will come to know how beautiful Dehradun and Mussoorie were in the past. The stories in the book, along with the photographs, evoke a world that is now retreating and many of the things talked about by the author can no longer be seen or experienced.
The remarkable string running through this book is the feeling which the author has put in the book. Her book also shows the author’s sensitivity and skill of shaping poetry into prose. The book is quite touching. The Urdu couplets scattered among the pages also reveal the author’s talent for Urdu Shayari which is another thing becoming more of a nostalgia with no new Shayars or books being seen nowadays. The beautiful and touching description in this book will compel the reader to think of nature. This books needs to be projected properly also because it brings out the essence of what life was in Dehradun,” said the Governor.
Speaking on the occasion, the author, who is also a senior journalist with The Pioneer, thanked the Governor for launching the book at the highly revered venue of Raj Bhawan.
She said, “This book is especially for the people of Dehradun and Mussoorie where changes in the past 10-15 years make this book more about what we have lost. Nostalgia is the theme of the book. There was a time when nostalgia was defined as a sickness experienced by people living away from home but now instead of depressive connotation, we know to associate nostalgia with happiness. The purpose of writing this book is to ensure that these memories of Dehradun and Mussoorie in days of yore are not forgotten. The stories will make the reader see how beautiful a place Dehradun was in the past. There have been drastic changes and the beautiful aspects of the past cannot come back but one can still enjoy that through this book,” she said.
The book is an anthology of stories/ articles based on the theme of nostalgia revolving around the author’s memories of the Doon valley, Mussoorie and some other places and people in her life, including her parents, teachers and her alma mater.
In the foreword to the book, noted writer Ruskin Bond says, “The faded beauty of the Doon valley is a theme that runs through a good part of this book and regret jostles with rapid change. Her nostalgia goes beyond the valley and its surroundings. Old films, charismatic film stars, old melodies, old libraries, old book shops, old teachers, old bazaars, old style journalism and advertising and the old radio are all recalled fondly by the author. looking back could not have been done better.”