This Hyderabadi author knows no full stop even at 70
After writing two successful novels, Shyamola Khanna has released her third book, ‘From Mukherji to Malhotra’
Hyderabad: Age, they say, is just a number. While many neatly fold away their dreams after they attain the dreaded age of ’60’, there are others who never stop exploring life.
And 70-year-old Shyamola Khanna, a Hyderabad-based author, doesn’t let her age come in the way of realising her dreams. After writing two successful novels, the author released her third book, ‘From Mukherji to Malhotra’, last week.
Wife of an Indian Air Force fighter pilot, Shyamola has travelled almost the entire country along with her husband and experienced the military life first hand – both in war and peace – that greatly inspired her.
“It’s an adventure to be the wife of a fighter pilot. In fact, I was with him in Srinagar during the 1999 Kargil war. I have seen it all – the fun of travelling to new places, meeting new people, attending lavish military parties, seeing my husband going to war and dealing with the families of dead soldiers. Yes, it does have a downside, but if I get a chance to live it again, I would agree without blinking.”
These experiences have inspired Shyamola’s writing heavily. Her last two books – ‘Cow in Kargyll’ and ‘The Lahore Connection’ – were based around wives of Indian Air Force personnel. “My first book was a peep into the hectic turbulent life of an Air Force wife who is forever in the shadow of the larger than life persona of her husband. Whereas, ‘The Lahore Connection’ is a collection of 11 short stories of 11 remarkable women, mostly Air Force wives.”
The narrative of her latest book, ‘From Mukherji to Malhotra’, takes the readers through the story of two strong women. “The book is partly inspired by my own life. I am a Bengali, married to a Punjabi. So I understand the two cultures and communities,” shares the author, who has been living in Hyderabad after the demise of her husband, 12 years ago.
The author, who started her career as a teacher and still continues to teach new Army recruits, feels that each person is a storyteller. “We all meet so many people, and visit so many places. There are so many stories we encounter. I feel everyone has some story to tell. I observe things happening around me, get inspired and write about those things.”
Interestingly, Shyamola has explored many other hobbies over the years. “I don’t believe in retiring. I think I learnt that from my father. I remember he played tennis till he was about 90 years old,” she says, adding, “Apart from writing, I do some photography and travel a lot. You should live life until you are alive,” quips the author with a smile.
Not the one to stop, Shyamola has already started working on her fourth book, one which she claims is going to be difficult to write.
“The next one is quite sensitive. We have all written and read about women, who have been victims of domestic abuse. I wanted to talk about men who have been subjected to harassment and haven’t been able to talk about it. My work has already started and I have met quite a few people regarding the book. Those stories are heart-wrenching,” adds Shyamola.
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