Dateline Dehradun: Conversations on identity, purpose, the stories we tell ourselves about success, and authentic living took centre stage in Dehradun as a like-minded group of readers, writers, and members of the town’s literary community gathered for the book reading session of The Unbecoming: Let Life Reveal Its Purpose by Kartikeya Vajpai.
Held in collaboration with the Valley of Words (VoW) International Literature & Arts Festival the event featured an engaging conversation between the author and Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Festival Director of Valley of Words.
Speaking at the event, author, lawyer and former state-level cricketer Kartikeya Vajpai felt honoured to be in Dehradun and thanked all those who had made the event possible. Speaking about the book, the author stated, “ the book does not seek to provide definitive answers, but it encourages readers to embrace uncertainty. The unbecoming is a philosophy, you are born complete but you suffer from the fear of being incomplete.” He further added, “Fear and Greed are complimentary, which are the true weapons of Maya.”
Featuring forewords by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Swami Sarvapriyananda, The Unbecoming is a fiction book that explores the emotional and philosophical dimensions of modern life through the story of Siddharth, a celebrated cricketer, and Ajay, his mentor. Speaking at the event, the author expressed how when it came to give messages to the masses, every religion took to story-telling. He called the book his guru as it took him through different dimensions and concepts while writing The Unbecoming.
The hour-long interactive discussion examined how the universal themes of identity, fear, ambition, and the burden of expectations resonate in contemporary life. Dr. Sanjeev Chopra expressed his happiness at the author for choosing Dehradun, a city known for its tradition of knowledge for a discussion around his maiden debut. He asked all those present to delve deeper into the book to take away life lessons, irrespective of their age.
The event concluded with an audience interaction, book-signing session, along with a short melodious rendition by singer Bobby Cash and a presentation of the 30th Edition of Garhwal Post by Actor-Editor Satish Sharma to the author and discussant.
