About Me

It is hard to sum up a life of 38 years in a few words. More so, when you have to showcase the best bits without making it sound like a boast or worse, a delusional monologue of a self obsessed, egotistical, and so-full-of-herself author, artist and poet. Yet, I am all of those things—the author, artist and poet I mean. And like a story, the best way to start is at the beginning. So here is my tale—It is just an ordinary story but a true one.

I was born in a small village in Kerala at an Ancestral home, not a hospital. My mother tells me that everyone predicted that I would be a boy and would be born on 25th December and I should be called Jesus Christ. But I guess I am not the kind who waits for Christmas and I didn’t want to be so holy, so out I popped on the 21st itself. Luckily they did not name me Jesus. They did not name me Lakshmi, Parvati or Saraswati either, which were the names my grandmother suggested. They named me Preeti instead which means ‘Love’. My friends tell me that it sums up my personality well.

My childhood was characterised by constant changes. My dad had a transferable corporate job in one of India’s biggest oil companies. So my childhood was spread over six different cities and small towns, all over India in a span of 14 years. I learnt to make friends easily. I also learnt that to leave friends behind, does not mean it is the end of a friendship. Every place I went to, I had to ‘prove myself’ to be accepted. Schoolchildren can be cruel that way. Every place I went to, my accent would be different from the others, my clothes would be different and I was always the ‘new girl’. Not everyone was friendly and welcoming like the children you read about in Enid Blyton’s books. So I took part in every competitive opportunity that the schools I went to, provided. I had to prove myself every time, over and over again. It was a lot of hard work, but it was definitely worth it. I won many prizes in Public speaking, Debates, Poetry writing, Elocution, Dumb-charades, Short story writing, Art, Collage making. I also took an active part in sports and represented my region thrice at National level basketball. I also represented my region in volleyball at district level. I took part in school athletics too and won there too.

I also learnt to speak six different languages and grew to enjoy the culture, the cuisine and the whole experience that a new place offered.

College was partly in Kerala and partly in Mumbai. Many different courses interested me and I have several degrees and diplomas. They are too many to list and they also include an all India first rank in a Post Graduate Diploma in Public relations and Advertising. But honestly, I do believe that the best teacher is a teacher called life. And you really have learnt nothing, nothing of value that is, till you become a parent!

On 17th of March 1995, my life changed dramatically, though I had no idea it would when I woke up that morning. It seemed just another ordinary day but it was not. It was the day I met the love of my life, Satish. I was really not planning to get married. I was busy working and having fun (going to movies, going out on fun trips, going to discos with friends and generally living a carefree life) like any 23 year old. But when I met Satish, it was like a ‘click’ you hear when the key turns. I had never felt a connection like this with anyone else before. (Yes, it sounds like a clichéd romantic film but that is how it happened). We talked and we talked and we talked some more. It was as though I couldn’t get enough of him. He too felt the same way about me. Forty days later we were married. (I wasn’t kidding when I said we couldn’t get enough of each other) Fifteen years later, we are still married, and now we have two children as well. Our son is twelve and our daughter is eight.

On 7th September 2006, another event happened which altered the course of my life—this time it was a sad one. I lost my dad, all of a sudden and my world collapsed. I struggled to cope with the grief. I began blogging, something that I had never done before. My words began pouring in torrents, like the Indian monsoons. It was a flood, a deluge. Oddly they comforted many even though I was writing primarily for myself. I began getting many mails. The readers of my blog grew like an inverted pyramid, gradually but steadily. My blog skyrocketed to ‘Top blogs’ in the Indian blogosphere. I started getting a lot of response internationally too. My writings had transcended geographical boundaries and touched feelings which are universal.

Around this time, I began writing articles for Times of India and Readers Digest. I also wrote poetry which struck a chord in many hearts, some of which was published. People began writing to me, asking me to put my posts into a book. Being an author was something I always only had dreamt about. But the encouragement and overwhelming response I got from my blog finally goaded me to write to a few publishers. The result was ‘34 Bubblegums and Candies’ which was launched in October 2008. My publishers now tell me that it has gone into a 5th reprint and subsequent issues will have a ‘National best-seller’ tag.

The last chapter in my book explains in detail how the book came to be.

I am now working on my second book which will soon be done. It is a full length fiction, a love story which is inspirational too and is set in the eighties, in India.

My Art and my Poetry continue to remain my refuge, a place where I escape when being a full time mother and devoted wife gets too much for me! I need my Art and my poetry as much as I need my husband and children. They balance out each other nicely, I think!

This in short, is my story so far!

Preeti Shenoy

April 2010