Beyond the City Lights

The calmness at the exterior, many a times hides the turbulence from deep within. This phenomenon of nature applies to earth, water, fire, wind and even the humans are not oblivious from its impact. After all, our core configuration is through all these elements of nature.

Mr Sen at the age of 73 years is an inspiration for all those who had known him. His sudden death due to a severe heart attack is a complete shock. His only son, Subhankar along with his family lives in America. Sen's wife Shobha died a few years prior, thus leaving behind nothing much to call a family in Mumbai city or elsewhere. Still, there are many in his close circle that love him and admire his virtues. His human connect was phenomenal and he associated with people of all age groups. Rahul is one of his latest admirers who had known him during the last three months of his life. An associate professor of sociology in a leading American university, Rahul had come to India on a project under cross exchange program between the two countries for a period of six months. Through Rea, who was his childhood friend and Mr Sen's daughter-in-law, he had met the dynamic person whom he addressed, as Uncle Sen.

Sen had not only assisted Rahul to settle down in Mumbai but also had always been forthcoming regarding any help. He had in fact met Anjali through Uncle Sen and had finally fallen in love. Anjali worked with an NGO for the welfare of the underprivileged children and Mr Sen over the years had been almost like a father figure to her. When Subhankar rushed to India for the cremation of his father, Rahul stood by the family for all possible assistance. On Subhankar and Rea's insistence, he agreed to occupy Mr Sen's residence for three months, until his departure. This would give the family the interim time to plan the final disposal of the property.

Rahul gets to know more about Mr Sen after his death. All was perhaps not too well with the elderly person. He had his own secret world beyond the visual reach of the city lights. The book covers chilling details of a man attempting to fill up his emptiness on ashes of memories, which ideally should have timely been disposed. Unveiling the secrets of Mr Sen becomes important for Rahul and even to each one of us? as there are many like Mr Sen who live amongst us, covering up the fury of their emotional turmoil under the calmness of their exterior. Perhaps, a 'Sen' also lives in your close proximity, only short from being identified and timely helped...

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Mohit Nayal was born in Dehradun and later joined to serve the Indian Army. He is an alumni of Cambrian Hall School. Mohit graduated from Delhi University and subsequently completed his Masters and PhD from HNB Garhwal University. The topic of his thesis during PhD was ?Central Asia in Post Cold War Period: Problems and Prospects in Reference to Islamic Fundamentalism.? The Invisible Wall of China was his first strategic book on Chinese ethnic problems, published through the USI in 2012. In 2013, he compiled a coffee table book of an army formation deployed within five states of northeast. His first fiction was Enigmatic Northeast, published in 2014. He quite actively contributes strategic articles on China and Pakistan in various National and International journals.

Beyond the City Lights is his second book in the fiction category. Mohit Nayal currently divides his time between Dehradun and Jalandhar. He is married to Smita and has a twelve years old son ? Abhiraj