Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
Book-ed with glamour and glitterati
The latest to enter the flourishing contemporary literary landscape is the debutant novelist Raisha Lalwani with her title, The Diary on the Fifth Floor published by Rupa Publications. The launch of the book was graced by stalwarts from different spheres. The cover of the book was unveiled by the Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor, who also went on to participate in a panel discussion — moderated by Shantanu Roy — with Raisha. Union Minister General VK Singh and singer-politician Babul Supriyo were all praises for the budding author. Also providing strong support to the author with their presence, were Raisha's husband, businessman Himanshu Lalwani, and his father Ashok Lalwani. They felicitated all the guests of honour. Raisha’s debut into fiction has created quite a buzz in literary circles, something that Rupa Publications MD Kapish Mehra, too, spoke about. The author has come in for praise for experimenting with a challenging genre. Dignitaries from across India also graced the event. Prominent among them were Mumbai-based celebs Smita Parikh, founder and director, Lit-o-fest, Mumbai; novelist and filmmaker Pankaj Dubey; and actor Manjot Singh. The launch was followed by a performance by musicians from Coke Studio. It was a full house in the Shahjahan Hall of The Taj Palace, New Delhi, making it a perfect launch, as the author and Sonam Kapoor were seen discussing snippets from the book.