After a five-year hiatus, writer and columnist Twinkle Khanna unveiled her fourth book, ‘Welcome to Paradise’, a collection of short stories. Welcome to Paradise is a collection of short stories centred around women at a crossroads in their lives and dealing with themes around marriage, parenthood, death, loneliness and love – all written with Khanna’s trademark humour and wry observations. These stories are, in one way or another, homage to her Ismaili nani and the world she inhabited.
Twinkle Khanna launched her book ‘Welcome to Paradise’ at Taj Lands End, Bandra with Rendezvous by The Chambers. At the launch of the book, Khanna was in conversation with Karan Johar with readings by Shabana Azmi, Kiara Advani and Vidya Balan who read out passages from ‘Welcome to Paradise’. The witty repartee and friendly banter kept the room abuzz.
Talking about her new book, Twinkle Khanna shares, “Welcome to Paradise is a collection of stories that explores the depths of heartbreak, relationships, and deception. And yes, it does have pigs and penises as promised, among all the love, lust, laughter and loneliness.”
Supporting the book were Twinkle’s friends and family such as Akshay Kumar, Dimple Kapadia, Jackie Shroff, Rinke Khanna & Sameer Saran, Tahira Kashyap Khurana, Sonali Bendre, Simone Khan, Nandita Mahtani, Homi Adajania, Dabboo Ratnani, Farah Khan Ali, Lillete Dubey, Karan Kapadia, Gayatri Oberoi, Harsh Goenka, Tanya Deol, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Abhishek & Pragya Kapoor & Anu Dewan.
During this interlude, Khanna completed an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London, acquiring an exceptional distinction for her final thesis, and got longlisted by the university for the prestigious Pat Kavanagh Prize.
Welcome to Paradise is a testament to her constant evolution as a storyteller.
About the book:
Rich narratives that explore the depth of loneliness, heartbreak and deception. Huma’s divided family – Team Cemetery and Team Crematorium – clash hilariously over matters involving pigs and penises as they decide what to do with Amma’s body. Madhura Desai writes an email to the chief justice of India, urging him to choose a ‘nice cut-off age’ to die, sending shockwaves across the nation. Along the shores of Satpati, Nusrat grapples with the loss of her son, and her voice. Amita tells her husband about her breast implants but not about Bua, Bangalore and beautiful men.
