I met Anuja Chauhan!!!!

You know one of those awesome moments when you get to meet one of your favourite authors? Being The Perennial Reader, I had surprisingly never met any of mine. And then one day I saw a way to remedy that. Anuja Chauhan was the author of the month for Reading Hour in Atta Galatta, Bangalore. I grabbed my best friend and rushed to this fascinating place on the set date.

Now, Anuja Chauhan is one of those authors whose works I recommend to all my friends. You can ask them. If they know me, they would have read her books. :P I have already written an entire post as to why I think her books are awesome and I actually got the chance to tell her this in person. *Pause for jumping around in glee*

The evening began with my friend and I entering this paradise-like place which is both a bookstore and a café. They also hold a number of literary events. Totally my kinda place right?

Andaleeb Wajid, the author of Kite Strings, Blinkers Off, My Brother’s Wedding, among others hosts the Reading Hour every month where she interacts with various authors, latest being Anuja Chauhan.

The event was to begin at 6.30. My friend and I had reached at 6 just so we wouldn’t miss any part of the event with my copies of her books in tow. Who misses such a golden opportunity for an autograph, right??

Anuja Chauhan walked in (my friend and I are star-struck) and greeted the storeowners and Andaleeb Wajid. She sat at a table where people started handing out books for her to sign. My friend and I joined the queue. As soon as she looked up at us when it was our turn, she gave us a big smile and said “Hi!” I think it’s safe to say that both my friend and I began gushing about being huge fans ever since she started writing and that we’re still in love with Dylan Singh Shekhawat. She laughed and said “Thank you so much!” and signed all my copies happily. We also got to pose for photographs with her. :D

We took our seats for the chat session right after. Andaleeb Wajid asked super interesting questions and Anuja Chauhan gave both witty and some hilariously funny answers. It’s so easy to see how she comes up with such great humour in her books. When the audience could ask questions, I mentioned how her books always feature high on my reread list and asked which books appear on her list. She said that it is the highest compliment for an author to be reread and that A Suitable Boy, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Catch 22 and Meg Cabot’s books feature on her list. The audience posed other really interesting questions to which she happily replied.

My friend and I got some more pictures with her at the end of the session and we walked out of the store with stars in our eyes and happiness in our hearts.

Until the next time then,

The Perennial Reader J