‘Sreejib’ is the pen name of author Koel Ganguly. She chose ‘Sreejib’ as her pseudonym because it is her late husband’s name, who passed away in 2014.

She said, “It was he who wanted me to get Aqson published so it is only justified that I use his name as my pen name.”

The author explained the reason behind choosing this particular subject for her first book.

She said, “As a child, fantasies always interested me, I grew up reading books like ‘Paradise Lost’, ‘Dante’s Inferno’. For me there was no difference between the real and fantasy. I always thought that there is a rabbit hole and we will slip into it someday. This book also came out of these ideas.”

The book deals with the dichotomy of human mind, the choice between good and the evil. It tells the story of God and Lucifer.

The book explores the grey areas of a human being; it delves into the possibility of God being selfish and Lucifer being a little benevolent.

With the traits of God and Lucifer interchanging, human beings would have difficulty in choosing sides. But this book is about a game against the premise of Indian politics, which forces the reader to choose a side.

Saurabh Mukherjee, Vice President, Accenture, an author and a speaker, Dr. Jhuma Basak, psychoanalyst, Member IPA London and a public speaker and Nivedita Bhattacharya, lifeskills trainer, faculty member of University of West London for Speech, Drama and Oral Communications, were also present.

“Although the book is being described as an urban fantasy, it mixes many genres. If we delve a little deeper into the book, we would see it is as a commentary on the politics of India. It talks very subtly about the current political and social problems that India faces,” said Saurabh Mukherjee, who served as one of the panelists.

Panelist Nivedita Bhattacharya said, “The book is a page turner, and once you start you won’t be able to be stop. It keeps you on the edge of your seats and after you finish this one you can’t wait for the next one."

The second level of the book is scheduled to release before Durga Puja next year.

The book is available at all outlets of Starmark, all book stores in the city and on online platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon.

(Reporting by Tirna Chatterjee)