Featured Interview With Hemu Aggarwal
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hemu Aggarwal, artist, writer, and poet, was born in
Veraval, Gujarat State, India. She earned her Master’s
Degree (MFA) in graphic design from the City University
of New York. She came to the U.S. in 1966 for higher education.
Hemu has written several newspaper and magazine articles,
but this is her first attempt to translate hundreds of letters
and write a book.
She is an artist by profession. After graduation, she worked in graphic design firms in New York City for about ten years. She designed many album covers of famous singers,
such as the Beatles, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck,
Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Mantovani, and many hip-hop artists, including Grandmaster Flash and the Furious
Five, and The Sugarhill Gang. In 1980, she established her creative design firm, AQ Graphic Inc., in Rockland County, N.Y. She ran it successfully for over 25 years
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been reading books for many years. Written about 10 years ago.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Kazuo Ishiguro, Stieg Larsson, John Grisham,
Favorite genre: Science fiction, Mystery and Murder stories, Biography.
Can’t think of an author who inspires me.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am a new author who has just published a book.
The Forbidden Letters. A True Story.
The book includes 216 of the 500 century-old letters found in an attic. It tells the story of a young couple’s life, married when they were still teenagers, but lived apart intermittently for eight years. The letters describe their love for each other, the agony of separation, taboos of the times, and the hardships endured by women in a joint-family system. Crossing cultural, country, gender, and age boundaries, you take on a tumultuous 100-year journey from India to America, shedding the shackles of a joint family and allowing the next generation the freedom to chart their destinies.
A journey that starts in 1922 and finishes in 2022!
The Forbidden Letters, A True Story. Paperback, 400 pages. Now available on Amazon.com.
Visit my book page: https://www.facebook.com/theforbidden…
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