My readers and MSian friends must be remembering that more than six years back, I had penned a blog and informed that the Hindi novel which I had been penning was finally complete and published as e-book. The name of the novel which is a murder mystery or whodunit is Qatl Ki Aadat (habit to murder). One MSian friend Geetashree Chatterjee ( @GEETA1963) was the inspiration to write this novel and also the source of its title. Herself and another MSian friend Mukund ( @Toothless) reviewed it too on this forum which has given me a lot, truly. But!
But getting it published on paper was a Herculian task which attempted at but did not pursue vigorously as mainly I had written it for my inner satisfaction for one thing and also that the publishers were non-responsive. Though reputed English authoress Rasna Atreya had given me the tip worth a fortune - knock every door, I could act upon it for publication of the novel as e-book only and not as paperback.
Years passed. I had penned that novel due to being passionate about it and due to not being able to feel the same way, could not pen another one. The e-book copies of the novel were sold through some relevant platforms on internet and I had got feedback of the readers too. I never really bothered for its publication on paper.
However my daughter had a strong feeling that the novel authored by her father should be published on paper and available to the prospective readers in the form of a book which could be read by holding it in hands or putting on some table / desk / mattress (if the reader likes reading a book while lying in bed). Hence this year, I made up my mind and started my efforts in this regard by contacting various publishers. My genuine friend Parag Dimri helped me in this regard and finally Srishti Prakashan of Chandigarh has published it as paperback. It's available on Amazon whose link is as follows:
https://amazon.in/-/hi/Jitendra-Mathur/dp/9390814200/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XX24HIAKJJXI&keywords=qatal+ki+aadat&qid=1674879263&s=digital-text&sprefix=qatal+ki+aadat%2Cdigital-text%2C461&sr=1-1
This Hindi novel is a whodunit set in an industrial town where the main industry is a government owned power generation plant. It's a small town with some villages nearby and the nearest city being some 50 kilometres away. The story opens with the murder of a known bad character to be followed by some other murders after a couple of days. The investigating officer is a sub-inspector of police and the incharge of the local police chowki. Being very young and inexperienced but very sincere and committed, he goes on with his investigation. However with one after another murder taking place in the town, he hardly gets any time to understand the things properly. Quite naturally, the murderer is unmasked and the mystery gets unravelled in the end only with the reason behind the murders being something that none could have imagined.
I have always been indebted to MS and my MSian friends for allowing my writing skills to bloom and giving me immense confidence in this regard. I dedicate this achievement of myself to them only.
