Shaurya Arya-Kanojia is the author of the novella, End of the Rope (published by Locksley Hall Publishing), which was featured in the Pune Lit Fest and has fetched positive reviews on platforms like Amazon and Goodreads. He is part of the editorial team of Ayaskala, an Indian literary magazine aimed at spreading awareness about mental health, and some of his poetry and flash and short fiction have appeared/are going to appear in literary magazines and journals including the likes of Cabinet of Need, The Babel Tower Notice Board, Tealight Press, Speculate This, and All Ears.
His foray into the literary scene was marked by his debut novella, End of the Rope. Labelled as a psychological thriller, the book takes us through what seems to be an unassuming conversation between the two central protagonists – Advana Naidu and Taishna Sen – only to realise, as the story ploughs onward, there’s something more sinister and ominous at play here. Flipping through the pages of the book, each one which adds a new element to the two characters, is like peeling off one layer after another. With each chapter, you learn something more about them; something that will change the way you look at the characters. The book is intriguing, riveting, and draws the reader deeper into it as the mystery unravels brick by brick. At the end, after the lives of the characters lay bare in front of the reader, it becomes difficult to ascertain who’s better than the other. And that is what makes the book a tantalising read. We realise that both, with their own perspectives and ways of looking at the world, are flawed (just like all of us are), their insecurities raw and their hopes seldom overambitious, and both have trudged through difficult terrains in their relationships. The lies and the secrets the two are hiding from each other, woven intricately into the story, culminate into a final jaw-dropping finish.
On the professional front, Shaurya holds more than nine years of experience in the content development industry. He is currently working as a Senior Counsellor (creative team) at Collegepond, an educational consulting outfit. His professional experience also encompasses working in the capacity of a Content Writer and writing and editing articles pertaining to a range of genres. It was whilst his undergraduate education that he first discovered his inclination towards writing. Even though, as someone who started reading religiously quite late in life, he was yet to be introduced to the likes of Stephen King, JK Rowling/Robert Galbraith, Steig Larsson and Gillian Flynn (still a decade or so away from breaking into the literary scene with her first book), all of who have in some way or another inspired and influenced both him and his style of writing, he tried his hand at story-writing through his first short story; a naïve yet definitive attempt at fiction writing, which only served to bolster his motivation in honing his craft. At the same time, he also took up several freelance projects, writing articles about off-beat topics in travel, arts and lifestyle, whilst in college.
Other than literature – more modern/contemporary than classical – he has a profound love for cinema, which, he revisits, is what initially sowed the seed of his interest in storytelling. Even though this was way before Netflix arrived in India, his adoration for the art that is moviemaking was headstrong. He developed a strong liking for Alfred Hitchcock, Anurag Kashyap and David Fincher, and continues to admire them for their directorial endeavours.
When not at his job, he likes to explore the array of cafes and eating joints in and around the city or crawl back in his shell, drink cups after cups of Masala Tea, and watch reruns of The Office and Everybody Loves Raymond. He also maintains a blog, where some of his other work can be read: www.kathakahaani.wordpress.com. He lives with his family in New Delhi.
Knife attack in southern Sweden , eight injured
