Shobhaa Dé, one of India’s highest selling authors and a popular social commentator, was at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) on November 22, 2015 at it’s Campus A in Dhanmondi. She attended Dhaka Lit Fest and ULAB was one of the gold partners of this festival.
Professor Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor of ULAB welcomed everyone with his welcome speech.
In the discussion Shobhaa De is called “the Jackie Collins of India”. But personally, the writer herself does not like the title and insists that, unless an author in the western literature is called “The Arundhati Roy of America”, she won’t accept this title.
Shobhaa De started her career as a model in the age of 17. But modeling was never an option for permanent occupation. She always had a love for words and that inspired her to do something within that category. So instead of choosing the obvious occupation as a model/ actress, she became an editor. In her book “Spouse”, Shobhaa De said that she believes marriage is a sacred bond between two people who wants to live their lives together, regardless of cast, creed, religion or nationality. On the topic of Patriarchy, Shobhaa De believes that women needs to be stopped being called victims and stand up for herself.
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In the interactive session, Shobhaa De was impressed by the audience of the fest who were so eager, enthusiastic and engaged with literature. The motivational speech was aimed at driving the students towards achieving their dreams. Besides students, Mr. Kazi Nabil Ahmed M.P and BoT member of ULAB; Ms. Ameenah Ahmed, BoT member of ULAB; faculty and admin members were also present at the program.
About Shobhaa De
Shobhaa was voted by Reader’s Digest as one of ‘India’s Most Trusted People’ and one of the ’50 Most Powerful Women in India’ by Daily News and Analysis, Shobhaa Dé is one of India’s highest selling authors and a popular social commentator. Her Works comprising both fiction and non-fiction have been featured in comparative literature courses at universities abroad and in India. Her writing has been translated into many regional languages as well as French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. She was born as Shobha Rajadhyaksha to a Saraswat Brahmin family in Maharastra, India. She was brought up in Mumbai and studied in St Xavier’s College. She started her career as a model along with Zeenat Aman, the famous Bollywood start of the 70s and 80s.
After making her name as a model, she began a career in journalism in 1970, during the course of which she founded and edited three magazines—Stardust, Society, and Celebrity. In the 80s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of The Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life in Mumbai lifestyles of the celebrities.
Shobhaa De runs four weekly columns in mainstream newspapers, including The Times of India and Asian Age. She has been the writer of several popular soaps on television, including India’s second daily serial, Swabhimaan (first is Shanti).
