About the Book
A young boy waits in the balcony of a small apartment in central Calcutta as afternoon sets in; he waits for a beloved uncle who has promised to take him to the bookfair. An Indian woman in Paris tends to the demands of her household and children by day; but come night, she tends to the artist in her – or at least attempts to. A four-year old Indian child, who is confounded when her French friends in play school call her ‘patate pourrie’ looks to her immigrant Indian mother for an explanation; the young mother, already doing her best to walk the fine line between cultures and continents, searches for an answer.
In Violet is the color of my heart, Jinia Mukerjee captures complex human emotions emanating from everyday experiences and relationships. Most of the stories are set against the backdrop of France. They articulate strong diasporic voices, particularly of women and children, their longings for love and acceptance, their emotions and sensitivities around issues of multiculturalism, exile and, ultimately, their resilience. One finds in them impulses that transcend all realms of cultural diversity and at once speak across continents. A keen observer of subtleties in human behaviour, Mukerjee’s treatment of her themes is intensely visual, the personality of each of her characters woven in several layers. Her elegant prose infuses humour and emotion into the stories, effortlessly drawing readers into their compelling worlds.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jinia Mukerjee’s short stories focus on the unobserved, unexpressed and often unheeded nuances of human emotions and relationships.
Born in Kolkata (India) Jinia was trained as a Clinical Psychologist in Sydney, Australia, after which she moved to the south of France. She holds a PhD from SKema Business School, and a Doctorate in Science from Aix-Marseille Université, France. She has worked for the rehabilitation of mentally disadvantaged women in India, and as a research/clinical psychologist in Australia and France. Currently she works as a professor and a researcher in a Business School in France, and regularly publishes scholarly articles in the field of management, entrepreneurship and sociology of work.
Jinia’s short fictions and poetries have been published in Sahitya Academy’s journal Indian Literature, The Statesman’s festival and weekly editions, while her mental health awareness-raising articles have been published in magazines in France and Australia. Jinia has also co-authored an award-winning Italian book on the politics, aesthetics and the semiotics of the female body that was critically acclaimed and prominently featured in Elle.