Book Launch: Life of an Industani: Six Degrees of Separation, by author Shiv Kunal Verma, organised by BluOne Ink

Shiv Kunal Verma’s Life of an Industani: Six Degrees of Separation, recently published by BluOne Ink, is a roller-coaster ride with a contemporary look at Indian history through the eyes of one who has had a ring-side view of the critical events in the 80s and 90s.

on Dec 30, 2022

Book Launch: Life of an Industani: Six Degrees of Separation

New Delhi: An army historian, filmmaker, and author Shiv Kunal Verma whose new book Life of an Industani: Six Degrees of Separation was in a fireside chat with Gen. (Retd) VK Singh and Lt. Gen. (Retd) Rakesh Loomba on the incidents of the recent history of India that have huge ramifications on the present of the country including Operation Blue Star, Siachen tradeoff and militancy in Kashmir.

The event took place at IIC Annexe, New Delhi where an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Bibek Debroy was the chief guest. Dr. Debroy mentioned that the book is a candid autobiography and Shiv Kunal Verma’s life has taken interesting turns. It is not the kind of book that you can read on a flight since it’s a book that deserves to be read seriously.

During the chat, General VK Singh's views on the conflict of Siachen and Operation Blue Star of 1984 which left the country in a sheer jolt were revelations that the current generation too needs to know of.

Shiv Kunal Verma, the author of this book stated that this book was an attempt to tell the story from the point of view of the events that happened. He has closely experienced war and life that included protecting a beleaguered family from a murderous mob during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 with a Beretta 9mm, filming on the Siachen Glacier, surviving an ambush by Nagas in the northeastern jungles, interviewing armed Kashmiri militants, and much more.

About the Author

Born into an army family - more precisely 2 Rajput which was his father’s battalion - the author’s early childhood was tempered by the fact that most soldiers were then mostly away from home posted in field areas. Brought up under the watchful eye of a remarkable mother, after his initial schooling at St Joseph’s Academy and a year at Fort Benning in the United States, he was sent to the Doon School, an institution that would shape his entire outlook towards life. Having then graduated from Madras Christian College in Tambaram, his initial years were spent working with Tiger Tops Mountain Travel in Ladakh and Nepal.

Subsequently a journalist, a filmmaker and a writer, he has worked briefly with India Today, the Associated Press and with Sanctuary Films before he teamed up with his associate Dipti Bhalla and formed KaleidoIndia, under which banner some classic films like Salt of the Earth and the Standard Bearers were shot and produced. In 1999 he filmed the Kargil War and in the last decade and a half, has authored some exceptional books that include the Northeast Trilogy, 1962: The War That Wasn’t and 1965: A Western Sunrise. He is now working on the seminal Value Education Program for schools that aims at bringing India to Indians especially at the school and college levels.