Destiny'S Flower
Kajoli Khanna
Captivating and introspective. Suresh Jindal, Film Producer and Bestselling Author Destiny's Flowers ushers us through the journeys of Urmilla, Pema and Atish, who unwittingly find their destinies intertwined. Urmilla is an art restorer whose mission to revive priceless artworks in the Fort of Joji is overturned by a brutal and puzzling midnight assault. To unravel the mystery and conquer the paralytic fear that ensues she embarks on a spiritual voyage. Under the garb and demeanour of a Buddhist nun, Pema conceals a past that forces her to question her ethics as she wrestles with the burden of her deeds. Atish is the indulged hero of a slum, who achieves the unattainable' but cannot hold on to his good fortune. He must plunge into troubled waters, face the consequences of his cowardly actions to prove himself. As the characters are thrust in each others' paths a story full of surprises unfolds. Frailty and courage, generosity and meanness, grace and effrontery appear in the most unexpected of places. We savour three unique perspectives, as the novel takes us from a fairytale fort in a financial mess to a class clash in a Bengali household; from the soothing environs of Buddhist monasteries to the cacophony of the overpopulated slums.
After a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the Delhi University, Kajoli Khanna moved to Switzerland, where she completed a degree in Fashion and Interior Design. Having consummated varied design projects in Delhi, she began to work with the Ashraya creches for underprivileged children in 1997 and also studied to be a counsellor at the Banjara Academy in Bengaluru. She has since continued to work extensively with a number of institutions for underprivileged children in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. She has also published another book: Afterbirth and Other Stories.