Monday, 04 September 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
An informal discussion on the book ‘Covid Blues’ written in Hindi by senior IPS officer Amit Srivastava was held at the Doon Library and Research Centre here on Sunday. Noted writers and book lovers expressed their views during the discussion. Conducting the discussion, Information department joint director Nitin Upadhyaya gave a brief introduction of the book. He sought to know about the creative process which the author went through while writing the book. Expressing his views, the author said that initially he just started writing without imagining what shape it would finally take. He said that it was basically what he wrote in a diary and social media in the days of suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On being asked by senior writer Ashok Pandey about the relevance of this book he said that barring a couple of works written in the 13th century on the plague in England, few books of this kind have been written on any epidemic. Other participants in the discussion opined that the book vividly depicts the panic, fear and mental condition of the people during the Covid pandemic.Writer Manoj Pandey from Delhi said that the book reflects the behaviour of humans and social psychology during the pandemic. IAS officer and writer Lalit Mohan Rayal said that Srivastava brings challenges and opportunities for the readers in each of his works.
