Who can judge a diary?

The personal jotting of a heart struck by cupid, the hopes, the emotions, the euphoria! But in the cruel real world, someone has to. And this year, Chandrima Pal has graciously agreed to take upon the delicate task.

chandrimaChandrima Pal is a journalist, writer & editor based in Mumbai. She comes from a family of noted Indian classical music maestros.

After graduating from Presidency College, Calcutta, she started her career as a radio jockey, playing from AIR’s fabulous LP collection, covering everything from classical symphonies to pop, rock and soul. She took a break to pursue her Masters in English, before she became a full-time journalist and has been one for the last 15 years. Chandrima has headed teams of journalists, met world leaders, interviewed legends, travelled for hard news stories, been a gossip columnist and written on everything from fashion to food, wildlife to starvation.

Several of her short stories have been published in anthologies and e-magazines. A Song for I is her debut novel. Samit Basu, author of Simoqin Prophecies, has written that A Song For I is “a complex ragas-to-riffs tale which weaves a melody that will linger with you long after you turn the last page”. The book was recently unveiled with much fanfare by Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali at a Mumbai bookstore.

Chandrima is now working on her second book, which marries her experience as a tabloid journalist with her love for the macabre.

You can find out more about her and her book on www.chandrimapal.com