Superstar Anil Kapoor launched Bhawana Somaaya’s book Letters to Self, translated from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarati book of poetry, and published by Fingerprint! Publishing

Mumbai, 21 October 2022 – Bhawana Somaaya, an esteemed film journalist, historian and author, along with actor Anil Kapoor, launched her latest bookLetters to Self, the English translation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s book of poetry, at The Club Mumbai. The afternoon was filled with poetry recitation, conversations, and a general bonhomie amongst the guests.  

The book, published by Fingerprint! Publishing, is a collection of poems that were originally published in Gujarati under the title Aankh Aa Dhanya Chhe.

While in conversation with Anil Kapoor, author Bhawana Somaaya spoke about how she felt translating the poems that say a lot about PM Modi’s choice of words and expressions to describe his thought process. She continued the discussion by sharing about her 35-year-long career as a journalist and cinema critic, the titles she has published so far, and her varied experiences and anecdotes related to it.  

For the majority of his life, Narendra Modi has used a pen and paper to communicate his deepest feelings and observations. His unrefined and unrestrained thoughts, dreams, and concerns on a variety of subjects ranging from the wonders of nature to the trials of life, are expressed in these introspective musings and ruminations, which came to life in rhyme and meter, something he hesitated to share with the world for the longest time. 

Speaking about Letters to Self, Bhawana Somaaya states, “It brings me great pleasure to have released my 19th book and that too a wonderful book of poetry by Shri Narendra Modi ji in the presence of celebrated actor Anil Kapoor. It took me about fifteen years after the release of the original book to convert it into Letters to Self, a collection of 67 poems composed over time. These are poetry on development, hopelessness, pursuit, bravery, and compassion. The poems unfold different feelings and thoughts that Shri Narendra Modi ji has gone through – be it his emotions, fear, gratitude, and passion. I'm happy that he kept this diary, which has now turned into this piece of work. And, I believe this book would touch a chord with the readers and inspire them the way it did to me.”

Actor Anil Kapoor congratulated author Bhawana Soomaya and said,” It’s an honour for me and I feel blessed to have released this book by Modi Ji. I usually read books that I feel inspired by and motivated by. I love reading autobiographies, motivational pieces and this is one of them.” 

About Fingerprint! Publishing 

Fingerprint! is part of the publishing cell of Prakash Books, which has published some of India’s finest coffee table books over the past few years. Fingerprint drives this cell's foray into commercial paperbacks and e-books at affordable prices for readers. The distribution cell of Prakash Books is possibly India’s largest, and has been in business for over 60 years. During this period, it has built strong distribution partnerships nationwide with some of India's largest publishers’ viz. Penguin India, Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette and Pan Macmillan.