V-Day Special: Ravish Kumar on Finding Spaces for Love in the City

Ravish Kumar’s book on the shrinking space for lovers in the city is now in its sixth reprint.

Renowned television journalist Ravish Kumar talks about his book ‘Ishq Mein Shahar Hona’.

(Photo: The Quint/Rahul Gupta)

This article was previously published on September 14, 2017 on the occasion of Hindi Diwas. We have recontexualised it for Valentine’s Day.

Renowned television journalist Ravish Kumar is a romantic – an unapologetic and unabashed romantic. Who would have thought that Kumar, whose prime time monologues go viral on Facebook, writes love stories in his free time.

His first book was a collection of LaPrek or short stories on love, and is part of Rajkamal Prakashan’s Facebook Fiction Series. The 90-page long book, Ishq Mein Shahar Hona, is now in its sixth edition, and was recently declared a bestseller by Dainik Jagran and Nielsen.

My book, “Ishq Mein Shahar Hona,” is an effort to make our space lovers’ friendly. 

Ravish Kumar

A cover designed by artist Vikram Nayak for the ‘Laprek series. (Photo Courtesy: Vikram Nayak)

Journey from Patna to Bihar

(Illustration: Vikram Nayak) 

Some stories are based on his own experience while the some are borrowed from others. When Ravish came from Patna, his first experience was unpleasant. He was met with a culture shock.

I was scared of the city and its people. Then I fell in love, but the city did not afford me space for my love.

The City in Love

(Illustration: Vikram Nayak)

“I knew nobody from Patna, but I felt like someone was always following us. We are all changing places. When we do we find a refuge... It’s a pardha... Jab tak aap ishq nahi karte aap sheher nahi dekhte. We don’t understand a city till we fall in love. We travel with our partners in search of safe, empty spaces to spend time together. In doing so, we end up discovering the city.”

Have We Become CCTV Cameras?

(Illustration: Vikram Nayak)

यह कैसा शहर है? हर वक्त शरीर का पीछा करता रहता है!

We have become CCTV cameras — we don’t respect others’ privacy.

The Book Ambedkar Wrote

(Illustration: Vikram Nayak)

बेचैन होती सांसें जाति विहीन समाज बनाने की अंबेडकर की बातों से गुजरने लगीं - देखना यही किताब हमें हमेशा के लिए मिला देगी ! 

“It deeply saddens me to see that a couple cannot be together because of caste, religion and background. I have faith in the constitution and our youngsters should as well.”

Camera Person: Abhay Sharma and Vivek Das
Editor: Puneet Bhatia
Producer: Vatsala Singh

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