Neelesh Misra releases five books under his new 'Slow Imprint'

New Delhi: Writer-storyteller Neelesh Misra traded the radio studio for the stage at IIC as he shared stories, anecdotes and poems from the five books that he launched under his new imprint 'Slow' at an event here.

Amongst the books are Misra's first poetry collection "Main Aksar Sochta Hoon" and "Gaanv Se Bees Postcard", a book written by his father and well-known geologist Shiv Balak Misra. The books have been published in collaboration with Westland Books' language imprint 'Eka'. Misra, the voice behind widely loved radio shows Yadoon Ka Idiotbox on BIG FM 92.7 and The Neelesh Misra Show on Red FM 93.5, on Monday evening shared how many of his fans advised him against travelling to Delhi given the air quality. "'Kaise rehte hai aap log iss shehar mein? (How do you people stay here?). It is so grim and dense. Several people sent me the screenshots of the AQI level here and advised me not to come... Anyway, 'Mera naam hai Neelesh Misra... kahaniyan sunata hoon' (My name is Neelesh Misra, I am a storyteller)," said the journalist-writer-lyricist.

Misra, 51, shared he was motivated to start his new imprint after his father came up with a new book.

"My father has been writing this book secretly for the past two years. One fine day he told me about it and how he plans to self-publish it. He said, 'I'll foot the bill if it is too expensive'. Now, this was something that I just couldn't digest. So, the actual trigger for launching 'Slow Imprint' was to give my father's title a respectable launch," he explained.

The collection of 20 essays, "Gaanv Se Bees Postcard", will give urban readers a peek into the life in villages of India with interesting insights into cultures, societal structures, aspirations of the rural youth and the lesser-known achievements.

"Magic Box", "Junglee Phoolon Si Ladki" and "Kaaljayi: Kahaniyan Vedon Puranon Se" were the other books that Misra read from before concluding the session with his collection of poems.

“Main Aksar Sochta Hoon” explores themes of love, nostalgia, lives in cities, the search for one’s roots and a sense of belonging, and modern-day anxieties. It also features free verse, ghazals, and songs, some of which Misra has recorded in his own voice.

As a surprise for his fans, Misra even performed songs from his upcoming album, including the melodious track "Tum kaho toh".

The poetry book features a QR code on its cover, which will take the readers to a library of recordings featuring Misra’s ghazals and songs.

Misra has also written “Once Upon a Timezone”, “Storywallah” and “Neelesh Misra ka Yaad Sheher”.