India today group online features-A Safe Harbour,21/8/08

Making a literary debut
Shoili Sarkar-Seth
August 21, 2008

Making the book circle is Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia. A former advertising professional settled in Muscat, Oman, for the last 18 years, she is currently a freelance journalist writing regularly for magazines and newspapers in Oman.
Her first work of fiction, A Safe Harbour, is the story of a progressive welltravelled Punjabi family.
Set in Oman and in India, it talks about the two female protagonists, advertising professional Aafreen and her mother Trishala Luthra. “It does draw on my experiences, because I believe, after all, a little of the author’s being does come down into the pages when one writes,” says Ahluwalia.
“Being a woman, it’s also easier to delve into the female psyche and hence, theprotagonists are ladies,” adds this 44-year-old.
Born in Ferozepur, Punjab, Ahluwalia had spent numerous holidays at her grandfather’s house as a child. “He was a zamindar and I have seen the feudal set-up at work.
One of my next books is based on the 1920s feudal society,” she says, and adds that she would like to work on various storylines and not restrict herself to family dramas alone.
Her book has recently been launched in India and is available across bookstores in the country. Published by Indialog Publishers, it is priced at Rs 195.