Wednesday, December 20, 2017
"Bucket of Cherries" is a Winning Entry for NEW ASIAN WRITING 2017 Short Story Competition
So happy that my short story Bucket of Cherries was a winning entry for New Asian Writing Short Story Competition. See enclosed link to read full story: http://www.new-asian-writing.com/bucket-of-cherries-by-rajni-mala-khelawan-new-asian-writing-short-story-competition-2017-prize-winning-entry/
Rajni Mala Khelawan: The Entitled Interview with Open Book Toronto
Rajni Mala Khelawan: The Entitled Interview with Open Book Toronto
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Book Signing at Canmore Cafe Books
I had an amazing time last week signing copies of Kalyana at Canmore Cafe books. Such a lovely place to visit with excellent friendly staff. Cozy little place that should be on everyone's must visit list.
Saturday, May 7, 2016
South Asian Heritage Month
To celebrate South Asian Heritage month, I will be reading from my newest novel Kalyana at Toronto Public Library at 2 pm on May 13 (Friday). So please come on down! It is an open invitation to all Torontoians!
http://members.openbooktoronto.com/news/entitled_interview_with_rajni_malal_khelawan
http://members.openbooktoronto.com/news/entitled_interview_with_rajni_malal_khelawan
Friday, April 22, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
The Entitled Interview with Open Book Toronto
http://members.openbooktoronto.com/news/entitled_interview_with_rajni_malal_khelawanI was so pleased to discuss how I came up with the title for Kalyana with Open Book Toronto. Follow link to read full interview.
Highlights of the Book Launch
The evening lasted beyond the scheduled 2 hours, glad to see. People engaged in lively discussion afterwards, while enjoying jalebi, barfi, tea, coffee, and mango juice.
A few key items from my speech:
I expressed my most sincere gratitude to my publisher, Margie Wolfe, for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to showcase my work, and the team of Second Story Press, mainly Carolyn Jackson for overseeing the production of the novel, and Melissa Katta for such a gorgeous cover. I thanked my editors, Patricia Kennedy and Christina Frey. And Carmen Wittmeier for helping me develop as a writer over the last 10 years. I said thank you to Will, Owner of Shelf Life Books for giving such a great location to launch Kalyana, and Kevin, the events organizer for overseeing everything. And thank you to Allie and Emma for doing such a great job promoting Kalyana.
I talked about what inspired me to write Kalyana and read a bit of Chapter 1 and Chapter 26 of the novel.
All in all, it was such a great night!
A few key items from my speech:
I expressed my most sincere gratitude to my publisher, Margie Wolfe, for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to showcase my work, and the team of Second Story Press, mainly Carolyn Jackson for overseeing the production of the novel, and Melissa Katta for such a gorgeous cover. I thanked my editors, Patricia Kennedy and Christina Frey. And Carmen Wittmeier for helping me develop as a writer over the last 10 years. I said thank you to Will, Owner of Shelf Life Books for giving such a great location to launch Kalyana, and Kevin, the events organizer for overseeing everything. And thank you to Allie and Emma for doing such a great job promoting Kalyana.
I talked about what inspired me to write Kalyana and read a bit of Chapter 1 and Chapter 26 of the novel.
All in all, it was such a great night!
Friday, April 8, 2016
Kalyana - Book Launch April 15 at 7 pm Shelf Life Books
All Calgarians: Come and celebrate the launch of my second novel Kalyana at Shelf Life Books downtown Calgary on April 15 at 7 pm. Afterwards, we can continue the party at a nearby pub. For more info email me at rmalabooks@gmail.com Can't wait to see you all there.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
First Printed Copies of my Second Novel -- Kalyana
I just absolutely over the moon love the cover!!! So pleased with the staff of Second Story Feminist Press. Release Date: March 15, 2016. 320 Pages.
Writer In Residence (May 2014 to August 2014)
I held the position of writer in residence at Fiji National University during the months of May through August, 2014. For that invaluable experience, I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to the staff of the university and Ganesh Chand, the Vice Chancellor. And a very very very special thank you to Ganesh, the Caretaker, who has now become a very dear friend. Thank you Ganesh for keeping me company and leaving fresh coconuts at my doorstep; it was delicious. The residency was an amazing learning experience! It was indeed fun to work on my third novel in Fiji, under the moonlight, and on the beaches, while sipping cappuccino from the coffee bar by the docks, and watching the ships sail in!
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Dilkusha Home Project
On one of my trips to the Fiji Islands, in the South Pacific, I had the privilege of visiting Dilkusha Home, an orphanage that has been serving orphaned children for over 100 years.
The last two Christmases, a few of my friends and colleagues got together and raised over $300.00 to make the Dilkusha Home’s children’s Christmas a little brighter. This gift giving season, we were hoping to continue this tradition. And we needed your help. I would be grateful for any amount of support.
Currently, Dilkusha Home is serving 29 children, mostly girls, who range in ages from 1 to 19 years. And they have now also adopted their first boy! The older girls remain in the home due to permanent disabilities and their inability to live independently. The Home’s policy is to keep the girls in the home till they complete all their education and are able to be financially independent and live productive lives. This is such an amazing program for the girls of Fiji! Great to see it is in existence for over a 100 years and still going strong.
The last two Christmases, a few of my friends and colleagues got together and raised over $300.00 to make the Dilkusha Home’s children’s Christmas a little brighter. This gift giving season, we were hoping to continue this tradition. And we needed your help. I would be grateful for any amount of support.
Currently, Dilkusha Home is serving 29 children, mostly girls, who range in ages from 1 to 19 years. And they have now also adopted their first boy! The older girls remain in the home due to permanent disabilities and their inability to live independently. The Home’s policy is to keep the girls in the home till they complete all their education and are able to be financially independent and live productive lives. This is such an amazing program for the girls of Fiji! Great to see it is in existence for over a 100 years and still going strong.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
A Five Headed Snake! Yikes!
Another short excerpt from my forthcoming novel "Kalyana." Very excited about releasing my new novel!
“What happened next, Mummy?” I licked the edges of my lips.
“The Yamuna River raged and her waves threatened to swallow Yasudev and baby Krishna whole.” My mother would fix her penetrating stare upon me, and my heart would skip, the hairs rising on my arms. I knew what would follow: “And it was then that the five-headed snake from below the waters emerged.”
“Five-headed snake!” I would shiver in the night air.
“Sumitri, you are frightening her,” my father would say. “The child is scared of snakes and is ridden with nightmares about them, and here you are telling her stories about snakes with five heads!”
“Rajdev Seth, it’s not snakes,” my mother would say. “There was only one five-headed snake. And it was a good one.”
My mother would throw me a conspiring look and try to speak the next series of words as fast as she could before Father could demand that she end all stories for the night.
“The snake’s five heads shielded baby Krishna from the water, and the snake itself was Yasudev’s guide, allowing him to...”
“Sumitri...”
“Snakes are not to be feared, but to be embraced. They are your guides. Kalyana...”
“Sumitri!” My father would tell my mother to go back to bed, bringing the story to an abrupt end.
“What happened next, Mummy?” I licked the edges of my lips.
“The Yamuna River raged and her waves threatened to swallow Yasudev and baby Krishna whole.” My mother would fix her penetrating stare upon me, and my heart would skip, the hairs rising on my arms. I knew what would follow: “And it was then that the five-headed snake from below the waters emerged.”
“Five-headed snake!” I would shiver in the night air.
“Sumitri, you are frightening her,” my father would say. “The child is scared of snakes and is ridden with nightmares about them, and here you are telling her stories about snakes with five heads!”
“Rajdev Seth, it’s not snakes,” my mother would say. “There was only one five-headed snake. And it was a good one.”
My mother would throw me a conspiring look and try to speak the next series of words as fast as she could before Father could demand that she end all stories for the night.
“The snake’s five heads shielded baby Krishna from the water, and the snake itself was Yasudev’s guide, allowing him to...”
“Sumitri...”
“Snakes are not to be feared, but to be embraced. They are your guides. Kalyana...”
“Sumitri!” My father would tell my mother to go back to bed, bringing the story to an abrupt end.
Snakes! Snakes! Snakes! Excerpt from my forthcoming novel "Kalyana"
Happy Chinese New Year! YEAR OF THE SNAKES! What's new for me? My new novel Kalyana. And...snakes have great symbolic significance throughout the whole book! Here's an excerpt from Kalyana featuring snakes...snakes...snakes...and more snakes.
Of all the stories my mother told me when I was young, this one alone stirred recurring nightmares. I was transported back to the SS Sangola, in the middle of the ocean. The ship was swarming with countless king cobras, slithering all around me. I could hear low growls under their hissing calls. They were coiled in front of me, wearing red maharajah crowns, while others held back, draped over the barrels, hanging on the masts. Trapped, I shivered, chanting prayers, my knees clutched to my chest. I stayed huddled in a corner of the deck as the sensation of slithering serpents crawled up my legs and across my body.
Then my mother would miraculously appear. She would hit the snakes on their heads with a blackened steel pot. Black blood and gore would paint the walls and decks of the ship as the pitiful snakes collapsed belly up, one by one, until a stream of yellow carpeted the ships' floors.
Of all the stories my mother told me when I was young, this one alone stirred recurring nightmares. I was transported back to the SS Sangola, in the middle of the ocean. The ship was swarming with countless king cobras, slithering all around me. I could hear low growls under their hissing calls. They were coiled in front of me, wearing red maharajah crowns, while others held back, draped over the barrels, hanging on the masts. Trapped, I shivered, chanting prayers, my knees clutched to my chest. I stayed huddled in a corner of the deck as the sensation of slithering serpents crawled up my legs and across my body.
Then my mother would miraculously appear. She would hit the snakes on their heads with a blackened steel pot. Black blood and gore would paint the walls and decks of the ship as the pitiful snakes collapsed belly up, one by one, until a stream of yellow carpeted the ships' floors.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Dilkusha Home Project
I am happy to say that this year we raised $315.00 for Dilkusha Home Orphanage. I wanted to say thank you to the following people for being so generous this past Christmas season:
Jutta Wittmeier
Carmen Wittmeier
Steve Milliard
Michelle Biefer
Laila Khelawan
Wammy Municiiri
Dr. Dinesh Rajakaruna
Fazil Thaha
Zoraida Espinoza
So far, we have raised $615.00 CAD (approximately $1200.00 FJ) to date.
Dilkusha Home's children thank you and send you their blessings.
Jutta Wittmeier
Carmen Wittmeier
Steve Milliard
Michelle Biefer
Laila Khelawan
Wammy Municiiri
Dr. Dinesh Rajakaruna
Fazil Thaha
Zoraida Espinoza
So far, we have raised $615.00 CAD (approximately $1200.00 FJ) to date.
Dilkusha Home's children thank you and send you their blessings.
Friday, January 4, 2013
My debut novel a subject of discussion at the SALA 2013 Conference in Boston, MA
Thank you to my friend Dr Rajnish Dhawan for presenting a paper on my first novel The End of the Dark and Stormy Night at the South Asian Literary Association (SALA) Conference in January 2013 at Boston, MA.
SALA 2013 Race and the South Asian Diaspora
The 13th Annual Conference of The South Asian Literary Association
January 2-3, 2013
Boston, MA
CONFERENCE PAPER ABSTRACTS: RAJNISH DHAWAN, UNIVERSITY OF THE FRASER VALLEY, ABBOTSFORD, CANADA
Spatializing Cultural Hybridity in Canada: A Study of Race Relations in Rajni Mala Khelawan’s The End of the Dark and Stormy Night
“If postmodern hybridity emphasises not fusion, but multiple and mobile positionings created by the performative transgressions of national grand naratives – what Homi Bhabha has refered to as ‘shreds and patches’ of many and diverse national voices,” then is there a possibility in the contemporary hybrid literature to provide a unifying centralized fabric where these ‘shreds and patches’ can be turned into a homogenous collage where every patch keeps its identity while being a part of the unified whole? Canadian multiculturalism thrives upon the concrete identification of these ‘shreds and patches,’ viewing them as an essential part of a heterogeneous fabric, often searching in them for the lure of the exotic – be it the first nations, the Indo-Canadians, the African-Canadians or the Chinese-Canadians. The essentialization of the hyphen has been the hallmark of Canadian multiculturalism and the hyphen has been strengthened by denying or shying away from the discomfort associated with the inter-racial discourse. Rajni Mala Khelawan’s debut novel The End of the Dark and Stormy Night tries to redefine the hyphen by embracing the discomfort, and by using humor as her primary medium of inter-racial discourse she tries to move towards the comfort zone where inter-racial relations could afford to laugh with each other rather than laughing at each other. This paper will focus on the study of the use of humor in the depiction of inter-racial relationships in the novel and the novel’s attempts at diluting the hyphen despite strong voices within the text advocating its retention.
SALA 2013 Race and the South Asian Diaspora
The 13th Annual Conference of The South Asian Literary Association
January 2-3, 2013
Boston, MA
CONFERENCE PAPER ABSTRACTS: RAJNISH DHAWAN, UNIVERSITY OF THE FRASER VALLEY, ABBOTSFORD, CANADA
Spatializing Cultural Hybridity in Canada: A Study of Race Relations in Rajni Mala Khelawan’s The End of the Dark and Stormy Night
“If postmodern hybridity emphasises not fusion, but multiple and mobile positionings created by the performative transgressions of national grand naratives – what Homi Bhabha has refered to as ‘shreds and patches’ of many and diverse national voices,” then is there a possibility in the contemporary hybrid literature to provide a unifying centralized fabric where these ‘shreds and patches’ can be turned into a homogenous collage where every patch keeps its identity while being a part of the unified whole? Canadian multiculturalism thrives upon the concrete identification of these ‘shreds and patches,’ viewing them as an essential part of a heterogeneous fabric, often searching in them for the lure of the exotic – be it the first nations, the Indo-Canadians, the African-Canadians or the Chinese-Canadians. The essentialization of the hyphen has been the hallmark of Canadian multiculturalism and the hyphen has been strengthened by denying or shying away from the discomfort associated with the inter-racial discourse. Rajni Mala Khelawan’s debut novel The End of the Dark and Stormy Night tries to redefine the hyphen by embracing the discomfort, and by using humor as her primary medium of inter-racial discourse she tries to move towards the comfort zone where inter-racial relations could afford to laugh with each other rather than laughing at each other. This paper will focus on the study of the use of humor in the depiction of inter-racial relationships in the novel and the novel’s attempts at diluting the hyphen despite strong voices within the text advocating its retention.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Christmas season is upon us...once again. And Dilkusha Home Project in full swing.
Be a citizen of the world, not just a citizen of a country.
Be part of humanity, not just part of a religious sect.
--- Rajni Mala Khelawan, Author
Last year, I travelled to Fiji Islands, located in the cusp of the Pacific Ocean. While there, I had the privilege of visiting Dilkusha Home, an orphanage that has been serving orphaned children for over 100 years.
This past Christmas, a few of my friends and colleagues got together and raised $300.00 to make the Dilkusha Home’s children’s Christmas a little brighter. This gift giving season, we were hoping to continue this tradition. And we needed your help.
Currently, Dilkusha Home is serving 29 children, mostly girls, who range in ages from 1 to 19 years. Recently, the Home adopted their first boy! The older girls remain in the home due to permanent disabilities and their inability to live independently. The Home’s policy is to keep the girls in the home till they complete all their education and are able to be financially independent and live productive lives.
So far this year, I have raised $60... And I would be grateful for any amount of support. I will also be sending them a Christmas Card and will have all the donators sign a personal message to the kids. If any of you are interested in corresponding with the girls in the coming year via handwritten letters or sending them birthday acknowledgements, please let me know so that I can match you with a child.
If you can and want to help, please come and see me.
Finally, wishing everyone a happy healthy holiday season! Thank you.
Regards,
Rajni Mala Khelawan
Inspiring Story
A heartwarming news article where one of the girls who grew up in Dilkusha Home ties the knot to her long time love: http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=134789
Be part of humanity, not just part of a religious sect.
--- Rajni Mala Khelawan, Author
Last year, I travelled to Fiji Islands, located in the cusp of the Pacific Ocean. While there, I had the privilege of visiting Dilkusha Home, an orphanage that has been serving orphaned children for over 100 years.
This past Christmas, a few of my friends and colleagues got together and raised $300.00 to make the Dilkusha Home’s children’s Christmas a little brighter. This gift giving season, we were hoping to continue this tradition. And we needed your help.
Currently, Dilkusha Home is serving 29 children, mostly girls, who range in ages from 1 to 19 years. Recently, the Home adopted their first boy! The older girls remain in the home due to permanent disabilities and their inability to live independently. The Home’s policy is to keep the girls in the home till they complete all their education and are able to be financially independent and live productive lives.
So far this year, I have raised $60... And I would be grateful for any amount of support. I will also be sending them a Christmas Card and will have all the donators sign a personal message to the kids. If any of you are interested in corresponding with the girls in the coming year via handwritten letters or sending them birthday acknowledgements, please let me know so that I can match you with a child.
If you can and want to help, please come and see me.
Finally, wishing everyone a happy healthy holiday season! Thank you.
Regards,
Rajni Mala Khelawan
Inspiring Story
A heartwarming news article where one of the girls who grew up in Dilkusha Home ties the knot to her long time love: http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=134789
Friday, June 8, 2012
Praise for The End of the Dark and Stormy Night
"Khelawan's sense of humour is evident throughout, especially in small vignettes such as the scene in which Ravi's cousin Seema tells Reshma about her imagined sexual adventures, freely quoting from a romance novel, "He swept me into his strong arms..wrapping my strong lean thighs against his hard sweaty back.""
-- Uma Parameswaran, Author and Academic (University of Winnipeg)
"To Khelawan’s credit, she imbues these characters with refreshing honesty. They’re colourful, multifaceted, and at times outrageously funny. Mrs. Anand may be a racist, controlling mother, but when she gets her hands on Mr. Anand (fed Viagra in the guise of a diabetes cure), the earthy sex scene reveals her as an emotionally complex woman with much more depth than simply a stock character."
-- Diane Gadoua, The Voice Magazine
"[Khelawan]has been praised for the characters she creates and the story features a multicultural cast that deals with issues of racism, sexuality and every day issues that come up in life."
-- by Bonnie Bryan, The Daily Townsman
"The best thing about the book is that it celebrates the Canadian life...The writing is racy and Rajni has the knack of creating funny situations and funny characters..."
-- Rajneesh Dhawan, Writer and Academic (University of Frazer Valley, British Columbia)
"Original and courageous."
-- Shyamal Bagchee, Academic (University of Alberta)
"Well written and entertaining."
-- Nalin Bakhle, Producer (Bollywood Boulevard)
Friday, April 20, 2012
Launching E Version of The End of the Dark and Stormy Night
Yes...finally. The End of the Dark and Stormy Night is on KINDLE. You can purchase an e version of the book and read a teaser on www.amazon.com. I have enclosed a direct Amazon link on the side bar for your convenience.:) Very happy. Let me know what you think!
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