Author and counsellor Gouri Dange's new book The Counsel of Strangers explores how people shed their inhibitions and confide and counsel in the company of strangers How many times have you felt the urge to drop that mask of pretense and just be yourself? Felt that crippling sense of not belonging somewhere? Been forced to just glide along carrying a rumble in your tummy,but with a smile pasted on your face? In this age of instant gratification,there is ironically no quick-fix for a confused head or a bleeding heart. Existential angst is seeping in to find a stronger voice and a lot of respite in the recent streak of literary efforts by Indian authors. And one among them is city-based author and counsellor Gouri Dange,whose new book The Counsel of Strangers will be released tomorrow. I feel a lot of writers today have started accepting the ambiguity of emotions that exists around us. I love to observe and understand how people impact each other. I dig books that take a cross-section of life,a slice of everyday living and tell a tale out of it, says Dange. Indeed,The Counsel of Strangers explores this very premise in a setting that is so normal a place that you get instantly curious. The paths of six strangers cross at a wedding where none of them fit. In a bid to escape and breathe easy,they gather at a viewing gallery that transforms into a quasi sanctuary,where the pensive secrets tumble out. I have always been fascinated by what people choose to tell about themselves. Social interactions could be masked and filtered. But,in the company of strangers,inhibitions can be shed,as there is no baggage to worry about, she says. Human relationships have evolved over the centuries to take on knots of complications galore. Something as basic as talking and discussing can unravel them. But sometimes,the most obvious solution is invisible to the troubled soul. The stories in the book are about how people change,and how people resist change. Some accept it and move on,while some are frightened of it and dread too much change. It's about how families work and don't work. Who are there for you when you need them,and who are not. It's a study of the dynamics of relationships, she elaborates. A counsellor by profession,writing about such complex interactions between people may have been a cakewalk for her,but she disagrees. My writing has very little to do with my profession. In fact,I could say it's almost opposite to my work. It's not ethical to cannibalise from the experiences I come across as part of my job. The book is a product of pure fiction; I have woven together imaginary stories. What counselling helps me with is to see what people 'carry around',the baggage that weighs them down. In the book,all counsel,(I like that word),is more than just advice. It's empathy. In the post-script section,you will find the e-mails that the characters exchange once they have moved on. The mails talk about what was done,and how the advice was acted upon. So,there is effort,a realisation that the buck doesn't stop at just 'counsel', she explains. (Gouri Dange's book The Counsel of Strangers will be launched on July 24,at 6:30 pm,at Crossword,ICC Towers,in the presence of actors Dr Mohan Agashe and Tanvi Azmi)
