‘My Dad’s Daughter’ is an emotional journey of a daughter with her father, which, for her, ended at the hospital door. Divya’s father succumbed to COVID in May 2021 and that marked the most catastrophic experience for her as she helplessly witnessed her father going through an unimaginable ordeal and passing away without his family around him. Unable to handle the sudden demise of her dad in the most unprecedented circumstances witnessed by this generation, Divya struggled to find any closures.
Even with all the means, she could not provide comfort to her ailing father, and later, a befitting farewell. For a long time, her heart carried the burden of death only to realise later that our relationship with our parents is not confined to the mortal world. The bond is so deep that a parent finds channels to communicate with his child through different mediums. What changed for Divya in the few months since her father’s passing away that made her believe in this idea? How did Divya find closure?
As Divya opens up about her most well-guarded emotional moments and confessions in this book, the story unfolds to reveal how loss of a loved one and the ensuing pain tests changes a person. This story is as personal in nature as it universal in its themes of love, loss and pain. To read ‘My Dad’s Daughter’ is to embark on a journey across a sea of emotions as gentle as a calming breeze and as turbulent as a sea storm and find closure at the end of it.
Supreme Court judge Sanjay K Kaul, Niti Aayog CEO Sri Amitabh Kant, who was Suresh Gupta’s junior at Modern School and St. Stephen’s College in the 1970s and former Chief Election Commissioner of India Mr S. Y Quraishi, jointly launched the book at an impressive function at India International Centre in May.
Talking about her book, Divya said, “Losing a parent is devastating, but not being able to be with them in their final days or pay their last respects, can demolish a person.”
Divya, an ex-student of Modern School, St. Stephen’s, and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) runs the popular 300 year old family business, House of Kotawala jewelry brand with her husband, Manish.
