Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday released Seven Shades of Love, the first book of poetry by Debashis Chatterjee, Director of the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode, in an event that blended literature, reflection and mentorship for young readers and aspiring writers.
Published by Penguin Random House India, the collection brings together 57 poems and marks Chatterjee's debut as a published poet. The launch was followed by an interaction in which Tharoor and Chatterjee spoke with students and aspiring writers about reading, curiosity, writing and the courage to find one's own voice, according to a release.
For Tharoor, the book's central idea lay in the layered and evolving nature of love. He said the seven shades arise from the many-sided nature of love, culminating in freedom, and described love as something that should liberate rather than possess. "The most mature form of love is not possession. It is allowing another person to remain themselves," he said. He also noted that the poems widen the idea of love beyond romantic attachment to include friendship, family, humanity, nature and existence itself.
The remarks gave the launch a philosophical tone, positioning the book not merely as a literary debut but as a meditation on relationships and selfhood. Tharoor's framing of love as care without control and closeness without ownership echoed the broader themes often associated with contemporary poetry that seeks to move beyond conventional romantic imagery and into more expansive emotional and ethical territory.
Chatterjee, meanwhile, traced the beginnings of his own writing journey to a conversation with celebrated author Khushwant Singh. Recalling the exchange, he said that when he asked how one should write, Singh advised him that the only way to start writing was simply to start writing. The anecdote underscored the book's arrival as the product of a long personal process rather than a sudden literary turn.
He encouraged aspiring writers to read widely, saying that reading exposes one to the many ways in which thoughts and experiences can be expressed. "Inspiration often comes through the process of writing," he said, suggesting that creativity is not always a precondition for writing but can emerge through practice, discipline and engagement with language.
The event also highlighted the intersection of academic leadership and literary expression. Chatterjee, known primarily for his role at IIM-Kozhikode, has now added poetry to a professional profile rooted in management education and institutional leadership. His debut collection, by virtue of the platform and the public figures associated with its launch, is likely to draw attention from readers beyond the usual poetry audience.
The presence of Tharoor, a politician and widely read public intellectual known for his literary interests, further amplified the significance of the release. His participation lent the launch a public-cultural dimension, turning it into a conversation about the value of reading and writing in public life, especially for students and young aspirants navigating their own creative ambitions.
At a time when poetry often struggles for mainstream visibility, the release of Seven Shades of Love offered a reminder of the genre's continuing relevance as a form capable of carrying intimate feeling, philosophical inquiry and social reflection. The book's 57 poems, as described at the launch, appear to explore love not as a single emotion but as a spectrum of human connection, ending in the freedom to let others be themselves.
The launch in Thiruvananthapuram thus served as both a literary milestone for Chatterjee and a public affirmation of the enduring place of poetry in conversations about identity, empathy and expression.