Neha jhalani Hiranandani is an author, columnist, and daughter of Pradeep jhalani and Shabnam jhalani. Her writing has been featured in various publications such as The Indian Express, Huffington Post, NDTV, and Vogue. Neha holds degrees in literature and education from Wellesley college and Harvard university. Her first book Girl power! was published by scholastic india and her next book will be released by Penguin Random house in 2020.
Why does Neha write for children and parents?
When Neha started writing her first book ‘Girl Power’, it was out of a personal need. You know, her daughter was flipping through the book, and she was upset because of all the 100 stories of rebellious women in the book, only two of them were Indian. She asked Neha, “Mom, aren’t there only two brave Indian girls?” and her heart sank. She knew she needed to write about women who inspired her, women her daughter would read about and draw inspiration from.
Anyone who has kept up with Neha's work, her two books (Girl Power & iParent) and her articles will be aware of how much she concentrates on children. From cyberbullying to the harassment a child may face online, she never shies away from discussing the topic of child sexual abuse, which most people would rather brush under the carpet. Her irreverent style of writing hits the nail on the head. She doesn’t take her subjects lightly, and her columns open the door for conversations on sensitive topics like child suicide, addressing them both sensitively and directly.
For her first novel, Neha Hiranandani went door-to-door searching for untold stories, women whose names no one had ever heard of. For the second, she talked to kids and their parents to get a feel for what they were going through. She put herself in their shoes, and not just writing about the subjects that interested her from a distance. She is changing the future of India by talking about how to bring up a child in a world where everything and everyone has moved online. Stories have always had the power to change lives. Neha writes because someone's writing changed her life. She wants to change lives through hers. It's her part for the world — kids.