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In her book 'Devil's Daughter', Vidhie Mukerjea writes about the arrest of her mother Indrani Mukerjea for alleged murder of sister Sheena Bora which gripped the entire nation & created havoc in her life!
In her book ‘Devil’s Daughter’, Vidhie Mukerjea writes about the arrest of her mother Indrani Mukerjea for alleged murder of sister Sheena Bora which gripped the entire nation & created havoc in her life!
On the eve of her 18th birthday Vidhie Mukerjea returned from school excited to celebrate with her family and friends. Instead, she walked into a house full of cops and watched as her mother Indrani Mukerjea was arrested for a crime she couldn’t ever fathom.
Vidhie has written her memoir ‘The Devil’s Daughter’ revealing her innermost emotions as she takes us through her life story. She bares it all and writes from the heart. The book is a raw and intense life account of a 23-year-old young woman who is grappling with a situation that she couldn’t imagine in her wildest dreams!
The book begins with the lines: You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt. But still, like dust, I’ll rise. -Maya Angelou
She writes that her journey to hell started when she was eighteen years old and she is not quite back yet, “That day I began to be seen as the child of the devil herself by so many people.”
An excerpt from her book reads: “My mother, Indrani Mukerjea, was arrested for murder in what grew to be one of the most notorious cases in recent memory. As an eighteen-year-old, I didn’t know what to make of mum’s situation, and remember being overwhelmed to a point of numbness in those early stages. If losing one parent wasn’t enough, four months later, Dad was brutally taken from me and thrown into prison on aiding and abetting charges, which threw me off a cliff, one hand clinging on. Life as I knew it had turned on its head without warning.”
How does a sheltered, over-protected and privileged child handle this new reality? How does an 18-year-old cope when she realises the sister she thought was happily settled in a foreign country is actually no more while her mother is accused of her murder and her father is a suspect as well?
The Devil’s Daughter is a must read. I couldn’t put it down from the instant I picked it up. I just picked up the book to glance through it and before I knew it I had finished reading the book! To think that someone so young had the courage in spite of being judged to put forth her thoughts in the book is exceptional and worth lauding.
Vidhie was pushed into a mess. She went from disbelief, self-loathing, depression and suicidal thoughts to picking herself up, healing, learning and finally accepting her reality however flawed it was.
While reading the book you also get a glimpse of Indrani Mukerjea as a mother and wife. A tough lady who was controlling and had a bad temper. She was the undisputed boss at home and seemed to manipulate her husband and children with her talks. A mother who vehemently denied her daughter’s existence and kept portraying her first daughter as her sister, a step mother who was not loving to her husband’s children from a previous marriage and a woman who would go to any extent to prove that she is right.
Peter Mukerjea who was the former CEO of Star India and Vidhie’s step father is her favourite person. A loving, protective and fun dad who loves her beyond words. It is endearing to read about their relationship. You might shed a tear or two reading about their bond.
‘The Devil’s Daughter’ takes you through an emotional journey of highs and lows in Vidhie Mukerjea’s life as she goes through experiences that no one should ever encounter. She fights with her situation and her internal trauma emerging stronger.
Vidhie says she often thought about writing a book on what occurred in her life. The reason initially was to clear her name but she eventually realised it was not necessary. Her strength can be seen in this paragraph below: “I’m neither an accused nor a suspect. Rather, a misunderstood young woman, an independent person with my own identity, who refuses to be reflected in the light other’s choose to cast upon me.”
Vidhie talks openly about grappling with anxiety and depression. She opens up about how her mother wanted her to look and act a certain way from the time she was twelve. Indrani Mukerjea always had an image of the perfect daughter–an A-scoring all-rounder who would eventually become a lawyer. Vidhie would rebel and often did the opposite of what was said.
Vidhie, as an author, displays all her vulnerabilities. She writes about how she tried to lose herself in people and parties, but cried endlessly for hours when she was alone.
Headlines read- ‘Indrani and Peter Mukerjea’s daughter out and about, painting the town red, drinking- doesn’t care about her parents in jail’. She writes it was unfortunate that even senior journalists felt the need to target an 18-year-old who was in the middle of a hellish situation.
She went on from receiving multiple calls from her parents daily asking about her whereabouts to having no communication with them except for occasional letters. She battled with anxiety washing a bunch of pills down her throat to lashing out at her mother outside court in public.
Vidhie’s story is poignant and inspirational. The book describes how she went through the most harrowing experience of her life but somehow found it in her to forgive, heal, learn and grow. She tries to run away and escape her life but finally finds peace in accepting her reality. From being an immature person who was born with a silver spoon to now being an independent, mature woman and finding strength inside her.
As Vidhie Mukerjea writes in her memoir, “I’ve perhaps experienced more bad than good, but I don’t live in that world of extremes any more. I still find that, all in all, I see more beauty than ugliness or else I wouldn’t be here right now. They say you should not merely accept but embrace your reality and I have learnt to welcome mine with open arms”.
We all face tough situations and setbacks in our life when everything seems dark and bleak. This book is a testament to show how one girl in spite of all the judgement she faced and all her vulnerabilities decided to accept life with all its flaws and ‘love herself’ no matter what.
We have enough people judging us anyway, why do we add to the list and judge ourselves? Self-Love is truly the best gift you can give yourself! We all grow up eventually and sometimes life forces you to grow up before your time and you become stronger. We all struggle and go through pain and each one of us deals with it differently. Life has no manual to deal with the problems we unexpectedly face.
Vidhie ends the book with saying that she started living truly only when she accepted uncertainty was a part of her life. She writes about her learnings from her experiences in the last six years and it is something we can all relate to and take away from!
The book is not only Vidhie Mukerjea’s journey to self-realisation and self-love but it also takes you through the events of a shocking murder case from a daughter’s perspective. It shows a possibility that the people closest to you might be complete strangers with a hidden life.
You truly might not know who they are and what baggage and secrets they carry within. It is a dark, tragic story narrated honestly and a surprisingly easy read. Brilliant, beautifully articulated and thought-provoking!
Go through this journey with her and I promise you won’t be disappointed!
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