Author Ashok Rajamani announces the release of a digitally remastered tenth anniversary edition of his influential audiobook, ‘Imagine Carnivalesque,’ narrated by Deepti Gupta.
Author Ashok Rajamani, known for his acclaimed memoir, ‘The Day My Brain Exploded: A True Story,’ is set to release a digitally remastered tenth anniversary edition of his pioneering audiobook, ‘Imagine Carnivalesque.’ This edition marks a significant milestone in Rajamani’s literary journey.
Rajamani’s memoir, which chronicles his extraordinary survival from a massive brain hemorrhage at the age of 25, is currently being adapted into a film by the producers of the Oscar-winning movies ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘Life of Pi.’ In contrast, ‘Imagine Carnivalesque’ delves into the sexual mores and unconscious impulses present in South Asian literature, analyzing the works of prominent authors such as Salman Rushdie.
The audiobook is narrated by Audie Award-winning actress Deepti Gupta, who has lent her voice to numerous bestselling authors, including Jhumpa Lahiri and Geethanjali Shree. Gupta is also known for her role alongside Jack Black in DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight’ and as the voice of Goddess Ganga in the Academy Award-nominated animation series ‘Ghee Happy.’ Currently, she appears in a recurring guest role on HBO Max’s critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning drama, ‘The Pitt,’ alongside Noah Wyle.
“Celebrating the ten-year anniversary of ‘Imagine Carnivalesque’ means a lot to me,” Rajamani said. “I wrote this book to uncover themes of gender and sexual representation in South Asian literature, which are rarely discussed. In doing so, I sought to reveal the importance of such visibility in subcontinental literature overall, and ultimately, in society itself. Given today’s political climate, in which the rights of the marginalized are constantly under attack, the book matters more than ever.”
Gupta expressed her personal connection to the work, stating, “As an immigrant who belongs here and also nowhere, I resonated with the book, especially in how Ashok challenges social hierarchies and norms that abound in the South Asian diaspora. And now, on its tenth anniversary, I have personal reasons to rejoice in the book’s success: my teenager has gender non-conforming and queer peers, and I want these kids to become adults in a world that welcomes them with open arms. I’m grateful for the incredible work of Ashok, and I know that ‘Imagine Carnivalesque’ will continue to do its work in furthering this important conversation.”
Rajamani’s Spiral Mirror Entertainment will be responsible for releasing the audiobook. The company has previously produced various works, including the flash audio monologue ‘If These Saris Could Talk,’ starring ‘Bombay Dreams’ actress Zehra Naqvi, and British voice artist Nano Nagle’s performance of the poetry collection ‘Tea Unbrewed.’ Additionally, they have released a digitally remastered audiobook of ‘Exploded,’ recorded live at New York’s Edge Studio.
With the release of this anniversary edition, Rajamani and Gupta aim to continue fostering discussions around representation and visibility in literature, particularly within the South Asian community.
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