(New York, NY) – On April 18, 2006, the Indo-American Arts Council and Newmarket Press (in association with Gallery Arts India and SAJA) will introduce a new literary voice, SHOOTING WATER: A MEMOIR OF SECOND CHANCES, FAMILY, AND FILMMAKING by Devyani Saltzman, with an afterword by Deepa Mehta (Newmarket Press, 292 pages, 16 b&w photos, $23.95 hardcover, Pub date: May 1, 2006). A captivating memoir that is deeply personal in tone and far-reaching in scope, Shooting Water spans three continents and five countries. This intimate story recounts Saltzman’s coming-of-age and her efforts to come to terms with her mother, award-winning filmmaker Deepa Mehta (Fire, Earth, Bollywood/Hollywood), during the troubled production of Mehta’s film Water in India and Sri Lanka. Author Devyani Saltzman, her mother filmmaker Deepa Mehta and her father photographer Paul Saltzman will be present to launch the book on April 18.

Ms. Saltzman will read excerpts from Shooting Water, project images taken during the shooting of Water and join her mother Deepa Mehta for a chat and Q&A moderated by IAAC Executive Director Aroon Shivdasani. Devyani will sign books during cocktails. Media are invited to attend the evening on April 18, 7-9 pm at the Gallery Arts India, 206 Fifth Avenue, (between 25th & 26th streets), New York City. Please rsvp Hina@iaac.us.

Praise for Shooting Water: A Memoir of Second Chances,Family, and Filmmaking:
“A lush, evocative memoir… Saltzman never loses any of the threads she delicately weaves together”.- Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Devyani Saltzman has written a stunning memoir of separation and reconciliation and of the ways that art and life converge. And she’s done it with a cool, cinematic eye and a generous heart.” —Hilma Wolitzer, author of The Doctor’s Daughter and Hearts

“One of the most beautiful and haunting memoirs I’ve ever read… The writing manages to be both profound and entertaining, vivid to the point of being cinematic.” —Montreal Gazette

“Sadly, we can’t rewrite our lives as we do film scripts. But with awareness and a bit of luck, we can sometimes nudge them in a different direction. The rebirth of Water coincided happily with the rebirth of my relationship with Devyani. As I read her book, I alternately smile and feel perturbed. Perturbed by her pain—because as parents we let her down. Smile because her honesty and courage made this redemption possible.”