Rumki Chowdhury was born in Bangladesh and grew up in the USA. She has also lived in the UK and Sweden. With an MA in English Literature from The Queen Mary University of London and a BA in English Writing from The William Paterson University of New Jersey, her literary experiences expand from journalism to publishing companies like Simon and Schuster Inc., Pearson Higher Education Publishing, The Herald Newspaper and The Record Newspaper. Asha is a teenager hoping to get to know her Bengali culture on a deeper level by taking a vacation with her parents from America to Bangladesh. There, she meets her cousin, Kushi, with whom she hopes to form an immediate sisterly bond. However, her hopes are crushed when she senses Kushi is hiding a deep and dark secret. She eventually discovers that her cousin is being stalked and tormented by an older male. After Kushi opens up to Asha about the details, Asha wonders if she can help her cousin. Soon, she realizes that Kushi is just one of many young girls who fall victim to stalking and child marriage in Bangladesh every year. Will Asha and Kushi be able to escape the wrath of one such monster?
"Secrets in the Wind" by Rumki Chowdhury is a YA fiction novel inspired by true stories. The protagonist, Asha, is a teenager hoping to get to know her Bengali culture on a deeper level by taking a vacation with her parents to Bangladesh. There, she meets her cousin, Kushi, with whom she hopes to form an immediate sisterly bond. However, her hopes are crushed when she senses Kushi is hiding a deep and dark secret. She eventually discovers that her cousin is being stalked and tormented by an older male. After Kushi opens up to Asha about the details, Asha wonders if she can help her cousin. Soon, she realises that Kushi is just one of many young girls who fall victim to stalking and child marriage in Bangladesh every year. Will Asha and Kushi be able to escape the wrath of one such monster? Bangladesh is a beautiful country with beautiful souls, but like any country, there are those dark alleyways that need to be lit. South Asians living abroad, including in Britain, will enjoy visiting/revisiting scenic Bangladesh through "Secrets in the Wind" while learning about the common struggles shared among stalker victims due to certain societal pressures.
Speaking to Asian Voice, Rumki said, “I remember hearing about real-life stalker victim stories in Bangladesh. When I began researching deeper into the topic, I realized that it was actually a common struggle among young girls in Bangladesh. Moreover, due to societal pressures of Bengali norms, thereby the lack of support most victims receive from their own family members, these girls often choose to keep silent or are encouraged to keep quiet about their tormentors. There are many different reasons that trigger the girls to feel ashamed, guilty and consequently, alone in their battles. A lot of those reasons are highlighted in my YA novel, "Secrets in the Wind." I recently travelled back to Bangladesh and spoke to one such victim. I told her about my YA fiction novel, "Secrets in the Wind" and it touched my heart when she said that I understood her situation although I knew that deep down, I never truly could understand her circumstances. She is a survivor, a champion, but in that gain, she also lost some things. Bangladesh is a beautiful country, but like any country, there are those dark alleyways that need to be lit. "Secrets in the Wind" is my way of shedding that light.”
