There’s Gunpowder in the Air by Manoranjan Byapari
When I read the blurb of There’s Gunpowder in the Air, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an iconic scene from the popular Hindi film Sholay. The scene where Jai and Veeru are ostentatiously planning a jailbreak in full hearing of the prisoner they know to be a mole planted by the jailer. The […]
Cobalt Blue by Sachin Kundalkar
It’s common to hear stories of sisters falling in love with the same man or brothers in love with the same woman. Romance and tragedy have both used this twist in sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic and (mostly film), downright over-the-top ways. In tone, Cobalt Blue thankfully falls in the first category, and the story explores […]
A Requiem in Raga Janki by Neelam Saran Gour
The first thing that intrigued me about the book was its title; I thought that Janki is the name of an actual “raga” and started searching for it. It was only then that Google informed me there is no Raga Janki in the music tradition. Rather, this book is based on the life of Janki […]
Yashodhara by Volga
I first learnt of Yashodhara when I was in standard seventh. We were studying a play in the Hindi class, titled “Siddhartha ka Grih Tyaag” (Siddharth Leaving his House). It was there that Buddha’s wife got a name and became more than the wife he had left. She became an individual, with her own identity. […]
Leila by Prayaag Akbar
Picture this: A city with such poor air quality that breathing is a struggle. A city with a relentless summer, with heat that makes you giddy if you step out of your house or car even for a few minutes. A city with gated communities where entry is prohibited unless someone from the other side […]
Prisoner of Yakutsk by Shreyas Bhave
Everybody loves a good conspiracy theory; removed as they are from our mundane lives. They are our cheap thrills and guilty pleasures. Prisoner of Yakutsk by Shreyas Bhave is another such book that belongs to the genre of thriller/conspiracy theory texts. The subtitle of the book, “The Subhash Chandra Bose Mystery: Final Chapter” tells us […]
Going Places: Exploring India in Books
We love books (duh!). They take us to new places, or at least give us fresh eyes to view the places we have been to. For, let us us face it, though we all might love the idea of travel, travelling as much as we want to is not always possible because life, family, work. […]
Shala by Milind Bokil
“Those were the best days of my life . . .” Whenever Bryan Adams strums his guitar to this song, chances are we think of those innocent times of our lives – our school days. And in particular, it is high school (roughly Grades 9 to 12) that holds a special place in our hearts, […]
Indian historical fiction: Must-read novels
“Fiction is the lie which tells the truth” History has always held an inexplicable sway over the reader. The far off time and setting, the characters, the lifestyle, the language, the event in itself or a combination of these factors, and above everything, the persistent sense of mystery, it exerts a pull in so many […]
Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali
Bringing back a slice of the past Twilight in Delhi is the story of Delhi, of a particular moment in the long history of this city that has risen and fallen, only to rise again. This is a novel of the city as we have never known it, an ode to its ways and style […]
