Author: Ashwini Bhatnagar

In a single phrase, if I have to describe the book, it’s, ‘a sheer piece of literary brilliance!‘

The story is a biographical memoir of an artist par excellence, Amrita Sher-Gil. Most of her artwork is iconic and reeks of individualistic perception of the world around her especially India. Amrita loved color, and that’s evident in how the splashes on her canvas took their own form. Despite being unconventional in all her ways, Amrita soon emerged as the most celebrated painter of her time.

What attracts the reader further is the megalomaniac-like personality traits Amrita exhibits. She was a rebel with a larger-than-life personality. Not just with her art but also in her personal life. She didn’t believe in fidelity. Her colourful escapades with both men and experimentation with women have been interspersed throughout the story. Such was her persona that even the then-Indian Congress head Jawaharlal Nehru was left bedazzled.

She was in a relationship with her first cousin Victor and eventually married him despite parental and social opposition, given the blood relationship. Her death under mysterious circumstances remains unresolved to date. Whether it was a botched termination of pregnancy or whether she was intervened late because of Victor, a doctor himself, who dragged his heels instead of seeking another opinion before it was too late, the mystery remains…

The obituary given by Nehru and Sarojini Naidu upon her passing throws light on the kind of impact Amrita had on everyone around her. Her flamboyance was addictive, be it art or person. Her careless approach to pertinent aspects of life may be attributed to her conflicted upbringing in a mixed-racial household. Nonetheless, she was a beauty who stuck to her convictions till her last breath.

The author has brought together an amalgamation of well-researched viewpoints from those close to Amrita. His language is par excellence and as a reader, I am still reeling in the paroxysms of literary delight hours after finishing the book!

Author: Rasika Bhatia

This is a hilarious memoir by the author who happens to be a wedding planner and the book is a collection of her experiences in the business. Every story is different and gives us a takeaway just like the wedding guests! The stories are laced with sarcasm and dark humour; through these anecdotes, the author takes us on a journey. A journey that indirectly tells us the hard work and resilience every wedding planner puts in for an event to be successful. The book talks about the bed of thorns that a planner needs to tread to fulfill (sometimes unreasonable) customer demands. However, she also asserts that ‘alls well that ends well’ and the wedding planner is also a vital element involved in the union of two hearts.

The language is simple and the pace has been maintained throughout. Its a light and breezy read and promises to leave you smiling even hours after you have finished reading!

Author: Kainaz Jussawalla

The memoir is a laugh riot and the author has poured her heart out completely. She has laid her cards open and left them for the reader to form their opinions!

Kai Juicewalla is a born foodie and a self-confessed die-hard SRK fan who lives in the fairytale Bollywood world where she hopes to find her Mr. Perfect someday. She is curvy and absolutely unapologetic about it even going on to make a career as a flight attendant amidst hourglass mannequins. The book is a chronicled journey about Kai’s life so far where she meanders her way to finding her soulmate, the one for her. What follows is a string of bullies, losers, gold diggers, an Italian Adonis (with a mystery of his own), A confused but hot therapist, a narcissist with anger issues, an identity-conflicted individual, and also an unrequited love interest. It appears that she is destined to always crash and burn every time she pursues a potential suitor.

However, Kai realizes eventually that it’s important to love yourself first, and the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.

Kudos to the author for brazenly putting her life out there with the details and though many of us only dream about them, she had the courage to write them down. Those of us who have battled the bulge or have been body-shamed can relate to the memoir. Though it’s infused with humor at every stance, kai has used the camouflage perfectly to hide the underneath agony a woman goes through. Yet it has been subtly tackled.

A breezy read for the weekend over cups of tea!!!

Author: Sushama Kasbekar

The murder mystery begins with finding a dead body in an elite club premises. The charming and suave Rita Bansal, wife of businessman, Rakesh Bansal is found dead in the guest room, and it’s a clear case of murder. It is discovered that she was intimate a little earlier, with business tycoon Manendra a perennial womanizer.

Police Inspector Virendra and his assistant get involved in the investigation that brings up the dirty linen of the rich and the so-called sophisticated elite to the forefront. Things get further murkier when another high-profile socialite is found murdered in the same club.

What is the connection between the two murders? Was it an act of revenge, passion, or jealousy? What were the skeletons hidden in the closets of the club members that resulted in bizarre trysts that ended relationship boundaries? Do politics score over personal bonding?

The story is about how Virendra eventually zeroes in on the Perps.

The author has tactfully handled the investigative process in this light and breezy read. There is no gore or explicit unwanted content. Though the characters are aplenty, she has handled them each deftly. Overall an interesting plot.

Author: Anirban Bhattacharya

This is the author’s second book in my kitty and he doesn’t disappoint.

Chelembra, a small town in Kerala was caught in the eye of a storm when it became the hotspot of India’s largest bank heist. 80 kg of gold and cash amounting to about 8 crores INR were stolen in what seemed to be a perfect crime. However, the commendable efforts of the Kerala Police under the able leadership of P. Vijayan thwarted the criminal intents and not only recovered the loot but also strengthened the belief that crime never pays.

The salient features of the book are:

1. impeccable research where the author worked at the grassroots to gain first-hand information about the investigation process and what transpired.
2. The author has taken us on a journey from both ends, the mastermind’s mind and the Inspector in charge making this nothing short of a movie playing.

A sensational thriller to the core, this is a must-read.

Author: Sagar Makwana

This is a self-help guide written by a life coach.

Personally I am not a fan of non-fiction, however this book got me on the go. The book’s format and the premise set you thinking about the ‘you’ within you.

The author has elaborated on different elements that hinder our path towards ‘success’. At the same time, he has also laid down practical techniques and principles that can help us streamline ourselves to maximise our potential. The author has painstakingly put forth pertinent quizzes at regular intervals and one cannot help but delve into ‘self’.

The icing on the cake is, the book is far from preachy and is interspersed with anecdotes that make it a light read, with a heavy message.

A must-read if you feel bogged down by life pressures, unsure of your true calling in life, or if you are clueless abut the direction your life has taken.

I am still reeling in the ‘you’!

Author: Kate Morton

“Within its four walls lay a secret that would last a lifetime…” says the writing on the book cover and it lives true in every sense of the word.

A brilliantly written fictional memoir, the book makes the reader go through various turmoils and upheavals in the time, in the early 1900s

The story vacillates between 1999 and 1924.

Grace Bradley is now 98 years old and she had been a housemaid at Riverton manor in the 1920s. When a young film director approaches her to make a movie surrounding the murder mystery of a poet at the time, Grace is engulfed with old memories. Ghosts emerge so do secrets hidden in the depths of her subconscious… as the only living witness to suicide/murder that changed the course of different lives in the manor.

Though history has forgotten it all and in some dusty corners lie the narrative, unheard and unsung, Grace juggles between her memories and present self. She decides to record it all for her writer-grandson and reveals it all in a bid to get closure for herself and leave the world guilt-free.

As the War-damaged summers of the past pave the way to the decadent turn of the century, this is a thrilling read and if one can call it, a compelling love story.

Author: Kamalini Natesan

Human desires manifest in innumerable forms. Ranging from a state of damnation to obscurity, from jealousy to intimacy, desire ranges and rages often threatening to consume us whole.

The author brings out 12 forms of desires through twelve short stories. Each story evolved in its own domain and has the raw appeal that sucks the reader into its throes. Whether its the watchtower man who is happily living his ‘watching’ fantasies and marries a specially-abled woman to continue the same unhindered, or an ex-pat couple’s illicit desire to hoard wealth, or a helicopter mom’s eagerness to please the world every story is strung on the comment thread of ‘desire’

The language is lucidly interspersed with some amazing vocabulary and the author demonstrates her command over the language. Some elements are left open-ended and that brings about the intrigue quotient into play. A myriad of human emotions tinged with pathos hues… But that’s what desire is all about, isn’t it?