Author: Rohini Paranjpe Sathe

This narrative is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and interpersonal relationships, of courage in the face of adversities and betrayals of the worst kinds.

The protagonist Jyoti is an educated young woman brought up in Delhi with archaic rules framing her boundaries in a hard-core Hindu household. Her younger brother Sooraj, the black sheep of the family often gets away with whatever he does.

Things go in for a toss when she begins a clandestine affair with a Muslim man, Sameer, and from then on begins a journey along a path laden with thorns, and innumerable curveballs are thrown her way.

This includes being forced into a marriage to ‘cleanse’ the family name and upright the family honor. Sameer always lurks in the dark and eventually Jyoti has to run away from it all. She spends the next 15 years in oblivion in Mumbai raising her son Abir along with her masi. The rotten past however soon catches up and this time it springs out of control.

Does Jyoti keep up her resilience or does she succumb to evil?

The Author has an amazing command over language and that is evident with the choice of words and figures of speech sprinkled throughout the narrative. The narrative is lucid and that makes the book unputdownable.

A must-read!

Author: Elif Shafak

This book isn’t a story, it’s a journey. It isn’t a sermon but a path laid with roses and thorns. This is how I felt as a reader who doesn’t fancy this genre. The book came as a recommendation and didn’t disappoint.

The narrative is about a woman a homemaker and a mother of 3 and how she struggles with the mundane motions of life. Nothing around her excites her anymore and the family too doesn’t seem to value her presence or contribution to the house. In the emptiness filling her heart, she begins her part-time work of reviewing manuscripts and is handed over one that changes her outlook toward life itself.

Ella reads the manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She connects with the author who is actually a vagabond photographer and soon feels like she has a tete-a-tete with her soulmate. She feels her life brightening up and eventually gives up everything to be with him. That she feels is seeking meaning to her life.

While the content appears dry and filled with Sufi teachings mainly Sham’s 40 rules interspersed throughout the narrative, Overall it has a special charm. There area couple of edit errors like Ella’s POV going to the third person in the last two chapters and also the ending appears rushed with the revelation of everything together.

Yet its an interesting read.

Author: Shatrujeet Nath

This is book one of the Vikramaditya Veergatha series.

The story is constructed around the premise that the ‘halahala’, sourced during the churning of the White Lake by the Devas and the Asuras, was not completely destroyed by the omniscient Shiva. A small portion still remained and had the capacity to cause significant destruction and remain undefeated for the person who possessed it. Devas and Asuras in their perennial battle of supremacy would never stop at attempts to claim the same.
the Omniscient one Gives the dagger containing the halahala to Samrat Vikramaditya and the epitome of righteousness and the bravest and most virtuous soul on earth, for safekeeping.
However, the supernatural hordes stop at nothing to claim the same from a ‘mere mortal’ Samrat and his council of nine, causing bloodshed and chaos.
How does Samrat Vikramaditya manage to protect the same and keep the promise to the Omniscient one?

The author’s research is impeccable and the way he has woven it all into the threads of fiction is amazing. the language is superior and the use of vocabulary is brilliant providing the needed grandeur to the time period of the saga. There is thrill and horror superimposed on the narrative and the author doesn’t disappoint. Though there is violence and gore, the use of language makes one relate to the circumstances in the plot rather than cringe at the destruction.

I am eager to read the remaining 3 parts.

Author: Anjali Kirpalani

The story is about a 26-year-old wannabe actress Meghna Saxena and her struggles until she finds her true calling.

Meghana has one year to prove to her parents when she moves from Chandigarh to the city of dreams. HOwever eight months down the line, she hasn’t landed anything significant. To add fuel to fire her best friends receive accolades and success despite not craving for them and all that remains for her is just a ‘dream’. Things change however when she realizes her true potential.

Aptly supported by her friends she launches on a new path and eventually lands in clear waters.

The story brings out interpersonal relationships quite well. It’s filled with dialogues that enhance the reading experience. A light and breezy read.

Author: Supriya Parulekar

Is love enough to keep up the facade of marriage from breaking down? What about adjustments, compromises, resilience and second chances? Are they important?

The story begins when Radhika sees those texts on her globetrotting husband Abhishek’s phone and the doors to his clandestine rendezvous are opened. To her dismay, she is faced head-on with betrayal, and lies and is completely broken from within. She confides with her closest friend M and her comatose mother. She tries to be strong for her daughter Zoe.

However, as she contemplates her steps, she is acquainted with Omar Rajput, a football coach, and a widower, by chance. He understands her angst without her voicing it out and she feels drawn toward him.

Not the one to give up easily, Radhika decides to give her husband another chance only to find herself flat on her face.

What would she do now? would she continue the farce of her marriage, give in to her feelings for Omar, or take another option, not in the kitty?

The author has spun the tale around interpersonal relationships, eloquently tackling desires and fantasies. She doesn’t play the blame game but tactfully brings out POV of the characters in their own space. The reader can’t help but think….

Author: Pradeep Govind

Duryodhana is always projected as the antagonist in the Mahabharata epic. He is known as the tyrant who was opposed to Dharma and as a result, the Kurukshetra war happened that saw the destruction of lineages particularly the Kurus.

However was he the only one to blame?

What about the betrayals, he faced when the Kounteya’s arrived causing ripples in his childhood? As per the laws of the land he was meant to be the legitimate successor of King Dhritarashtra given that the Kounteyas weren’t Pandu’s biological sons. The book talks about straying away from the path of righteousness that happened on all counts and even by those who were the torchbearers of the virtue, eg, Yudhisthira

The book takes you through the sojourn of the entire Mahabharata through Duryodhana’s eyes. He comes across as someone with not entirely black but grey shades. He faced betrayal from his kith and kin across the spheres of his life. He was disliked and wronged as well. Though that doesn’t excuse his actions, be it insulting Draupadi before the world or denying Indraprastha to Pandavas later, or the deceitful game of dice that changed the course of the history of Bharata.

The book doesn’t take sides but makes you think. It makes you ponder over the what-ifs in a new light from Duryodhana’s perspective. It shows that all that glitters is not always gold.

I first read about Duryodhana’s perspective in Maithili Sharan Gupt’s translated book years ago. This book only vindicated my stand. A great job is done by the author. Flawless language suited to the times with adequate hyperbole with a fast-paced narrative is the USP of the book. A must-read for mythology lovers.

Author: Sudha Yadav

Have you ever imagined a street being personified? A street is a mute spectator to everything that transpires on it, complete life cycles and a gamut of emotions.

The Author has brilliantly brought out these occurrences through her characters who are residents of the street. There are ten short stories documenting and amalgamating the emotional roller coasters in the lives of these characters, respectively.

Be it a gathering of men on a rooftop with varied reactions to their life challenges, after a drinking binge, or a broken single mother who struggles to run her ironing shop so her daughter doesn’t face the same predicament she did, or a maid who has risen from the ashes after her husband was killed by the local goon and children deserted her, or the perils of a retired couple…. each story is weaved in a unique yarn of susceptibilities. Each story tugs at your heartstrings and the authors writing style is exemplary.

I loved how the author built the premise on mundane occurrences of daily life. I was reminded of ‘Malgudi days’ and ‘Nukkad’ (those who grew up in the late 80s or 90s would know what these are)

Author: Moitrayee Bhaduri

The story is a Historical fiction, based on the life of Troilokya, India’s first known serial killer. It is based in the 1870s when British colonialism and commerce were spreading their roots deep within the country. Particularly the city of joy, Calcutta (presently, Kolkatta) sees innumerable changes that shake the very foundation of local culture and heritage, customs, and traditions.

The story of Trinoyini begins as a beautiful little girl barely 12, belonging to the highest hierarchy of the caste system, Kulin Brahmin, is married off to a 40-year-old man. The latter only bleeds the family dry in form of dowry over the next few years and the marriage remains unconsummated. Eventually, the man passes and instead of living an archaic life of enforced widowhood, Trinoyoni chooses to elope with her paramour, to Calcutta.

She soon metamorphosis into Tronoyoni Devi after reaching Sonagachi, the famed redlight district within the city. The forbidden by-lanes bring her fame and wealth where patrons vie for a mere glimpse of the damsel she turns into.

But intense fame and wealth amassed in a short while, sow the seeds of downfall and unscrupulous decisions leave her penniless. She soon resorts to crime and the crux of the story speaks about her modus operandi. The narrative brings out the transition of the sensual seductress into a serial killer; the savage executioner behind the facade of breathtaking beauty. It’s an eventful journey of a child widow to a famed courtesan and eventually the remorseless murderer.

However if one thinks deeply, Trinoyoni didn’t fit into the classic profile of a serial killer. She did what she did to survive and for her foster son. It however doesn’t justify the killing spree she ventured upon.

A riveting read!

authors:

1. Prahlad Hegde
2. Jacob John
3. Anamika Kundu
4. Venkat Balantrapu
5. Vishwanathan Iyer
6. Amisha Shah
7. Aparna Salvi Nagda
8. Bhumii R Parwani

This book is a collection of 8 short stories, each metaphorically based on the 8 chief ingredients in making a pizza. The acronym LA JAVVAAB represents each author. Just as the name suggests each component has its unique flavor that adds value to a pizza so does the associated tale.

The story mainly follows an Italian Elena Berlusconi who arrives in Bombay looking towards unraveling the success stories behind the pizza chains in the city. The chef gets chatting with her and in turn, takes her through the intriguing journey of the tales behind each ingredient.

Each story brings with it an exemplary emotional quotient that tugs your heartstrings and makes you want more. Whether it’s the story of the survival of the fittest in Bombay’s underworld or Jhumroo’s meteoric rise in the proverbial scandalous hierarchy, or whether its the gur-wrenching turn of events in Keshavji’s life filling it with abandonment and loneliness or the melancholic narrative of Chameli and her life on the other side of societal virtue, each story stands out on its own. The addition of poetic presentations adds to the literary hue, enriching the reading experience just like Elena relishes her pizza.

Here’s wishing the authors a sequel to this one!