Not another book about the slums and poverty of India/Mumbai, I grimaced as I read the synopsis on the back of the book. But the cheerful cover and beautiful title caught my eye and I picked up the slim volume. The book is based in Annawadi, a slum near Mumbai…
Pages: 368 Genre: Romance. Fiction Available in: Paperback and E-book Format The Plot: Ella Rubinstein is a 40 year old stay-at-home mother and wife with a beautiful home, 3 children and a prosperous husband. Outwardly, Ella has everything one could wish for, despite which she still feels an unnamed…
The Last Queen of India AND Nefertiti by Michelle Moran Historical fiction is not a genre that would interest me. Or so I thought, till a friend introduced me to Michelle Moran’s books. I was reluctant to start reading the first book but when I did start I…
I have been a huge fan of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni ever since I read her first book of short stories, Arranged Marriage. Sister of My Heart and The Palace of Illusions have been amongst my constant favourites among all of her books I’ve read so far. When ‘Before we visit…
Pages: 216 Genre: Non-Fiction Available in : Kindle Edition, Hardcover, Paperback and Audio CD Each of us has grown up listening to, believing in, and following certain ideologies which have been passed onto us from our parents, our religions, our cultures, and later got firmly entrenched into our being from…
With her debut novel, Nadia Hashimi takes us to Kabul where women were child brides to men thrice their age, were rarely the first or only wives, and was treated depending on the number of sons they gave birth to. Rahima is the 3rd of 5 sisters.…
What I know of the Mahabharata is courtesy of the much-revered epic telecast on the small screen years ago. Sunday mornings meant sitting in front of the television watching the majestic Bheeshma Pitamah exuding power, the valiant Arjun skillfully battling his enemies, the enigmatic and wily Krishna using his clever…
In her own words, Butterfly is ‘sophisty, smart and socialist.’ Her friends, Mulloo, Flopsy, Furry and Twinkle are ‘always doing competition’ with her. According to Butterfly, those who’ve studied at Oxford come back ‘three years later an Oxen.’ She laughs till she becomes ‘historical’ says ‘Thanks God’ to not have…
Dear Jasmine Shah Varma, I just finished reading, correction smiling, through Amit Varma’s debut book, ‘My Friend Sancho’ In his acknowledgments Amit Varma credits you for the existence of this book, and adds that if the reader doesn’t like it, it’s your fault. So I guess if the reader (me)…
Here we drink three cups of tea to do business: the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything – even die.’ Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains,…