When Meera finds herself getting ready to be the child-bride of her husband Krishna, a day before her thirteenth birthday, little did she know that destiny had planned big for her. A marriage that takes place when she is only four years old and a life that she leads with her parents knowing that soon she will have to depart for her in-laws’ house; reduces her role as a silent spectator to her own life-changing decisions. Strong as FIRE, Fierce as FLAME by Supriya Kelkar tells the fictional account of Meera on her way to her in-laws’ house and how the political volatility of 1857 changes everyt ..read more

When life gives you lemons, get a dog! Suzy Medley, an obituary writer is in a mess. With her former partner investing in a distillery on a far-off island called Sgadansay and vanishing without a word when the finances start to topple, Suzy is left to deal with angry employers, a life without a partner, and deprived of any knowledge about the workings of the distillery. That is, till four paws come knocking on her door. The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson is a heart-warming and poignant tale of having a dog in your life and how it changes everything around you. When Suzy discovers an empty apartment ..read more

              ‘Unhappiness, like happiness is ephemeral. Do not allow either to rule your heart’ The story of the Mahabharat is the story of valor, strength, humiliation, and justice. This is what we have grown up hearing. But Ira Mukhoty paints a different, relatable, and mortal painting of the epic through her book – Song of Draupadi. Unlike any other representation of the epic, the book has no VFX. No stories of gods, goddesses, and demons fill in the pages. Superstitions and stories of spirits, occult and black magic exists ..read more

Funiculi Funicula is an antique café in Japan serving some of the best coffees. Working within its confines are Nagare, Kei, and Kazu. Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Japanese novel translated to English by Geoffrey Trousselot, before the coffee gets cold, is not just about a café, but about a café that enables you to travel in time. If you think that traveling in time is easy, there are rules, hearing which many backs out in a flash. But those who do not, proceed towards their goal. Whether this time-traveling serves its purpose or not is a question only time itself has the answer can answer. Each havi ..read more

When happiness knocks on your door after a long wait, it is called Panchayat Season 2. Streaming on Amazon Prime, it has already won the hearts of many with its no violence, no sexual and no-nonsense content, depicting the grass root level issues of modern India. A chance scrolling through Facebook informed me yesterday of the new Season having gone live and thereafter staying awake whole night and watching it was the plan. Season 2 opens nearly where Season 1 concluded but with a more confident and settled Abhishek Tripathi in Phulera. The supporting characters Pradhan ji, Madam, Vikas and Pr ..read more

Being a journalist, stories of disappearances of foreign nationals is not uncommon to read about in nationals or regionals. Most of the time their stories are tracked for a while and then people lose hope about their whereabouts. It becomes easier to associate this with the storyline of Lost Girl by Sana Shetty. The story of Shanaya who was found in the dangerous terrains of Himachal on a particularly cold dawn drew me further into this exciting read. Shanaya, a young, charismatic, bubbly girl is nursed back to health from her near-death experiences on the slopes; except that her memory has be ..read more

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could be ever youthful? Would long life not attract you? The elixir of longevity or the Amrita is a secret so powerful that people are willing to curse, die and kill for its possession across millennia. Tijara’s Mystery Codes by Hemma Myers Sood weaves an intricate timeline spanning over three different eras; each having the same focus – discovering the Amrita to become immortal. When the palace-appointed doctor at Tijara Fort is killed under mysterious circumstances in 1977, Delhi Police sends their special officer Siddhartha under the guise of an interior deco ..read more

It is always a pleasure reading translations. To top it all, when it is a Marathi translation coming straight from the City of Dreams or the Commercial Capital of India- Mumbai, the feel is even better. Ganesh Matkari’s Khidkya Ardhya Ughadya has been translated by Jerry Pinto to Half-Open Windows; keeping intact the feel and essence of mayanagri Mumbai. A unique narrative about changing relations in the city, this is a novel in whole and yet complete in itself through the various chapters of the book. An aspiring but insecure writer who is currently on job-break questions his relationship wit ..read more

Bheeshma … The very name is enough to evoke a sense of power, discipline, virtue, and strength. But with time, as one gets to know the man, he is seen bent by the burden of his own words. The journey from the grand Debabrata to the weak Bheeshma is one of power to lifelong bondage towards Hastinapur. Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel Tumi, Pitamoho translated to English as Bheeshma by Riddhi Maitra and published by Bee Books; makes the reader visualize the realistic Bheeshma and not the symbol of grandeur that he is usually portrayed as. Bheeshma, the eighth Vasu, who is cursed for hi ..read more

One MURDER Suspects Galore, Discover Lutyens Delhi like Never Before! Anuja Chauhan’s latest, Club You to Death revolves around Delhi’s most renowned and elitist club – The Delhi Turf Club (DTC), where amidst the upcoming Club Presidential elections the members unearth a dead body in broad daylight. One murder and suspects galore, Chauhan surely knows how to weave a dark tale of crime and murder in a place full of glitz and glamour. The readers are introduced to several characters, all members of the club and belonging to influential households of the city. The more colorful a character is, th ..read more