Ayyan Mani, one of the thousands of dalit (untouchable caste) men trapped in Mumbai’s slums, works in the Institute of Theory and Research as the lowly assistant to the director, a brilliant self-assured astronomer. Ever wily and ambitious, Ayyan weaves two plots, one involving his knowledge of an illicit romance between his married boss and the institute’s first female researcher, and another concerning his young son and his soap-opera-addicted wife. Ayyan quickly finds his deceptions growing intertwined, even as the Brahmin scientists wage war over the question of aliens in outer space. In his debut novel, Manu Joseph expertly picks apart the dynamics of this complex world, offering humorous takes on proselytizing nuns and chronicling the vanquished director serving as guru to his former colleagues. This is at once a moving portrait of love and its strange workings and a hilarious portrayal of men’s runaway egos and ambitions. .

    He reluctantly makes friends with Bilal, a boy who lives in the orphanage run by the local mosque. Together, they embark on clandestine adventures while his ailing father-whose last wish is to die listening to the sea he has grown up by and written books about-rediscovers people from his childhood by accident. But his father's death unsettles the boy's life again, and he finds himself grappling with altogether unexpected challenges.Lyrical and haunting, sharply funny and achingly sad, The Small-town Sea is a masterful tale of love, friendship and family from one of our most compelling storytellers.

    Through the grueling course of circumstances, he is subjected to the bitter tests of life, where he fails to justify his one decision of parting ways with Mahek. But, when Mahek flashes out of his life, leaving him all alone, the guilt of not been forgiven by her, ruins his soul; and that frustration leads him into seclusion, devoid of even his best buddies Rohan and Rahul. Failed love, broken friendship, a hurt ego and lost soul Raj is doomed to darkness. With no ray of hope ahead, just when Raj is about to give up on life, he come across a note, written to him by his favorite professor, "Never give up Raj… Because… Every Raindrop is a Hope" which brings Raj face to face with his own self. Why Love that makes Life beautiful, turns into Satan? Why friendship one fine day loses all its meaning? Why on the crowded roads of Mumbai city, Raj finds himself walking all alone? Will Raj challenge Life and fight back with the sword of Hope or will he take the easy way out by succumbing to the arduous tests of time. ****************************************** About the Authors: Mansi Sharma Having a zeal to sail the vessel, till the river runs dry in the chase of her dreams; Mansi is a person who takes the challenges and surprises that life and destiny throws at her, with courage. Nesting big dreams from her childhood in the Beautiful City of Chandigarh, post her Graduation in Physics (Hons.) from PU, she moved to Pune for her Masters. An MBA Graduate from SCIT, Pune, Mansi is presently working in one of the top Indian Telcos. With a slice of painter, dash of an avid reader, a writer and an unexplored poet, she is an emotional and sensitive person. Sankalp Kohli Born and brought up in Kanpur, Sankalp is an MBA Graduate from NMIMS, Mumbai. An entrepreneurial soul with an imprint of a perfectionist, he is a workaholic, who believes in turning every single moment of life into something constructive and fruitful. Being an avid reader since the beginning, he eventually began giving his thoughts and ideas, the wings of words in the form of blogs. He is a person who holds his parents above all, especially his mother. All his dreams and aspirations are driven by his wish to make his parents feel proud. Other bestsellers from General Press: A Lot Like Love, Love Happens only Once, The Girl I Last Loved.

    A lifetime ago. Before the murder of her father. Before she became Kota Rani, the wise regent who rules over Kashmir with a firm hand.As invaders and immigrants disturb the tranquillity of her land, Kota must find a way to protect her people. But at what personal cost? Can she weather the political intrigues and power-play of the court? Will she succeed in preserving the splendour and diversity of her society? Will social hypocrisy and notions of what a woman should be keep Kota from being the sovereign she knows she is?Set in fourteenth-century Kashmir, The Last Queen of Kashmir is the sweeping saga of a civilization in peril. It is also the tale of one of the greatest queens of the land - one that will speak to the men and women of today.

    But one glance over the fence at his lovely but reticent neighbour. Maya is enough to launch him on a path of no return. He finds himself playing friend, partner, co-conspirator, and finally the entirely unexpected role of saviour as Maya, suffocating under the weight of a loveless marriage and a suspicious husband, turns to him for help. With characteristic case and insight, Jaishree Misra writes in her new novel of the transforming power of love and of the joy and heartbreak of giving yourself to another, for better or for worse.

    However, getting involved with an older man,making out with the hottest star in Bollywood, teaching a hot, upcoming actress Hindi . . . her goals seem nowhere in sight.Starting afresh seems to have thrown her off completely and she begins to see the superficial life that she’s been leading. It’s time to take some hard decisions. With fresh hope and a new philosophy, Kaveri begins to focus on her goals.Things begin to look up when there is a kindling of romance across Twitter and she’s starts to understand her true calling. She might finally be moving in the right direction!

    covers partition and then life in East Punjab.

    “A potpourri of beggars and billionaires and determinedly laid-back ways,” Bangalore, India’s own Silicon Valley, is a crucible for prosperity, and at the chaotic crossroads between past and present. Here, American-trained professionals like Tara return to their old-fashioned families with heads full of Quentin Tarantino dialogue; a successful entrepreneur is shaken when his partner suddenly reneges on their plan to return to America; a traditional Indian mother slyly circumvents her Western-educated daughter’s resistance to marriage; a neighborhood gossip is determined to discover what goes on behind the closed curtains of the hip young couple across the street; a chauffeur must reconcile his more orthodox credos with his employer’s miniskirt lifestyle.Witty, affectionate, and wonderfully wise, Lavanya Sankaran’s first collection attests to her remarkable literary talent.

    Despite being in a loving and sexually satisfying relationship, they are relentlessly hounded by the taunts and insinuations of the people around them. Ultimately, all their hopes and apprehensions come to converge on the chariot festival in the temple of the half-female god Ardhanareeswara and the revelry surrounding it. Everything hinges on the one night when rules are relaxed and consensual union between any man and woman is sanctioned. This night could end the couple’s suffering and humiliation. But it will also put their marriage to the ultimate test. Acutely observed, One Part Woman lays bare with unsparing clarity a relationship caught between the dictates of social convention and the tug of personal anxieties, vividly conjuring an intimate and unsettling portrait of marriage, love and sex.

    It is the story that is inspiring children across India to work towards saving the tiger and the countrys rapidly dissapearing forests. When Aditya attempts to lay his hands on the diary of a ruthless tiger poacher, little does he know the events his action will trigger. His ill-fated endeavour plunges Vikram and Aarti into a thrilling adventure that climaxes at the magnificent game park of Ranthambore. Ranthambore Adventure also narrates the story of the tiger, Genghis. Brimming with tiger-lore, it traces the moments of Genghiss life-from his birth as a fluffy, helpless ball of fur -to his emergence as a proud and powerful predator. But vicious, greedy humans infiltrate his kingdom, seeking his skin and bones... About the Author: Deepak Dalal Deepak Dalal chucked up a career as a chemical engineer to write stories for children. He lives currently in Pune with his wife, two daughters and several dogs and cats. He enjoys wildlife, nature and the outdoors. The Sahyadri Hills of Pune are a short journey from his home. When not at his desk writing, he is either trekking their slopes or cycling their valleys.

    She believed in destiny and he, in her…. Their hearts beat in amalgamation the moment they had set their eyes on each other. It wasn't love at first sight, it was more. It was finding ‘home’ at first sight. As the last of teenage years hit their door, Naman and Dhwani found each other on the first day of their college. A chocolaty, teenage romance could have brewed, but she chose to keep it at bay until she knew herself better. He? He chose to wait, until her heart let him in. The possibility of loving someone without any conditions, obligations or even acknowledgement could seem unreal. But is true love all about living, breathing and being with that one person? What if, you are not meant to be? Is that not Love at all? A story that will tug at your heart strings like never before, a story that will make you wonder what ‘hope’ is all about; here is a story that will make you want to rethink - what ‘LOVE’ really is.

    His once prosperous landowning family has slipped low down the class ladder. Arif ’s sole ambition in life is to crack the civil service examination and become an IAS officer. He believes this will restore the family’s fortunes and works hard at his studies. Until his first glimpse of Sumitra, a voluptuous long-haired beauty. Married, Hindu and several years older than him, she is wrong for him in every way. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will consume his life.‘Reading Patna Blues is like pedalling your way through a littleknown India. It is certain to fill you with inexplicably candid and absolutely stunning tales. Patna Blues marks an impressive debut and brings us an important voice.’ —Anees Salim‘I am familiar not only with the places where this novel is set, the cramped rooms, the names of shops, or the streets, but, it seems to me, even the people, their little joys, their struggles, their often irrational hopes and desires, their guilt, and their beauty. Part literary novel, part-pulp fiction, Patna Blues is a report from a rarely seen world in Indian writing in English, the contemporary lives of provincial Muslims.’ —Amitava Kumar

    When the mystified librarian opens it, she screams before she falls unconscious to the floor. An elite group calling itself the Lashkar-e-Talatashar has scattered around the globe, the fate of its members curiously resembling that of Christ and his Apostles. Their agenda is Armageddon. In the labyrinthine recesses of the Vatican, a beautiful assassin swears she will eliminate all who do not believe in her twisted credo. In Tibet, Buddhist monks search for a reincarnation while in strife-torn Kashmir, a tomb called Rozabal holds the key to an ancient riddle. Father Vincent Sinclair, has disturbing visions of himself and of people familiar to him, except that they seem located in other ages. He goes to India to piece together the violent images burnt onto his mind. Shadowing his every move is a clandestine society, which would rather wipe out creation than allow an ancient secret to be disclosed.

    But this is no ordinary girl And her kidnapper is no ordinary man.In Delhi, Admiral Nirbhay Rana, India’s most strong-willed naval officer, watches as the consequences of a lethal operation from his past crash into the present, holding both his daughter and his country hostage. In New York, as the Indian prime minister plays a delicate game of politics with Pakistan’s prime minister and the US president, Admiral Rana must assemble the only team he trusts to get his daughter back – the very same group of commandos he had led into the heart of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir years ago. Will they make it back alive this time?

    Piya Roy, a young American marine biologist of Indian descent, arrives in this lush, treacherous landscape in search of a rare species of river dolphin and enlists the aid of a local fisherman and a translator. Together the three of them launch into the elaborate backwaters, drawn unawares into the powerful political undercurrents of this isolated corner of the world that exact a personal toll as fierce as the tides.