Book picks similar to
The Vague Woman's Handbook by Devapriya Roy
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Kalyug
R. Sreeram - 2014
The helplessness left him, in its place was a hardened resolve that he would still have the final say. A third option. The middle-finger to the middlemen who had driven him to this. A few moments later, Major General Iqbal Qureshi fired the shot that shook the nations conscience.The death of a decorated war veteran, one of India's foremost military officials, triggers a chain of events that threatens to spiral out of control. The democratically-elected government is overthrown and a new one is formed in its place.A fierce and pure regime that promises it's people the kind of governance they have been deprived of. Just. Fair. Unyielding. Operation Kalyug has begun. Caught in the middle is Bala Murali Selvam, a writer who is still tormented by the memories of his persecution at the hands of the erstwhile-establishment. As the new government battles factions fighting for control, international intervention, personal agendas and incompatible motives, Selvam is swept along, a bewildered-pawn in a high-stakes game. Forced to question everything he has believed so far, even his innate sense of justice, Selvam struggles to choose sides. Will his instincts fail him when he needs them the most?
Rain
Sriram Subramanian - 2016
When fortune deserts Jai and his carefully ordered life spins inexorably out of control, Jai stands on the brink of ruin. Only a delayed monsoon can save Jai’s biggest project from disaster, but there are millions across the land praying for the exact opposite. Reason seems to have its limits - the weather defies all prediction, let alone control. Will Jai relinquish the beliefs of a lifetime? Will he reconcile with the awful ambiguity about his past? Will he be able to save his crumbling marriage?
Hindustaan: An Epic Adventure of the Mughal Empire
Mainak Dhar - 2011
That superpower was what we know today as India under the Mughal Empire. Years of internal strife, attacks by Afghan raiders and finally conquest by the British led to the decline and destruction of this mighty empire.But what if India had never been conquered by the British? What if it remained a mighty and prosperous nation under the rule of the Mughal Empire?A nation known as Hindustaan.Dilli, 1857. The Mughal Empire is at the peak of its power and is gearing up to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of its victory over the British, an occasion where the popular Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar is widely expected to announce his successor. The Empire is thrown into sudden chaos when the Emperor is assassinated and a new regime seizes power in a bloody coup. In this maelstrom, three unlikely companions find themselves thrown together by fate. Ranveer, a young officer in the elite Mughal cavalry, who is now hunted by the very Empire he served; Theo, a rakish English traveller with a mysterious past and Maya, a beautiful and spirited Princess they rescue. Together, they embark on a series of dramatic adventures across Hindustaan. A journey that takes them from bloody skirmishes with Afghan raiders, rescue missions in remote forts, joining a coalition of rulers who band together against the new despotic regime to protect their independence, and finally back into the heart of Dilli for a dramatic mission.The stage is set for a monumental struggle that will decide not just their fate, but that of the whole of Hindustaan.
Challenging Love
KaLyn Cooper - 2017
But once they return to their normal lives, secrets from their pasts threaten to tear them apart. They are thrown into a web of temptations, lies and deceit, testing their fragile connection. Challenging Love is a novella in KaLyn Cooper’s popular Black Swan series of active duty military women and the men who dare to love them. If you enjoy books by Susan Stoker, Elle James and Cristin Harber, you’ll enjoy this fast read.
A Daughter's Duty
Maggie Hope - 2014
It falls to Rose to bring up her young sister and run the household, with little thanks from either of her parents. But just as Rose has almost given up hope, she realises she has a secret admirer of her own.
A House for Happy Mothers
Amulya Malladi - 2016
In a Southern Indian village, Asha doesn’t have much—raising two children in a tiny hut, she and her husband can barely keep a tin roof over their heads—but she wants a better education for her gifted son. Pressured by her family, Asha reluctantly checks into the Happy Mothers House: a baby farm where she can rent her only asset—her womb—to a childless couple overseas. To the dismay of friends and family, Priya places her faith in a woman she’s never met to make her dreams of motherhood come true.Together, the two women discover the best and the worst that India’s rising surrogacy industry has to offer, bridging continents and cultures to bring a new life into the world—and renewed hope to each other.
Periyar: A Political Biography of E.V. Ramasamy
Bala Jeyaraman - 2013
He opposed the exploitation and marginalisation of the non-Brahmin indigenous Dravidian peoples of South India and the imposition of, what he considered, Indo-Aryan India. His work has greatly revolutionised Tamil society and has significantly removed caste-based discrimination. He is also responsible for bringing new changes to the Tamil alphabet. The citation awarded by the UNESCO described Periyar as "the prophet of the new age, the Socrates of South East Asia, father of social reform movement and arch enemy of ignorance, superstitions, meaningless customs and base manners"
Tiffin: Memories and Recipes of Indian Vegetarian Food
Rukmini Srinivas - 2015
‘Amma, send us more recipes for tiffin,' they wrote, Those stories were rambling and multifaceted and they are all here in my book.‘Tiffin', derived from ‘tiffing', a historical British term for small meals or snacks to accompany a drink, is a staple meal in most Indian households. A popular television chef on the local Arlington cable network, Rukmini Srinivas or ‘Rukka', regularly whips up mouth-watering delicious tiffin for her viewers with an ease and prowess befitting a seasoned epicure.In this delightful memoir-cum-cookbook, Rukka shares the memories and recipes of delectable food that she has cooked and eaten over many decades. Having travelled extensively- from Poona, Madras and Delhi to Berkeley, Stanford and Boston- she realized, at a very young age, the indispensability of authentic home-cooked food. She records here her emotional and deeply personal bond with food- from Chitappa's masala vadai and Appa's vegetable cutlet to bondas on Marina Beach, Narayana's bajji and Amma's Mysore pak. Alongside, she shares stories from her childhood in British Poona, of making vegetable cutlets with a Victorian meat grinder, college days in the Madras of a newly independent India, cooking for author R.K. Narayan and her travels around the world with her husband, the renowned social anthropologist, M.N. Srinivas.Like the traditional metal tiffin box, which has found its way into modern food, Rukka's pure-vegetarian recipes are an interesting amalgamation of old-school cooking techniques, with innovative twists. Including charming anecdotes and over a hundred easy-to-follow delicious recipes accompanied by evocative photographs, Tiffin is a richly satisfying feast for all those who believe in food, family and friendship.
Kathputli
Ushasi Sen Basu - 2016
Two lives. Three generations. Four places. Chitrangda Chatterjee, 32, has been moving from one dead-end offshore job to another. Kathputli’s story begins after Chitrangda has quit her latest job and sets out in search of the perfect story for her Great Indian Novel. This takes her to a family reunion of her grandmother’s clan, where a story of the long-lost daughter of a once-powerful Zamindar family begins to take shape. Unravelling the mystery of Mala’s disappearance a few years after the brutal murder of the boy she loved becomes an obsession for Chitrangda. One which draws Chitrangda out of her shell; and introduces her to the unaccustomed joys of getting to know new people and places. What emerges, however, undermines the very foundation of Chitrangda’s understanding of her own family. The novel goes back and forth between Chitrangda’s present-day search for all the missing pieces of Mala’s story and the story itself, set in 1940s Kolkata.
Truck de India!: A Hitchhiker's Guide to Hindustan
Rajat Ubhaykar - 2019
Perhaps, these are the usual side effects of prolonged riding with the king of the road, I think to myself. But it is only when I fill in ‘truck’ as my mode of transportation in the hotel ledger at Udaipur does the utter ludicrousness of my endeavour truly hit home"Think truck drivers, and movie scenes of them drunkenly crushing inconvenient people to their gravelly deaths come to mind. But what are their lives on the road actually like?In Truck De India!, journalist Rajat Ubhaykar embarks on a 10,000 km-long, 100% unplanned trip, hitchhiking with truckers all across India. On the way, he makes unexpected friendships; listens to highway ghost stories; discovers the near-fatal consequences of overloading trucks; documents the fascinating tradition of truck art in Punjab; travels alongside nomadic shepherds in Kashmir; encounters endemic corruption repeatedly; survives NH39, the insurgent-ridden highway through Nagaland and Manipur; and is unfailingly greeted by the unconditional kindness of perfect strangers.Imbued with humour, empathy, and a keen sense of history, Truck De India! is a travelogue like no other you've read. It is the story of India, and Indians, on the road.
He FIXED the MATCH she fixed him
Shikha Kumarr - 2014
My parents are having a tough time finding a suitable groom for me. However, recently they have a proposal from this very interesting guy from Mumbai. I almost get mesmerised when he starts talking to me. I think I like him very much. Kunal – I'm owner of a textile company in Mumbai. My Mom wants me to get married. Again. She has recently suggested a suitable girl from Delhi. What my Mom doesn't know is that I've met Shreya before once in my life and I've been looking for her ever since. I have a vendetta to settle. ]The author takes you along on a journey via roads of revenge, agony, remorse, attraction, titillation, tantalisation and romance. Do Shreya and Kunal make it, or do they fall prey to their past?
Bella
Jilly Cooper - 1976
Fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton and Jane Fallon will love this perfect cocktail of love, passion, intrigue and suspense...
'Jilly is about bringing joy into your life: daft, silly, boozy joy ... There is no one else like Cooper' -- Guardian'The Jane Austen of our time' - HARPERS & QUEEN'Unputdownable' -- Marian Keyes'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' -- Jenny Colgan'Flawlessly entertaining' -- Helen Fielding'Pure entertainment and a thoroughly enjoyable read' -- ***** Reader review'An absolute must!' -- ***** Reader review'Love it this book so much!' -- ***** Reader review****************************************************************There was no doubt Bella Parkinson was a success: the most promising actress in London, bright, sexy - and hopelessly scatterbrained - she was taking the town by storm.Rupert Henriques, dashingly handsome and wealthy enough to buy her every theatre in London if she wanted it, couldn't wait to marry her . . .But Bella had a secret in her past - and the one man who knew it was about to come into her life again. Worse, Rupert's sinister cousin Lazlo, for some reason of his own, was trying to prevent her marriage.Before she knew where she was, Bella found herself in real danger . . .
Heath, Cliffs & Wandering Hearts
Laura Barnard
Her Mum’s business has failed and they’re forced to move into a maisonette in the rough end of town. She doesn’t want anyone to know her dire situation, not even her besties. So when the rest of the money for the school ski trip is due she can’t be seen not to attend. Everyone is going! She just needs to find a job. Add that to the list of getting a boyfriend and losing her pathetic virginity. But working every spare hour in a job she hates on top of school work and mounting secrets doesn’t prove easy. Soon she’s keeping so many she’s not even sure herself what’s true and what’s not. The only person she can lean on to tell the truth is her best friend Heath. Only…did he get hot recently? That won’t make things awkward between them…right?
The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian
Upamanyu Chatterjee - 2018
The head of the family, Nadeem Dalvi, had been the subordinate mamlatdar of Madhusudan Sen, ICS, the Magistrate of Batia, and his trusted supplier of fresh eggs, fish and red meat. When it is discovered that the deaths had not been accidental or caused by fire, Sen vows to turn vegetarian until justice has been done.In this novella of stunning force and impact, a true original of Indian writing is in brilliant form.About the AuthorUpamanyu Chatterjee was born in 1959 in Patna. He spent over thirty calm and undistinguished years in the Indian Administrative Service; during that time, he wrote six novels—when no one was looking. He retired (early and honourably) in 2016 to devote himself full time to running the household. He has one wife and two daughters. He enjoys several solitary occupations.
It Must've Been Something He Wrote
Nikita Deshpande - 2016
Her eccentric taskmaster of a boss expects marketing miracles to happen on shoestring budgets and in record time, and surviving the job (and the city) means she’ll have to master the local art of jugaad really fast. Worst of all, she’s stuck being a publicist for Jishnu Guha, protein-shake lover, serial selfie-taker, and bestselling author of seven cheesy romance novels, the kind she wouldn’t be caught dead reading. As Ruta struggles between work and life in a new city, she finds, much to her annoyance, that she needs Jishnu’s help more than she cares to admit. But with her own parents getting a divorce, can Ruta dare to fall in love, especially with someone who’s so impossibly different?