Narayan, easily one of the most influential and important writers of India, populated the fictional town of Malgudi with a host of unforgettable characters: Swami and his gang of friends, the Talkative Man, Raju the guide and Sampath the printer, among many others. These characters have carved out a place for themselves in popular imagination and live on, still fresh and endlessly entertaining, many decades after they first appeared.Timeless Malgudi brings together a selection of the best and the most enduring of R.K. Narayan’s fiction and non-fiction. The Guide examines, with wit and irony, how a man becomes a godman. The story ‘A Horse and Two Goats’ describes an attempt at cross-cultural communication which goes haywire, with hilarious consequences. The excerpt from My Days, Narayan’s autobiography, paints a poignant picture of the author’s childhood while the ‘Misguided “Guide”’ is a cynical, sharply written chronicle of the making of the film Guide, based on his novel. Also included in this volume are excerpts from the travelogue My Dateless Diary and a brilliant retelling of the Tamil epic Silappadikaram.Catering both to Narayan aficionados and to readers who have not yet been introduced to his work, Timeless Malgudi is as much a showcase of Narayan’s writing as it is a celebration of Malgudi, the town which time does not touch.

    All she gets is a grumpy cat.All that Maj. Samar Deshmukh has ever wanted was redemption.A chance to break free of the memories that still hold him prisoner. What he gets is having to babysit an accidental princess and her man-eating cat.Sona believes that her life can’t get worse than it already is. And then, she discovers that she is the long-lost princess of Nagaur. Which would be a good thing, if not for the fact that someone is trying to kill her.In this incomprehensible world of snooty royals and their stuffy protocol, Samar is Sona’s only link to reality. And safety.But when she falls head over heels in lust with the surly ex-commando, she realizes that a threat to her life might be the least of her problems.Can Sona ever find happiness with a man who refuses to love her for fear of losing her? His Accidental Princess is an exciting, passionate and funny royal romantic suspense about love and redemption.

    Left behind is a mysterious letter threatening Nidhi and her family.Nishant Kapoor, Nidhi’s father and a superstar of the yesteryears is confined to a retirement facility in the hills. Tormenting him are his recurring dreams of someone trying to hurt him and his family. A film set where Nidhi Kapoor is shooting for her much anticipated film goes up in flames. Trapped inside are Nidhi and her sister, Payal.ACP Prakash Mohile is forced to take up the investigation. Rujuta Singh, a photojournalist chronicling the lives of policemen in Mumbai and shadowing Prakash, gets embroiled in the case.Unwarranted incidents continue to happen and in absence of any real clues or motive, Prakash and Rujuta are forced to dig deeper in the past of the Kapoors. They unknowingly stumble onto a violent tale of lies, betrayal, treachery, infidelity and murder.Time is running out fast and the unknown assailant is adamant on taking away from Nidhi everything that she holds dear - her career, her home, her reputation, her family and her life. With each move, he seems to be getting close. The answers however continue to elude Prakash and Rujuta.What is it in their past that Kapoors are hiding from the world? What grudge does the assailant hold against the Kapoors?And, can they save Nidhi?

     Samuel Pepys has been keeping a diary for many years; a diary that tells of all the political shenanigans he is witness to at the court of King Charles Stuart. And of all his own marital indiscretions as well. And now it has been stolen, along with his wife’s favourite locket. Samuel must get it back, or he might lose his head in the Tower. He will certainly lose his wife, who thinks he’s given her locket to his latest mistress. Enlisting the help of his friend Will Hewer, they track the locket to a fence in London, who tells them who stole it for a fee. Necklace in his pocket, Will and Samuel make their way to the young thief’s home, only to find him dead in a chair, with a curious button clasped in his hand. Will spies a man fleeing the home and gives chase, only to run into a one-armed man who steals the locket. Things are looking pretty grim, when Samuel is summoned to see the King. It seems some skulduggery is a foot in the Chatham dockyards, and King Charles sends Samuel to investigate. Leaving Will behind to find the diary, he sets off with his brother in law, Balthazar ‘Balty’ St Michel, hoping he will learn the gossip from the locals, if he stays sober long enough. No such luck… Balty soon disappears and Samuel is curious as to why so many armed guards follow him wherever he goes. Then they both end up locked in a cellar, and the only way out is to start a fire. Samuel Pepys and the Stolen Diary is a laugh out loud romp through the filthy streets of London, where hackney drivers boast of having the best seats for a hangin’ and the poet laureate Dryden rewrites his plays for the highest bidder. Filled with historical colour and clever plot turns, you’ll be cheering for Samuel and Will well after the last page is turned. Martin Lee has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, TV commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites. He first encountered Samuel Pepys when an auntie gave him an edited version of the diaries when he was fifteen years old. The man and his world have remained an obsession ever since. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

    A few years later, he returns to Banaras to write that book.Plunging into its timeless aura, he roams its ghats and galis, sails through the cool breeze of the Ganga, walks through the heat of funeral pyres. One moment he is observing a sadhu show off his penile strength, in the next he is on a boat with a young woman who has been prophesied to marry seven times; one moment he is in conversation with the celebrated writer Kashinath Singh, who is an atheist, and in the next he is having tea with a globe- trotting priest and a god-fearing doctor ... Ghosh finds a story in every bend as he engages with quintessential Banarasis—their paan-stuffed mouths spouting expletives and wisdom with equal flair—and discovers why they are among the happiest people on earth. Then one evening at Manikarnika, as he emerges from a temple, wearing ash from the cremation ground on his forehead, he finds a bit of Banaras in himself. Aimless in Banaras is not only a sensuous portrait of India’s holiest city but also a meditation on life—and death.