. . Holding a bakula flower in his palm, he was wondering why he was fascinated by this tiny flower, that was neither as beautiful as a rose nor had the fragrance of a jasmine or a champaka. And yet, it was very special to him. It held an inexplicable attraction for him.’ Shrimati and Shrikant are neighbours and star students of their school in the small north Karnataka town of Hubli. It leaves no one in surprise when they come first and second respectively in the final Board exams. Soon Shrikant discovers he is strangely attracted to Shrimati, a plain-looking yet charming person, who always does better than him in the exams. Shrimati too falls in love with the amiable and handsome Shrikant and the two get married. Shrikant joins an IT company and starts rapidly climbing the corporate ladder. He works relentlessly and reaches the pinnacle of his industry, while Shrimati abandons her academic aspirations and becomes his uncomplaining shadow, silently fulfilling her duties as a corporate leader’s wife. But one day, while talking to an old professor, she starts examining what she has done with her life and realizes it is dismally empty . . . Gently Falls the Bakula is the story of a marriage that loses its way as ambition and self-interest take their toll. Written nearly three decades ago, Sudha Murty’s first novel remains startlingly relevant in its scrutiny of modern values and work ethics.

    What happens when a 10 year old child, who claims to be your future son, comes to you to help you find a perfect match for his mother? What happens when eventually you start to doubt on his intentions? What happens when a girl starts to turn your dreams into nightmares? What happens when your ‘Future son’ starts to haunt you? What happens when your FUTURE starts to bleed in your PRESENT through your PAST? ‘Hey Dad! Meet My Mom!!!’ is nothing less than a roller coaster ride of comedy, fear, love and don't forget to expect the unexpected!

    At first, the murder seems an open-and-shut case to Dechen, the tough, foul- mouthed, prickly lady cop in charge of the investigation. But as she begins to delve into the lives of Kamala and Puran, she discovers a world of lies, deceit and love gone wrong, where nothing is as it seems, and the guilt of murderers is difficult to establish.On a day of endless rain, a man emerges from thirty-two years of isolation to meet his king, whom he owes a share of the harvest from his fields. Journeying across leech-infested forests and forbidding valleys, he tells his children the story of his life one that has been full of drama and magic. But the biggest miracle of all awaits him in Gangtok...These two novellas, united by their strong sense of place, showcase Chetan Raj Shresthas enormous gifts as a storyteller. Magical, gritty, nerve-wracking and stylish in equal measure, this is an exceptional debut.

    One Indian GirlHi. I’m Radhika Mehta and I’m getting married this week. I work at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank. Thank you for reading my story. However, let me warn you: you may not like me too much. One, I make a lot of money. Two, I have an opinion about everything. Three, I have had a boyfriend before. Okay, maybe two. Now, if I was a man, one might be cool with it. But since I am a girl, these three things I mentioned don’t really make me too likeable, do they? Half Girlfriend Once upon a time, there was a Bihari boy called Madhav. He fell in love with a rich girl from Delhi called Riya. Madhav didn’t speak English well. Riya did. Madhav wanted a relationship. Riya didn’t. Riya just wanted friendship. Madhav didn’t. Riya suggested a compromise. She agreed to be his half-girlfriend. From the bestselling author Chetan Bhagat comes a simple and beautiful love story that will touch your heart and inspire you to chase your dreams. Revolution 2020 Revolution 2020 is the story of three childhood friends, Gopal, Raghav and Aarti, who struggle to find love, happiness and success in Varanasi, none of which is easily attainable in a society that favors unfairness and corruption. Gopal gives into the system, Ravi continues to fight it. Who will win? 2 States: The Story of My Marriage Welcome to 2 States, the story of Krish and Ananya, who are from two different states of India, deeply in love with each other and want to get married. Of course, their parents don't agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple has a tough battle ahead of them; for it is easy to fight and rebel, but harder to convince. Will they make it? From the bestselling author Chetan Bhagat comes another witty tale about inter-community marriages in modern India. The 3 Mistakes of My Life In late 2000, a young boy in Ahmedabad dreams of owning a business. To accommodate his friends’ passion, he opens a cricket shop. However, nothing comes easy in a turbulent city. To realize their goals, they will have to face it all religious politics, calamities, unacceptable love and, above all, their own mistakes. Will they make it? Can an individual’s dreams overcome the nightmares of real life? Can we succeed despite mistakes? One Night @ the Call Center In the winter of 2004, a writer meets a young girl on an overnight train journey. To pass the time, she offers to tell him a story. However, she has one condition: that he make it his second book. The writer hesitates, but asks what the story is about. The girl replies that the story is about six people working in a call center one night. It was the night they got a phone call. A phone call from God. One Night @ the Call Center is the second of bestselling author Chetan Bhagat’s novels. Five Point Someone This is not a book that will teach you how to get into IIT or even survive it. In fact, it describes how bad things can get if you don't think straight. Funny, dark and entertaining, Five Point Someone is the story of three friends whose measly five point something GPAs come in the way of everything their friendships, their love life, their future. Will they make it?

    If by reading this story, we can critically examine our relationship with social media and reset it, the objective of the book would be partly met.Satvik, Sandeep and Ashok are three college friends meeting in Goa after a 25-year gap. While reminiscing about their college days, they discuss the craze of social media these days. They chance upon an idea of creating ‘Paybook’ – a new social media app that pays the users for their engagements. The app becomes an instant hit. This, however, also unfolds a series of events that take the friends to the unchartered territories.

    Her husband Virender is a tracker at the BSF headquarters in Rapar.Virender returns home during Navratri, triumphant after nabbing Shaukat, a member of a dangerous cross-border gang involved in a terror plot against India. But there are some terrible news awaiting Virender in Kuran. Are there murky secrets that threaten to destroy his family? And what are those haunting voices that whisper about a horrifying kill?When a brutal murder takes place under mysterious circumstances, Virender’s boss, Commandant Ranbir connects it to the minute-by-minute unravelling terror plot. But was he overlooking something? Then, little Ranu goes missing. Ranbir finds himself chasing red herrings in a race against time to find her and foil a terror plot. As chilling secrets tumble out, the end is more sinister than you can ever imagine.

    The hostage-takers threaten to shoot pilgrims every day, unless the incumbent Government accedes to their demands. With the popular Hindu festival of Diwali just around the corner and elections less than six months away, the Government at the center is under immense pressure to act. What will the Government do? The army? The intelligence agencies? The common man? No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Who are these men? Is there a larger plot? Faced with such unprecedented events, will the country descend into unimaginable anarchy or will it rise above the issues of collective apathy and greed that have plagued it since Independence?

    However, he faces a new challenge - a girl! Will Yatharth be able to face this challenge and continue with his life's goal? With friends such as Mr. intelligent Sudeep, Mr.handsome-funny-But still not datable Vikalp, the style icon Samantha and the counselor friend Prathishtha, Yatharth has all thesupport that he doesnt need!Sanchita, a sentimental girl is all beauty but takes life seriously. Will she be able to handle the challenges she is about to face with love entering her life? My Ex fell in love! is a hilarious tale of growing up and dealing with the consequent challenges of life in a unique way. Enjoy the light, humorous and witty story of these youngsters, which will bring a smile on your face.

    Often used to get around the provisions of constitutions and legal codes.A late-night phone call from his ex-girlfriend Anasuya forces writer Arjun Kumar to leave his wife and home in Delhi and travel to the mofussil town of Noma on the UP-Bihar border. The reason — Anasuya's husband, Rafique Neel, a college professor and theatre director, has mysteriously disappeared.Soon after he arrives, Arjun realizes that things are not as they seem: the police are refusing to register a missing-persons case, Rafique's student Janaki has also disappeared, and the locals are determined to turn it into a case of 'love jihad'. And when Arjun begins to dig deeper, what he finds endangers him and everyone around him.Inspired by true events from today's India, Legal Fiction is a brilliant existential thriller and a chilling parable of our times.

    Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

    I make mistakes. I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best," and I couldn't agree more. Life is like a paradox of love and pain that may never leave each other, but in the end, the coexistence is worth the journey. Striving for the best is human nature, but are you really prepared for the roller-coaster rides or do you give up?

    His wife, Sumi, returns with their three daughters to the shelter of the Big House where her parents, Kalyani and Shripati, live in oppressive silence: they have not spoken to each other in thirty-five years. As the mystery of this long silence is unraveled, a horrifying story of suffering and loss is laid bare, a story that seems to be repeating itself in Sumi's life.Set in present day Karnataka, A Matter of Time explores the intricate relationships within an extended family encompassing three generations. Images from Hindu religion, myth, and local history twine delicately with images of contemporary India as this family faces and accepts the changes that have suddenly become part of their lives. As their secrets and strengths are revealed, so are the complications of family and culture. This multigenerational story, told in the individual voices of the characters, catches each in turn in the cycles of love, loss, strength, and renewal that become an essential part of their identities.

    The Stories, set in Calcutta, bring to the fore the darkness lurking in the human psyche and bare the baser instincts. The stories, compactly written and marked by insightly dialogues that raise contemporary issues like man-woman relationships and its strains, moral and ethics, environmental degradation, class inequality, rapid and mass-scale unmindful urbanisation, are devoid of sentimentalisation. The result is they remained focused and move around the central character who is named Rahul in all the stories. We encounter the events that shape, mar, guide Rahul's life and also the lives of those around him, making us question the very essence of existence. Rahul symbolises modern man; he is not just one character, but all of us rolled into one. The story cycle stands out for two reasons - its brilliant narrative and the dispassionate style with which betrayal in personal relationships and resultant loneliness has been handled. The poems weave a maze of dreams, images, reflections and stories. They are written in a reflective and many a time in a narrative tenor within a poetic idiom. The poems are inseparable in a hidden way and are magically sequenced like various kinds of flowers in a garland or chapters of differing shades in a novel. Calcutta features in some of the poems like the looming backdrop of Gotham City in a Batman movie.

    We all are connected. Are you a dreamer? Do you dream to be a successful person? Do you know sometimes the pursuit of monetary success could take you away from you? Have you felt the pain of separation from your loved ones? Have you felt lost some point in your life? This is a story about two people who lose the real treasures of their life in the pursuit of materialistic success and gratification. Gautam changes his life by following his dreams. But along the way, his life transforms into a living nightmare that he resolves to finish. Diksha is a young, brilliant, and headstrong person. Her dedication to be a perfect and sincere daughter, student, and employee turns her into an automaton. When both of them lose their last hope, something inexplicable happens in their life, which eventually sets them on the path of Sanyas. Can you give up your vain success to build an ever-lasting peace and tranquility within you? Can you stand tall and fight back your fears? Can you be a Sanyasi? Gear up to experience a mystical adventure! It’s a story about dreams, relationships, betrayal, courage, separation, and repentance. About the Author: Khemlata Negi is a novelist, poet, and educationist based in Chandigarh, India. Her first novel Hope: the journey to life was published in the year 2016. She has also written a collection of poetry Seasons of life and a book on yoga asana Stay Healthy. She loves reading, travelling, photography, yoga, and spending time in nature. She believes storytelling is one of the most effective methods to inspire and move the masses.

    This play, first staged at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre, is based on a tenth-century Jain myth about a king who finds his queen involved with an elephant-keeper.