The mighty black river, after which the town is named, is now no more than a trickle. People have begun to listen to weather forecasts on the radio rather than looking out of the window to see if it’s going to rain. The jackfruit tree in the middle of town has suddenly started fruiting. And, most seismic of all, Paachu Yemaan, the Inspector of Police, who has terrorized the town for decades has retired. Desperate to find him something to do, his wife, Sharada, and the good-hearted Barber Sureshan decide that ex-Inspector Paachu’s post retirement project will be the reforming of the town drunk, Joby. What the two good Samaritans haven’t counted on is the chain of extraordinary events that their project is about to set in motion.

    Using the analogy of bubblegums and candies, the title alludes to the various facets of life that go by unnoticed. Humorous and engaging, the book takes you through 34 real-life incidents covering a variety of characters. Some of the short stories are titled Please Hug Me I'm Just Like You, Sylvester Stallone Doesn't Open Up Easily, Radiators And Drains, My Special Friend, Age Miracles, Feeling Needed, Mail Exchange and The Stranger. In Please Hug Me I'm Just Like You, you travel into a home where children who are HIV positive are cared for. 34 Bubblegums And Candies gives you a fun outlook at some of life's more complicated issues without trivializing them. The funny and touching stories end with notes that encourage the reader to look at the lessons you can learn from some of the simplest things in life. Like the author's other works, the book uses simple vocabulary, presented in an engaging pace.

    There he sees - the most beautiful girl he has ever laid his eyes on, But there is a twist to this love story - Ahana is not just stunningly beautiful, she also has a rare congenital disease leaving her blind. Together they explore Hong Kong Aahana guiding with the smells and sounds of the wondrous city and Deep bringing to life the sights he sees.

    She knows everything about him, right from his favourite soccer club to his favourite x rated websites. He will complete her English homework, even at three in the night.She will arrange an Armani suit for him, even if it calls for flirting with ugly guys.He has her picture in his wallet. She has his number on speedial.They talk to each other all the time. They talk about each other when they dont talk to each other. They discuss everything from periods to playstation. They have tasted alcohol and then thrown up...together. They have bunked countless tuitions... together. They cant live without each other. YET They dont love each other. They are JUST FRIENDS...

    Lasya ‘LJ’ Raghavan is a spectacularly single, unsuccessful playwright with an estranged family, crippling debt, and a dead-end job. When the family matriarch Chandralekha Chakrapani dies, LJ has to face the family that considers her an epic failure… especially her father, who has taken a vow of silence against her; her cousin sister, Ahalya, who blames LJ for destroying her marriage; and bridezilla Kiki whose wedding has been cancelled. Adding to the family drama is Banjeet ‘Ben’ Dewar, her grandmother's lawyer who keeps showing up whenever LJ falls apart. Ben is everything LJ is looking for in a man, except Ahalya is interested in Ben too! Can LJ be selfish once more when the last time nearly destroyed her family? More importantly, can LJ's family forgive her when she is the ‘worst daughter ever’? Written in the style of bestselling Indian rom-coms, The Worst Daughter Ever explores love, loss, friendship, family, redemption and forgiveness in a funny, emotional, coming-of-age tale.

    But; as young Ruskin—the narrator in these interconnected tales—soon discovers; not all is as it seems in this sleepy town. Behind the tranquil facade; Dehra is home to a cast of colourful characters: from plucky old women to possible murderers.‘The Canal’ is a joyful tribute to adolescent mischief and adult resolve; in which a group of roguish boys must face the consequences of antagonizing the much-feared Miss Gamla. ‘Over the Wall’ celebrates the resilience and hard-won dignity of a man ravaged by leprosy as he struggles to come to terms with his malady. The dashing young army captain in ‘At Green’s Hotel’ might be the perfect gentleman—or a murderer. And in ‘The Skeleton in the Cupboard’; an old scandal is revived following a chance discovery; leading to wholly unexpected results.By turns charming and poignant; witty and exhilarating; Secrets is vintage Bond.

    But is it the best place to find love too?Viraj falls head over heels in love with his classmate Nimisha, who could make boys on campus go crazy. While his friends Punit and Sahil just want to have fun - despite poor mark-sheets, grace marks to pass, and other everyday adventures - Viraj wants more from his life and love.Life has led Viraj to the edge of a cliff. He has a choice to make – to forget everything and jump, or fight.What brought him here? An unrequited love, encounters with law, or the dilemma of grace marks? Where does Viraj's story eventually end?Welcome to 37 + Grace Marks, Viraj's journey to discover that there is more to life than marks.

    Okay, they do meet, but there are some complications. Trish is twenty-eight. She’s unemployed, overweight, single and snarky. She knows all that. And if one more person – just one more person – tries to fix her, she might explode. Sahil is thirty-five. He has superpowers. Well, kind of. He seems to think so, anyway. He’s also hot (okay, in a geeky kind of way, but still). And he plays the guitar, helps the underprivileged and talks about his feelings. Aren’t guys like that supposed to exist only in fantasies? When Trish and Sahil meet, magic happens. Real magic, you know, like fireworks, electricity, that sort of thing. But here’s the problem. Trish doesn’t want anyone in her life. She has enough to deal with – dependent parents, flaky neighbours, bitchy editors, the works. And yet, Sahil is determined to be in her life. From the bestselling author of Just Married, Please Excuse and Sorting Out Sid, here is another zinger of a book.

    "Half the headaches in a man's life involve a woman and half the heartaches in a woman's life are because of a man." Swadha, 24, single, NH Consultants Pvt.Ltd. And then they met him.....exactly when they shouldn't have.

    By the time the monsoon broke, almost a million of them were dead, and all of northern India was in arms, in terror, or in hiding. The only remaining oases of peace were a scatter of little villages lost in the remote reaches of the frontier. One of these villages was Mano Majra.”It is a place, Khushwant Singh goes on to tell us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the “ghost train” arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of thousands of refugees, bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. Train to Pakistan is the story of this isolated village that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endured and transcends the ravages of war.Introduction by Arthur Lall

    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.

    and I am wide awake because the man of the house has decided that he needs to perform a series of complex manoeuvres that involve him balancing on his left elbow. When I fell asleep last night, there was a baby lying next to me. Her smelly diaper is still wedged on my head but aside from this rather damp clue, I can't seem to find her anywhere. I could ask my mother-in-law if she has seen the baby, but she may just tell me that I need to fast on alternate Mondays, and God will deliver the baby back to me . . . Full of wit and delicious observations, Mrs Funnybones captures the life of the modern Indian woman—a woman who organizes dinner each evening, even as she goes to work all day, who runs her own life but has to listen to her Mummyji, who worries about her weight and the state of the country. Based on Twinkle Khanna’s super-hit column, Mrs Funnybones marks the debut of one of our funniest, most original voices.

    After a series of disasters (losers, philanderers, leeches, mama's boys and possessive psychos), she is all too tempted to walk out on the prospect of ever finding love. Accompanied by her best friend and flat-mate Baani, she sets off for Goa, hoping to get away from her miserable love life and vowing to stay clear of the male species. Goa however, has a host of surprises in store for her. Ricky, her pesky ex-boyfriend, is busy painting the town red with his hot new girlfriend. Now what is poor Kay to do other than overdose on vodka, smoke pot, get an outrageous tattoo and fall off the hotel balcony? She wakes up in the hospital to the tender ministrations of Dr.Vivian D'Mello--young, suave and handsome as hell. Will Kay stick to her guns or will she fall for his ridiculously sexy charms? And what's up with the mixed signals he's giving out?

    Imagine there is a stranger who enters your life and makes you realize you are living a lie. Imagine there is a love so deep that you need to sacrifice everything you have to save it. Imagine you find out your partner is cheating on you. What will you do?Naina, Ayesha, Kavita and Kaajal are four women who know nothing about each other and live cocooned in their individual worlds. Until one day, they’re forced to reckon with shocking truths they never imagined! Their desires haunt them, provoke them and make them fight to choose a new path in their lives. Will these women survive their stories of passion, betrayal and pain?Bestselling author and film writer Madhuri Banerjee brings to you a new romantic thriller that interweaves varied stories of women and their passions, to show us how all relationships ultimately crash into each other.

    He believes he hasfound his perfect soul mate, and come what may, his love for her will lastforever.Seven years later, he gets married to her. Big mistake!A week later, he completely hates her and believes she has turned into adevil.But his perception about love and life change when he hears the poignantlove story of Shekhar, his Captain, on a ship that later gets hijacked bythe pirates of Somalia.As they are left fighting for their lives; they confront if love truly can lastforever…? Or does it get too late