In the lost Archipelago of Kumarikandam, ruled queen Devi when an alien invasion sets forth on the Earth. Driven by ambition and motivated by science, their leader Naqta brings to life a half beast-half alien Mahishasura who has now taken over Kumarikandam. As the premonitions of Aggatiar, the sage comes to life, Devi is now faced with an intergalactic war with Mahishasura and his army to save her kingdom.
Set 70,000 years ago, Mahishasura is an ultimate ode to the supreme energy mentioned in the Devi Purana. An exploration of the feminine form of parashakti, in the world of Anand Neelakandan, science, technology and AI clashes with the long-lost tales from the puranas retelling Indian mythology for the modern readers.
Archives: Books
Prabir’s New Flute (Hook Books)
Prabir plays music at every happy event in his village. But when his flute breaks, many strange and funny things start happening.
About the Hook Book Series
In a world where children’s books often feel cut from the same cloth, Hook Books stand out as a vibrant blend of imagination, humour, and heart. Crafted as a bridge between picture books and early chapter books, this series delivers stories that spark joy and wonder, while remaining rooted in age-appropriate learning.
Hook Books keep the fun going with:
- Short, digestible bits of text (perfect for budding readers)
- Bright colour illustrations that pull kids into the story
- Themes that speak to the everyday lives of children—plus a sprinkle of whimsy!
From fantasy tales to those that touch on more advanced ideas, Hook Books ensure that young readers are always in for a treat, no matter their reading level. Even better, these books take children on journeys through different parts of India, giving them a taste of the rich diversity of our world through local flavours, landscapes, and cultures. Whether the story takes place in bustling cities or quiet villages, Hook Books make every setting feel like home.
Trouble in the Tea Gardens
A tale of mountains and tea gardens, of a brave girl and a yellow dog—and a thief who is clever . . .
Set in a tea plantation in Darjeeling, this is the story of Sona, a twelve-year-old Nepali girl. Life is challenging as she has to master English quickly to get a scholarship and fulfil her dream of studying in a good school. Meanwhile, there is constantly the challenge of finding enough drinking water and worrying about her brother finding a job to support the family.
But things get extra difficult when her friend Tara’s gold goes missing. Sona must use all her wits in order to prove it wasn’t her beloved brother, Samiran Daju, who stole it.
‘A page-turner that’s richly threaded with social conflict.’ –Kirkus Reviews
The Eleventh Hour
Rushdie turns his extraordinary imagination to life’s final act with a quintet of stories that span the three countries in which he has made his work—India, England, and the US—and feature an unforgettable cast of characters.
“In the South” introduces a pair of quarrelsome old men—Junior and Senior—and their private tragedy at a moment of national calamity. In “The Musician of Kahani”, a musical prodigy from the Mumbai neighborhood featured in Midnight’s Children uses her magical gifts to wreak devastation on the wealthy family she marries into. In “Late”, the ghost of a Cambridge don enlists the help of a lonely student to enact revenge upon the tormentor of his lifetime. “Oklahoma” plunges a young writer into a web of deceit and lies as he tries to figure out whether his mentor killed himself or faked his own death. And “The Old Man in the Piazza” is a powerful parable for our times about freedom of speech.
Do we accommodate ourselves to death, or rail against it? Do we spend our “eleventh hour” in serenity or in rage? And how do we achieve fulfillment with our lives if we don’t know the end of our own stories? The Eleventh Hour ponders life and death, legacy and identity with the penetrating insight and boundless imagination that have made Salman Rushdie one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
Other Skies, Other Stories
These stories, written originally in Hindi, reveal an author who can think and create in two languages with rare fluency. With her faultless ear for the cadences of Hindustani, Sara Rai illuminates the life of small towns with details which perhaps only a bilingual writer would pick up on. Equally important to her in the landscape of human lives is the presence of trees, birds, insects, and fish. Her Zen-like meditations on the silent yet profound movements of this world are presented in a language that is pared down, spare, and evocative. She remains unseen, but her presence animates each of her characters, whether it be Surabhi from ‘Catfish’, the eponymous Nabila, or Sour Face and Shrew from ‘Golden Anniversary’. The stories are presented here in a lucid translation by Ira Pande and the author.
Walking Out, Speaking Up: Feminist Street Theatre in India
The late 1970s and 1980s marked an era of energetic and dynamic feminist street theatre in India. Everywhere, across cities and towns, groups, both amateur and professional, many led by women, presented stunning, audacious, moving stories of everyday violence, sexism, abuse and women’s resilience and strength in countering new and old forms of patriarchies. The presence of strong, vocal women at street corners, in marketplaces, in universities, presenting their stories and those of their sisters shattered the mould of the docile, invisible woman. The streets rang out with the sound of tambourines, drums, songs and so much more and words, music; actions engaged diverse audiences across the spectrum.
Deepti Priya Mehrotra’s empathetic and engaged study documents the plays produced during the time, as groups and individuals that came together to protest and build a theatre of pain, rage, protest, that grew along with the autonomous women’s movement of the time. She shows how, in this process, perceptive, outspoken women emerged and rejected their ascribed roles, in order to carve out their own identities and remake the world as they wished it to be. Incorporating oral histories, auto-ethnography, playscripts, visuals, archival material and meticulously researched histories, Deepti Priya Mehrotra presents a layered analysis of this important moment in the history of the Indian women’s movement.
Ittehad: A Life Together
Known and celebrated in her time, Guli Sadarangani, the first woman writer of Sindh, later sank into oblivion. Perhaps this was because she dared to write about a Hindu-Muslim romance that culminated in marriage. The novel that told this story, Ittehad, was first published in undivided India, and later appeared under another title, Melaapi Jeevan. Rita Kothari’s elegant and empathetic translation of the love story of Asha and Hamid teases out the nuances of their understated relationship and reveals how pre-Independence and pre-Partition India held so many possibilities of living and loving together. Perhaps that is why, the translator speculates, members of the Sindhi community trying to find their feet in post-Partition India were uncertain of showcasing a writer whose writings represented a world that no longer seemed possible.
How to Let Things Go: Free Yourself Up for What Matters | 99 Empowering Tips from a Zen Buddhist Monk to Relinquish Control | Perfect for Gifting
“You might have encountered the ‘let them’ theory, inspired by the book of the same name by motivational speaker Mel Robbins. . . . Another book with a similar message [is] How to Let Things Go. . . . Perfectly designed for modern readers . . . it provides a deeply practical approach to life.” —Buddhistdoor Global
Feeling overwhelmed? Step away from life’s demands and free yourself up for what matters with this succinct and sensible guide by the Zen Buddhist author of the international bestsellers The Art of Simple Living and Don’t Worry.
Amid the relentless cycle of news, social media, emails, and texts, it can be hard to know when, if ever, you can take a break from everything clamoring for your attention. The internationally bestselling Buddhist monk Shunmyo Masuno offers a radical message: You can leave it all be, and, indeed, sometimes the best thing you can learn is how to do nothing. How to Let Things Go will teach you to:
– Lesson #2: Give people space—being caring and being nosy are not the same thing.
– Lesson #15: Remember that social media is a tool and nothing more.
– Lesson #19: Let a relationship come to an end rather than force it.
– Lesson #40: Think of letting things go not as throwing them away but as setting them free.
– Lesson #75: Make decisions in the light of the morning—don’t rush into them.
– Lesson #90: Slow down and take more breaks.
With these and ninety-three other practical tips, you can abandon the futile pursuit of trying to control everything and discover the key to a fulfilling social life; individual well-being; and a calmer, more focused mind.
The Rest of Our Lives | Shortlist Booker Prize 2025
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025
An Observer ‘Novel to look out for in 2025’ and an FT ‘Best Summer Read’
‘Moving, smart and life-affirming.’ OBSERVER
‘Why aren’t all novels like this?’ THE CRITIC
‘A triumphant twist on the great American road novel.’ GUARDIAN
‘So funny, wise and knowing.’ CLARE CHAMBERS
What’s left when your kids grow up and leave home?
When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while taking her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact, and keeps driving West.
An unforgettable road trip novel, The Rest of Our Lives beautifully explores the nuance and complications of a long-term marriage.
Rukmini Aunty and the R K Narayan Fan Club
Rukmini aunty’s newly built house in Mysore is near a dilapidated relic with its roof caved in, marring the view from her specially designed Zen-like meditation nook. She abhors the house that reeks of litigation and lawsuits and wants it gone, until she discovers that the house belonged to the illustrious writer, R.K. Narayan. It is close to being torn down brick by brick, when the city authorities step in and designate it as a Heritage building and stop the demolition. The fate of Narayan’s abode hangs between the builder’s scalpel and the limited coffers of the city, while they scramble for funds to buy it from his heirs at the prevailing market rate. Only Rukmini aunty and the ‘R.K. Narayan Fan Club’ ladies group in her neighbourhood can now save the house