‘The rain was unrelenting. It had poured night and day, for five days in a row. And Damoo had been drinking relentlessly, day and night, all through those five days, competing with the downpour. Neither would the rain let up nor would Damoo let go. The steadfast rain and stubborn Damoo. Drunk, both.’
Gulzar writes a wrenching account of the Mumbai Floods – rains that laid waste to a city already bursting at the seams. He draws out the small hopes on which the people live and how easily they can flow away. How long can alcohol hold the rain at bay? A deeply moving, unsettling story on what it takes to stay alive.
The Stench paints a poignant portrait of Mumbai’s characteristic slums in the masterful prose of Gulzar. Delicately woven stories all come together – from the bitter-gourd vine separating two shanty huts, to the camaraderie of men who’d gather together on charpoys outside their homes in the evening light. Life in the slum was hard and grim, but it was theirs. But one morning, the shanty towns are razed and the people are given neat, sterile rooms to be packed in away from sight. Where will the precious goats and chickens grow on the third floor? The concrete gathers no moss, but no green blooms within these four unyielding walls. The question remains – is a life you don’t know a life you will ever want? Gulzar draws the loneliness and chaos of the urban life with astute brilliance in this beautifully detailed insight into Mumbai slums.
Gulzar reminisces about an old school poet – an eccentric man named Bhushan Banmali. Bhushan had a wife and a mother but at heart he was a nomad, and one day when their tug-of-war over him got too much, he packed his bags and moved in with Gulzar himself! Suddenly Gulzar found himself at parties full of rum and fried fish and kebabs, overflowing with poetry from dawn to dusk. One day Gulzar and Bhushan pack their bags to go to the mountains, and freezing and tired, they manage to find a spark of generosity to keep their cold nights hilariously warm. Taken from Gulzar’s life, these stories will enthrall any fan with a universally heartwarming touch.
It was the spring of 1947 when Lord and Lady Mountbatten arrived in New Delhi. India was on the brink of civil war. The reluctant Vicereine was a rebel, a rule-breaker. She was a troubled soul, a great beauty, a firecracker. But there was more to Edwina than met the eye. The glamour was a façade; behind it was a highly intelligent woman of influence and power.
The only one to truly understand her for who she was was Jawahar, her friend, confidant and so much more.
No one could have imagined the maelstrom of intrigue, and the events and relationships that would change their lives and those of millions of Indians forever. Set amid the turmoil of Partition, The Last Vicereine is a heartbreaking story of the birth of two nations, of love, grief, tragedy, inhumanity and the triumph of hope.
On a huge battlefield stand two armies facing each other. The dust stirred by soldiers covers the sun.
Rain-clouds shower flesh and blood, drenching the troops. Along the ground a wind rises; the small stones that the wind carries with it, hit the warriors.With cinematic effects, full of cuts and intercuts, Vyasa-with 1600 electrifying visuals for hot-hearted adults-sets in motion the battlefield of Kurukshetra. From the birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas to the interpenetration of life instincts and death instincts, this first book in this graphic book series rolls out the beginning of interplay of lust and violence which gives to the tale of war, revenge and peace the unmatched regal look.
At the beginning of the fourteenth century, an ambitious sultan, Ala-ud-Din Khilji, becomes infatuated with the famed beauty of Rani Padmini. He arrives at her doorstep in Chittor and lays siege to her fort. Padmini convinces her husband, Maharawal Ratan Singh, and his warriors to abandon any thought of surrender. Despite putting up a brave fight, when defeat seems imminent, Padmini chooses death by jauhar over dishonour.
Narrated from Padmini’s perspective, this moving retelling of the famed legend brings to life the atmosphere and intrigue of medieval Rajput courts. We cannot help but be swept along as Padmini grapples with the matter of her own life and death, even as she attempts to figure out what it means to be a woman in a man’s world.
For the first time in human history, a nation is playing host to an alien delegation. And it is Modi-led India that has this high honour. Prime Minister Modi rolls out the red carpet for the aliens. He receives them at the airport, shows them the sights in Delhi and convinces them to invest in the Make in India campaign. The leader of the alien delegation even holds a broom to promote Swachh Bharat. But what is the real reason the aliens have come to India? Are they friends? Or will they turn foes? Read this hilarious, rib-tickling novel from the authors of Unreal Elections to find out.
Set in the backdrop of the uprising against the
armed forces in Kashmir in the late 1980s, Lost in Terror
is the tale of a young, educated, career-conscious woman
who finds herself sucked into a maelstrom of death and
destruction. She also cherishes the dream of Azadi and plays
strong to face the wrath of the security forces. But when she
uncovers her husband’s discreet links with gunmen who have
become obsessed with the dream of Azadi at the expense of
the family’s security, she becomes fragile and begins to lose
her hold on her home, her relationships and Azadi itself.
When her dreams for a perfect family and a thriving
career are turned upside down and her life comes to
a standstill, fate offers her a leap of faith-but will she take it?
Seventeen-year-old Shiva is young and penniless, eking out a living at a small tea stall in north Kolkata. When a boxing trainer notices him and takes him under his wing, Shiva believes that his luck has finally turned. Steadfast and hard-working, he punches his way up through local matches, finding prestige and money for the first time in his life.
However, when adversity unexpectedly robs Shiva of his new-found fame, he finds himself broken and destitute, vowing never to throw a punch again. But when an unmissable opportunity presents itself, will he stay away from his true calling for long?
From the grittiness of life on Devdas Pathak Road to the euphoria of being in the boxing ring, Shiva is a heart-warming tale of hope, resilience and a hero determined to triumph against all odds.
True love never dies. It might vanish, but if it is true, it will always find its way back
Twenty-two-year-old Zarish has everything in life she could ever ask for. She is rich, beautiful and popular. She and Haroon, her handsome childhood sweetheart, are inseparable until a new finance professor joins their university-Ahmar Muraad. Every girl in the university has eyes for him. He is attractive, charming and intellectual. Even Zarish is drawn by his suave personality.
But would he ever be interested in her?
Caught in a web of passion, little does Zarish know that one individual can completely change her perspective towards life.
Packed with romance, drama and tragedy, Undying Affinity will stay in your heart forever.
