Laila, orphaned daughter of a distinguished Muslim family, is brought up in her grandfather’s house by orthodox aunts who keep purdah. At fifteen she moves to the home of a ‘liberal’ but autocratic uncle in Lucknow. Here, during the 1930s, as the struggle for Indian independence intensifies, Laila is surrounded by relatives and university friends caught up in politics. But Laila is unable to commit herself to any cause: her own fight for independence is a struggle against the claustrophobia of traditional life, from which she can only break away when she falls in love with a man whom her family has not chosen for her. With its beautiful evocation of India, its political insight and unsentimental understanding of the human heart, Sunlight on a Broken Column, first published in 1961, is a classic of Muslim life.
Catagory: Romance
In the Country of Deceit
Why did I do it? Why did I enter the country of deceit? What took me into it? I hesitate to use the word love, but what other word is there?’
Devayani chooses to live alone in the small town of Rajnur after her parents’ death, ignoring the gently voiced disapproval of her family and friends. Teaching English, creating a garden and making friends with Rani, a former actress who settles in the town with her husband and three children, Devayani’s life is tranquil, imbued with a hard-won independence. Then she meets Ashok Chinappa, Rajnur’s new District Superintendent of Police, and they fall in love despite the fact that Ashok is much older, married, and-as both painfully acknowledge from the very beginning-it is a relationship without a future.
Deshpande’s unflinching gaze tracks the suffering, evasions and lies that overtake those caught in the web of subterfuge. There are no hostages taken in the country of deceit; no victors; only scarred lives. This understated yet compassionate examination of the nature of love, loyalty and deception establishes yet again Deshpande’s position as one of India’s most formidable writers of fiction
I Never Thought I Could Fall In Love
Desperate In Dubai
Oozing with men, money, and Maseratis, Dubai is the ultimate playground for the woman who knows her Louboutins from her Louis Vuittons.
But for some, there’s a lot more at stake than a Hermes Birkin. Leila has been in search of a wealthy husband for over a decade. Nadia moves to Dubai to support her husband’s career, only to have her sacrifices thrown in her face. Sugar escapes the UK in an attempt to escape her past. Lady Luxe, the rebellious Emirati heiress, scoffs at everything her culture holds sacred. Until the day her double life starts unravelling at the seams.
Set against a backdrop of luxury hotels and manmade islands, Desperate in Dubai tells the tale of four desperate women as they struggle to find truth, love, and themselves.
Tea For Two And A Piece Of Cake
What if life threw you a magnificent opportunity, only to knock you down later and laugh at you? Would you fight back or let it pass?
Nisha’s life is far from perfect. At twenty-six, she is plump, plain-looking, and without a boyfriend. A chance date and a bizarre twist of events lead her to the altar with suave Samir Sharma, only to be abandoned eight years later. As she struggles to stand on her own feet, Akash, a younger guy, enters her life. Can Nisha find love a second time?
Tea for Two and a Piece of Cake is an unusual, a heart-warming, and gripping love-story between two people who have so much to lose by getting into a relationship with each other, yet so much to gain.
An American Brat
Bapsi Sidhwa’s brilliant fourth novel chronicles the adventures of a young Pakistani girl in America with an enormously satisfying story and characters… The extended family of Feroza Ginwalla, a lively and temperamental girl, agonizes over the decision to send her to America for a three-month holiday. This act of apparent audacity arises from concern over Feroza’s conservative attitudes, which stem from Pakistan’s rising tide of fundamentalism. Feroza’s chaperone in America, an uncle only six years her senior, is her guide, friend, and the bane of her existence. Her relationship and adventures shape her alternatively hilarious and terrifying perceptions of the US. Feroza’s family in Pakistan, meanwhile, is in delicious turmoil over the possibility that American ways will ruin her…
Starry Nights
Aasha Rani, the ravishingly beautiful ‘Sweetheart of Millions’, makes one fatal career-move: she falls in love. Aasha Rani, the unrivalled number one of Bombay cinema, seems intent on ruining her career-and her life-blinded by a scorching passion that threatens to destroy everything she has attained. Aasha Rani’s story is that of a vulnerable, small-town girl whose scheming mother pushes her via a never-ending orgy of blue films and PBI – Indiscriminate sex into the crass PBI – World of Bombay cinema, teeming with vicious, preening stars and near-stars and insecure, high-society celebrities: Akshay Arora, the reigning stud of 70mm and the object of Aasha Rani’s desire; Sheth Amirchand, the Don of Bombay’s underPBI – World, under whose hallowed sheets her career is sealed; Kishenbhai, the small-time distributor, who gives her her first break, and his heart; Sudha, her younger sister, whose envy and hate of her sister’s success make her Aasha Rani’s worst enemy.
Miracles
DO MIRACLES REALLY HAPPEN?
Sixteen-year-old Trisha is hugely embarrassed by her hip mom who rides around on a monster motorbike called Smelly Beast. But along with her exuberant little sister, Shivi, they make for a quirky threesome, as Trisha adjusts to a new school, explores her talent for singing and falls head over heels for Akshay. Trisha’s happy-go-lucky world suddenly comes crashing down when a fatal illness befalls her mother. She struggles to make the transition from a carefree teenager to a responsible adult, hoping that some miracle will magically set things right. Poignant and deeply sensitive, Miracles is a heart-warming coming-of- age story of a feisty young girl’s struggle against her fate.
The Middleman
1970s Calcutta. The city is teeming with thousands of young men in search of work. Somnath Banerjee “1970s Calcutta. The city is teeming with thousands of young men in search of work. Somnath Banerjee spends his days queuing up at the employment exchange. Unable to find a job despite his qualifications, Somnath decides to go into the order-supply business as a middleman. His ambition drives him to prostitute an innocent girl for a contract that will secure the future of Somnath Enterprises. As Somnath grows from an idealistic young man into a corrupt businessman, the novel becomes a terrifying portrait of the price the city extracts from its youth. Sankar’s The Middleman is the moving story of a man torn between who he is and what he wants to be. Stark and disquieting, the novel deftly exposes the decaying values and rampant corruption of a metropolis that is built on broken dreams and morbid reality. The evocative prose and vivid imagery in this first-ever translation successfully capture the textures of the Bengali original.
Fade Into Red
Twenty-something investment banker Ayra had always wanted to be an art historian till it occurred to her that art history couldn’t possibly support her penchant for beautiful shoes.
One monsoon day, she’s sent to Rome on a last-minute assignation with a star client. What should have been a four-day trip turns into a two-week treasure hunt placing her bang in the middle of dodgy vintners and midnight deals, rolling Tuscan hills, and a millionaire playboy who’s out to taste more than just the wine.