This book is an alluring escape to the land of dawn-lit mountains, Arunachal Pradesh. It features stories that are products of visceral observation and a delicate understanding of the ethnic communities living under intervening shadows of magic and realism in the isolated hinterlands of the state. A village is haunted by an insidious spirit tiger. A bee sting reminds a Nocte boy of his brother’s beheading and transforms him into a deadly headhunter. A Donyi-Polo priest must continue practising his animistic rituals to preserve the fading vestiges of his indigenous religion. The curse of a high priest follows the thief who stole the forbidden sacred ornaments . . . Such evocative and poignant tales make this debut collection a must-read.
Catagory: Fiction
Fiction main category
Matriarchs, Cows and Epic Villains
Suniti Namjoshi’s compelling tales range from metamorphosed cows to ruling mothers, from talking donkeys to epic villains. In this substantial collection are fables old and new, lyric poems and epigrams, novella narratives and ironic commentary. We also complete the Ravana trilogy with Shupi’s Choices and Kumbh, with villainous siblings who are sometimes ridiculous, but ready to show up for own shortcomings.
Matriarchs, Cows and Epic Villains is a curation of Suniti’s work where she continues to raise questions about how we deal with our destiny as human beings while at the same time trying to understand and confront our inadequacies.
The Cantonment Conspiracy
Two officers fresh out of the National Defence Academy (NDA) get posted at a laid-back military garrison on the banks of the Ganga River in Western UP. Lieutenant Rohit Verma comes from an army background, knows the ropes and generally has it easy. Lieutenant Renuka Khatri, on the other hand, is from a civilian background, and from the first batch of girl cadets admitted to the NDA. They both have to prove that they are worthy of being army officers. During a welcome party at the officers’ mess, one of the ladies is assaulted and the needle of suspicion falls on Rohit. A court of inquiry is ordered, with Renuka unearthing crucial evidence that points to more sinister connections.
When one of the witnesses due to depose before the court is murdered, it not only absolves Rohit but also starts the hunt for the real killer. Initially sceptical, the commandant throws his weight behind the investigation, which as it unfolds, reveals similarities to events rooted in the past. In their hunt for the suspect, Rohit and Renuka are assisted by Rehmat, a local village girl. The trio of Rohit-Renuka-Rehmat (RRR) must race against time to catch the killer before he can strike again.
Volcano
A literary critic, a novelist and a poet for over four decades, Eunice De Souza’s compelling work made her one of the most renowned Indian poets writing in the English language. Her work has been critically acclaimed, and reflects her enduring concerns with the self and women in society as they navigate through relationships, love, loss and family. Through her poetry, Eunice explores the dependency of lovers and the fraught relationships between parents and their children.
Volcano, a curated collector’s edition, features some of her best-known work so far: A Necklace of Skulls, Learn from the Almond Leaf as well as never-before published work. With a critical introduction that presents Eunice to readers old and new, this profoundly intimate and exquisite collection presents Eunice’s poetry genius, making it a collectors must-have.
The Sour Mango Tree
The Sour Mango Tree is a homage to a life less ordinary. Palya Lankesh was an author, journalist, screenplay writer, poet and translator. His multi-faceted and prolific oeuvre encompasses essays scripts and stories, among much else. This volume is a translation of his memoir, Hulimavina Mara which includes his prose and poetry and is a rare glimpse into the mind of the maverick. Twenty-five years after Lankesh left us, this volume enables us to truly appreciate the significance of his legacy.
The Sufi Storyteller
Layla is a scholar of women’s histories and stories. Her life is a carefully constructed set of routines in her small American liberal arts college, but all of that is about to change…
Mira is a renowned Sufi storyteller who is running from a terrible past. When she learns that the murdered woman in the library was carrying a note from the killer addressed to her, she is presented with an opportunity to break a cycle of trauma and hurt. To confront her past, she must disclose the truth to Layla.
Together they enter the realm of Story, but can Layla find the forgiveness in her heart necessary to lead them to the answers they are looking for?
This contemporary murder mystery takes readers from small town America to the mountains of Afghanistan.
Aprem Aur Anya Kahaniyan/अप्रेम और अन्य कहानियाँ
इस संग्रह में शामिल कहानियाँ, हमारी दुनिया में नई शक्ति से फैलते अन्याय और असमानता के अंधेरे के साथ ही उपभोक्तावादी समाज की प्रदर्शनप्रियता, झूठी रंगीनियों और इनसे पैदा हताशा-टूटन को उजागर करती हैं। यहाँ राजनीति-कॉरपोरेट-धर्म-पर्यावरण के संकट मानवीय और अमानवीय संबंधों के साथ एक नए शिल्प और चकित करने वाली भाषा में प्रकट होते हैं। शिल्प के माने यह नहीं हैं कि भाषिक करतब को ही कहानी मान लिया जाए जहां परंपरा की गाँठें, इतिहास की उलझनें और साधारण मनुष्य के जीवन की सचाइयाँ ही गायब हों, बल्कि ये कहानियाँ अपने ही अनजाने और मुश्किल रास्तों पर चलते हुए तलघर, भग्न गलियों, मलिन बस्तियों, जंगल, कब्रिस्तान और श्मशान, मल्टी स्टोरी इमारतों और मधुमक्खी के छत्तों तक एक जैसी सहजता से जाती हैं।
World’s Best Ex Girlfriend
Limited-Edition with a Handwritten Note from the Author
When love will not let you find a way out
In World’s Worst Best Girlfriend, Daksh and Aanchal met under improbable circumstances and were strangely drawn to each other. Their paths diverged, but when they reconnected, they couldn’t deny the spark they had. Yet, they chose to move on. Then, time added its layers and ambition blinded their journey.
After all, it’s not necessary to be together even if you love each other to the moon and back—or so they believed.
Wrong.
Not being with the one you love means that there is always this heart-shaped hole in your life, a pain you can’t understand, a longing that refuses to go away.
What happens when the Band-Aid on this relationship is ripped and they are pushed together to see what life for them would be like? What happens when they let go of their ambitions and emotions to finally look at filling the hole?
World’s Best Ex-Girlfriend is a romance that will take the reader through the wringer of love.
Lapbah Volume II
A collection as unprecedented as it is captivating, Lapbah—a title inspired by Lapbah Sohra, Sohra’s monsoon deluge—is a magnificent anthology in two volumes that brings together fifty-seven compelling tales by fifty-two of the finest writers from the North-east. It presents, for the first time, voices from all eight states of the region, seamlessly blending original works in English with masterful translations of those written in the regional languages.
The collection offers a rich tapestry of themes and styles through writing by the likes of Easterine Kire, Janice Pariat, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Mitra Phukan and Arupa Patangia Kalita. The stories, emanating from the many different linguistic, literary and ethnic cultures, range from the traditionally heart-rending tales of Arup Kumar Dutta and Rashmi Narzary to the darkly humorous social and political satires of S.J. Duncan and Wan Kharkrang and the fantastical worlds of Jahnavi Barua and Harekrishna Deka, where reality mixes freely with the surreality of dream and fantasy.
Lapbah, compiled and edited by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Rimi Nath, is a celebration of voices as diverse and multifaceted as the region itself, offering readers a profound and moving literary experience.
Teri Diwani/तेरी दीवानी
कैलाश खेर का संगीतमय संस्मरण कही जा सकने वाली यह पुस्तक तेरी दीवानी : शब्दों के पार पाठकों को उनके 50 प्रमुख गीतों के पीछे की कहानियों और प्रेरणाओं के माध्यम से एक अंतरंग यात्रा पर जाने के लिए आमंत्रित करती है। इस पुस्तक की हर रचना में निहित भावनात्मक और रचनात्मक प्रक्रियाओं की भावुकता से खोज साफ दिखती है। इसमें कैलाश एक कलाकार के रूप में अपने व्यक्तिगत विकास और अपने संगीत के शक्तिशाली प्रभाव को सामने लाए हैं, जिसके लिए वे जाने जाते हैं। महान संगीत को आकार देने वाले उपाख्यानों, भावनाओं और प्रेरणाओं को साझा करते हुए, कैलाश खेर ने ‘सैयां’, ‘तेरी दीवानी’ और .‘अल्लाह के बंदे’ जैसे अपने सबसे प्रिय गीतों की उत्पत्ति का विस्तार से विवरण दिया है। इसमें वे न केवल अपनी संगीत उपलब्धियों का जश्न मनाते नज़र आते हैं, बल्कि पाठकों को इन भावपूर्ण धुनों की गहरी समझ और अंतर्दृष्टि भी प्रदान करते हैं।