Not every courtesan has gone down in the annals of history like Ambapali. She was beautiful, intelligent, talented and, as the nagarvadhu janpad kalyani-the bride of the city-she went on to wield immense power amongst the nobles. Until she renounced all worldly pleasures to embrace Buddhism.
This vivid narrative tells the story of a young woman forced to follow a path because of the machinations of powerful people. Propelled onto the cultural centerstage in the Vajji republic against her wishes, betrayed in love, disappointed by friends, Ambapali’s is yet the story of a strong woman determined to take control over her life. A remarkable, poignant novel about the dazzling glamour, daring romance, and sacrifice that marked Ambapali’s life.
Catagory: Fiction
Fiction main category
Oblivion and Other Stories
Oblivion and Other Stories is an anthology of twenty short stories by Gopinath Mohanty, the doyen of Oriya (now Odia) literature. The stories, written across a half-century (1935-1988), sample his oeuvre of writings and the variety of his themes-from ‘Dã’ (mid-1930s) to ‘Oblivion’ (1951) to ‘The Upper Crust’ (1967) to ‘Lustre’ (1971) and ‘Festival Day’ (1985).
They capture the forgotten others, the banality of marginal living on life’s edge-of the poor, the tribals and ordinary people-invisible in the feudal landscape of Orissa in the twentieth century.
Originally written in Oriya by the Padma Bhushan awardee, these have now been translated for the first time into English and recreate the social life of mid-twentieth century India.
The embellished past in the stories is not one of nostalgia but a full-toned portrait of society. Marginalization is the running thread: dispossession, disenfranchisement, class/caste social exclusivity and lack of education.
Life Switch
Just imagine.
If you could switch your life with someone else . . .
Would you?
A staid housewife, Nandita, swaps her life with Annie, her doppelgänger. She switches her phone, her home, her husband and her boring family life for the glamorous corporate life that Annie leads in an advertising agency.
Annie looks at this as a social experiment for a new ad campaign she is creating. She hopes that this will help her beat her rival and put her right at the top of the company. Nandita believes this will make her husband fall in love with her.
Their lives begin to get horribly complicated when secrets are revealed. In their bid to have everything, they’ve set the ball rolling on something that has now pitched them against each other.
The question is, who will win? For whom will all the pieces of the puzzle come together?
Life Switch is a passionate, intense, sexy love story that thrills.
Soldier & Spice
For Pia, regular life is a thing of the past. She is now an army wife. From ‘just Pia’ to an aunty, a memsaab . . . and, her favourite words in the whole wide world, Mrs Pia Arjun Mehra.
Pia finds herself having to suddenly be more ‘lady-like’, focus on themed ladies’ meets, high teas and welfare functions, and deal with long (unexpected) spells of separation from her husband. She faces extraordinary challenges, a little heartache and, well, army-life lessons. In the mysterious and grand world of army wives, Pia learns that walking in high heels is okay as long as you don’t trip on combat boots. She learns that ‘civil’ is also a noun, that JCO and GOC are (very) different from each other, that snacks are ‘shown’ and ‘WTF’ is better explained as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Yes, it really is a new world.
This quirky, hilarious story of the first year of Pia’s life as an army wife will show you that the spice to a soldier’s life is most definitely his better, very strong, extremely elegant, never-cussing, witty, warm and passionate half-his army wife.
Sivakami’s Vow: Paranjyothi’s Journey
A young man trudges from a tiny Chola village to Kanchi, the great city of art and learning, hoping to discover his destiny. A bikshu wanders around the Pallava empire, befriending lonely souls. Spies lurk in the shadows, and even statues of the Lord Buddha conceal secrets. Emperor Mahendra Pallava, connoisseur beyond compare, rules with compassion and justice, while his son, Kumara Chakravarthy Narasimhar, falls deeply in love with the greatest dancer of the empire, Sivakami.
Somewhere in the distance can be heard the drums of war. The fearsome Chalukyas are planning an invasion: their war elephants, horses and infantry sweep towards the Pallava empire. Emperor Pulikesi eyes Kanchi as the crowning glory to his martial achievements.
Paranjyothi’s Journey, the first in the four-volume Sivakami’s Vow series, is a riveting tale of war, betrayal, secret passages, guarded forts, passions and a Pallava emperor who will do anything to save his kingdom. It was written by Kalki, a master storyteller who raised Tamil literature and history to new heights almost single-handedly.
The Complete Vikram–Aditya Stories
The Complete Vikram–Aditya Stories boxset is India’s answer to the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Famous Five mystery novels. For the first time ever, this collector’s edition boxset brings together all eight books. The dynamic duo, Vikram and Aditya, and their motley group of friends embark on thrilling adventures as they face desperate criminals, dangerous wild animals, isolated indigenous tribes, and several other perilous encounters. A perfect present for 13+ readers, each gift box includes:
Lakshadweep Adventure: Far out in the Arabian Sea, lies a chain of bewitching coral atolls-the Lakshadweep Islands. In their first adventure together, Vikram and Aditya arrive here only to stumble upon a devious kidnapping plot, turning their idyllic holiday into a desperate struggle for survival. Journey through these breathtaking islands with a tale of scuba diving and sabotage, set in one of India’s most unspoilt destinations.
Ranthambore Adventure: Vikram, Aditya their friend Aarti go on a thrilling chase when they attempt to lay their hands on a diary that belongs to a ruthless tiger poacher. This takes them deep into the magnificent game park of Ranthambore. Journey through the wilderness, brimming with tiger lore, with a tale set in one of India’s most popular destinations.
Ladakh Adventure: The first adventure in which Vikram and Aditya travel to the Changthang plateau of Ladakh. They find themselves on the run along with a Tibetan boy Tsering, while camping there. Journey to the roof of the world with an enthralling tale set in one of India’s most splendid destinations.
Snow Leopard Adventure: Vikram and Aditya are back in magnificent Ladakh. The duo joins a team of ecologists and explorers to track down the grey ghost of the Himalayas. Journey in search of the elusive snow leopard with an enthralling tale set in one of India’s most glorious locations.
Andaman Adventure–The Jarawa: The Andaman coast is untamed and only partly explored. Its magnificent forests are the home of a proud and ancient people known as the Jarawa. Vikram and Aditya, accompanied by the free-spirited Chitra, embark on exhilarating voyage here. Journey to the Andamans in the first part of this riveting tale of adventure and mystery, set in India’s far-flung islands.
Andaman Adventure–Barren Island: In a remote corner of the Andaman Sea lies a forgotten and uninhabited island called Barren. Here, Vikram has to pit his wits against a band of desperate men as well as primal forces of nature. His friends Aditya and Chitra also embark on their own trajectories of this roller-coaster adventure. Journey to the Andamans in the concluding part of this riveting tale of adventure and mystery, set in India’s far-flung islands.
Sahyadri Adventure–Anirudh’s Dream: Once upon a time, there were fields in the city of Mumbai, where stood a fort guarded by cannons. One day, in a cave on a windswept Sahyadri mountain, Vikram’s friend, Anirudh, had a strange dream. Journey to the Sahyadris in the first part of this riveting tale where history meets adventure in one of India’s most beautiful locales.
Sahyadri Adventure–Koleshwar’s Secret: Far out in the Sahyadri rises a mountain known as Koleshwar. Fascinated by Anirudh’s revelations, Vikram explores Mumbai with him and stumbles upon a forgotten legacy that leads to this mountain. Journey to the Sahyadris in the concluding part of this riveting tale where history meets adventure in one of India’s most beautiful locales.
Terminal 3: A Graphic Novel set in Kashmir
It’s August 2019 and Khwab Nazir is waiting to board the plane at Terminal 3 of New Delhi International Airport. Set to represent India at an international jiu-jitsu tournament, Khwab nervously looks towards her unknown future. She also reflects on her complicated past-of growing up against the insurmountable difficulties
of life in Kashmir.
Between happiness and emptiness, desire and grief, penance and peace-Khwab has endured. She has a dream that life will be a paradise, one day. Breathing against the backdrop of conflict, Terminal 3, is the story of the everyday people striving to live their dreams in the Valley.
The Penguin India 2022 Booker Prize Winners
TOMB OF SAND
In northern India, an eighty-year-old woman slips into a deep depression after the death of her husband, and then resurfaces to gain a new lease on life. Her determination to fly in the face of convention – including striking up a friendship with a transgender person – confuses her bohemian daughter, who is used to thinking of herself as the more ‘modern’ of the two.
To her family’s consternation, Ma insists on travelling to Pakistan, simultaneously confronting the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist.
Rather than respond to tragedy with seriousness, Geetanjali Shree’s playful tone and exuberant wordplay results in a book that is engaging, funny, and utterly original, at the same time as being an urgent and timely protest against the destructive impact of borders and boundaries, whether between religions, countries, or genders.
THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA
A searing satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil war
Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the Beira Lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time when scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts who cluster around him can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try and contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka. Ten years after his prizewinning novel Chinaman established him as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors, Karunatilaka is back with a rip-roaring epic, full of mordant wit and disturbing truths.
Miracles for the Maharaja (Meandering Magicians Series Book III)
Something strange is afoot in the kingdom of Pür.
The most favoured suitor at Princess Vasundhara’s swayamvara has disappeared …
A reclusive sorceress has emerged from the Eastern Isles …
The Inter-Realm Ambassador is furious …
A long-lost stone with dark powers must be found …
The Sprites are preparing for rebellion …
When dignitaries from all the Mortal Realms-and a few from the Inter-Realm-gather in Rajgir for a stressful swayamvara, only mayhem can ensue! Can Meenakshi and Kalban uncover Tara the Starchaser’s dark legacy and prevent a war between the Realms?
Book III in the Meandering Magicians series
Bad Liars
When the dead body of a famous fund manager, Anant Kapoor, is found in his house, it isn’t hard for the police to pin the murder on his wife. She has no alibi, and she is the direct beneficiary of his death. But when the police look deeper, they discover two more suspects just as likely to commit the crime.
With no sound motive and contradictory statements from the three suspects, the police must dig deeper into their history, and what they find is rather chilling and perplexing at the same time.
Who killed Anant, and more importantly, why?