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The Best New Books to Enjoy this Rainy Season

With the rain pouring outside, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up with a good book. This rainy season, we’ve got the best new books for you to enjoy. Whether you’re looking for an exciting thriller, a heartfelt romance, or an inspiring non-fiction read, our list has something for everyone. These newest reads will keep you entertained, cozy, and make the rainy days fly by. So grab a blanket, a warm drink, and dive into these fantastic new releases.

A Person Is a Prayer
A Person Is a Prayer || Ammar Kalia

Bedi and Sushma’s marriage is arranged. When they first meet, they stumble through a faltering conversation about happiness and hope, and agree to go in search of these things together. But even after their children, Selena, Tara and Rohan, are grown up and have their own families, Bedi and Sushma are still searching.
Years later, the siblings attempt to navigate life without their parents. As they travel to the Ganges to unite their father’s ashes with the opaque water, it becomes clear that each of them has inherited the same desire to understand what makes a happy life, the same confusion about this question and the same enduring hope.
A Person Is a Prayer plumbs the depths of the spaces between family members and the silence that rushes in like a flood when communication deteriorates. It is about how short a life is and how the choices we make can ripple down generations.

 

Banaras
Banaras || Vertul Singh

A kaleidoscopic view of Banaras, Varanasi charts a narrative that spans from the city’s present day, to its origins as Kashi, and the fin de siècle of the eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, which witnessed Varanasi’s inclusionary development as a cultural and pilgrimage centre, an opulent trading hub, and a basilica of political power.

Weaving facts, interesting anecdotes and untold stories to make a rich tapestry, this book is an insider’s account and an unparalleled portrait of the city.

 

Bird Milk and Mosquito Bones
Bird Milk and Mosquito Bones || Priyanka Mattoo

Priyanka Mattoo was born into a wooden house in the Himalayas, as were most of her ancestors. In 1989, however, mounting violence in the region forced Mattoo’s community to flee. The home into which her family poured their dreams was reduced to a pile of rubble.

Mattoo never moved back to her beloved Kashmir—because it no longer existed. She and her family just kept packing and unpacking and moving on. In forty years, Mattoo accumulated thirty-two different addresses, and she chronicles her nomadic existence with wit, wisdom, and an inimitable eye for light within the darkest moments.

 

Darako
Darako || Parashar Kulkarni

Brave and funny, set in colonial India, Darako features a paanwallah and his secrets, a spitting competition that grows to be a massive affair attracting talents from everywhere, an Afghan rebel who is a star spitter and a mystic, gun-running during the freedom struggle, a daylight murder and a tangy romance amidst the utter chaos. In this world, up is down, and down is up. With laugh-out-loud moments and a clever play with language, song and history, Darako uses satire to comment on religion, identity and freedom.

 

Death in the Air
Death in the Air || Ram Murali

Samsara is the Sanskrit word for the karmic cycle of death and rebirth, after all. And as it turns out, the colorful cast of characters Ro meets—including a misanthropic politician; an American movie star preparing for his Bollywood crossover debut; a beautiful heiress to a family fortune that barely survived Partition; and a bumbling white yogi inexplicably there to teach meditation—
harbors a murderer among them. Maybe more than one.
As the death toll rises, Ro, a lawyer by training and a sleuth by circumstance, becomes embroiled in a vicious world under a gilded surface, where nothing is quite what it seems . . . including Ro himself. Death in the Air is a brilliant, teasing mystery from a remarkable new talent.

 

Design Your Career
Design Your Career || Pavan Soni

Design Your Career is the distillation of Pavan’s 550 workshops at over 175 organizations across five countries where he infers that human talent is grossly underutilized. This book is a humble attempt in offering hope and clarity to individuals who feel helpless amid all the chaos and to give them the appropriate tools and frameworks to guide their careers towards fulfilment.

 

I Have the Streets
I Have the Streets || R Ashwin, Sidharth Monga

Ashwin is arguably the greatest match-winner for India in Test cricket. The fastest man to 300 Test wickets, he was a part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup in the ODI format. In T20 cricket, he has won two IPL titles and a Champions League T20. He is a feisty offspinner and more than a handy batter. But that’s only half the tale.

This nuanced portrait delves deep to paint a candid picture of a cricketer’s life before cricket—his struggles with health issues as a child, a middle-class family’s unwavering fight and determination to give him the resources he needed for a professional career in the sport, and the little joys of growing up in a cricket-mad gully.

How does a champion sportsman view the world? What drives him on and off the field? One of the more articulate and thoughtful cricketers, in this book, R. Ashwin tells his story with Sidharth Monga.

 

M.K. Nambyar
M.K. Nambyar || K.K. Venugopal

It is rare to see a lawyer from a district court occupy centre stage in the Supreme Court but M.K. Nambyar achieved this remarkable feat. Starting his practice in a district court in Mangalore, M.K. Nambyar rose to become an eminent constitutional lawyer. Written by his son K.K. Venugopal, a legal luminary himself, this biography provides a fascinating account of Nambyar’s life. It not only describes the man but also recapitulates India’s legal history from the pre-Independence era. The book includes some landmark cases argued by Nambyar that have significantly contributed to the development of constitutional law in India such as A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras and I.C. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab, where he sowed the seeds of the ‘basic structure’ doctrine. These cases continue to guide and inspire lawyers and judges today.

 

Match Me If You Can
Match Me If You Can || Swati Hegde

Local pub owner and cocktail genius Jaiman Patil can’t help but be enamoured with journalist/matchmaker Jia Deshpande and her meddling spirit. He’s always been an honorary part of her family, but even more so since his own moved to America. Life with the Deshpandes is chaotic and loud, but it’s also more loving than anything he experienced growing up, and he wouldn’t risk losing that for the world. It feels manageable—until his pub begins to struggle and his long-hidden feelings for Jia grow deeper.
When Jia’s attempts at office matchmaking go haywire, risking new friendships and her relationship with Jaiman, she must reevaluate her own thoughts on love. For the first time, Jia Deshpande realizes that love may be a lot more complicated than she thought. Luckily, happily-ever-afters are never in short supply in Mumbai.

 

Remember Me As Yours
Remember Me As Yours

Nityami Thakur hails from Bhopal and only has a simple request from life: that she get a man who loves her as unconditionally and loyally as she would. But her pursuit of this simple wish has landed her on a journey where every man she meets only punctures her confidence, convincing her that perhaps she is not good for anybody. Sick and tired of window-shopping for Mr Right, Nityami gets to know that her first love from school is somewhere in Sikkim. And that he has recently broken up. With renewed hope and the desire to take a break from her messy present, Nityami decides to take a road trip to Sikkim.

Falak Sultana hails from New Delhi and is a born fighter. Coming from a broken home with an abusive father, she worked hard to not only set up her own small food delivery service but, unbeknownst to her family, to also pursue an MBA, aspiring to bigger life goals. Her only friend is her stepmother, who is her age. Just when Falak thinks her life is finally aligning with her dreams, she ends up doing something drastic, which makes her run for her life. And she reaches Sikkim.

When the two girls find themselves, coincidentally, in the same cab, they feel the company would be good for the road trip ahead. But little do they know whom destiny has kept in store for them. Someone who had changed their lives when they had first met, and will once again alter their lives.

Remember Me As Yours is as much a fast-reading romantic comedy, as it is a poignant coming-of-age tale of two girls who find themselves singled out by society and are desperate to make sense of their personal losses.

 

Take No. 2020
Take No. 2020 || Puneet Sikka

Meera has just landed her first big Bollywood film after years of struggling, loneliness and despair.
For Dabloo, who is fighting to make ends meet, this year has brought both the lowest and highest points of his career.
Aspiring TikTok star Jayesh, unlucky in love and films, might just discover his métier the hard way.
Embroiled in #MeToo allegations, the puppet master of the casting couch, Micky Taneja, might be able to find his true love and work again.

As the paths of these strugglers collide, broken relationships give way to unexpected ones, projects are found and lost, and repressed pasts resurface in their shiny new lives. In the face of a real-life climax, each is forced to reckon if they’re the hero or villain of their own story.

A smoke-and-mirrors story decked in acerbic humour and grief, Take No. 2020 is a story within a story, where reality is nothing except what you believe in.

 

Secrets Within
Secrets Within || Mushtaq Shiekh

In the shadow of opulence, ambition can be a dangerous driving force. Aakash, a visionary architect, finds himself with the chance of a lifetime—a contract that could crown his career or crush it. The job? To build and redesign a mansion for Mr Khanna, a man whose riches are only matched by his secrets. Aakash’s path to success is paved with temptations when he crosses paths with the enigmatic Maya, Mr Khanna’s wife, whose eyes hold stories yet to be told.

Dive into Secrets Within, where the scent of scandal is as intoxicating as the allure of power. Here, every corner turned could be a step towards an empire or a slip into an abyss, and every face masks a secret dying to break free.

Will Aakash be able to navigate this treacherous maze to emerge victorious or will he become a casualty of his unchecked desires?
Behind the gates of the Khanna mansion, a game of deceit beckons, where the price of truth may be too perilous to pay.

 

The Earnicorns
The Earnicorns || Dhruv Nath

These are stories about phenomenal companies and their equally phenomenal founders. How Zoho transformed rural Tamil Nadu, by recruiting young boys and girls who could not afford to go to a decent college. And nurturing them into becoming star programmers. Nithin Kamath, the outstandingly humble founder of Zerodha, who shocked the nation by charging absolutely no brokerage from investors. Sanjeev Bikhchandani, who started Naukri.com from the servant’s quarters above his father’s garage, using second-hand computers and furniture. And subsequently, grew the business to a point where they have an unbelievable 70 per cent share of the market for white-collar jobs. Harsh Jain of Dream11, who built a roaring fantasy sports platform when everyone advised him not to.

 

The Practical MBA
The Practical MBA || Sandeep Das

The Practical MBA aims to help you get a valuable MBA education, i.e. what you should be taught in business schools. It discusses various topics like entrepreneurship, self-help, technological disruption and financial literacy. This holistic guide breaks down various day-to-day business concepts such as pricing, inflation, GDP, statistics and so on. It also provides a glimpse of industries—FMCG, consulting, e-commerce, banking—to help you understand their cultures and demands.
With career-related advice on creating an impactful resume and acing various rounds of job selections, this book provides you with the secret sauce that will help you land the job you want.

 

The Remains of the Body
The Remains of the Body || Saikat Majumdar

The Remains of the Body is an intricate story of friendship and intimacy between three Indian immigrants in North America from a writer known for his exploration of the unpredictable nature of human sexuality.

Two men in their mid-thirties, childhood friends, share a deep bond that is put to an unexpected test as one’s marriage starts to crumble under the conflicting arcs of immigrant ambition. As the marriage loses its last breath in an unexpected affair, the other friend, a single man, has to confront questions about his own desire that he cannot answer. Whose body does he long to touch? Can a man’s intimacy with a woman mask his inexpressible desire for someone who lies beyond his reach?

 

The Somnath Cipher
The Somnath Cipher || Priyanka Pathak Narain

When a Somnath University professor sends a desperate plea for help, journalist Pia Jani and her childhood friend Aditya Narayan are pulled into a battle of wits and stealth to unravel a millennium-old mystery.

As the duo deciphers intricate clues and cracks baffling codes, they unearth a trail leading back to the day the Somnath Temple was plundered by the infamous Mahmud of Ghazni—and the staggering truth of what really happened.

Stalked by a faceless, merciless adversary who outmanoeuvres their every move, they must race against time before an explosive secret is lost forever in the annals of history.

Da Vinci Code meets Indiana Jones in this exhilarating and unputdownable read through India’s history, ancient cults, symbols and religion.

 

A Slight Angle
A Slight Angle || Ruth Vanita

In the volatile India of the 1920s, with its many political and technological crosscurrents, we encounter a group of young people in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Banaras, discovering new ways to live. Fiery Sheela, once a Gandhian, charts her own path; clever Kanta and orphaned Hemlata make the most of their limited resources; gentle and gifted Sharad and Abhik grapple with forbidden desire and redefine older arts; Robin the jazz musician and Rita the Jewish movie star construct urban pleasures. Hindi writers Mahadevi and Ugra make cameo appearances.

 

Cauldron, Sword and Victory
Cauldron, Sword and Victory || Sarbpreet Singh

In Cauldron, Sword and Victory, author Sarbpreet Singh takes the reader on a journey through the fiery crucible in which the character of the Sikhs was forged. Seers and mystics, conquerors and kings rub shoulders in this heady tale of history and politics, embarking on never-ending quests for land, power and glory. Singh’s first volume on Sikh history told the story of the venerated Sikh Gurus. Starting with the rebellion of Banda Singh Bahadur, he now turns his attention to Nawab Kapur Singh and his cohort of doughty Sikh chiefs who became the masters of Punjab as the weakened Mughals of Delhi clashed with the powerful Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan. Bringing these swashbuckling characters to life in a manner most vivid and compelling, Singh transports us to the eighteenth-century Indian subcontinent as the Sikh chiefs engage with the British, the Marathas, the Jats and the Rohillas, sometimes as allies and sometimes as adversaries.

 

Power Within
Power Within || R. Balasubramaniam

Western thought on leadership is trait-oriented; it emphasizes the importance of ‘being a leader’. Indian leadership offers a contrast—it focuses on the ‘exercise of leadership’. Power Within introspects on this practice as it captures the civilizational wisdom of Bharat through the lived experience of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The book delves into the fifty years of his public life and explores how he discovered his purpose, the seeds of which were sown in his formative years. Poignant anecdotes from his colleagues shed light on how his relentless hard work and communicative approach propelled him to the prime ministerial post. They also underscore his constant quest for self-discovery in the service of others.

 

Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora
Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora || Edward T. G. Anderson

Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora explores how and why the movement became popular among India’s diaspora from the second half of the twentieth century. It shows that Hindutva ideology and its plethora of organizations have a distinctive resonance and way of operating overseas; the movement and its ideas perform significant, particular functions for diaspora communities.
Edward T.G. Anderson argues that transnational Hindutva cannot simply be viewed as an export: this phenomenon has evolved and been shaped into an important aspect of diasporic identity, a way for people to connect with their homeland. He also sheds light on the impact of conservative Indian politics on British multiculturalism, migrant politics and relations between various minority communities.

 

On the Other Side
On the Other Side || Rahman Abbas

Abdus-Salam Kalshekar’s only aspiration was to publish his Dastan-e-Ishq, a seven-volume ‘Saga of Passion’, before his death. While Salam could only complete three volumes, an author sets out to write a novel about Salam, unveiling the fifty-three diaries about the latter’s past amours that consume the saga. It also reveals a certain beloved whom Salam could never bring himself to write about. While Salam’s life unfolds a world that is riddled with patriarchy, caste prejudice, religious intolerance and exploitation in the name of faith, the deeper conflicts of love and abandonment are revealed in this expertly crafted narrative, now available in an English translation.

The Newest Children’s Books for a Rainy July!

July brings a fantastic collection of new children’s books to spark imaginations and delight young readers. From magical folk tales to stories of curiosity and courage, these June releases are perfect for kids to enjoy during the rainy season. Let the reading fun begin!

 

 

 

The Adventures of Ed-a-Mamma: Ed Finds a Home
The Adventures of Ed-a-Mamma: Ed Finds a Home || Alia Bhatt

Ed is a little dog without a home but a heart full of hope. Alia is a little girl with a heart full of love and a secret superpower. When Ed meets Alia, she becomes his safe place. In turn, he inspires her to be the best version of herself.

Ed Finds a Home celebrates ordinary kindnesses and the hero inside each one of us.
Join Alia and Ed on all their exciting adventures in this new picture-book series, The Adventures of Ed-a-Mamma.

 

 

 

How and Why Tales
How and Why Tales || Geeta Ramanujam

Why do nightingales sing at night?
How did the Moon get its craters?
Why did the Great Bear become a constellation?

Do you ever wonder about these questions? If you find yourself intrigued by the universe, then this book of folk tales is for you!

Delight in these richly illustrated stories as you explore the magical mysteries of nature and traverse distant lands, such as the Pamir Knot, the Ottoman Empire in Turkey and the icy expanse of Greenland.

Curated by Geeta Ramanujam, these enchanting tales not only draw from diverse traditions but also feature her own unique stories. An imaginative exploration, this collection of eighteen tales invites you to discover folk tales and trivia from around the world.

 

Petu Pumpkin Freedom Fighter
Petu Pumpkin Freedom Fighter || Arundhati Venkatesh

‘The future depends on what you do today.’ –Mahatma Gandhi

When games periods are cancelled and Petu and his friends unearth a sinister conspiracy, there is only one thing to be done–to seek inspiration from the founders of our nation, and protest.

But the path to freedom and justice is not a straight and narrow one. Many unexpected challenges crop up, including malicious media, the real-estate mafia, credit-stealing politicians and scary security guards.

Will the Awesome Fivesome expose the land-grabbers and save their playground? Will justice prevail?

 

The Book of Emperors
The Book of Emperors || Ashwitha Jayakumar

A little over five hundred years ago, a boy sat in a garden, waiting for his story to begin. His name was Babur, and he would soon found an empire that astonished the world.

For three hundred years, Babur’s sons and grandsons, alongside their mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, would wage wars, make art and music, eat a delicious fruit or two, and both shape and be shaped by the land they made their home.

History would call them the Mughals. The Book of Emperors tells their stories.

June’s moon is all about summer releases!

There’s nothing like sipping a freshly made lemonade, sitting cross-legged on the floor during your summer holidays and exploring stories through freshly printed books. Add our June releases to the mix and you have a power-packed day – full of action, humour, colours and more! There’s something in this list for every kind of young reader out there. Just browse and take your pick!

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Gupshup Goes to Prison by Arefa Tehsin 

Gupshup Goes To Prison||Arefa Tehsin

Khalid’s cat Gupshup has run away to a prison. An open prison, it is called, but everyone knows that prisons are full of horrible, evil people. Or are they? And how on earth will Khalid get Gupshup home?

For readers 7+

 

The Great Escape by Menaka Raman

The Great Escape||Menaka Raman

Sachit is not a fan of Wunderkind Academy. And it is a beautiful day outside. Aided by new friends Hari and Kris, can he escape to freedom?

For readers 7+

 

The Egghead Detective Agency by Pika Nani & Jemma Jose

The Egghead Detective Agency||Pika Nani

Has your pool turned pink recently? Are kidnappers after your pet chicken? Is an old forest in danger?

Sisters and little investigators, Tam and Ant cannot believe their eyes when they meet ‘Egghead’ right in their living room! The soon discover that he is, in fact, the ghost of a famous detective who was quite sought-after in his time. The girls now enlist his services for their detective agency-after all, the friendly ghost does come with great abilities.

Together they must solve the strange incidents that keep happening at their beloved Emerald Gardens-the quiet little residential complex.

What’s more, YOU can help the detectives crack the cases with Solve It Yourself clues (SIY), picture puzzles, secret codes and more in this 5-in-1 chapter book!

For readers 7+

 

Akbar-Birbal & The Haunted Gurukul by Apeksha Rao & Doodlenerve

Akbar-Birbal and The Haunted Gurukul||Apeksha Rao

Just into his tenth year, life’s all good for the future Mughal king, Akbar. But when his bestie, Nassie, the royal elephant goes on a rampage, a dangerous plot to harm the prince is uncovered. With things taking a sinister turn, Akbar is packed away (very far indeed) to the Vishwamitra Gurukul to live undercover.

Life in a gurukul hostel is nothing like his life in the palace! For starters, there’s no halwa for dessert after dinner! And then there’s that ghost who keeps knocking on doors, calling to be let into the room. But when the spirit attacks a student, the young prince must act. Thankfully, he’s just met one of the greatest minds of the future and also his new best friend – Birbal.

For readers 7+

 

Little Jagadish and The Great Experiment by Anjali Joshi & Debasmita Dasgupta

When young Jagadish realizes that the world is full of unanswered questions, he sets out to explore and discover the world around him using the scientific method. Inspired by the life and work of Indian physicist, botanist, and author Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, this story encourages young readers to embrace their curiosity and unleash their inner scientist.

For readers 7+

 

Visual Dictionary: My Body 

Visual Dictionary: My Body

This colourful board book introduces your child to the human body: how muscles and bones work, what the brain and heart are responsible for, why different internal organs are needed and lots more.

Filled with short stories for little ones, interesting facts and large vibrant pictures, this book is a fun learning experience!

So get ready to seek and find, identify body parts and learn about them.

For readers 3+

 

Visual Dictionary: Animals

 

Visual Dictionary: Animals

This colourful board book introduces your child to the world of animals: herbivores and predators, birds and fishes, bugs and spiders, reptiles and lots more.

Filled with short stories for little ones, interesting facts and large vibrant pictures, this book is a fun learning experience!

So get ready to seek and find, identify animals and learn about them.

For readers 3+

 

Visual Dictionary: Vehicles

Visual Dictionary: Vehicles

This colourful board book introduces your child to different vehicles: rail, air and sea transport, as well as, special military and space equipment.

Filled with short stories for little ones, interesting facts and large vibrant pictures, this book is a fun learning experience!

So get ready to seek and find, identify vehicles and learn about them.

For readers 3+

 

The Big Book of ABCs

The Big Book of ABCs

Experience the alphabet like never before!

From apples, balloons and cats, to penguins, tulips and zoos, there are delightful, new words with every page turn!

Designed to make learning fun, The Big Book of ABCs introduces new words in vibrant settings that make each word even more memorable.

For readers 0-3 years

 

The Big Book of First Words

The Big Book of First Words

Get ready for a learning adventure!

In every home, at the park, at the beach, and even at the zoo, new words await.

Designed to make learning fun, The Big Book of First Words introduces new words in vibrant settings that make each word even more memorable.

For readers 0-3 years

 

The Big Book of Colours

The Big Book of Colours

The best adventures are colourful!

Are you ready to enter the big, beautiful world of colours? Explore places, things, animals, birds and more that bring colours to life.

Designed to make learning fun, The Big Book of Colours helps you decode the secrets of the colour wheel.

For readers 0-3 years

 

The Big Book of Counting to 100

The Big Book of Counting to 100

A counting adventure from 1 to 100!

Are you ready to explore the world through numbers? Down the lane, through the park and across the ocean, there’s so much to see and count!

Designed to make learning fun, The Big Book of Counting to 100 makes counting a truly exciting activity.

For readers 0-3 years

 

Which book is going to be your next summer read? 

Ready for June Readathon?

While we are still getting past the uncertain times and the young ones are spending the summer break indoors, we have come to their rescue with our interesting June book collection. With a tinge of laughter, a touch of magic, a series of adventures, and a sea full of learning, our books promise to offer entertainment, comfort, and knowledge.

Here’s a curated list for June readathon!

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My First Library of Learning: Box set

My First Library Learning || .

Ages: 0 to 3 years

Foster a habit of reading in your little ones with this box set of 10 gorgeously designed and thoughtfully created board books. These books equip toddlers and preschoolers with essential reading, language, visual, motor and imagination skills. This bright, handy, easy-to-read and fun library contains books on English alphabet, numbers, colours, shapes, things at home, fruits and vegetables, seasons and opposites, transport, animals and insects.

 

Dealing with Feelings Box Set 2

Sonia Mehta

Dealing with Feelings || Sonia Mehta

Ages: 5+ years

Foggy Forest is inhabited by many fun little animals. These quirky creatures are always there for one another—helping each other overcome jealousy, boredom, sadness and confusion. Together, they deal with all the different feelings one might have every day. This special box set edition brings together six exciting titles to start a conversation with kids about their feelings and emotions.

 

Big Mistake

Big Mistake

Ages: 16+ years

Insecurities and assurances, conflict and solidarity, fearfulness and courage—the personal histories, stories and #ownvoices in this anthology cover a lot of ground in just a few pages. Let them spark conversations on love, identity, disability, family, body positivity, ambition and other tough stuff. After all, no matter how old we get, growing up can feel like one big mistake.

 

Nida Finds a Way

Samina Mishra

Nida Finds A Way || Samina Mishra

Ages: 7 to 9 years

Whenever Nida wants to do something new, Abba is scared for her and says NONONO. But Nida needs to learn and do new things—so the only way is for her to persuade Abba. Can Nida find a way?

 

A Pinch of Magic

Asha Nehemiah

A Pinch of Magic || Asha Nehemiah

Ages: 7 to 9 years

Veena’s aunt Malu is in trouble. Her pinching spoon is broken. She must get a new spoon or close down her herbal medicine business. But the only person who makes pinching spoons has disappeared. Can Veena help her aunt?

 

Unmasked

Paro Anand

Unmasked || Paro Anand

Ages: 11+ years

The year 2020 will forever be reported as the time when we all fell down. But it was also the year we all got back up and were forced to come together in a way we had never imagined before. In this timely masterpiece, Paro Anand writes of despair, courage and hope. Through eighteen short stories from the pandemic, Anand introduces us to characters who feel familiar and their stories intimate.

From a mother and son looking to make ends meet as the lockdown brutally affects their lives to a housewife who’s a victim of domestic abuse, from young keyboard wizards keen on making a difference to a home delivery executive who becomes an unlikely hero, this book unmasks the layers of the year that changed us all.

 

My Little Book of Krishna

My Little Book of Krishna || .

Ages: 3+ years

Naughty little Krishna’s search for butter leads to an unexpected adventure. With charming illustrations and simple language, this short tale about Krishna will entertain and delight. It is a perfect way to familiarize the little ones with India’s rich cultural fabric. It’s a must have to introduce a god from popular Hindu mythology and impart valuable life lessons.

 

My Little Book of Lakshmi

My Little Book of Lakshmi || .

Ages: 3+ years

Lovely Lakshmi comes to Earth once a year. Will she have a good time here?
With the beautifully illustrated pages, this short tale about Lakshmi offers a fun and enjoyable read about timeless myths and festivals for modern kids.

 

My Little Book of Ganesha

My Little Book of Ganesha || .

Ages: 3+ years

Clever Ganesha’s got something on his mind, but what that is you’ll have to read on to find.
This short tale about Ganesha has fascinating illustrations and lucid language, making it suitable for bedtime reading and parent-child association. It’s dotted with interesting facts as well as an interactive activities.

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June calls for halftime, let’s take the time to breathe and read

Yes, six months have passed since 2021 began. Under normal circumstances, a June mood-board would probably be filled with things like citrus fruit, travel plans, swimsuits, bright colours and pretty food. Much like Darwin theorised though, we evolve to take advantage of the resources we have. The one thing we’ve always got is our books. That is why our mood board for the month has taken a slightly more mellow and serene turn with iced coffee, a lounge chair, flowers, a beautifully organised bookshelf and most certainly enough time to sit and enjoy those things. Can you visualise it?

Enjoying the contents of a book is not the only experience we amass, but the whole adventure of reading, accompanied by associated sights, sounds, tactile feelings and memories of when and where we read, becomes something we can reminisce about. Be it old or new, books are forever… unless you have an overwhelming termite problem(they have an appetite for books just like we do), in which case, please do treat that as you stock up on these titles we’ve got for you through June.

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Sach Kahun Toh FC
Sach Kahun Toh||Neena Gupta

Sach Kahun Toh

In Sach Kahun Toh, actor Neena Gupta chronicles her extraordinary personal and professional journey-from her childhood days in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, through her time at the National School of Drama, to moving to Bombay in the 1980s and dealing with the struggles to find work. It details the big milestones in her life, her unconventional pregnancy and single parenthood, and a successful second innings in Bollywood. A candid, self-deprecating portrait of the person behind the persona, it talks about her life’s many choices, battling stereotypes, then and now, and how she may not be as unconventional as people think her to be.

Believe FC
Believe||Suresh Raina, Bharat Sundaresan

Believe

Believe, Sachin Tendulkar told him – and he took it to heart, getting the word etched on his arm as a tattoo.

In this book, Suresh Raina takes us through the challenges he faced as a young cricketer. He was bullied as a child, but he overcame every adversity life threw at him and never gave up. This is the story of the lessons he learnt and the friendships he built.

Peppered with invaluable insights – about the game and about life – that Raina acquired from senior colleagues, this book will make you believe in the power of hard work, love, luck, hope and camaraderie. It is a journey through the highs and lows in the career of a man who saw his world fall apart and yet became one of the most influential white-ball cricketers India has ever seen.

The Heartbeat of Trees FC
The Heartbeat of Trees||Peter Wohlleben

The Heartbeat of Trees

This book marks a powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground, where the colour green calms us and the forest sharpens our senses. In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of cell-phone addiction, climate change and urban life, many of us fear that we’ve lost our connection to nature. But Wohlleben is convinced that the age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, exploring the language of the forest, the consciousness of plants and the eroding boundary between flora and fauna.

A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees will help you see, feel, smell, hear and even taste the forest. Peter Wohlleben, renowned for his ability to write about trees in an engaging way, reveals a wondrous cosmos where humans are a part of nature, and where conservation and environmental activism is not just about saving trees-it’s about saving ourselves, too.

#Tatastories Front Cover
#Tatastories||Harish Bhat

#Tatastories

The Tatas have a legacy of nation-building over 150 years. Dancing across this long arc of time are thousands of beautiful, astonishing stories, many of which can inspire and provoke us, even move us to meaningful action in our own lives.

A diamond twice as large as the famous Kohinoor pledged to survive a financial crisis; a meeting with a ‘relatively unknown young monk’ who later went on to be known as Swami Vivekananda; the fascinating story of the first-ever Indian team at the Olympics; the making of India’s first commercial airline and first indigenous car; how ‘OK TATA’ made its way to the backs of millions of trucks on Indian highways; a famous race that was both lost and won; and
many more.

#TataStories is a collection of little-known tales of individuals, events and places from the Tata Group that have shaped the India we live in today. 

Anti-Clock FC
Anti-Clock||V.J. James

Anti-Clock

Hendri, the coffin maker, has one goal in life: to see the dead body of his nemesis Satan Loppo being lowered into the coffin he has painstakingly carved. For it was Loppo who defiled his beloved Beatrice, and let loose his hellhound Hitler upon Hendri, giving him a permanent limp.

From inside his coffin shop, Hendri watches the world go by even as he prepares to deliver justice upon Loppo. He is confronted by the son of his best friend becoming enamoured with Loppo’s wealth, Loppo’s evil designs towards the hills of Aadi Nadu, and his own Christian guilt that regularly comes to haunt him. Until he meets Pundit, a 112-year-old watchmaker who was part of Bose’s Indian National Army and is building an ‘Anti-Clock‘, which can turn back time. When Loppo too hears of the Anti-Clock and desires to possess it, the inevitable battle becomes a reality.

This philosophical novel translated from Malayalam is a winner of multiple awards.

The Startup Wife Front cover
The Startup Wife||Tahmima Anam

The Startup Wife

Meet Asha Ray. Brilliant coder and possessor of a Pi tattoo, Asha is poised to revolutionize artificial intelligence when she is reunited with her high school crush, Cyrus Jones.

Cyrus inspires Asha to write a new algorithm. Before she knows it, she’s abandoned her PhD program, they’ve exchanged vows, and gone to work at an exclusive tech incubator called Utopia.

The platform creates a sensation, with millions of users seeking personalized rituals every day. Will Cyrus and Asha’s marriage survive the pressures of sudden fame, or will she become overshadowed by the man everyone is calling the new messiah?

In this gripping, blistering novel, award-winning author Tahmima Anam takes on faith and the future with a gimlet eye and a deft touch. Come for the radical vision of human connection, stay for the wickedly funny feminist look at start-up culture and modern partnership. Can technology-with all its limits and possibilities-disrupt love?

Right Between the Ears FC
Right Between the Ears||Sandeep Dayal

Right Between the Ears

Right Between the Ears reveals the secrets that allow brands to open up hidden domains in our minds through powerful psychological triggers. The power of cognitive brands is not accidental; it is architected by applying recent scientific advances in fields as disparate as psychology, behavioural economics, social anthropology and cognitive neuroscience. These consilient techniques now allow us to peer into the soul of a brand as never before.

Marketers have created truly phenomenal brands in the past. However, until now, our understanding of brain science was not quite enough to explain why some brand campaigns become so iconic while others fizzle. This book provides a new lens with which we can deconstruct those successes and failures. It takes the reader on a rollicking ride through examples and stories of brands as timeless as De Beers, Mastercard, Allstate and Guinness, as well as modern-day wonders like Madison Reed, Allbirds and Warby Parker.

The book is called Right between the Ears because that is where the brain is. Psychologists sometimes say that everything about sex happens not where you think but right between your ears. Everything about brands, too, happens there. This book reveals all you need to know to build your own epic brands. 

The Story of The Sikhs FC
The Story of The Sikhs||Sarbpreet Singh

The Story of The Sikhs

The power of storytelling meets the colourful history of the Sikh faith in The Story of the Sikhs. In this book, author Sarbpreet Singh helps us reimagine the lives of the Sikh Gurus through a rich narrative that that intricately weaves in selections from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Dasam Granth and epic Braj poetry.
Starting from the birth of the first guru, Guru Nanak, the book charts the lives of the ten Gurus. Through carefully curated stories, the book does not just show the egalitarian ideals and compassionate worldview that have come to define the faith, but also sheds light on the historical context that defined the foundational principles which guided Sikhs during the era of each Guru.
Sarbpreet has deliberately approached this retelling as a storyteller rather than as a student of history in an attempt to make the work accessible and engaging. Immersive and expansive, The Story of the Sikhs is a tour de force that weaves a multi-dimensional tapestry of narrative and poetry.

Little America FC
Little America||Zain Said

Little America

Born in a Karachi slum, Sharif Barkati became obsessed with “American” ideas of love and freedom at a very young age. He began to dream of a public place in the city that did not follow the rules, where people would be free to say and do whatever they wanted under open skies, away from the conservative eyes of Pakistani society.
With the help of his friend Afzal – and TJ, an extremely wealthy Pakistani-American – Sharif was able to realize his dream in the form of a colossal compound on the Karachi coast, full of bars, cafes, clubs, and the people of Karachi strolling about, hand in hand.
They called it Little America.
Now in prison, Sharif tells the story of his life in a letter to his favourite novelist, hoping that he will turn it into a literary masterpiece. At once a rollicking journey around the mind of a man desperate to be free, an allegory of the neo-colonial endeavour, and an investigation of the desire to emulate the perceived superior while desperately trying to hold on to one’s own cultural identity, Little America asks the question: What, really, is freedom, and what can be sacrificed in its name?

A Map of Longings FC
A Map of Longings||Manan Kapoor

A Map of Longings

This first definitive biography of Agha Shahid Ali offers a rich portrait of the poet and the world he inhabited.

Shahid is widely regarded as one of the finest poets from the Indian subcontinent, and his works are read across the world, touching millions of lives. A pioneer of ghazal writing in English, he wrote extensively about loss, nostalgia and home. A witness to the conflict that ravaged his homeland Kashmir, a loss he lamented in his collection The Country without a Post Office, Shahid has today become a symbol of hope in a violent world.

In this biography, Manan Kapoor explores the concerns that shaped Shahid’s life and works, following in the footsteps of the ‘Beloved Witness’ from Kashmir to New Delhi and finally to the United States. He charts Shahid’s friendships with figures like Begum Akhtar and James Merrill and looks at the lives the poet touched with his compassion and love. He also traces the complex evolution of Shahid’s evocative verses, which mapped various cultures and geographies, and mourned injustice and loss, both personal and political. Drawing on various unpublished materials and in-depth interviews with Shahid’s family, friends, students and acquaintances, Kapoor narrates the riveting story of a major literary voice and presents Shahid’s poetic vision, revealing not just what he wrote but also how he taught the world to live.

 Green Humour for a Greying Planet
Green Humour for a Greying Planet||Rohan Chakravarty

Green Humour for a Greying Planet

Green Humour for A Greying Planet is a curation of gag cartoons and comic strips based exclusively on wildlife and nature, perhaps the first of its kind. At a time when global warming, wildlife crimes and man-animal conflicts are at their worst, ‘Green Humour’ is sure to provide its readers some much needed comic relief. A comprehensive and satirical take on various aspects of the natural world and the threats to its conservation, this book will appeal to both the scientifically inclined readers as well as the general readers.

How to Get Glass Skin FC
How to Get Glass Skin||Anupriya Goel

How to Get Glass Skin

Glass skin is not just limited to Koreans. Each one of us can get flawless, dewy skin. However, this dream skin cannot be achieved overnight. How to Get Glass Skin will take you through all the steps to be followed in your morning-to-night routine of double cleansing, toning, moisturizing, application of serum, SPF application, facial oils and masking, according to your skin type and skin condition.
Dr Anupriya Goel, renowned skin specialist and medical director of the Berkowits chain of clinics, gives you an insight into the right kind of nutrition and supplements you should be taking, along with an understanding of the active ingredients that you must know of before investing in a product. This, and the latest advancements in skincare.
So what are you waiting for? Let your skin become glass-like and get addicted to the glow.

Looking Inward
Looking Inward||Swami Purnachaitanya

Looking Inward

The world as we know it in 2021 is worse than anything we have seen so far. Global warming, a pandemic, misinformation spreading like wildfires, fake news, riots, changing social structures and lifestyles-the ramifications of these events affect our health, relationships, productivity and, most importantly, have a lasting impact on our inner peace. It is in times like these that we feel stressed, acutely anxious and even depressed. And it is now more than ever that we need to look inward for strength, focus, happiness and resilience.
In Looking Inward, Swami Purnachaitanya helps you on your journey towards identifying the source of your anxiety, stress and restlessness, and provides you with the tools required to address and transcend them, using meditation to soothe distracted thoughts and refocusing your energy to being fully present in the moment. Every chapter includes enlightening stories, precious insights, and a ten-minute exercise that will take you one step closer to mastering your mind and building your own meditation practice.
Today, meditation is not a luxury, it is a necessity. This book helps you acknowledge the changing world while strengthening your inner energy reserves to better cope with it.

Ayurveda FC
Ayurveda||Dr G.G. Gangadharan

Ayurveda

This book is not a defence of Ayurveda. A sound, scientific framework of healthcare that has saved countless lives over 5000 years does not need defenders. It needs champions, and to be given wings. In a world that needs Ayurveda more than ever, Dr G.G. Gangadharan, who has been researching both the theory and the practice for the past thirty-five years, shows in his book the logic behind the science. He points out that our bodies are intelligent systems designed to keep most diseases at bay, but we must pay more attention to the signals they give us. Doing so comes with the implicit promise of true restoration. It is a promise to restore your bod and mind to its initial healthy state. Ayurveda has so much to offer; its simple application can transform daily life. In this book, you will find the secret to greater happiness through balance and long-lasting health-the idea that healthcare must address the individual as a whole and not just the disease.

Fighter Cock
Fighter Cock||Sidharth Singh

Fighter Cock

Shikargarh, central India. An untamed wilderness ruled by a dissolute raja with a passion for sex, drugs and cockfighting. The raja’s Karianath fighter cocks are the undisputed champions of the area – but their reign is challenged by the new Aseel fighters imported by Teja, his bastard son, who also schemes to usurp his position.
Into this world arrives Sheru, a brooding stranger hired to work for the raja. As Sheru negotiates this wild land, he finds himself getting pulled into a deadly vortex of events that threaten to derail his destiny. But Sheru is a dangerous man with a dark past, and when he unleashes his fury, all hell breaks loose.

The Bombay Prince
The Bombay Prince||Sujata Massey

The Bombay Prince

November 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India is arriving in Bombay to begin a four-month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college.

Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident. Feeling guilty for failing to have helped Freny in life, Perveen steps forward to assist Freny’s family in the fraught dealings of the coroner’s inquest. When Freny’s death appears suspicious, Perveen knows she can’t rest until she sees justice done. But Bombay is erupting: as armed British secret service marches the streets, rioters attack anyone with perceived British connections and desperate shopkeepers destroy their own wares so they will not be targets of racial violence. Can Perveen help a suffering family when her own is in danger? 

Rising Like a Storm
Rising Like a Storm||Tanaz Bhathena

Rising Like a Storm

With King Lohar dead and a usurper queen in power, Gul and Cavas face a new tyrannical government that is bent on killing them both. Their roles in King Lohar’s death have not gone unnoticed, and the new queen is out for blood. What she doesn’t know is that Gul and Cavas have a connection that runs deeper than romance, and together, they just might have the strength and magic to end her for good.

Then a grave mistake ends with Cavas taken prisoner by the government. Gul must train an army of warriors alone. With alliances shifting and the thirst for vengeance growing, the fate of Ambar seems ever more uncertain. It will take every ounce of strength, love, and sacrifice for Gul and Cavas to reach their final goal and build a more just world than they’ve ever known.

1971
1971||Ian Cardozo

1971

An under-strength Gorkha battalion undertakes the Indian Army’s first heliborne operation deep behind enemy lines, defeating a Pakistani force twenty times its strength. Fighters of the Indian Air force target the Government House in Dhaka in a daring air raid, forcing the Pakistani government in Dhaka to capitulate and surrender. Four battle casualties become close friends at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune in the war’s aftermath.

In this collection of true stories, decorated war veteran Major General Ian Cardozo recounts what really happened during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, piecing together every story in vivid detail through interviews with survivors and their families. The book also seeks to commemorate the lives of those who were killed and wounded in this war, which took place fifty years ago.

From the tragic tale of the INS Khukri and its courageous captain, who went down with his ship, to how a battalion of the Gorkhas launched what we accept as the last khukri attack in modern military history, these stories reveal what went on in the minds of those who led their men into battle-on land, at sea and in the air.

Avatar Meher Baba
Avatar Meher Baba||Ruzbeh N. Bharucha

Avatar Meher Baba

Known as one of the Perfect Masters, Avatar Meher Baba touched millions of lives and passed away in 1969. Since then, his followers, who were blessed to have had been under his direct care, feel his presence strongly, even until date, and live their lives in complete devotion to him.
Now, after more than fifty years after his passing, one of the most read and loved spiritual writers, Ruzbeh N. Bharucha, pieces together what it was to have experienced Baba in person-to have been blessed by him. Through interviews with his followers, Bharucha recreates the life and times of Baba, his deep connection with his Mandali, his miracles, his methods and his teachings.
Such is the power of their words that Baba comes alive to readers like he had never been gone. It is a rare collection for those who would like to know more about what it was like to be with the Avatar himself.

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