Petals!

Independence Day Book Reccos: Pramod Grover's 'The Saga of Parvati: From Lahore to New Delhi' is a fascinating account of a real-life story of Gulzari and Parvati's marriage in Lahore and how they are forced to abandon their home and fly to begin a new life in Delhi. Interesting tidbits of information about the pre-Independence period in Lahore are in the story. For instance, well-to-do women used to buy fine shahtoosh and jamawaar shawls, that are currently worth at least five lakh rupees each!                                        [Subscribe to my NEW newsletter] And one tola of gold back then was worth Rs 50/- and now just compare and calculate the price today! Racing through a swanky and luxurious lifestyle, the Indian family falls apart as they swerve ahead to crash into a dire situation of bankruptcy. Had they exercised some prudence over such reckless spending, they may have ...

Book Review of Awasthis of Aamnagri: The unusual book title and its tempting cover showcasing golden coloured mangoes clinched my instant interest. Oozing with the sweetness of mangoes, Shubha Sarma's 'The Awasthis of Aamnagari' is a delightful read. For latest book reviews, subscribe to  Svara's Newsletter !                                            [Source: petalsfromtheheart.blogspot.com ] With the fragrance of old world charm, the Awasthis of Aamnagri is an ode to the old world charm of living in a Indian family ecosystem.  Published by Niyogi Books, the story revolves around the happenings inside the home of a renowned lawyer Pandit Dinath Awasthi, his wife known as 'Mataji' and their seven children, who are married and staying with them under the same roof. The conversations between Panditji and his wife will remind readers of the banter between their own paren...

What is the worst nightmare for a parent? Undoubtedly, the death of one's child. Or have you ever lost someone you loved and struggled to pick up the pieces of your life since then? The first time I read Aarti Raheja's "Where One is not a Number', I found tears flowing from my eyes. A happy couple's life is shattered. It's the kind of thing that can happen to anyone at anytime. This is a MUST READ book.                                          [Source: Aarti Raheja's FB page] A loved one's death has a way of taking your life apart and making you reflect on everything in your life including the purpose of your own. To read about a young and happy couple losing their child in a heart wrenching way and their struggles to come to terms with the hard reality of living without him cannot be explained in words. As I read it, I felt their sorrow weigh down on me. I remember crying when I had...

Traveling on an airline is a good time to read memoirs. For me, reading memoirs is now a way of life and my handbag is usually bursting with books. This time, a powerful voice in Punjabi literature - Ajeet Cour's autobiography 'Weaving Water' translated from the Punjabi by Masooma Ali and Meenu Minocha , kept me glued to every page. [BOOK REVIEW: A Song of Hyderabad]                                       [Image: Speaking Tiger publisher] Ajeet Cour's autobiography took me through a gripping yet somewhat disturbing narrative of what it feels like to grow up in pre-Partition Lahore and struggle to find a decent footing in Delhi.  That she pioneered a literary movement through her short stories and books in Punjabi literature is a well-known and much-respected fact. The experience of reading her autobiography was something far beyond any stretch of imagination.  Bravi...

August has been a month of rains, which means more cups of tea and a stack of non-fiction books to read. A funny thing about me is that I am increasingly glued to old books that one rarely gets to know about on social media. This month, the book that caught my interest is 'A Song of Hyderabad: Memories of a World Gone By', written by Bilquis Jehan Khan, who refers to her place of birth as 'Hyderabad Deccan.' An interesting chapter titled 'How to Run a Palace' has  elaborate descriptions of their luxurious lifestyle as royals in Hyderabad and another chapter is titled 'The Jagir that Supported Us.'   [Book Review: Sounds of Silence] Readers are introduced to the family of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Pasha, whom the author describes as a 'servant of the people' because he built the 4000 bed Osmania Hospital, the State Central Library which was then known as the Asafiya Library , the High Court and many other public se...

When I began to read Mehak Daleh's debut novel, "And the Roses Bled", I could feel a chill around me, as though the dark narrative is casting its shadows while the characters came to life, particularly the little girls. I found myself looking behind my shoulders. I also liked the subtle ways through which the novel's gripping narrative turns many cliches about crime thrillers upside down. For latest book reviews, subscribe to  Svara's Newsletter ! " Kids know things....they do. But sometimes they refuse to accept or acknowledge what they feel uncomfortable with. They refuse to see it. It is survival. The child has to survive. So, they block things. "  The story revolves around a catastrophe that strikes the lives of two little girls. The twins, Nina and Alisha, are happy little girls until one goes missing. What the other twin goes through is nothing less than a nightmare. You feel deeply for every emotion that Alisha is going through. She...

Published by FingerPrint! Publishing, Subrata Dasgupta's novel 'Voice of the Rain Season' is not an easy book to describe for it involves a journey that takes you back into time, spanning four generations and catapulting you into the epicenter of a Bengali family's long kept secret that is tied to notions of identity, homecoming, language, love and loss. [ DO READ: The Amazing Tale of Peddabottu ]  The telling of  Subrata Dasgupta's novel  opens in the US. The protagonist is  Joya Bose, a twenty five year old Indian lecturer, who is living with Martin Shawncross, an American undergraduate student at the University where she teaches. Initially, Joya is surprised that Martin Shawncross is not only familiar with Rabindranath Tagore's poetry but is also passionate in his interpretation of it. She is delighted when he tells her that her paternal grandmother Manjula is a Bengali, who had married his grandfather, an American. Manjula's twin sister Nili...