Deep Ties

CABBING ALL THE WAY by Jatin Kuberker Blurb Twelve people agree to an idea of running a shared transport service from a common residential locality to their out-of-civilisation office campus. Twelve different minds with equally diverse personalities gel with each other to fulfil a common need. At first, the members collide on mutual interests, timings, priorities and personal discipline, but in the course of their journey, they become best friends, make long-lasting relationships, mentor and help each other on various mundane matters. The journey goes on fine until one day some members try to dictate terms over the group. The rift widens with each passing day, the tension surmounts and finally all hell breaks loose... Will the journey continue? Fasten your seatbelts for the journey is about to begin... Read an excerpt @ Readomania    Grab your copy @         Amazon USA | Amazon India | Amazon UK | Flipkart F...

The ebullient Varsha Dixit, author of the delightfully titled 'Rightfully Wrong, Wrongfully Right' gives her reasons for choosing an oxymoron in this guest post on Deepti Menon's blog. "Dear Varsha, it is intriguing how you used an oxymoron in your title, twice over. Is ther a reason for doing so? Was it for the effect on the readers. or because you wanted to stress on something particularly? Do the co,ours red, white and yellow on your cover have any significance as well? Varsha's reply: "Here you go! '"I know this is a joyful trouble to you.’ Shakespeare in Macbeth. ‘Joyful trouble’ An oxymoron that pricks the reader, heightens the flavor of writing and creates a wicked visual in the reader’s imagination. An oxymoron is a mish-mash of two contradictory words. In fact, I recently discovered that oxymoron is the combination of the Greek words oxy, which means sharp, and moron, which means dull. Thus, the word itself is a combination o...

Sundari Venkatraman writes yet another romance which is Book 1 of the 5-novella series titled Marriages Made in India. However, this one promises to be a steamy offering from an author who knows the pulse of her reader, and makes good her promises of a good read. Marriages Made in India Book #1 THE SMITTEN HUSBAND by Sundari Venkatraman Blurb Ram Maheshwari is a successful jewellery designer who has a huge showroom on MI Road, Jaipur. He’s tall, dark, handsome and a billionaire to boot. He’s twenty-nine and falls in with his parents’ wishes when they try to arrange his marriage. The lovely, stormy-eyed Sapna Purohit is from Pushkar. She’s managed to finish school and makes a living by doing mehendi designs during weddings. She’s always dreamt of a Prince on a white horse, sweeping her off her feet. One look into Sapna’s grey eyes and Ram is lost. Only, Sapna’s unable to see her Prince in Ram. Being from a poor family, she has no choice but to ...

When one begins to read the first section of Santosh Bakaya’s poetic offering ‘Where are the Lilacs?’ one can be pardoned if one thinks that this is a litany of peace poems, poems that could have been showcased in the Romantic era of Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley. Nature is seen at her beautiful best, as she conspires to sing songs of peace in her myriad forms. The joy of the rain, “the delectable petrichor”, adds a new essence even as the moon hums a peace song. Various species of birds – sparrows, goldfinches, love birds, canaries and doves continue “their litany of freedom” as dolphins cavort with the mermaids. The poet calls the moon her friend, guide and philosopher as she “hugged the moonbeams as they beamed/in my tiny heart”. The chubby five-year old savours the thrill of a rain holiday even as a desolate farmer grieves at his savaged fields. The Lidder is a motif that stirs dreams within the heart of the poet, as it tickles her feet. The motif meanders on to a young ...

THE BROKEN HOME English Translation of  Rabindranath Tagore's  Nastanirh by LOPAMUDRA BANERJEE Blurb The Broken Home (Nastanirh), the novella, takes place in late 19th-century Bengal and explores the lives of the aristocratic Bengali gentry who were part of the Indian Renaissance. Within the peripheries of such a distinct, culturally liberal society, the world of Charulata, Bhupati and Amal unfolds. Charu, the dreamy, melancholic young woman dreams of an idyllic literary world where she and her brother-in-law Amal, a budding writer would remain two discreet, indispensable entities. However, Amal’s estrangement destroys her creative passions and creates an ocean of turmoil in her life that turns her marital world upside down. Her husband, Bhupati, despite his liberal ideas, is blind to her loneliness and dissatisfaction. It is only with the appearance of his cousin, Amal, in their lives, who incites passionate feelings in Charu, that Bhupat...

How beautifully this young author has interwoven music with an interesting array of encounters that swell the soul as one reads about them! Sayujya Sankar has written a book that needs to be read, as much for its literary language and its choice poetry, as for the stories that leave an impact once the reading is done. Whether it is ‘A Sane Insanity’ of a woman in turmoil , the saga of a childhood friendship that suddenly ends in tragedy in ‘A Carton Full of Love’, or the unlikely bond between an erudite college teacher and a construction worker who gives her a glimpse of his life, the words touch the heart. In the last mentioned, the words “Another half narrative” leave the reader with a sense of intense pathos at the end of “An Incomplete Building”. In ‘Wisps of Grass’, a writer with a successful formula comes across a nonchalant young woman who dares to criticize his writing, and the reader is drawn into a relationship which turns gentler as it progresses. The intense lon...

How beautifully this young author has interwoven music with an interesting array of encounters that swell the soul as one reads about them! Sayujya Sankar has written a book that needs to be read, as much for its literary language and its choice poetry, as for the stories that leave an impact once the reading is done. Whether it is ‘A Sane Insanity’ of a woman in turmoil , the saga of a childhood friendship that suddenly ends in tragedy in ‘A Carton Full of Love’, or the unlikely bond between an erudite college teacher and a construction worker who gives her a glimpse of his life, the words touch the heart. In the last mentioned, the words “Another half narrative” leave the reader with a sense of intense pathos at the end of “An Incomplete Building”. In ‘Wisps of Grass’, a writer with a successful formula comes across a nonchalant young woman who dares to criticize his writing, and the reader is drawn into a relationship which turns gentler as it progresses. The intense lon...

Devika Fernando could not have chosen more beautiful locales for her latest romance – ‘The Prince’s Special Bride’ (Royal Romance Book 1) ; Maldives with the most beautiful sunsets in the world, and Taragonia, “the gem with sparkly colours and shiny royals.” Marie Kemei, the Night Manager at Kuramathi Island in the Maldives, has the perfect job. She is intrigued by the enigmatic Liv, a strikingly beautiful, mysterious guest who hides behind a hoodie and dark glasses. They strike up a friendship, as the stranger confides that she needs a short breather to rid herself temporarily of the sword hanging over her head. Marie is intrigued but does not want to probe. Her advice to Liv is to forget who she is and make the most of the holiday, and in the process, make enough memories to last a lifetime. Marie has had her share of tragedy in life and she knows what it is to help someone live a little. A makeover and a change of wardrobe turn Liv into a younger and sexier woman wi...

There are many, many people who would love to read Guruji Rabindranath Tagore's memorable works, and Lopamudra Banerjee has striven to translate his 'Nastanirh' into English in the form of 'The Broken Home'. This is no easy task, but Lopa has shouldered it with ease, and given the readers a true feel of the original through her understanding of the classic and her eloquent style. THE BROKEN HOME English Translation of  Rabindranath Tagore's  Nastanirh by LOPAMUDRA BANERJEE Blurb The Broken Home (Nastanirh), the novella, takes place in late 19th-century Bengal and explores the lives of the aristocratic Bengali gentry who were part of the Indian Renaissance. Within the peripheries of such a distinct, culturally liberal society, the world of Charulata, Bhupati and Amal unfolds. Charu, the dreamy, melancholic young woman dreams of an idyllic literary world where she and her brother-in-law Amal, a budding writer would r...

“No, I’ll never teach; it’s not in my blood!” I completed college on that dramatic note. And at that time I fully believed in what I said. I got married to an Army officer, and after six years, I decided to take a plunge into the profession I had professed to dislike. Little Flower Convent, Gurdaspur, opened its portals to me. I strode into class confidently with the children looking on with undisguised interest. I was wearing a sari to make myself taller and fatter. I walked into the eighth standard and tried my eloquence on them. Fifty minutes, a dry throat and a dozen wisecracks later, I had convinced them that English is, indeed, a beautiful language (which I firmly believe from the bottom of my heart). I assured them, then and there, that they would not be subjected to that commonest of classroom maladies – boredom, for there would ne’er be a dull moment. And so it proved! I summoned all my powers of narration, ticked my sense of humour, illustrated my lessons with...