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The Odd Book of Baby Names
As a thin ribbon of smoke rose from the edge something stirred in me and I slapped the book against the railing until small specks of fire fell to the floor and died down. It was not just a book of baby names. It was an unusual memoir my father was leaving behind, memories condensed into names; memories of many kisses, lovemaking, panting and feeling spent. Can a life be like a jigsaw puzzle, pieces waiting to be conjoined? Like a game of hide-and-seek? Like playing statues? Can memories have colour? Can the sins of the father survive his descendants? In a family - is it a family if they don't know it? - that does not rely on the weakness of memory runs a strange register of names. The odd b...
Vanity Bagh
Inspired by the legend of Abu Hathim, aging don of Vanity Bagh, Imran Jabbari and his friends form a gang called 51⁄2 Men in their mohalla of Vanity Bagh. They are hired to dispense a batch of stolen scooters to different corners of the city; not until the city rocks with scooter bombs does Imran realize that they have been involved in a terrorist act. One of the prime accused in the 11/11 serial blasts, Imran is destined to live in captivity for the next fourteen years. He kills time plotting jailbreak until he is assigned to the bookmaking section of the prison. The new job equips him with a new facility: each time he opens a book and stares at its blank pages, he sees them scribbled with tales from Vanity Bagh. Imran thus traces the history of animosity between Vanity Bagh, nicknamed Little Pakistan, and Mehendi, a Hindu neighbourhood.The solitude and reflection that characterize Imran’s narrative is undercut by communal tension and a simmering violence. Touched with a wistful small-town feeling in the midst of a teeming city, Vanity Bagh is a darkly comic tale.
The Blind Lady’s Descendants
Born to silently warring parents, Amar Hamsa grows up in a crumbling house called the Bungalow, anticipating tragedies and ignominies. True to his dark premonitions, bad luck soon starts cascading into his life. At twenty-six, he decides to narrate his story to an imaginary audience, and skeletons tumble out of every cupboard in the Bungalow. The Blind Lady’s Descendants is an utterly compelling and haunting family saga, brimming with intense heartache and wry humour, confirming Anees Salim’s reputation as one of our most outstanding storytellers. The Blind Lady’s Descendants is an utterly compelling and haunting family saga, brimming with intense heartache and wry humour, that confirms Anees Salim as one of our most outstanding storytellers.
The Small-town Sea
Uprooted from a bustling city, the thirteen-year-old protagonist of The Small-town Sea is replanted in his father's home town where he struggles to cope with his new life. He reluctantly makes friends with Bilal, a boy who lives in the orphanage run by the local mosque. Together, they embark on clandestine adventures while his ailing father-a writer whose last wish is to die listening to the sea he has grown up by-rediscovers people from his childhood. But his father's death unsettles the boy's life again, and he finds himself grappling with altogether unexpected challenges.
The Vicks Mango Tree
A few months after a state of Emergency has been clamped on India, Raj Iyer, a fledgling journalist living in the alley of the Vicks mango tree, goes underground, to resurface some years later in a corner of the Municipal Park as a bronze statue. No one's sure exactly why he has become so famous, though there is talk of a book being written on him, which hails him as a modern hero of Mangobaag. The Vicks Mango Tree is the story of the tiny fictional region of Mangobaag -- and India -- as she limps through twenty-one months of suspended civil liberties, half-hearted revolts and stern censorships. It is also the tale of Teacher Bhatt, Rabia Sheik and Shankar Iyer, ordinary people in pursuit of their middle-class dreams, and local legends like Maharaja Muneer Shah, Miss Myna and Dr Abid Ali, who live and die in the dying light of a glorious past. Full of odd characters and piquant situations, and alive with the politics and possibilities of a not-so-long-ago time in India's history, The Vicks Mango Tree is a compelling first novel.
Tales From A Vending Machine
Explore the wacky and wonderful world of the airport with the hilarious Hasina Mansoor Hasina Mansoor is many things: devoted sister, blushing lover and ambitious young woman. Unfortunately, a stint at the airport lounge's tea vending machine does not seem to be getting her any closer to her dreams. To pass the time she daydreams, chats with airhostesses and takes part in mock anti-terrorist drills. At home, she studies her English, fights with her twin and engages in a secret love affair with her cousin and neighbour, Eza. But when a scandal threatens her tenuous happiness, she must pull out all stops on her overactive imagination and seek a terrible revenge.
Fly, Hasina, Fly
Meet Hasina Mansoor, vending machine attendant at the Airport Departure Lounge. From her vantage point, Hasina watches the planes take off outside the glass doors and secretly dreams of being on (even piloting) one of them. While selling overpriced tea isn't getting her any closer to that, Hasina keeps her spirits up by making friends (and enemies) among the other airport staff, including the treacherous Cookie Lady, the know-it-all Coupon Man, the beautiful Natasha Singh and her tasbih-wielding boss, Haji Osman. Home is no less mine-filled, with a twin-sister who demands money constantly, a little brother who doesn't look like he's going to pass his fourth class and parents who are more concerned with the ongoing feud with the upstairs neighbours, Laila auntie's family. Hasina's secret love affair with her cousin, Eza, is a spark of joy in this homestead of constant worry and absurdity, but can she trust him completely? A darkly humorous, touching story, Fly, Hasina, Fly (previously published as Tales from a Vending Machine) will stay with readers long after their flight has landed.
Boats on Land
Boats on Land is a unique way of looking at India’s northeast and its people against a larger historical canvas—the early days of the British Raj, the World Wars, conversions to Christianity, and the missionaries. This is a world in which the everyday is infused with folklore and a deep belief in the supernatural. Here, a girl dreams of being a firebird. An artist watches souls turn into trees. A man shape-shifts into a tiger. Another is bewitched by water fairies. Political struggles and social unrest interweave with fireside tales and age-old superstitions. Boats on Land quietly captures our fragile and awkward place in the world.
Proceedings of the Conference : Revisiting Literature Through Culture
This book includes meticulous research papers that focus on literature and culture. This research proceeding paints the reality of life in a cultural overview. This collection has been brought out by the Department of English, st Joseph College of Arts and Science, Vaikalipatti, Mettur, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu, India. Research papers were contributed by participants from more than 8 states in India and more than 12 districts in Tamilnadu. UG students, PG students, M. Phil scholars, PhD scholars, NET aspirants, faculty members and academicians have contributed to this book. This book is an outcome of the Two Days National Conference on 'Revisiting Literature through Culture', conducted on 21&22 September, 2023. By all means, it will remain a treasure of reference for the forthcoming researchers and enthusiasts.
The Woman who Thought She was a Planet
Already A Name In The World Of Science Fiction And Fantasy Writing, Vandana Singh Brings Her Unique Imagination To A Wider Audience With Her First Collection Of Stories. In The Title Story, A Woman Tells Her Husband Of Her Curious Discovery: That She Is Inhabited By Small Alien Creatures. In Another, A Young Girl, Making Her Way To College Through The Streets Of Delhi Comes Across A Mysterious Tetrahedron: Is It A Spaceship? Or A Secret Weapon? Each Story In This Fabulous Collection Opens Up New Vistas &Mdash; From Outer Space To The Inner World&Mdash;And Takes The Reader On An Incredible Journey To Both. The Book Also Includes The Author&Rsquo;S Own Critical Essay On The Future And Importance Of Speculative Fiction As A Genre.
