The Madras Affair
by Sundari Venkatraman
Genre: Romance/Mystery


Sangita runs an NGO for downtrodden women in Madras. What motivated her to start one? When she is interviewed, the story is narrated in flashback. As we read on, we realise we really don't know Sangita or her family and are taken on a journey of her life. Enter Gautam Sinclair, who is an Indian-American, a Hindu-Christian - the man with hyphenated identities and handsome man who falls for Sangita and speaks Tamil and English with an American accent. If you expect her to be swept off her feet, it is more like he falls flat for her. There is a problem - Sangita refuses to marry him because she is absolutely scared of sex. What is the trauma that makes her flee from a physical relationship with Gautam Sinclair whom she adores and kisses madly but freezes if he tries to take it to the next level? Will they get married at all?

The author allows us a peak into the conservative culture of Madras, the music, the sounds, the people who  dream silently but live differently, the chaotic patriarchal system where the girl is a goddess and a victim to neighbour gossip, the relatives who use connections, etc.  The culture is familiar - everything from aiyo to thayir sadam that it makes you grin. If you are a reader who is looking for a romance with a dash of suspense to curl up with, I would recommend this book.

Move over Daniel Steele and Nora Roberts, we have our own Sundari Venkatraman.

You can buy the book here

The Rigveda Code - book review

The Rigveda Code
by Rashmi Chendvankar
Genre: Historical Fiction

 Rikshavi is a talented young girl. An intuitive archer, she is the princess of the ancient and powerful kingdom of Vrij. She grows to be a strategist while she gives up being a princess. What has this got to do with the Rigveda Code and what is it anyway?  Chendvankar manages to keep the reader interested with twists and turns and finally ending it with a surprise which the reader never expects.  

Her writing style is crisp and clear. The pace is unexpected and one wonders why even now, we are unable to follow the system so clearly laid out in the first republic - the Licchavi Republic which according to the ASI dates back to the 6th century BC in Bihar.

It is also a political commentary on issues we face today - justice for the common people and the inequality of power among states-now - the increased centralization of power as states are fast losing their individuality and continuous erosion of powers of states. While India was conceived as a country based on "unity in diversity" and decentralization of power much like the ancient Lichavvi Republic but we are heading towards "One country, one culture."much like the kingdoms that preceded it.  But what has this got to do with the Rigveda Code? Read the book to find out. 

 

You can buy it here