As the world braces for a brand new year and decade, I look back at the fabulous literary journey we had at Readomania in 2019. The past year was like a multi-genre bouquet that we presented to book lovers.
Our publishing calendar started with Tanushree and Ajoy Podder’s Decoding the Feronia Files, a cli-fi thriller which asked a pertinent question. Can weather be controlled? If so, can it be weaponised? The book takes the readers on an international roller-coaster ride to track the scientists carrying out experiments that could unleash a new weapon of mass-destruction—Weather.
After the success of House of Discord, Sadiqa Peerbhoy’s next, Mayurkhund was released. Set in an exotic, small feudal thikana of Rajasthan alive with its own myths, lore, ghosts, gossip and legends, this romantic thriller is an absolute page-turner.
We negotiated the high seas with two of our books this year―Gautam Marwaha’s The Eleventh Indian and Beetashok Chatterjee’s Driftwood.
The Eleventh Indian deftly delves into the dark world of piracy in the African waters, the various nuances, politics, international manoeuvres, back-channel diplomacy, overt and covert actions by nations. Gautam Marwaha, a serving Indian Navy officer, uses his experience in the west coast of Africa to narrate a gripping and nail-biting piracy tale that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
When was the last time you read some modern sea stories—stories of ships and the seafarers who man them? Tales of adventure, love, romance, piracy, intrigue and human nature. Beetashok Chatterjee’s Driftwood is a collection of twelve stories of the sea, but not necessarily for seafarers alone. They are for anybody and everybody who likes to read fiction.
Proyashi Barua’s The Mystic Sinners, based on the intriguing world of tantra, is another treat for thrill seekers. The extremely well-researched book deals with the darker realms of tantric occult practices. The readers are taken on a mystical journey through an intricately etched web of characters and a gripping and suspenseful storyline. Barua has managed to write an absorbing page turner in her very first book itself.
The doyen of historical fiction, Sutapa Basu came out with The Curse of Nader Shah: Rise and Fall of a Tyrant, the second book of the Invader series. A perfect mix of history and fiction, the book tells the story of Nader Shah, the son of a humble shepherd from the mountains of Persia whose colossal ambition and bold strategy catapulted him from a soldier to the Shah of Persia. Basu handles her plots and sub plots with aplomb, leading the reader into a warren hole only to realise that this was actually a red herring.
Mythology expert Mallar Chatterjee released Shakuni: The Dice of Doom, the second book of the Mahabharata series. Have you ever wondered why Shakuni came to Hastinapur? What was his real motive? In Hastinapur, Shakuni would get entrapped in an inescapable mesh of the past, the present, and the future. He could have freed himself from the tangle by cracking a particular riddle that he would only be able to solve too late. What was the riddle about? What made him finally realise that he had just been used? Shakuni: The Dice of Doom is a heart-rending chronicle of some grievously wounded people you can never hate, even if you fail to love or pity them.
Yudhisthira: The Unfallen Pandava, book one of the Mahabharata series by Mallar Chatterjee was also relaunched in a sleek new form.
On a lighter note there was Conspiracy of Aunts by Anjana Basu, a richly textured tale of nieces, aunts and intrigue sprinkled with parties, chiffons, cocktails and surprise trips abroad. Basu’s sophisticated humour and accurate description of the rich and spoilt make this rom-com a delightful read. Shunu and Sreya are divorced and still in love, divided by their egos and an uptight second wife. But, what do you do when your aunts refuse to be separated from their ex nephew-in-law? And then these conspiring aunts want them to be together again. Whether it's through Queenie Mashi's cushions or the seductive Bubbles Mashi's attempts at hacking.
Another rom-com that was a laughter riot was Shaadi-ka-Ladoo.Com by Navniit Gandhi and Varuna Khullar. Have you ever been on a matrimonial dotcom which advertises, pesters, pleads and claims that they have just the right gem hidden up their sleeve, for you? Leena is a typical girl-next-door in her late 30s, earlier-married-but-now-single and not lonely or desperately in search of that someone ‘special’. Or, is she? She succumbs to her mother’s ranting and agrees to register herself on an online wedding portal. Shaadi-ka-Ladoo.Com is a hilarious, wonderful, breezy, and captivating read and most readers finished the book in one sitting!
Rituparna Ghosh’s debut novel Unloved in Love: The Story of Imperfect People makes us wonder if it is possible to have it all—friends, family, work, a loved one and still feel unloved. Through her well-etched out and extremely relatable characters, Rituparna narrates a very modern and contemporary love story of real people. This is not your usual candyfloss, ‘happily-ever after’ romance; Unloved in Love makes you wonder what could have happened if…
Readomania’s non-fiction portfolio was equally rich and extremely interesting this year.
Can an Afghan be a Hindu or even a Sikh? History says yes. Several documents record the native Hindus and Sikhs in the Afghan society and their thriving trade. But today, almost 99 percent of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs have left the country. The Khurasan of yore accommodated Hindus and Sikhs as its own, yet today's Afghanistan refuses to see them as natives. Inderjeet Singh’s Afghan Hindus and Sikhs is an excellent documentation of the history of the Hindu and Sikh communities in Afghanistan in the last millennium, from their glorious era to the present state of distress.
Modern-day sports astrologer Greenstone Lobo’s Howzzat is an amazing book with a collection of short predictions on the future of cricket / cricketers. It covers a logical method and unconventional way of predicting, which makes astrology so simple to understand even for a layman. Based on the study of thousands of birth charts of celebrities and major sports events in the past, Lobo answers some of the burning questions on Indian cricket today, from cricket fans all over.
Supriya Newar’s Kalkatta Chronicles―Rear-view Reflections presents a diaspora that unknowingly borrowed from the erstwhile British, accepted the order of the reigning Babus but also added their own seasoning and spices, resulting in a concoction of customs and characters, quite unique and endearing. Through languid imagery and gentle humour, Kalkatta Chronicles celebrates an era that featured ‘out of order’ stuck on lifts, ‘loadshedding’ that greeted one every evening and ‘trunk calls’ that spelt urgency. Newar’s stories are beautifully worded and invoke a strong sense of nostalgia; each story leaves a warm fuzzy feeling in the heart much after completion.
Do you want a sneak-peek into the workings of the Income Tax Department, and the lives of the taxmen? How are tax raids organised? What happens when a politician or a film star is raided? Do they threaten the taxmen? In what unique ways is cash hidden? In There’s Seven For You, Three For Me, veteran taxman Ajay Mankotia brings to you many insider stories, based on his varied experiences during his career in the Tax Department. This is a racy, sometimes irreverent, narrative on the life and times of the taxmen.
There were some glorious reads for young adults and children readers as well. Hari Ram Narayanan’s The Happy Fruit Adventures is an exciting, allegorical tale about the journey of life. This fantasy novel is about two 19-year-old boys named Abider and Deviator, who begin their journey in the Jungle of Life in order to get their hands on the ‘Fruit of Happiness’ on a tree that grows on ‘Mount Goal’.
The age-old stories of Vishnu’s avatars who actually arrived with a specific purpose have captured our imagination for centuries together—Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parshuram, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki. But how exactly did these avatars impact the society? And how do they link to the Charles Darwin theory of evolution? Presented in a contemporary and unbiased perspective, Piyusha Vir’s Dashavatar: Tales of Lord Vishnu is an attempt to make mythology more believable and relevant to the world that we live in today.
Bestselling author Manjiri Prabhu forayed into children’s writing with Mystery at the Malabar Cottage, the first book in the ‘Spunky Cousins’ series. The story is a nail-biting adventure thriller.
Eminent gynaecologist and obstetrician, Dr Tripti Sharan wrote Being Radha: Beyond Her Love & His Leela, a poetic masterpiece on balsakhi Radha, a character so well known, but little understood.
This year we launched two lovely books under Readomania Shots—our e-book imprint. Mahesh Sowani’s Minor Characters, Major Stories and Udayaditya Mukherjee’s By the River Dibang. Radhika Maira Tabrez’s soulful The Emancipation of Farzana Siddiqui was launched under Readomania ebooks.
I am super stoked by the enthusiastic reception and representation that Readomania got in the Pune International Literary Festival (PILF) and the Kolkata and Delhi editions of the Times Litfest. Our authors were part of many important debates, discussions and workshops and the Readomania mast was flying high.
Our goal has always been to make reading popular again and give a platform for talented authors to showcase their work to the world. We shall continue to work hard to accomplish this literary mission in 2020 also.
The coming year will open with a bang again as we mark our presence at the World Book Fair in New Delhi. And the acquisitions list for 2020, which has some international authors too, has me super excited!
I on behalf of Team Readomania wish everyone a fulfilling and successful year ahead. May good literature continue to make us introspect and change our attitude for the better!
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