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 Ambika Shaligram Is there a kid in your class who has a natural aptitude for running? Well, Zainab would be happy to meet them, to pick a tip or two. You see, Zainab has done her school proud by winning a race.  And, then there is Bashir, who is pro at football, looking forward to his next match. Bet, you have another friend who is equally good at the sport. Oh yes, you should meet Rehman too, who might not be good at cricket like his friends. But he is at home on a sled, racing far ahead of his friends on the snow laden hilly tracks. Maryam is inquisitive, always ready to talk and ask questions. Anam is a little shy, but has a way with words, the written, of course. Sajid wants to be something else, not a salesman, like his father. For the life of him, Sajid can't press upon the visitors to Dal Lake to buy pretty stuff. It is necessary, how else will they earn their livelihood, his father tries to impress upon Sajid. These kids, alongwith a few others, feature in a clutch of nine

Ambika Shaligram Food and all the closest adjectives that make up the culinary world grab you in Manreet Sodhi Someshwar's Girls and the City . It tosses you around, lets you simmer a bit, and sets you out on a plate to chew and ruminate.  There's Reshma Talwar, who loves her Butter Chicken, but in her heart she's afraid of being called the gori moti bhains , a scar from her teenage years. JJ or Juhi Jha, on the other hand, easily tucks into large quantities of food, stays back late in office because the company picks up food tab if you stay back beyond the prescribed hours for work reasons. She knows hunger and intimately so, scrounging off pots for the last grain of rice or trying to hide a roti in her salwar , away from the males in the family who dig in their meals for second and third helping.  And, then there is Leela Lakshmi, who has lot on her plate. An abusive father, an abusive relationship, from which she has tenaciously build a happy life for her daughter, Nani

  By Ambika Shaligram Name: The Impeccable Integrity of Ruby R Author: Moni Mohsin Publisher: Penguin Random House India Pages: 276 It’s very easy to assume that Moni Mohsin’s latest work, The Impeccable Integrity of Ruby R has no surprises. On the surface, Ruby Rauf comes across as a familiar character, a person we know. One who has aimed high, but inevitably has her fall from grace. An industrious student studying in London, Ruby is working hard towards her Master’s degree so that she can grab a job back home in Pakistan and lead a comfortable life which was snatched from her and her mother, when her father passed away. In London, she happens to attend a speech by Saif Haq, a has-been actor, who is testing waters in Pakistan's politics. He still has charisma, good looks and convinces Ruby into quitting her degree and returning home to work as the social media manager for his political party, Integrity. Of course there are other compelling reasons for Ruby taking up the of