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'There was nothing wrong in it,' Dada Bhai said, his head bent towards the cold, unyielding floor. 'Sir?' asked Tapan, who had followed him out, just as he had ushered him in personally. 'A boy and girl loved each other. There was nothing wrong in what Sanaz did. Love. That is what is halal for me.' Valmiki would not be contained, she knew, whenever the news reached him. He would rage within. Waste away in the cavity of his chest. She needed to bundle up all her nerve and pack it inside her. Convey to him soundlessly that he was fortunate to be loved for two years. Two years! An eternity for someone who had not got two whole hours of it in her life.  'A whiff of rosewater is enough...' On Makar Sankranti when the kites soar high, Sanaz' wings are brutally clipped. She is found dead in her room and what follows is a trail of questions hiding violence in their midst; of corrosive human behaviour. The ugliness and degenerate behaviour of the many a char

Ghalib goes detecting  When presented with 'What if?', the 'scenario' conjures up numerous possibilities making it an interesting proposition to delve in. What if Mirza Ghalib was a detective? Isn't this enough to hook a reader? We bet so. Thus it is with great interest that we began reading Murder at the Mushaira , and we were not disappointed. Raza Mir, the author, toyed with the possibility of envisioning Ghalib as a detective for nearly 15 years. What we get in Murder at the Mushaira is not a racy whodunit, but more than a peek into the life and times of Ghalib, the Mughal court, the nobility and the sepoys who tried to overthrow the East India Company. The novel is set against the backdrop of First War of Independence and it begins at a point when the 'night is too silent' and ends with a gunshot with the horse rider thrown away from his mount. Who is the horse rider and what is his mission? At that time, Shahjahanabad is a city brewing with tension, in

  Here’s a quiz for you: a)     •   In which hotel did American author, Mark Twain stay when he arrived in Bombay? b)      •   Which Mumbai school has a natural history museum section? c)       •   Do you know who was the architect of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus? d)      •  What is the old name of Horniman circle? If you are curious to find out the answers, pick up Fiona Fernandez’s H For Heritage Mumbai. It brings to life the people, roads and landmarks of Mumbai that have shaped the Maximum City, as we know it today. There have been several books that have tried to capture the essence of the capital city of Maharashtra; what makes it tick; what makes its people so resilient. Fernandez tries to go beyond the clichés and describes vividly the pockets comprising different worlds that co-exist in one bustling metropolis -- from Mahim to Bandra and from Colaba and Khotachiwadi to Mahalaxmi and Borivali and Worli in between. H for Heritage Mumbai is packed with

  (This book review was first written for Amritabharati) Summer’s Song Title: Bena’s Summer Author: Shibal Bhartiya Pages: 247 Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’s Books From its first page, Bena’s Summer draws you into a world that is fast fading away -- of innocence, believing in and doing the good, trust and happiness. The story is a visual treat of a summer that promises fun with cousins, climbing trees, eating raw mangoes and reveling in the pleasure of having outsmarted elders. Set somewhere in the 80s, Bena’s Summer travels to Gaya in Bihar, where her paternal relatives stay in Altamash Manzil and later to Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where her maternal grandparents and aunt live.   A largely autbobiographical story of Shibal Bhartiya, her protagonist Bena or Benzair Altamash is a precocious eight-year-old. Bena is generous to a fault and believes in the goodness of all; sometimes she does stumble and makes an unkind remark, but apologises straight from the heart when she realise

  (This book review was first written for Amritabharati) Title: Saira Zariwala is Afraid Author: Shabnam Minwalla Pages: 352 Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Book   Right there…behind you An ordinary school girl’s life gets enmeshed with wannabe stars, the rich and happening set of Mumbai and the result is an edge-of-the-seat whodunit murder mystery. Saira Zariwala gets a silver iphone for her 15 th birthday, but her excitement is elbowed out when she realises that her mobile number previously belonged to one Akaash and all the messages that pour in are for him. ‘Who is Akaash and where is he?’ Saira wonders as the evil forces quickly zero in on the teenager, who at first, is clueless about her role in the scheme of things. Saira’s history of panic attacks, protective parents, her outwardly cool but watchful elder brother, and a set of school friends and frenenemies keep the plot churning in Saira Zariwala is Afraid . The book teems with characters, but not one is ‘unneces

 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

  The Postscript book review was first published in Sakal Times Ambika Shaligram There is no single template to deal with death, the mind-numbing grief and that aching sense of loss. Holly was comforted by the letters that her husband, Gerry Kennedy managed to deliver to her after his death. Cecelia Ahern’s PS, I Love You was all mush, lump in your throat, kind of story. Perfect love of Gerry and Holly, one would say. The letters always signed off with ‘PS, I Love You’ guided Holly to rediscover herself.  Postscript is the PS to this book and opens to Holly’s life seven years after Gerry’s death and six years after she received his letters, one for every month. Those who have read the first book (and watched the movie as well) and found it concluding on the right note, would definitely be wary of Postscript. What more could it say about death and healing? Turns out, quite a lot. Seemingly personal gestures can invite a chain of action and reaction as Holly discovers. A g

  This is a book review of The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan, written by Namita Devidayal and published by Context, Westland books Ambika Shaligram Published on :  12 Jan, 2020 , 8:18 am The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan gives us a close look of the man and his whimsical genius. What or who makes a prodigy? Well, god-given talent is one, but there are other factors too — nurturing of that talent, destiny and the artist’s approach to exploring his/her music.  Namita Devidayal, the biographer of brilliant sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan deconstructs his persona vis-a-vis his contemporary and another brilliant artist, Pt Ravi Shankar.  Those of us who are far removed from the exalted stratosphere of genius musicians, might not be so clued in to their ‘rivalries’ or the disagreements between the fellow artists. But the few tidbits that float into public domain help in creating a ‘perception’ about the artist.  Devidayal, a journalist and musician, explores the image of Ustad Vilayat Khan with me

  Tanu Shree Singh talks about her book Darkless. The interview was published in Sakal Times Ambika Shaligram Published on :  19 Jan, 2020 , 8:57 am Darkless. If you are in a hurry, you are bound to read and mutter to yourself, Darkness. Let us tell you that it’s a common enough mistake, surrounded as we are by situations that are anger and sorrow inducing. Why blame Ani who is awake one night when the moon shines on and little specks of light dance on the ceiling? In the morning, when the sun peeps in, the boy whispers, ‘It’s dark. Still dark.’ When Nani exclaims that it’s a bright, sunny day, just right for ice cream, Ani keeps quiet. It seems that everything has lost its colour. Why is the boy so dispirited? It’s because Ani is missing his Mumma. ‘I wish she comes home,’ he whispers to Dobby, his dog. And, when he sees the familiar car, Ani rushes inside his home and straight into her arms. Mumma is home, but her hair is gone...She is ill with cancer and that’s why Ani is desolate.