The Journals of Geetanjali Rao – Sandhya Sayani
On the wings of a mid-life crisis, thirty-something Geetanjali Rao is back in her parent’s house in India. Armed with an astrologer’s prediction that ‘Jupiter is looking out for her’, she has to start a new life from scratch; new friends, new job, and a new love.
Throughout this journey, her journal faithfully captures the events that unfold and provides us with a ringside view of Geetanjali’s hopes, fears, discoveries and adventures that mirror so many of our own.
Heartwarmingly funny and occasionally sad, this is a poignant story of a woman, who despite the risk involved, opens herself up to falling crazily in love.
Maya is a present day Chennai-based lawyer who is investigating the mysterious death of her client, Tulsi – but everyone is a suspect; including Tulsi’s mother, husband, and daughter, who act strangely about her demise. So, in order to find the truth, Maya goes into sleuth-mode and finds a metal box under a mattress that contains an old paperback diary. Little does she know, that the book will transport her to sixteenth century India where a temple dancer, Achale, is investigating a similar murder, the strange death of Thulasi – a case that parallels Tulsi’s more than Maya would like to admit. Can Maya figure out how the murders are linked and catch the “killers” before they strike again? Or will she run out of time like her client did?
On November 1st 1984, a day after the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a nineteen-year-old student travels back from a class trip with his mentor and chemistry teacher, Professor Singh. As the group disembark at Delhi station a mob surrounds the professor, throws a tire over him, douses him in gasoline and sets him alight.
India is poised to become one of the world’s three largest economies in the next generation and to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2032. Well before then India’s incipient nuclear deterrent will have acquired intercontinental range and air, sea and land capabilities. India’s volatile relationship with its nuclear-armed neighbour, Pakistan, may prove to be the source of the world’s next major conflict. And if you call anyone- from your bank to rail enquiries- your query may well be dealt with by a graduate in Gujarat. Any way one looks at it, India’s fate matters. Edward Luce, one of the most incisive and talented journalists of his generation, assesses the forces that are forging the new nation. Cutting through the miasma that still clouds thinking about India, this extraordinarily accomplished book takes the measure of a society that is struggling to come to grips with modernity. Drawing on historical research, existing literature and his own unparalleled access as the New Delhi-based, South Asia correspondent of the FT, this is a book that will enthral as well as educate and will remain the definitive book on the country for many years.
