23 June,2026 01:48 PM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma
A reader at Title Waves in Bandra. Pic Courtesy/Nandini Varma
I liked the idea of Namita Gokhale's book. It throws light on the lives of seekers and wanderers, gurus who believed they attained salvation, tricksters, and those known as "gods" by some earthly people. While reading the book, my heart went out for their wives and children who were abandoned during the best time of their lives and had to find ways to survive. What would their dreams have been? How about their happiness?
I've always considered myself a history buff, yet Sam Dalrymple's book keeps showing me how much of India's story I've never really known. Beyond the Partition of 1947, the book explores five partitions that shaped modern Asia, opening up histories both familiar and entirely new to me. What I'm enjoying most is how a history just a century old can feel both within arm's reach and impossibly distant at the same time.
I thought Daphne Du Maurier's novel would feel dated today, but it doesn't. It's a timeless read and a masterclass in atmospheric writing. The character Rebecca hasn't appeared once, yet she's the most powerful person in the book. Manderley is gorgeous, unsettling, and slightly suffocating. The narrator spends half her time doubting herself, and somehow that's making me turn the pages faster. Overall, the tension is quietly building and I can't look away.
Why on earth would one be interested in reading tales of made-up people who toil for countless years under abject tyranny and authoritarianism? Could it have anything to do with the times we are in? Call me a sentimentalist. I love the printed word, especially when it is painfully well-crafted and dripping with irony. The humour in Anthony Marra's book is so dry it crackles with hope. These nine interconnected stories of Russia, from pre-Revolution, to the Putin era, all linked by a mysterious painting, are extremely clever. I am glad I am reading it.
Aditya Chatterjee's book is fascinating and well researched. It explores how Hindu deities evolved through history. Written lucidly, it offers a nuanced understanding of how beliefs adapt over millennia, which is an eye opener in an age marked by polarised debates on identity, religion, and heritage. It challenges conventional assumptions about Hindu iconography through archaeology, photos, and ancient texts such as the Vedas and Puranas.
Available At leading bookstores and e-stores
