Books to look out for this week

In The Land Of The Lovers

Sakoon Singh

Rupa, Rs 295

In the absence of her parents, Nanaki, a fiercely sensitive young woman, is brought up by her grandparents in a quaint Chandigarh neighbourhood. She grows up to be an artist and a professor in an art college. As Nanaki goes through the motions of an idyllic childhood and a difficult teenage love, her experiences play out against a haunting backdrop of Partition. She is brought face to face with the dark underbelly of contemporary Punjab. The book is a masterfully woven fable with interlocking tales that explore struggle, loss, longing and love

The Princess and the Political Agent

Binodini Devi

 Penguin, Rs 399

Manipuri writer Binodini’s The Princess and the Political Agent tells the love story of her aunt Princess Sanatombi and Lt Col Henry P. Maxwell, the British representative in the kingdom of Manipur. A poignant story of love and fealty, treachery and valour, it is set in the midst of the imperialist intrigues of the Raj. The book deftly dissects the build-up and aftermath of the perfidy of the AngloManipuri War of 1891. In doing so, she recovers its little-known history, its untold relations with India and Great Britain, and a forgotten chapter of the British Raj

Song of India

Ruskin Bond

Penguin, Rs 299

Sixteen-year-old Ruskin, after having finally finished his school, is living with his stepfather and mother at the Old Station Canteen in Dehradun. Struggling to begin his writing journey, he tries to make a passage to England to chase his true calling. But as he prepares for his long voyage, the prospect of saying goodbye to the warm, sunny shores of India looms large. Brought straight from his past, Ruskin Bond recalls the longing for familiarity, the joys of receiving his first money order, publishing his stories and finding new friends.

Boons & Curses: Legends of the Mythological Mother

Yugal Joshi

Rupa, Rs 295

It is said that Kunti fulfilled her desires and ambitions through her sons, the Pandavas, resulting in the bloodbath in Kurukshetra. And once the truth struck her she sought help from Krishna to get rid of her guilt. In this brilliant retelling, Kunti is placed at the central of the novel and running parallel to her universe are the stories of Aditi and Diti, the primordial mothers, the rebellious Soorpanakha, the independent Sanjana and Tara, trendsetters such as Anusuya, intrigues of Kaikeyee and Kaikasi, among others.

Checkmate

Nihshanka Debroy

Westland, Rs 299

AD 455, Central India: The marauding Svetahunas manage to take prisoner Harshavardhan. In captivity, he fashions a game of combat strategy with black and white pebbles, preparing for the day when the Svetahunas and his people face-off in battle. Present day, New Delhi: When her estranged father Rajinder Joshi dies suddenly, Vinita is called in from New York to take charge of his company. And she discovers tantalising clues to Rajinder’s obsession — the origins of chess and the identity of its creator. Debroy’s debut novel holds attention.