From Deepa's Desk

This year's Ganesh Chaturthi has been an unforgettable experience. Late arrival of Pujari, lots of delicious Prasad offerings, beautiful Bappa, community spirit - the festival was a beautiful melange of moments of frustration, happiness and relief.  But it all came down to a 'Pancha' at the end. This piece of clothing created doubts, made me question my faith and ultimately solved all my doubts too.  Pancha is what people refer to Dhoti / Veshti in Telugu. Every couple performing the Pooja for Ganesha usually presents a Pancha as an offering to Him.  When it was our turn, my husband and I decided to buy a red colored Pancha, something to match the beautiful vermillion mark on Ganesha's forehead. We eagerly waited for the Pujari to drape the Pancha on the idol. Except, he said the color looked dull and he put it on Ganesha's shoulders as a shawl. We tried to convince him that the color matched Ganesha's forehead but the Pujari felt otherwise and didn't drape ...

Dear Bappa, You will be leaving tomorrow. But you won't be going alone. With you, will depart a week of bliss where the only concern of the day was, what meal to prepare as an offering for you. Also will depart with you, evenings spent in rushed preparation of prasad and the relief when the meal turned out okay, when people came together as a community, spent some quality time with each other and reminded everyone about neighbourhood, community spirit and friendships that don't need any labels. Those days will leave with you, when we forgot the usual routine and the numerous worries that come with the package of adulthood. You will be taking with you, the moments of happiness and togetherness that only YOU, Bappa, can bring in a community. Another week looms threateningly ahead, a week that will feel terribly dull and mundane without you. But what will help us get through it, is all the memories that are associated with you, Bappa, and your promise that you will visit us again ...

When Vasanthi's husband gets an opportunity to work in Tanzania, the whole family decides to relocate to Dar es Salaam to be with him. The book chronicles Vasanthi's journey as an expatriat in a country that is both wild and timeless and which welcomes her in its warm fold. Vasanthi's doubts as a mother, as a wife and as a woman torn between choosing the comfort zone and answering to the call of adventure, have been well portrayed in the narrative. The author has given a comprehensive glimpse into the life of expatriats, the challenges they and their families face and the way they deal with their worries and anxieties of living in an unfamiliar and foreign country. The chapters are concise, narrating the daily happenings in Vasanthi's life. What absolutely stands out is the way the author has brought Tanzania to life, giving brief and enticing glimpses of the country, its culture and its natives who make a memorable impression in the story. The importance of expatriat f...

The Blogchatter Book of Friendship  This anthology is a collection of eighteen beautiful stories that reflect myriad hues of friendship.  -Four women spending quiet and relaxed evenings together on a terrace. -Two neighbours bound forever by the threads of endearing familiarity and unconditional acceptance.  -Strangers brought together by fate and loneliness. -A friendship forged through pain, regrets and the guilt of surviving.  -The unique kinship found only in hospital corridors, finding comfort in shared hopes and prayers. -Friendship that transcends all known limitations of space and time. Every story leaves a lasting impact. Every author has written in their unique style, lending their own trademarks to their stories. I have been reading the works of Lalita Ramanathan, Kajal Kapur, Sangeetha Vallat and Harshita Nanda since a long time and it was amazing to read their stories in this anthology.  It is difficult to pinpoint any favorite, for each story left ...

Agraharam by Malli Athreya Available in Kindle edition While preparing for her MCAT exams and envisioning a future for herself in California, Ananya becomes a recipient of a traditional ancestral house situated in an Agraharam ( a residential colony/street centred around a temple in South Indian villages). The house comes with a mandatory clause that Ananya has to stay there atleast for a period of one year. Ananya comes to the Agraharam and realises that it's a whole new yet timeless world unto itself. She finds herself the object of everyone's attention, both positive and negative. Before long, she realises that there is only one way to live in peace there - to be seen, in the right way, at the right place amongst the right people. My parents live in an Agraharam and I visit the place every year. So I could very well relate to the scenes narrated in the story. The Agraharam comes to life with its timeless folklore, the gossip, the houses that seemingly have no boundaries and ...

The Smiling Dog Cafe by Neil Plakcy This book features two novellas based on different characters. Code of Silence: Jeff's mother would often say that bad news always comes in threes. It turns prophetic when Jeff's girlfriend dumps him, he loses his job and the building where his house used to be, gets damaged and he needs to relocate instantly. Caught in the trauma of his past and the failures of the present, Jeff finds himself being led to a cafe named The Smiling Dog Cafe, by none other than a dog that seems to communicate to him that he needs to visit the cafe as soon as possible. Jeff visits the cafe one fateful day and faces everything that he didn't even know he had been avoiding. A Mother's Heart 'We inherit a lot from our mothers and not everything is good.' - Betty, the owner of The Smiling Dog Cafe. Having seen her mother suffer from a heart ailment which is genetic, Sophia has only managed to accept her own heart condition and learn to live with it. ...