SHAKTI and a SINFUL INDULGENCE

'Thank you for a wonderful book' These simple yet seriously sweet words emailed by Prathibha after reading Shakti: The Divine Feminine made me feel so good! Her email has been produced below with her permission.

Shakti, the novel you wrote is power packed! and I loved it to bits. Being a girl who grew up listening to stories of Gods and Goddesses, Shakti gave me a new perscpective.

The friendship between Shakti and Vishnu was heart warming, the love between Shiva and Shakti was so heart wrenching (i have mixed feelings here, as in I have no particular word to say what I feel..the pain, the love is so..)

Indra, one of the Antagonist resonates with us, humans in a way where we deny to see/accept the truth..

Mahisha who eventually felt guilt and accepted his misdeeds but Indra couldn't! And him being revered as Grama devi! It is quite fantastic (but is it true?? :P)

Reading through the book, you mentioned about Chinnamasta! I wish there was much more about it, I was intrigued the first time I came across a photo in a temple here(i was a mere 11 yr girl by then) but after many years with help of google I came to know a little of the Goddess, it is a wonderful representation of life, nourishment and death!

I loved Kali, the freedom, the wilderness and everything about her. in your words, Well Kali is just..Kali :)

Shakti and her forms! talks with Dugra and Kali, envy towards Parvathi. Each one a personification of her. 

And the problems of contemporary world is written well, Manusmriti and its effects, the dominance in the name of protection, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, rape, power, insecurity everything is handled well.

Thank you for a wonderful book

If that does not make you want to pick up a copy asap I don't know what will!

Now available with a 33% discount on Amazon India. and Flipkart.

Pic courtesy: Bookish Thoughts

Another reader tweeted that her weekend indulgence is a copy of Yama's Lieutenant and strawberry cheesecake ice cream. That has to be the yummiest combo ever! Have you got your copy yet? If not it is available on Amazon India and Flipkart for a 35% discount. 

The Cradle of Death

Kankana Basu of The New Indian Express had some awesome things about Yama's Lieutenant. Sample this: "Yama’s Lieutenant from the immensely readable writer Anuja Chandramouli, will enthrall readers of every age group. Blending mythology and fantasy with a rich sweep of imagination, Chandramouli creates a terrifying world of demons and necromancers, which chillingly echoes with resonances of contemporary times." Or this, "The author’s writing is crisp and riveting. At no point does she falter in her conviction even as she creates mind-boggling scenarios for her fantasy creatures to inhabit. The multitude of creatures could have been confusing to the uninitiated, but she introduces them with intelligent spacing. A very adult slant is visible in tackling the matter of sex, which among other deviations includes hints of incest, all of which seem slightly out of sync with the fantasy world." And finally, "A vibrant and rambunctious read, Yama’s Lieutenant is as unputdownable as it gets."

You can check out the full review here.