Interviews to Remember and the EYEBALL GRABBER of a Headline!

It feels kind of nice to be peppered with interview requests! Especially on the eve of your new book release. Celebs just don't appreciate this enough. Do take a gander at my interview for New Asian Writing where I talk shop and discuss the intimate relationships I have formed with coffee and ice cream cake at length which you can find here.





Then there was the one done by Saket Suman for THE STATESMAN with a headline that made me gasp aloud and  the recipient of angry phone calls regarding the use of appropriate language. Be that as it may, it was a very interesting interview and so many folks called or messaged to congratulate me on it and said they found it "interesting", that I was an "inspiration for the younger generation" and showed a lot of "clarity and maturity". Big hug to all the lovely people in my life. Do read it in its entirety right here.

Shaifali Agrawal did an interview with me for IANS and it has been carried by the Business Standard, World News Network, Chennai Online, News Now, Pro Kerala etc. Please do check it out right here.  

FIRST REVIEWS OUT FOR SHAKTI: THE DIVINE FEMININE AND THE CRITICS ARE RAVING!

According to Vikas Dutta's review of SHAKTI: The Divine Feminine for IANS, "Old beliefs can however be surprisingly resilient and find a gifted storyteller to re-emerge before us - in this case, Chandramouli, who has earlier profiled the best-known of the Pandavas and the Hindu god of love, uses her imagination and a rare sensibility to spin a gently-provocative but more importantly, a considerably thought-provoking account of Shakti, and her manifestations as Usas, Durga and Kali." 
The piece has been carried by The New Indian Express, Business Standard, The Statesman etc. You can read it here.


 Supriya Sharma of ‪#‎TheNewIndianExpress‬ says of my Shakti: The Divine Feminine, "The author’s interpretation of Shakti as a spunky Goddess, her depiction of the damage done by patriarchy and puritanical morality to both men and women makes for a delightfully stimulative read." Do check out the rest of the review here.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

Hey people!

My third book Shakti: The Divine Feminine will be out later this month. You can preorder it on Flipkart and Amazon . You can also enter a giveaway on Goodreads to win free copies. Place your orders, share and make your Navaratri and Durga Puja celebrations extra special with Shakti! 

In honour of the big release there are giveaways for Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior Prince which was named by Amazon as one of the top 5 sellers in Indian Writing for the year 2013 and Kamadeva: The God of Desire which is ranked 47th on Amazon' s Historical fiction bestsellers list. 

You can enter here and here.

Anthony Doerr's All the Light we cannot See: Book Review

Mind Games in Light and Darkness

Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer prize winning All the Light we Cannot See is a niftily crafted WWII tale which is an exuberant celebration of innocence amidst the ravages of war while simultaneously managing the excoriation of a corrupt civilization that makes killers out of children. It is not without niggling flaws that include occasionally overblown prose and an indulgent pace but the characters are so engaging and the story itself is so enthralling that all will be forgiven by the time the reader devours the last sentence.

            The plot follows the lives of a blind French girl, Marie – Laure and an orphaned German boy, Werner, with a gift for science and an uncanny understanding of the intricate workings of radios, against a timeline set before, during and after the German occupation of France. The former is forced to flee Paris with her father, a locksmith and keeper of keys at the Museum D’Histoire Naturelle to his Uncle Etienne’s home in Saint Malo. He is in possession of the fabled Sea of Flames, a rare diamond with a bloody history which has been in the museum for 200 years. A Sergeant Major of the third Reich is hot on their heels in pursuit of the diamond which supposedly carries a curse.

            Werner’s talent for fixing things gets him noticed and he is packed off to a National School to learn how best he may serve the war effort. All too soon, his brilliance is employed in tracking radio transmissions across Russia and Central Europe, while fellow soldiers rack up an appalling body count. Eventually, the war takes him to Saint Malo and the blind girl with whom he had forged a magical connection, long before either was aware of it, in the forlorn hope that he might somehow recapture the best part of him that had been leached out by forces beyond his control.

            The rich material has been assembled with great care into crisp, concise chapters designed to hold the attention of the reader. Doerr zigzags his way through various points in the narrative building suspense in parts and killing it in others with both approaches achieving similar degrees of gut – wrenching potency. His careful exploration of the factors that led to ordinary German citizens becoming the instruments of so much horror is without judgement and thereby, effective. 

            Doerr’s balances with consummate skill on the knife edge as he portrays the angels and demons that war seems to churn out. For every kind old lady who opens the door of her heart and larder to the needy and making sure she does her part to aid the resistance there is a blackguard who will sell his soul and rat out innocent neighbours in order to curry favour with the oppressors. Portions involving the schooling of Nazi youth, who are brutally honed into unthinking and ruthless killing machines to be used in service of the fatherland, constitutes a powerful portion of this tale.

            Is there anything else that can be said this remarkable book? It made me care deeply about some of the characters, one in particular. I prayed for them all to make it through the bombing of Saint – Malo as well as the malign forces aligned against them and wept unashamedly when my favourite did not survive. Doerr’s devastating portrayal of what the war did to dreamers is heartbreaking in the extreme but also a towering testament to all that is good in human nature which will always carry the promise of redemption. 

PREPARE TO BE ENCHANTED THIS OCTOBER by SHAKTI: THE DIVINE FEMININE!

My third book! 

Hey there folks,
Absolutely delighted to announce that my third book, Shakti: The Divine Feminine will be hitting the stands this October. It is a book that is very close to my heart and unlike anything I have attempted before.
Can't wait for you guys to read and give me your feedbacks. Keep watching this space for more details!

Inside the Mind of a Tyrant

Book Review: Alex Rutherford’s Empire of the Moghul: Traitors in the Shadows

Having successfully completed a quintet of books skilfully chronicling the rise and fall of the Moghul Empire, Alex Rutherford is back with Traitors in the Shadows which examines the reign of Aurangzeb, one of the most contradictory and vilified figures in Indian history. Rutherford is on familiar terrain and his reverence for the historical material shines through in his narrative as he paints an enduring portrait of the tyrant who was not without redeeming qualities all though one clearly has to hunt for them with the help of a powerful microscope!

            Capable of unbelievable cruelty evinced by his imprisonment of his father and sons, the ruthless hunting and killing of his own brothers, his penchant for torture and careless imposition of the death penalty, the emperor was also just a man haunted by the fact that those in his line had always been forced to choose between Taktya Takhta – Throne or Coffin. Aurangzeb was a brave warrior and a brilliant strategist, possessed of a subtle and devious mind. But those fine qualities notwithstanding, he will always be remembered as a tyrant thanks to his intransigence in all matters regarding religious beliefs.

A devout Muslim, whose stern and extreme adherence to the strictures of his religion saw him undo all the hard work put in by his ancestors like Akbar to cultivate the bonds of brotherhood between those of all faiths by adopting a policy of religious intolerance. Aurangzeb banned the celebration of Hindu festivals like Holi and Diwali, ordered the destruction of temples and re-imposed the dreaded Jizya – higher taxation for all non – Muslims in order to drive home his power over them. His actions were motivated by a misguided sense of political acuity as well and intended to make a strong statement against rebels like Shivaji and later, Sambhaji who were Hindus, the Jats, Rajputs and Sikhs, to discourage his other subjects from throwing in their lot with them.

The extremist policies forcibly implemented by Aurangzeb and the bad blood it engendered opened up a chasm between the various religious factions in India that has proved difficult to bridge to this very day. If his actions were hard on his subjects they were even harder on those closest to him like his long suffering sister Jahanara, his sons and closest, most trusted advisors like Wazim Khan who bore the brunt of the hardness of character that saw him snuff every threat to his power with a terrifying savagery reminiscent of equally bloodthirsty ancestors like Genghis Khan.

Rutherford has done a fair job by staying faithful to the material which is pure gold. The historical facts are juicy and the pace is crisp, making for a riveting read and yet it is hard to shake the feeling that something is missing. Despite all the factors, going for it a certain dryness creeps in which has the result that even when an orgy is being described, it is with so much blandness that it detracts from the succulence of the story.

While history itself is always fascinating, history textbooks are less so and this book has some of the more tedious attributes of the latter. It merely touches on the emotional core of its characters while shying away from plunging the reader into the very depths which can be mildly frustrating. That minor grouse aside, Empire of the Moghul is a triumph that brings to life one of the most glorious epochs in all of history and is definitely worth a read. 
This review originally appeared in the New Indian Express which you can read here.

My Interview with WriterStory!

My interview with Nikhil Narkhede of WriterStory, where I talk about a few of my favourite things namely, books, writing, Arjuna and Kamadeva! How fun is that?
Excerpts:

What inspired you to start writing?

I have absolutely adored books and stories from the time I learned to read. There are few things in life more satisfying than a really good yarn and my favourite pastime is curling up with a nice novel. Writing was the natural progression of my lifelong passion for reading as I simply wanted to make my own contribution to the literary world and take my place among the storytellers.

What did you like to read when you were a girl?

Enid Blyton was an especial favourite and so was Amar Chitra Katha. I also read Frances Hodgson Burnett, Louisa May Alcott, Susan Coolidge, Elinor Brent Dyer, and Charles Dickens. At one time, I was really into the Nancy Drew (Carolyn Keene), Three Investigators (Alfred Hitchcock) and Sweet Valley series (Francine Pascal)!

I started reading Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer, Stephen King, Wilbur Smith, Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle) Agatha Christie, Jane Austen during my teens and I am still partial to them.

You can read the rest here.

Baahubali: The Real Story

Director Rajamouli's magnum opus starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anoushka and Tamanna Bhatia is shattering box office records all over the world. And it is only the beginning, Baahubali: The Conclusion will be released in 2016 and is likely to do even better. I watched it on opening weekend and was left somewhat underwhelmed. As a huge fan of the directors earlier offerings - Magadheera and Eega, I felt this wasn't his best work.

Baahubali chronicles the tale of an ousted Princeling who grows up and inadvertently stumbles upon his origins, lured by a provocatively clad apparition with hips that just won't quit to make his way past a spectacular waterfall to the forbidding mountain Kingdom that is his birthright. The film started off impressively enough before getting hopelessly enmeshed in a love story that is so bad it is embarrassing. Despite that particular hiccup, there is just enough to keep you invested in the happenings on screen thanks to fine performances from veterans like Sathyaraj and Ramya Krishnan.

The second half gets started on the flashback and just when it begins to heat up veers into an inexplicable item number and a gorgeously mounted battle sequence that teeters precariously between terrific and tedious, before limping to an abrupt ending. Its flaws notwithstanding, the film is definitely worth a watch for the jaw - dropping special effects and the care that has been lavished on it by the director and his team.

While watching the film, I kept trying to recall the story of the real Baahubali (strong - armed) and drew a blank. All that came to mind was a huge statue, the location of which I knew was at Sravana Belagola. So I looked it up and decided to share the story with those interested. It was quite fascinating and mythology lovers are sure to agree!

Baahubali is a revered figure in the Digambara Jain tradition. His father was the Tirthankara, Rishaba. There are 24 Tirthankaras and they are the founding fathers of Jainism credited with steering their follows towards nirvana by means of their holy teachings. Mahavira was the 24th and last of the Tirthankaras. Rishaba had two wives. He had a hundred sons with the first wife and the eldest one was named Bharata. His second wife bore him Baahubali. Rishaba divided his Kingdom between all his sons, though he gave a larger portion to Bharata. Not satisfied, Bharata made his brothers submit to him one by one. Baahubali alone held out, refusing to yield and the Kingdom stood on the brink of civil war and ruin.

Urged by their ministers and elders, and in the interest of preventing a bloodbath the belligerent siblings decided to slug it out mano y mano. They fought many duels which included gazing into each others eyes till one blinked (Dhrishti Yuddha), debate (Vak Yuddha), hand to hand combat (Bahu Yuddha), boxing (Mushti Yuddha), wielding staffs (Danda Yuddha) and discus (Chakra Yuddha). On and on the behemoths duelled till, Baahu lifted up his sibling and held him aloft in those mighty arms for which he was named and stood poised to turn his brains to mush. At the penultimate moment, he paused. Deeply ashamed of himself for being ready to kill his brother over a measly piece of land, Baahubali decided to exorcise his anger demons through asceticism.

Not to be left behind, Bharata took up asceticism and in the friendly spirit of sibling rivalry that had come to define their lives, Baahubali and Bharata raced each other to see who would achieve moksha first. We can safely assume that it was Baahubali who triumphed, since it is his name that has gone down in history and mythology both and he is the one in whose honour massive statues have been erected in Sravana Belagola and Udipi. Jai Baahubali!

References:
Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths. London: LB Tauris and Co Ltd. 1997
Jones, Constance A, and James D Ryan. Encyclopedia of Hinduism. NY: Infobase Publishing. 2007.
Mehta, Jodh Singh. Abu to Udaipur: Celestial Simla to City of Sunrise. Delhi: motilal Banarsidass. 1989. 

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A FLESH AND BLOOD WOMAN

Book review of Patricia Duncker's Sophie and the Sibyl: A Victorian Romance

Sophie and the Sibyl is set in Berlin, 1872 and is a charming reimagining of the twilight years of literary powerhouse, George Eliot who unfortunately has come to be viewed with a touch of annoyance by later generations who were in all likelihood force fed Silas Marner, in the classroom thanks to an exacting literary curriculum.

In Patricia Duncker’s tale, the celebrity author is unlikely to be loved although her magnetic pull will be felt. At the outset, the lady of letters has fled to Germany to escape the scandal when she made the choice to live with a married man. Meanwhile, her German publisher, Wolfgang Duncker, orders his handsome if feckless, younger brother, Max to visit the great lady in Homburg and acquire the rights to Middlemarch. On the personal front, Max is to marry the young Countess Sophie Von Hahn who is also at the spa town. Wolfgang hopes that between them, Sophie and the Sibyl (as Max refers to Eliot) will succeed in giving his brother fresh purpose and lure him away from the brothels and gambling tables that he has taken to frequenting. And thus the three main characters take their positions for the “sexual triangle of Middlemarch” and the reader is led on a merry dance at the urging of a nameless narrator.

Duncker has a penchant for mixing fact and fiction in “outrageous ways” and her wicked ingenuity is delightful. Max is initially disappointed on meeting the Sibyl because not only is she old but ugly as well which is why he is unprepared for the powerful attraction he comes to feel for her. Sophie, who originally worships at the altar of the Sibyl, comes to loathe the lady as “La belle dame sans merci” who has her man in thrall.

In exploring the dynamics of Max’s relationship with the two women who come to define his life, as well as the narrative asides that detour into the rich landscape of historical fact and classical art, music and literature, Duncker examines the bare bones of the creative processes that birth great fiction. Drawing on her acute observations from life, and using the raw power of words, the Sibyl exorcises her personal demons by lashing out at those blessed with things she does not possess, painting them as vain and vapid creatures for whom she believes doom to be just comeuppance, denying them the happiness she herself has always felt entitled to.

The Sibyl leads a brazenly unconventional life with courage and grace, though in her books she exalts conventionality as morality and uses her formidable tools to punish characters who dare to stray. Later, she is soundly berated by a furious Sophie who pulls her up for living one life and believing in another while urging her susceptible readers to settle for self – sacrifice and subservience. Neither woman will give any quarter though and are both determined to wrest whatever they will from life, thereby sounding the clarion call for female empowerment in this intellectually enriching saga.

This review originally appeared in the New Indian Express and you can access it here.

ADDICTED TO LOVE

Book review of Ahlem Mosteghanemi's Choas of the Senses

Ahlem Mosteghanemi’s Chaos of the Senses is the second instalment in an award – winning trilogy that cemented her reputation as the bestselling female author  in the Arab world and a bona fide literary phenomenon. Set in the early 1990s at Algeria, which was being rocked by relentless political upheavals and mindless violence, the novel tackles the immortal themes of love and death, somehow infusing it with freshness and a robust heartiness.

            Hayat, the daughter of a war hero and wife of a high – ranking government official whose job it is to snuff out any threats to the ruling regime seeks to detach herself from the unfolding strife around her and the iron fist of her husband by escaping into a world of heady passion that she herself has constructed with reckless abandon within the pages of her book, content to pour out the flames of her endless desire into a river of ink.  

            When one of Hayat’s characters steps into her real world, following a bizarre collusion of strange circumstances and stranger coincidences, she sees the opportunity for the romance of a lifetime and throwing caution to the winds, rushes headlong into a torrid affair. As she herself puts it so succinctly, “... the writing process in which I’d sought refuge from life would take me, albeit obliquely back towards life itself, thrusting me into a story that would one page after another, become my own.”

            The happy blurring between the boundaries of reality and fiction takes a turn for the worse when her loyal driver of many years and a military man is killed during one of her reckless flights of fancy. But Hayat is too drunk on forbidden love and even as tragedy overtakes her homeland as well as family and threatens to consume herself as well, she is too far gone to even think of turning back.

            Sucked into a swirling vortex of tender emotion and perfect kisses, Hayat is a willing captive content to ride, “the untamed steeds of longing (that) took her to him.” Her make – believe reality is powered by the language of silence and dialogues that take on the attributes of a supremely satisfying monologue played out in the private recesses of the mind and the exquisite lovemaking has an almost masturbatory quality to it taking the reader along on her on a tumultuous ride into the stormy depths of unshackled love and the overwhelming wonder and puzzlement it engenders.

            Needless to say, in keeping with the precedent of every great love story ever written, death awaits at the final turning rather like the cold shower that has successfully doused many a heated loin and to return the player to a reality that has been stripped clean of every hint of passion, robbing it of flavour and leaving it as starkly unpalatable as ever. Thus, it is in allowing Chaos of the Senses to succumb to cliché that Mosteghanemi, succeeds in bringing it full circle.

An edited version of this review originally appeared in the New Indian Express. Check it out here.

All the Walls Around us

Book Review: Boualem Sansal's Harraga

Lovers of Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood trilogy who have often wondered what it would be like to tuck into a few google buns, shock toffees and pop biscuits have only to pick up Boualem Sansal’s wonderfully evocative Harraga, which means ‘path burner’ in Arabic. This hauntingly beautiful tale about two diametrically opposing personalities, Lamia and Cherifa will make your taste – buds sing with hits of sugar as well as spice and your eyes sting with its acid bite.

            The protagonist, Lamia, is a wounded animal, having lost her parents and elder brother in quick succession. Her younger brother, Sofiane is a Harraga, who has run away from home, hoping to leave the country and find a better life or die in the process. Resigned to spending a life, licking her wounds having stockpiled more than a fair share of sorrow, she retreats to the colonial mansion she calls home. Barricaded within its crumbling confines she has only the company of the ghosts that roam free from the shackles of life if not death. By day, she is a paediatrician and it helps stave away penury, despair and encroaching madness, but barely. It is then that a pregnant waif, sent by Sofiane blows into her life like a runaway tornado. Cherifa is just as destructive and departs as quickly leaving Lamia reeling from her encounter with a prodigious force of nature.  

            The chronicle is propelled forward more on the strength of its central character, ably aided by the beauty of the prose, rather than a suspenseful succession of endless revelations. Lamia is a self – proclaimed “hateful bitch” whose prickly exterior, which could easily rival a porcupine at its most bristly, belies a tender core, spilling over with repressed passion and a mother’s endless compassion. Her scathing indictment of Algiers, which according to her is a “trollop who gives of herself the better to take”, the corrupt government that has allowed their country to go to seed and Islamists, who “dream of the glorious crimes against humanity yet to be committed” will have the reader lapping up her observations and asking for more.

            In direct contrast, Cherifa is the blithe spirit, who breezes through life, helping herself to all she needs without so much as a thank you, unmindful of the fact, that in their world, an unwed, knocked – up mother, who dresses skimpily and has no trouble picking up men even in the advanced stages of her pregnancy may well be looking at the death penalty. Like Lamia, the reader will have trouble warming to the child – woman but will eventually become fond of her for refusing to kowtow to the draconian laws of a spiteful civilization.

            Cherifa is not meant to be tied down and she flees the bonds of Lamia’s affection, leaving the latter devastated and unable to come to terms with the loneliness she had foolishly believed to be her shield. Gravitating towards the other victims, who had been affected by the tornado, one of whom is named Scheherazade, Lamia struggles in vain to recapture the moonbeam that had slipped through her fingers or at the very least figure out what had become of it, on the road leading to the enormously moving climax.

            In addition to exploring the perils of being a single, woman in a patriarchal society, extreme solitude and disillusionment with an unpalatable reality, Sansal seeks to answer his own question, “How far can your life take you when there is nothing to hold you back?” and the revelation will leave you with a lump in the throat, a smile on the lips and a fervent desire to become an honest to goodness, Harraga.  

This review was written for The New Indian Express and you can check it out here.

EVENT ALERT!

Do join me at EasyLib Koramangala for snacks and some great conversation on 21st Feb, Saturday at 5pm! Hope to see you there!

The Sweet and Sour Old Man

Book Review: Richard Ford’s Let Me Be Frank With You

When a Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner – winning author, Richard Ford returns with a new novel or rather four novellas set against the backdrop of Hurricane Sandy featuring his career – making and famously irascible character, Frank Bascombe, ominously titled Let Me Be Frank With You, it begs the question of whether the said author has retained his form or is merely flogging a dead cash cow. Ford, mercifully, sets such unseemly fears to rest soon enough as becomes a writer of his calibre.

Frank is retired, living in Haddam, NJ with his second wife and dealing with the attendant worries of a man on the wrong side of his 60s such as grappling with a problematic prostate, a certain condition called “ being fartational”, the crisis of impending death and so on. In these linked novellas, Frank, who thanks to happy happenstance was able to sit out Hurricane Sandy has to oblige an old client and visit the ruins of his former beach house, suffer through encounters with his ex – wife who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and lives far too close for his comfort and an old acquaintance who has a bombshell to deliver on his deathbed and in easily, what is the most poignant of the novellas Frank is visited by an African – American lady who had spent her childhood at the same house, and has returned to confront her horrifying past that has long remained buried in the basement.  

Plot takes a backseat in the rambling narrative of this ageing gent who is in no particular hurry to get anyplace but it is hardly a complaint given the richness of the writing, the fizz and pop of dark humour and precious shards of crystal – clear wisdom that are scattered liberally across Ford’s latest offering which provokes outright laughter and epiphany – filled moments in equal measure.

Like all truly memorable characters, Bascombe is far from perfect. There is a definitive touch of the unrepentant racist in him which is painfully apparent when he uses the ‘N’ word, refers to Obama’s “little black booty” even though he has voted for him or compares his Pakistani doctor’s laugh to a chimp’s and there are moments when his indifference brought on by a certain world weariness that followed the death of his son, borders on cruel. He also panders to the dirty old man stereotype when noting that the sliced fruit featured in his ex wife’s paintings were reminiscent of female genitalia “cracked open and ready for business”.

However it is hardly possible to get too mad at him when his unerring observation reveals an acuity that is often edifying. At the conclusion of his bittersweet meeting with his ex – wife, the final line says it all, “Love isn’t a thing, after all, but an endless series of endless acts.” Whether he is reassuring his wife of his love for her from beneath a sink or dryly insisting “what I mostly want to do is nothing I don’t want to do”, it is a hard task to remain impervious to his brusque charm.

This review appeared in the New Indian Express, which you can check out here. 

TEN COPIES OF KAMADEVA: THE GOD OF DESIRE UP FOR GRABS ON GOODREADS!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Kamadeva

by Anuja Chandramouli

Giveaway ends February 14, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

My Latest Interview!!!

My interview with Bhavesh Bhimani, a noted editor, freelance journalist, cricket writer and blogger!

he Shiva trilogy, The Krishna Key, The Palace of Illusions, Ajaya, Asura, among a plethora of other books, has really helped spark a keen interest in Indian mythology among Indian readers. Another book in the same genre, ‘Arjuna- Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince’ by 30-year-old author Anuja Chandramouli, had created quite a buzz when it had released a couple of years back (it was listed by Amazon India as one of the top 5 books in Indian writing for the year 2013). The book, which retold the story of the epic Mahabharata from Arjuna’s perspective, met with a favourable response from readers.

And now, Anuja, who apart from being a passionate writer, is also a classical dancer and mother to two little girls, is back with her second offering: Kamadeva: The God of Desire. Very little is known about Kama, who is more renowned as the Indian version of the cupid than a standalone God in his own right. Thus, a book entirely dedicated to him should be rather interesting. In this interview, the talented author from Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, tells us more about the book, shares her views on this current fad of Indian mythology books, elaborates a bit on her fears as a writer and much more. Read on!

You can read the excerpts right here.

Best Time Ever at the Utkal Literature Festival!

I was invited to Bhubhaneshwar for the Odisha Literature Festival organized by the New Indian Express, last year and promptly developed a soft spot for the beautiful city, designed by the German architect, Otto Konigsberger in 1946. Although not as exquisite as Pondicherry which never fails to make me feel a pang of regret that the French lost the Carnatic wars and failed to make the rest of the deep south as gorgeous as that gem of a union territory, Bhubhaneshwar has more than its fair share of charm going for it. Consequently I was thrilled when the opportunity to visit presented itself to me  via the Utkal Literature Festival. The second time around my attraction for the city of temples blossomed into full blown love.

As the tourism guides will tell you, Bhubhaneshwar completes the Swarna Tribhuja or "The Golden Triangle" of Puri (Jagannadh temple), Konark. I had already visited Puri and Konark last year. This time around I completed the triangle with a visit to the Lingaraj temple. There is no doubt about it... Kalinga architecture is absolutely incredible but it is just too bad that the walkways leading to all three destinations are choked up with all manner of refuse running the entire gamut of grossness from the filthy to the unspeakably ugly. Exactly when did Indians start embracing their inner pig with such gusto?

That major grouse aside, it was a blast exploring the city and pigging out on asli Odia street cuisine like gupchups, chicken pakodas, mutton chops, chenna poda and authentic rasogollas with fellow writers Alaka Sahani, Kavita Kane, Satyarth Nayak and Sujit Mahopatra.

The sessions were pretty interesting as well. It was a nice initiative to highlight Odia literature and writing. There were some intense moments between the Odia writers and Odias writing in English but they blew over  without anyone coming to blows over it. In my opinion, events like ULF are a great way to bridge the yawning gulf between Indians who write in English and those who are proficient in their respective regional languages. After all, writers irrespective of the langauage they prefer communicate through their stories and the good stories always transcend the words used to frame them. It is to be hoped that someday such festivals become the norm in Tamil Nadu as well where language remains a very sensitive issue.

Lastly, do check this out. It is an interview I did for the Telegraph. Really enjoyed it, although I do wish their photographer had not gone with the pic where my admittedly wonky expression has prompted a whole bunch of people to wonder aloud if I had crapped my pants! (For the record, I sorta made a face because I hate cameras and posing :( The painful part is that there were tons of other photos where I smiled sweetly for the intrusive lens or at least managed a more normal expression :) ) Oh well!

Kamadeva gets Hotter!

Kamadeva: The God of Desire was recently featured in Storizen magazine's 'Hot off the Press' section. Merci beaucoup to Mukesh Rijhwani, co - founder of Storizen for promoting Indian authors and their stories. Do take a look at it here.

"Author Anuja Chandramouli’s writing has blossomed a lot more since her last book Arjuna. The writing is so good and so different that you will wonder that is this really the second book by the author. In her first book also I liked the writing a lot but this time around it is even better and so much more different which brings a freshness to the entire story telling.
It appeared to me at certain places that the author is trying to test the limits, challenge our society and its deep-rooted beliefs in our gods and goddesses."
Abhinav Shrivastava had this and more to say about Kamadeva: The God of Desire which you can check out here.

"The best part of the book is that Anuja Chandramouli makes her characters very human. Yes, she is telling the story of the Gods, whom we hold with such reverance, yet she humanizes them in such a way that a reader can actually relate to the character and situations. The dialogue delivery in our everyday language adds to the allure of it. The book also discusses some topics that are very relevant in our society. It is very apparent that that the author has put in some quality research time while developing the plot and apllaud the author for that. The language and the narration compliments each other by maintaining a certain balance. The author has a very refined language and it is a pleasure to read her prose."
Popular blogger Debdatta Dasgupta Sahay's review of Kamadeva can be found here.

On Cutting the Crap and Dealing with India's Rape Crisis the Sensible Way!

Every time, a rape case hits the headlines which, unfortunately has become something of a norm in India today, like every self - respecting human being, I tend to froth at the mouth, nearly apoplectic with rage and wonder why castration has not been legally sanctioned as a suitable punishment for the debased creatures who prey on women. On December 16th, 2012, a horrific crime on a Delhi bus saw a brave young girl's life prematurely snuffed out and awakened the conscience of this nation. We shed tears of grief and rage when she passed and cried out for changes that needed to be implemented in a country that ought to be made safe for its daughters. Nearly two years later, very little progress has been made as evidenced by the dramatic fallout from the Uber rape case.

Women seem to be as vulnerable as ever to acid attacks, rape, molestation, and every other form of abuse. Recently, two sisters from Rohtak made waves when they fought back and found themselves cheered by just about everybody who saw the video recording of the same, which promptly went viral. This mother of two however, found little to cheer about, if the latest role society has smugly sanctioned for members of  the formerly gentler sex is that of a butt-kicking brawler. Am I supposed to raise my  little girls as though they were heading out  into a battlefield and teach them to embrace violence if they want to be safe? How can that be right?

Whereas earlier, citizens of India were criminally indifferent, now things have changed but certainly not for the better. An atmosphere of fear, mistrust and repressed anger has spread like a particularly contagious infection tainting our view of everyone and everything. The kindly milkman or the handy chauffeur are viewed through a prism of suspicion, and they, not surprisingly respond with baffled hurt which slowly becomes thinly veiled hostility. Nobody believes in India or Indians any more and the results are plainly there for everybody to see. The garbage choking the streets is nothing compared to the attitude we have adopted to our motherland which is why we spit and shit on it both literally and metaphorically.

It is awful that the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi who preached  non - violence and showed the world how to be the better man/woman even under great adversity has been forgotten except
 when an enterprising director makes a hit film series based on his doctrines. If women felt compelled to accessorize their outfits not with sexy bags or shoes but tasers, Swiss knives, pepper spray and pearl - handled guns finished off with an attitude of extreme wariness and aggression they may as well douse themselves with blood to attract every shark circling the vicinity. A trigger - happy girl or one who is ready to dole out the slaps to every ruffian out there must in all practicality be prepared to bite the bullet or get slapped in return. Because violence begets violence and that truism simply cannot be gainsaid. If a stray Dog were to chase a cyclist, some would recommend pelting it with stones but the Gandhian way is to chuck a few doggie biscuits its way, since that way nobody would get hurt. It is the better way since it follows logically, that there is no need for little girls to be raised as warriors by paranoid parents who want their daughters to learn to outfight the brawnier sex and beat the fellas at their own game when in reality, girls should be taught to play to their strengths which thankfully need not be about emulating martial artists.

The best way to build a world to our liking  is to start at home, and despite its hideous warts and all India is home. I refuse to believe that all men are dogs. There are good, kind and decent Indian men out there and we can't let a few bad apples define our nation or force us to arm ourselves and our young ones to feel safe in our own backyard.

In recent times, there has been a clarion call for men to change their attitudes towards women. But women need to modify their thinking as well. We need to hold our heads high and do our thing without ever giving in to fear. This is our land and nobody has the right to make us feel scared, lonely, or make victims out of us. And we need to believe that all Indians are our brothers and sisters and they'll come through for us. These are troubled times but if we stand united there is no reason why we cannot emerge from this period of strife into a better tomorrow.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hills: Old Fashioned Horror at its Eerie Best

What is a book lover and a fan of the horror/ghost story genre supposed to do when the market is inundated with tedious tales about gorgeous vampires/werewolves with a penchant for manufacturing drama and making much ado about nothing? You strap yourself into a time machine and head for the past or pick up Susan Hill's "The Woman in Black", an old fashioned ghost story narrated by Arthur Kipps in a desperate bid to escape "from under the long shadow cast by the events of the past.", The narrator then proceeds to take the reader into the dread events that almost proved to be his undoing long years ago, when as a young solicitor who did not believe in ghosts he found himself in Eel Marsh House, to sort out the affairs of the recently deceased Mrs. Alice Drablow. Incidentally, the said creepy mansion is isolated from the town it is situated in, by a causeway that can only be traversed in low tide. 
Hill does full justice to the material at hand and wields her pen like a virtuoso to create a chilling atmosphere that is hauntingly beautiful but nevertheless fills even hardened horror aficionados with mounting dread that subsequently oscillates between pity (for the victim as well as persecutor) and terror.
The ghost's back story is skilfully woven and to use a somewhat perverse metaphor given the context in question it feels like digging into a particularly succulent drumstick chicken with plenty of meat and a juicy bone to gnaw upon. The road to the end is carefully constructor and even as the reader hurtles towards it with a sense of the inevitable it still packs a wallop.
"The Woman in Black" is definitely something to be prescribed for those who are heartily sick of vampires. 

"The Replacement" by Brenna Yovanoff: Too much Teenage Angst and Too Little Terror

Brenna Yovanoff's "The Replacement" has a very eerie premise. It is about babies being stolen from their cribs and replacements getting left behind mostly to sicken and die. There is an underworld, a thriving metropolis populated by the dead and not - quite dead ruled over by the Morrigan, a creepy little Princess who treats the town of Gentry to hard rock performances which are supposedly beneficial to their mutual health if not the levels of noise pollution.  Finally, a revenant, which is a reanimated corpse turns up to effect a rescue. Yet, despite the promise offered by such macabre conceits, "The Replacement' is less about thrills and chills than it is about teenage angst in all its, underwhelming, pimpled, hormone ravaged glory.
The protagonist, Mackie Doyle is a replacement who managed to survive despite his debilitating allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, complicated exponentially by having a Pastor for his father. When he is not yearning for a normal life he is ogling the breasts or legs of the resident high - school hottie and cursing his luck that her pierced tongue prevents him from fully exploring the wonders of her oral cavity.
Even as Mackie's troubles spiral out of control and he seeks solace in the hawthorne water coughed up by denizens of the underworld who kindly offer him surcease from his allergies in exchange for him joining their band, a potential love interest's sister is kidnapped and her replacement is hastened to an early grave. This prompts Mackie to rise to the occasion by making out with the grieving sibling and discovering his inner hero in time to square off with a dirt witch who fancies herself a God and demands fear or blood sacrifice when she is not playing with live dolls as well as the Cutter, who is a sadist/masochist who enjoys ridding the loved ones of his victims of their digits in order to get them to toe his line.
If all this sounds like a cheesy B- grade horror movie, it is probably because that is exactly what it reads like sans the titillating sight of nubile nymphs baring their cleavage or the clever manipulation of light and sound that make you jump and spill your popcorn.

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS! BE PREPARED TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN TO ITTY BITTY BITS!

You are not going to believe this but it is time to share a few more reviews with you, dear long suffering reader of mine! And if you feel a tad ill -used and cheated because of the somewhat misleading title which promised something unbelievably exciting but may not have exactly delivered don't blame me. Hyper - enthusiastic facebook users who insist on bombarding me with links that supposedly hold the key to a newly
discovered cornucopia brimming over with amazing adventure, poignant sentiment and cloying cuteness which I am apparently bound by the code of social networking to share (or else...) only to leave me stupefied by the sight of a cute baby having its bum washed and powdered by the daddy (gasp!)  are responsible for the inspiration behind that blinder of a header!

Anyways here are the reviews I mentioned. Some are kind and some less so but I love all my reviewers equally. If the above declaration brought out your inner sceptic, I welcome you to examine my nose it
remains the cute button it always was and has not shot out like Pinocchio's extremely revealing one :)

Without further ado (drum roll please!) I present the most recent reviews for Kamadeva: The God of Desire:

Uma Meenakshi on Flipkart: (She has given it 4 stars)

What I liked about the book is that characters are realistically portrayed in different shades of grey, which makes them easier to connect with. They’re also relevant to the present, even though they are mythological characters - Rati reborn as Maya had me nodding in agreement with her thought provoking feminist dialogues, the Rukmini-Maya mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship had me smiling and was something I could relate to, and the portrayal of Shambara the Asura was such that I ended up liking him more than Kama/Pradyumna. Beats me why Maya left him for Pradyumna!

Anuja has grown a lot as a writer. If Arjuna, her first book was a commendable effort, her modern day portrayal of Kamadeva is an excellent read that puts her right up there with the most promising of upcoming writers. 

You can read the rest of it here.
Balaji Sundarrajan on Goodreads (4 stars :) ):
i think the author has done a magnificent job in making this a gripping tale. anuja's command over the language helps her in maintaining the pace of the book and she manages to make even routine things sound extraordinarily interesting. the opening chapter involving the creation of kamadeva and the consequent events, is a masterpiece in my opinion. i also admired and enjoyed the chapter where the discussion about the battle of sexes & sharing of power, takes place between indra & rati. on the whole a bold & brilliant initiative. 

You can read the rest of the review here.

Blogger Itisha Niranjan Baxi of Bookish gives it 3 stars:

This book by Anuja Chandramouli (click here for a review of this author’sArjuna) is an interesting read, as it flows through time and events in the Hindu mythology with immense ease.

The book starts with the birth of Kamadeva by the sweat of Bhramha, induced by the overwhelming seduction he feels by an extraordinarily beautiful woman of his own creation – Rati. Rati is sensuous, fierce and of indomitable spirit, whereas Kama has a mellow demeanor, an incomparable charm and a calm and composed mind. A lot of other popular Devas make their appearance throughout the book, but the limelight never shifts from the protagonist duo.

For a novice in Hindu mythology, this book is a good read as it puts forth the story in a mellifluous manner.

You can read the rest here

FEMINA and I!!!!

It was quite exciting to see myself as one of the Faces of the Femina, October 13th issue, it must be admitted! They are carrying one of my short stories which has quite a long story behind it with a little author bio at the end. It has been quite the heart-warming experience with friends and relatives messaging congrats and liking it on Facebook etc.

As for the long story, my short story was originally entered in a national level short story writing competition. The top three would be given cash prizes and a few more stories deemed meritorious by the judges would be included in an anthology with the winners. There would be an event to release the book and you would get to bask in the unalloyed joy of being a published writer. I wanted the win, so bad, it made me positively reek of desperation which stinks far worse than particularly rank BO.

Unfortunately, my little minnow of a short story did not make the cut, and the loss was hard to bear especially since treacherous hope had ballooned out of all proportion to reason, after it was announced that the first round had been successfully cleared. As a consolation prize, I was told my story would be included in the anthology.

In the meantime, I had defiantly entered it in another competition which would see behemoths from a few more continents. Sometimes faith is even more foolish than hope and using the unassailable logic that my minnow had what it took to swim with the sharks, this struggling writer whose career had few things brag worthy and a whole lot, cringe worthy, made the choice to turn down the chance to have her story included in the anthology and opted instead to go for the win on an even bigger arena. Needless to say my minnow was swallowed up whole leaving me feel like a gambler who had lost way more than could be afforded.

As it turned out soul - crushing disappointment functioned as a great motivator having quashed my earlier dream of being the O Henry of my generation but not my tendency to gamble when it makes very little sense to do so. Deciding to go for broke, I started on my first novel and long story short,  now my official bio says that I am the author of Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior - Prince and Kamadeva: The God of Desire. (By the way, I am aware that it is hugely annoying to get into self - laudatory mode but at some point I'll get into self - bashing mode and then you will be hard - pressed to say which me is more annoying :) )

So much is owed to the humble little story that none of the judges liked as much as I did. Be that as it may, I am delighted to share my tale of marital discord with the readers of Femina, thanks to the discerning editors of this esteemed publication. (For the record, I did not threaten to kill myself if they refused to publish my beloved creation) Hope they love it more than those darned judges :) 

An Interview for New Asian Writing (Online Asian Literary Community) plus an Exciting Bonus!

Anuja Chandramouli is the author of Kamadeva: The God of Desire. Her first book Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava was named by Amazon India as one of the top 5 books in Indian writing for the year 2013. Contact her here.

NAW- Tell us about your book, Kamadeva. How did you get the idea for it? What is it about?

Kamadeva: The God of Desire is about one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood characters in Hindu mythology. I have lost track of the number of ribald jokes that people have taken to regaling me with, having been told that my second book is based on Kama. Many assume that I have done my take on the Kamasutra and wish to know if there are illustrations. Seriously though, my book seeks to take the reader on a ride that begins with Kama’s origins and follows the intimate contours of the tumultuous journeys he was destined to undertake – the tremendous bond of love he shared with his consort (Rati), his love affairs, the dangerous missions he performed for the Gods, his invaluable contributions to the amorous arts, the premature death that was his fate, his rebirth and what happens after.

You can read the rest right here.

And now for the best part, the icing on the cake, the fantabulous bonus you have been dreaming about etc. etc.. Find an excerpt of Kamadeva: The God of Desire right here.

This reviewer has some lovely words for Kama and moi!

Flipkart has a 4, 8 rating for Kamadeva: The God of Desire. Blogger Purnendu Chatterjee gives it 4.5! How awesome is that!

This book tells the story of Kama and about all those incidents and characters which we have never heard of. The readers will fall in love with the witty and compelling narrating style. A perfect blend of history and imagination.

You can read the rest of the review right here