COVER REVEAL - THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM

Cover Reveal: 

THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM 

by 

Sundari Venkatraman

Sneak Peek

Chanda Maheshwari’s family is shaken when her thirteen-year-old bridegroom Veerendra runs away immediately after the wedding. The eight-year-old child doesn’t even understand the impact on her life. Unable to face their neighbours and friends, the Maheshwaris move from their village to Jaipur and begin a new life in the city.

Fourteen years later, Chanda is studying in a Delhi College. She takes up a temporary job at RS Software Pvt. Ltd. and falls head-over-heels for the boss of the operation. But what about  Ranveer Singh? Is he interested in her?

Ranveer’s secretary Shikha is desperate to make him fall for her. All she wants is life-long security with a rich man. But it’s nerd Abhimanyu who keeps getting in the way. Abhi is Ranveer’s second-in-command and Shikha isn’t keen on him as she’s eyeing the main chance. 

When Ranveer appears to show interest in Chanda, she’s faced with a new problem. Astrologer Vidyasagar insists that she would get back with her husband Veerendra. Does anyone want to know if she wants to do that? 

Chanda feels torn between the man she has fallen for and the family values that have been instilled in her. Will she ever find happiness? 

About the Author

Even as a kid, Sundari Venkatraman absolutely loved the 'lived happily ever after' syndrome as she grew up reading all the fairy tales she could lay her hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end. Soon, into her teens, she switched her attention from fairy tales to Mills & Boon. While she loved reading both of these, she kept visualising what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine.

Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years. Then came the writing - a true bolt out of the blue! She could never string two sentences together. While her spoken English had always been excellent - thanks to her Grandpa - she could not write to save her life. She was bad at writing essays in both school and college. Later, when it was time to teach her kids, she could manage everything from Science to Mathematics and History & Geography.

When it came to writing compositions, her kids found her of no help at all. All this changed suddenly one fine day in the year 2000. She had just quit her job at a school's office and did not know what to do with her life. She was saturated with simply reading books. That's when she got home one evening after her walk and took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in her head - all those years of visualising Indian heroes and heroines needed an outlet and had to be put into words. That's how her first novel, The Malhotra Bride, took shape.

While she felt discouraged when publishing did not happen, it was her husband who kept encouraging her not to give up. There was no looking back after that. While publishing took a long time happening, Sundari continued to write novels and then short stories. Her luck turned when Indireads approached her to write for them and Double Jeopardy was born.

Now it’s all about self-publishing her books on Amazon. Her first self-published book is The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition) in February 2014. Then came Meghna in June 2014. And now it's time to unveil The Runaway Bridegroom, all set to release on September 13, 2014.

Are you ready????????????

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Presenting....

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TETE-A-TETE WITH MAITREYEE B. CHOWDHURY.

Maitreyee B Chowdhury is a web columnist and a poet. Besides writing on cinema and issues related to women and the environment, she has also been featured in an anthology of contemporary Indian writing, ‘Celebrating India’. 

I have reviewed her poetry collection – Where Present is Still Ancient, Benaras. This book is a collection of 50 poems each bringing out a facet and essence of Benaras. Each city has a distinct flavor to it and Benaras is one such place…with its filth, smell, culture and religion attached to it.

Maitreyee talks about this book. In her own words –

As a child, I had heard my father always say that “If you have not seen Benaras, you haven’t seen India.” And when I got an opportunity to travel alone for about 2 to 3 weeks, of all the places I wanted to see Benaras. At that time, however, I had no idea that I would be writing a book about it.

Poetry, of course, I was always writing them. But, I never had a clue that I would be writing a whole book of poetry. So, while I was there seeing things by myself, wandering around the ghats, walking in the streets at night, it was a very different experience for me altogether. While I was doing all this, I was writing too. I have this habit of writing while walking…on my mobile that is. Most of my works have been conceived during these walks.

I had written about 40 poems while I was in Benaras and the rest 10 of them, I wrote after I came back. I had no idea that there actually has to be a theme when a book of poetry is written and when my publishers told me this, I structured my poems according to the theme, choosing and editing them.

Many people have asked me…why Benaras? And what was there that you saw made you write a whole book about it? Well, when I was going to Benaras, I had been warned by a friend, “ It sure looks good in pictures, be prepared for the smell.” It is very dirty like many other pilgrimage cities of India. But as I have said while talking about this book…you have to see Benaras with different eyes.

Many people asked me, if this is a religious book – it is not. In fact there have been many poems where I have ridiculed religion. ( The following poems illustrate the same) I had a nasty experience at the Vishwanath Temple and I was harassed by the so-called pujari’s outside the temple and they irritated me a lot. I came out of the temple and saw a cow, which made me think, “Why is God not accessible? God should be accessible.”

‘To Vishvanath’

‘Vishvanath’ I had come

your doors were closed however-

With people, full of you

and yet themselves.

The crossing proved too long-

Between goatherds deciding Moksha,

Both yours and mine…

I decided not to leave that Rupees hundred

Fluttering in the Benaras breeze,

At your doorstep.

I wonder if you are pretty,

Decorated by the ego of so many-

Does the waft of prayer,

reach beyond the mush?

My shoes, another’s cell phone,

some flowers and Prasad

For you?

I returned, with Hare Rama in my ears

And filth in my eyes-

A sudden brush of a cow’s bushy tail,

Small it seemed, six month old?

‘Vishvanath’! Calls his master,

‘Ghar aajaa bachcha’

Vishvanath, struts his rhythmic back,

Some dung in every step.

A Fisherman’s Ganga

I sat on a dingy boat,

Looking at the Maha Aarati

on the Dashwamedha Ghat.

Seven priests adorned their Ganga

in every human way possible…

Tourists shrieked, conch shells sounded

humanity applauded.

I lit a small lamp and let it flow

Into the unknown corridors of faith-

A fisherman sat nearby

Perched on the helm of his boat

Looked at the skies,

And spat some Benaras

Into his Ganga.

In some way if there’s a perception of religion, it could be called Spirituality…finding one’s spirituality.

(As told to Janaki Nagaraj)

SPOTLIGHT OF WHERE EVEN PRESENT IS ANCIENT: BENARAS.

The Blurb

Where Even the Present is Ancient: Benaras is a book that seeks to tell the little stories that make us who we are. The author believes that Benaras resides in all of us Indians, in some beautiful often-unknown way. The author is the Sutradhar, in that she attempts to connect an India that many do not realize exists, in that it is everybody’s story. Radha, Krishna, Ganga, Benaras and Me are all characters in this deluge of poems. This attempt at telling the story of the ancient, of love and of faith is to instil the confidence that poetry exists in all of us, everywhere, all that is needed is to smell its fragrance. To those outside India, the book does not seek to be a representation of what India is or was, but a whiff of what it also can be. It is an attempt to ask people to see the little stories that govern all of our lives, stories that we often don’t see, but those that are important. The audience for this book might be strewn across the globe, for faith is not religion-centric, it is people- centric and often without dimensions. In poetry there is no beginning, no middle, nor no end. Like faith it is everywhere, it is omnipresent. The book affords no answers, nor no questions, but if you listen and read carefully you will see new things, a new beauty perhaps, one that has been silent so long.

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About the Author
 

Maitreyee B Chowdhury is a web columnist and creative writer. She is author of Reflections on My India, a book of Indian traditions and spirituality in parts. Maitreyee is also author of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen- Bengali Cinema’s First Couple and Ichhe Holo Tai, a bilingual muti media presentation of poetry. Maitreyee is featured amongst other Indian writers such as Gulzar, Shashi Tharoor and Deepti Naval in an anthology of Indian writers Celebrating India.

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BOOK REVIEW - WHERE EVEN PRESENT IS ANCIENT: BENARAS.

The Blurb

Where Even the Present is Ancient: Benaras is a book that seeks to tell the little stories that make us who we are. The author believes that Benaras resides in all of us Indians, in some beautiful often-unknown way. The author is the Sutradhar, in that she attempts to connect an India that many do not realize exists, in that it is everybody’s story. Radha, Krishna, Ganga, Benaras and Me are all characters in this deluge of poems. This attempt at telling the story of the ancient, of love and of faith is to instil the confidence that poetry exists in all of us, everywhere, all that is needed is to smell its fragrance. To those outside India, the book does not seek to be a representation of what India is or was, but a whiff of what it also can be. It is an attempt to ask people to see the little stories that govern all of our lives, stories that we often don’t see, but those that are important. The audience for this book might be strewn across the globe, for faith is not religion-centric, it is people- centric and often without dimensions. In poetry there is no beginning, no middle, nor no end. Like faith it is everywhere, it is omnipresent. The book affords no answers, nor no questions, but if you listen and read carefully you will see new things, a new beauty perhaps, one that has been silent so long.

BUY @

Amazon.in/ Flipkart.com

 

My Review

“Where I end, Ganga begins.”

Poetry is the heart of the poet, the soul that feels and that which is revealed in the poems of the poet.

I wish I could pick up one or two poems and say that they really touched my heart. But how can I be biased? Every poem has a persona of its own; a life with touches you in a way that you can only be awed.

Benaras is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, referred to the holy capital of India (Wikipedia)

“Benaras is a stage and the road often an inspiration.”

The poet has found inspiration is every wall, every tree and every person in this city. She seems to have walked through this city at every odd hour. She has written poems about how Benaras looks at 1 am, 3 am and at 5 am.

“Beauty somehow lies scattered,

Helpless prisoner of time,

I bend to pick up a poem,

The lines somewhere mixed

In the new dung and sacrament of the old.”

Benaras is a city of death and of life too. These two are so infused that it is difficult to tell them apart.

“First man, then flesh

Then the mesh of dead meat.

Dust settles soon

On dust.”

This is the city where both life and death exist in perfect harmony, each accepting the other without questions.

“The fluidity of the masses,

Drunk as if with Dharma

Finding a present in their ancient

Rituals of living,

With those of the dead.”

“While son bargains on chandanwood price,

The Purohit chews on the fragrance of Benaras.”

The city is also about Ganga, about the faith, our religious history, myths, beliefs and the people who live there, of people who come there for some sort of salvation, people who are a part of the old and the new.

“You touch a wall

Shiva grows in your hand.”

“God and man

In him, they are one.”

Ganga is the confluence of both, life and death. The ashes of the dead are immersed in her and the living immerses themselves to rid of their sins.

“In her I feel the dead and

Those alive….”

Maitreyee has brought out the beauty, the reality, the ugly, the everyday life, the sights and the smells alive with her keen observation.

“And then the Ganga flowed…

Faith, thou’ art a bitch!”

Rating – 5/5

About the Author
 

Maitreyee B Chowdhury is a web columnist and creative writer. She is author of Reflections on My India, a book of Indian traditions and spirituality in parts. Maitreyee is also author of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen- Bengali Cinema’s First Couple and Ichhe Holo Tai, a bilingual muti media presentation of poetry. Maitreyee is featured amongst other Indian writers such as Gulzar, Shashi Tharoor and Deepti Naval in an anthology of Indian writers Celebrating India.

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BOOK REVIEW - TROUBLE HAS A NEW NAME.

Trouble Has A New Name 

by Adite Banerjie

The Blurb

“Will you pretend to be my fiancé for the next few days?” 

Recently-single model Rayna Dutt does not feel like flying to her friend’s big fat Indian wedding. But she does - and when a mix up with room allocations forces her to share a luxury villa on Emerald Isle with the gorgeous owner of the hotel - Neel Arora - and best man at the wedding, things begin to look up.

Until Rayna’s ex turns up with a new girl on his arm! 

Hitting the panic button, Rayna searches for a solution. Surely Neel wouldn’t mind being her fake fiancé…? In an instant the attraction they share is fever pitch, but when scandal comes calling, Rayna soon finds herself in more trouble than she can handle!

    

Buy @

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MY REVIEW-

A destination wedding on a picturesque beach resort, two lonely hearts made to come together by co-incidence....a perfect recipe for romance. Rayna, an aspiring model who has been dumped by her boyfriend on an impulse asks Neel, the co-owner of the beach resort and the typical tall, dark and handsome hunk to act as her fiance'. Well, what happens next? Does this play acting lead to real romance between the two? Was it just a romance on rebound for Rayna? Why doesn't Neel come clean with Rayna about his past?

You have to read this book to know more.

I like the bonding between Rayna and Milee, their girly chatter and giggles is what makes this story real. The typical 'bua' who shares a bad vibe with Rayna is the one to support her in the end proving that family bonds are strong. Neel comes across as a self-made man whose priorities lie with his family.

Some happy moments, some very heated moments, the typical big-fat-Indian wedding complete with the shor-sharaba and naach-gaana makes this a delightful read.

Rating - 4/5

Watch It 

       

Meet the Author

The Author's Thoughts

Adite Banerjie has been writing professionally ever since she graduated from college. After an exciting and fulfilling career as a business journalist, she turned to freelance writing, crunched numbers and wrote reports about consumer behavior and social development issues. Somewhere along the way she got on to the screenwriting bandwagon and wrote scripts for documentaries and spec screenplays for feature films. She was hired by a filmmaker to write a feature script based on a true story. When she penned her first romantic short story she won the 2012 Harlequin Passions Aspiring Authors Contest. Two of her books, The Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal and Trouble Has a New Name have been published by Harlequin India. And she is currently under contract to write two more for the same publisher. She lives in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, with her writer husband. She loves to connect with readers and writers.

You can stalk her @

               

                          


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Trouble Has A New Name 

by Adite Banerjie

The Blurb

“Will you pretend to be my fiancé for the next few days?” 

Recently-single model Rayna Dutt does not feel like flying to her friend’s big fat Indian wedding. But she does - and when a mix up with room allocations forces her to share a luxury villa on Emerald Isle with the gorgeous owner of the hotel - Neel Arora - and best man at the wedding, things begin to look up.

Until Rayna’s ex turns up with a new girl on his arm! 

Hitting the panic button, Rayna searches for a solution. Surely Neel wouldn’t mind being her fake fiancé…? In an instant the attraction they share is fever pitch, but when scandal comes calling, Rayna soon finds herself in more trouble than she can handle!

    

Buy @

Amazon.com | Amazon.in | FlipKart | B & N | Kobo | Google Play

Watch It 

       

Meet the Author

The Author's Thoughts

Adite Banerjie has been writing professionally ever since she graduated from college. After an exciting and fulfilling career as a business journalist, she turned to freelance writing, crunched numbers and wrote reports about consumer behavior and social development issues. Somewhere along the way she got on to the screenwriting bandwagon and wrote scripts for documentaries and spec screenplays for feature films. She was hired by a filmmaker to write a feature script based on a true story. When she penned her first romantic short story she won the 2012 Harlequin Passions Aspiring Authors Contest. Two of her books, The Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal and Trouble Has a New Name have been published by Harlequin India. And she is currently under contract to write two more for the same publisher. She lives in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, with her writer husband. She loves to connect with readers and writers.

You can stalk her @

               

                          


Check out The Book Club Tour Schedule 

By the Same Author

This Tour is Hosted by 

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Join our Rafflecopter 

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