Category: 5 out of 5 Indian settings

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s—Sister of my heart

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s—Sister of my heart

Although Anju and Sunda are cousins, they grow up in the same Calcutta household. Sunda’s father is full of money-making schemes while Anju’s father supports them financially. The fathers set out on a journey to a ruby cave, but never return, leaving a house full of women to fend for themselves. Both cousins had dreams of attending college, but as money grows scarce their hopes become a pipe dream.

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Abraham Verghese’s—The covenant of water *****

Abraham Verghese’s—The covenant of water *****

When twelve-year-old Mariaamma’s father dies, she is forced to leave her Kerala village and marry a forty-year-old man. She knows nothing of the hereditary “condition” that runs through his family, but she becomes aware that her husband goes out of his way to avoid water. After her son’s birth, she notices he tries to avoid a bath and dislikes water poured over his head. What is this mysterious condition? It takes three generations before this comes to light, while family members lose their lives all too soon.

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Magha Majumdar’s—A Burning*****

Magha Majumdar’s—A Burning*****

Set in India, this novel centres around three main characters—Jivan, a Muslim girl from the slums, Lovely, a girl whom Jivan is teaching English, and PT Sir a gym instructor at the school Jivan attends. When Jivan comments on Facebook and innocently befriends a known terrorist, she is implicated in the bombing of a train that kills around one hundred passengers.

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s—Independence *****

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s—Independence *****

In 1946 three sisters, Deepa, Priya and Jamini live in a village not far from Calcutta. Their father, a doctor, is bent on helping the poor who cannot afford to pay for his services, forcing the family to live a frugal life. Deepa, the most beautiful and favoured by her mother, convinces her father to take them to Calcutta where they stay in her father’s best friend and neighbour, Somnath’s mansion. Somnath’s son, Amit volunteers to join them so he can be near Priya. But once they arrive in Calcutta riots break out that changes the course of the family’s lives forever.