INDIA’S MOST LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS Edited by Ruth Dsouza Prabhu
Seven Indian eateries found a place on Time Out’s influential food encyclopedia Taste Atlas’ elite list of 150 legendary restaurants of the 21st century: Paragon in Kozhikode, Lucky Kabab in Lucknow, Peter Cat in Kolkata, Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) in Bengaluru, Karim’s in New Delhi, and Bismillah in Mumbai.
Five writers trace the humble origins of these immensely popular eateries and describe their many savoury offerings including Paragon’s delicately spiced ‘biriyani’, Lucky Kabab’s succulent galouti kebab, Peter Cat’s elaborate Chelo kebab, Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba’s wholesome makhan-opped parathas, Karim’s butter-fried chicken, and Mavalli’s indulgent pineapple sheera. Each essay gives glimpses of the families behind these iconic food joints – a treasure trove of their business ethos, secret ingredients, culture, politics, and geography. An absolute feast of reading.
A PERSON IS A PRAYER Amar Kalia
The book unravels the story of Sindhu’s marriage to Bhaskar and Sushma’s marital saga, arranged through the families of her BFFs. Where Kalia differs is in showing how these couples learn to grow their bond together. But what affects their marriage the most are Bhaskar’s non-supportive, taunting ways and Sushma’s introvert nature. Years pass and the couple is blessed with children, giving Sindhu the chance to live her life anew, but Sushma begins to fall into depression, unaccepted by her husband and children alike. They share common work and a simple courting space.
17, MORRIS ROAD Parul Sharma
Soon-to-be empty nester Sangeeta Goyal finds herself at crossroads in life. She is tired of her overbearing in-laws, excesses of posh social circle and her husband’s indifferent to her feelings, and her teenage crush on Rohan remains unrequited. Sangeeta decides to move to 17, Morris Road in Bas Abharour House; the colonial-era structure that was left to her as inheritance. The place, although a decrepit, carries with it a lot of memories and was the abode to its founder, and interesting people who lived in it in the last 180 years. They were merchants, misfits, rebels, and lovers who have lived and lost.
WOMEN’S PRIZE
The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024, which is now in its 29th year, has announced the Prize for 2024. This prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from all over the world.
The Prize is awarded to the best full-length novel of the year written by a woman and published in the UK. It is one of the largest annual celebrations of women’s creativity in the world. The Prize is awarded by the Women’s Prize Trust to ensure that female nonfiction writers have equal access to global recognition as their male counterparts.
Shortlisted books for the Prize for Women’s Prize for Fiction are:
Doppelganger by Guardian US columnist Naomi Klein has become the inaugural winner of the £30,000 prize for nonfiction, with Brothers Night by Tasneem Khan as the runner-up.
Booker Aitken Trust will gift Naomi Klein £30,000 and a limited-edition artwork known as the “Charlotte”, while Ganeshaannah will also receive a £10,000 and the “Bessie”, a bronze statuette created by artist Grizel Niven.
