Becoming Mrs Kumar Author : Heather Saville Gupta

Random House  launches its new fiction title, Becoming Mrs Kumar by Heather Saville Gupta. The book is the first novel to address the increasing common reality of expats looking for love in the new India.

 Synopsis:  Julia Robinson is bored. Her job at a top London ad agency is becoming a bit sameish. Her London rent is killing her and she has been rained ononce too often to find British weather amusing.Julia wants to shake things up and so jumps at a chance of a job in Mumbai. She now finds herselic cities f in the centre of one of the most chaotic and energetic  cities in the world. Will she find Mr Right in all this hullabaloo?



 Heather Saville  arrived in Mumbai in 2003, just before Diwali.  She’d been to India before, on backpacking and business trips, but this time  she decided she  was here to stay.  She had  garnered  an expat job with one of India’s largest advertising agencies, a comfortable salary, and a company owned apartment to live in. Once in India  her life took a total 360 degree turnaround.  It was a whole new experience for her and that is what she has tried to capture in her debut novel brought out by Random House titled 'Becoming Mrs Kumar.' She speaks to Johnson Thomas about her life in Mumbai and her varied experiences in the vibrant, lively and intriguing India that she has come to love and call her own.


From being single and fancy free to hitching up with an Indian , getting married and then having two babies it's obviously been a whirlwind for Heather Saville Gupta. She was single when  she arrived,  ready to explore and make the most of the  city. When she first came to Mumbai , the scene was totally different from what it is now.  Then the tony neighborhood was south of Breach Candy, Worli was too far away from the 'Life' while Bandra was a suburb. Andheri, Versova, Malad, Goregaon were all just words on the map.
Offices were in Nariman Point, Fort or Churchgate. Most Expats  hung out at the Breach Candy club which provided a lifeline of sanity for Expats in the chaotic environment of a bustling alien  city teeming with people.

The expat scene was small at first. Things started changing in early 2000. Globalisation was well entrenched by then . In 2009, The Sealink, and the Global recession changed everything. Heather moved from Breach Candy to Bandra  sometime in 2007 and  got herself acclimatised to the more cosmopolitan social scene there. The Global recession which started at the end of 2008 also re-engineered the expat presence in Mumbai .The number of Expats in Mumbai has increased tremendously. But Heather is no longer in that strictly 'Expat' zone anymore. Her marriage to Vivek has changed her total outlook on life. Today she is working as Production Head and Taking care of the HR at Bang Bang Films as well being mother to Jake and Noah. She isn't involved as much in the party whirl as once she was. There have been so many changes in her life and she has managed to embrace them all successfully. Mumbai itself has changed tremendously. The skyline today is totally different from what it was 10 years ago.  According to her , Mumbai’s famous spirit hasn’t altered one bit through all the change, though.
 


Heather's travels around India has improved her adaptability to differing  environs. She now finds it difficult to spend more time in England because in her own words 'the first week back at home is fun but thereafter it's terribly  boring!' India is her home now and her first attempt at fiction best exemplifies that!

In Praise of kiran Nagarkar, 26th feb 2013, at Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda

In Praise of kiran Nagarkar- An event organised by Max Mueller Bhavan Goethe Institute to commend Author Kiran Nagarkar for his wonderful works of fiction that has been translated in several foreign languages and are bestsellers in those countries.

The Panelists were Marla Stutenberg, of the Max Mueller Bhavan, Naresh Fernandes, Paromita Vohra and Kiran Nagarkar himself.

There were book readings by the panelists from their favorite kiran Nagarkar work followed by an artistic dance drama adapted from his work.

Kalaghoda art and literary festival , David Sasoon library, Feb 2013

poet, Art historian and author Ranjit Hoskote in Conversation with author/Poet Jeet Thayil And german author Ula

Style Diary of a Bollywood Diva- A new Imprint Sde from Penguin

Kareena Kapoor puts her pen to her own  sartorial style  with able help from Rochelle Pinto and Shobha De resulting in this new Imprint called Sde books from Penguin.  This is a first for all three women. For Shobha De it marked her own individual entry into publishing an Imprint for Penguin Books. For Rochelle Pinto, The erstwhile fashion-police columnist from Hindistan Times it was her first attempt to write a book, albeit as the voice of Kareena Kapoor. And for the Bollywood Diva Kareena Kapoor it marked her first attempt to pen her own style statement in book form. The three firsts were celebrated with champagne from Moet at the Shangri-La ballroom in an event that saw a number of paparazzi and celebrities angling for space and face in the hullabaloo of the book release. Shobha De and Rochelle Pinto were excited while Kareena was luminous in a black outfit, cinched at the waist by an 8 kilo gold belt, looking startlingly beautiful and making her vision of style clear- It's all about taking care of yourself , both body and mind!

Janki Krishnan's Breaking Barriers

Janaki Krishan’s book – BREAKING BARRIERS

Media will be addressed by:

Author Janaki Krishnan, Shanti Ekambaram- President, Corporate & Investment Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd & Shaheen Mistri- Indian social activist and educator

 

Details:

                                                             Date: Friday, 2^nd November, 2012

                     Time:6:30 pm

                                 Venue: Crossword Bookstore, Kemps Corner, Mumbai

About the Book: 

BREAKING BARRIERS is a book chronicling the lives of some prominent Indian women entrepreneurs, who have followed their dreams and fulfilled their ambitions. They refused to succumb to the pressures and established norms that society insists on imposing on women. This book has been written to encourage girls and women (and indeed anyone who aspires to do anything out of the ordinary) to know that they are the sole arbiters of their lives. They have the Power.

About the Author
Janaki Krishnan is a financial journalist who has worked across cities and across media, covering developments in the Indian economy and in the corporate sector right since liberalisation. She is no stranger to boardroom battles, takeover attempts and regulatory probes, which is what keeps her adrenaline pumping. When not writing, she loves to travel, trek, swim, climb mountains and learn languages. Her idea of bliss is to be atop a mountain, feeling the wind in her face, a few dogs frolicking nearby, and with a book in her hand, to contemplate the mysteries of nature.

Abhisar Sharma’s ‘THE EDGE OF MACHETE’

Westland Limited and Crossword launch Abhisar Sharma’s

‘THE EDGE OF MACHETE’

Mumbai, 9th November, 2012: Leading publishing house, Westland Limited and Crossword – India’s leading lifestyle bookstore, launched Abhisar Sharma’s book ‘THE EDGE OF MACHETE’. Also present at the launch was actor Manoj Bajpai, actress and social activist Gul Panag, noted Bollywood Film Maker & novelist Piyush Jha and revered author Hussain Zaidi.

An exciting thriller, ‘The Edge of Machete’ studies the Afghanistan-Pakistan geopolitical situation, and uncovers the forces operating within the region (such as the Taliban). It is a riveting blend of genres, with suspense, romance, mystery and reportage. The book revolves around Aamir Sherzai, a new whiz-kid in the Pakistan-wing of the Taliban, a CIA operative Ed Gomez, on a mission to get even with Aamir Sherzai, responsible for the execution of his best buddy and fellow agent, Jason. The storyline follows ‘The Beast’, somewhere in the Khyber, Pakistan, and to eliminate Jason’s killer, Gomez has to infiltrate a conglomeration of the most ferocious terror outfits in The Beast as Sarfaraz Khan. But as the boundaries between Gomez and Sarfaraz blur, the CIA agent must not only plunge headlong into the battle in the Khyber, but also wage a war within. Simultaneously, Indian journalist Rahul Sharma is kidnapped and held hostage within The Beast, must find a way back to the woman he loves. And British white Muslim, Shaun Marsh aka Shahid Khan, sucked into the gathering at the Khyber, must learn to exorcise the ghosts of the past. Most of all, all three must try to escape the edge of Aamir Sherzai’s machete. Will they get away unscathed? Or meet a fate similar to Jason’s?

Following the book launch, Abhisar Sharma, Gul Panag, Piyush Jha, Hussian Zaidi led a discussion about plotting terror and how do the grim realities of politics interact with fiction.

Anushree Banerjee, Marketing and Publicity Head, Westland Ltd said, “We at Westland Ltd are glad to be associated with Abhisar Sharma. He is one of the finest authors we have on board and wish him all the success for his book The Edge Of The Machete.”

Mr. Kinjal Shah, COO, Crossword Bookstores said, “Political thrillers make for an exciting read and are a rage right now. It is wonderful to see Indian authors exploring this genre. We are happy to launch Abhisar Sharma’s book at Crossword. And wish him all the best.”

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About the Author: With seventeen years of broadcast journalism behind him, Abhisar Sherzai considers himself a passionate observer of the AfPak region. As a journalist, Abhisar has covered several historical events, from the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the Jasmine revolution in Egypt to the Gujarat riots. His story ‘Laal Masjid Ka Safed Sach’ (The True Story of the Red Mosque) won him India’s highest journalism award, the Ramnath Goenka Indian Express Award, in 2008-2009, though he has never been able to travel to Pakistan since. An avid traveller, a voracious writer and a foodie, Abhisar stays in Delhi with his wife and two children.

About Westland: Westland Limited is a subsidiary of Trent Limited, the retail arm of the Tata group, the largest diversified industrial group in India. The group includes EastWest Books and Tranquebar Press. They publish literary as well as commercial fiction and non-fiction, and are engaged in both the publishing and distribution of books. After more than 50 years of experience in import and distribution of major academic and English language trade publications from all over the world, Westland’s focus has shifted to publishing in the last few years. Today, Westland is the fifth-largest English-language trade publisher in India and has published a host of bestsellers.

About Crossword: Crossword is India’s leading bookstore chain, which has pioneered the lifestyle bookstore concept in India. It was ranked the 6th most admired retailer in India by Business World for the year 2006 and was the only book retailer in the top 10. Crossword won the Reid & Taylor Award for Best Retailer of the year – Leisure & Specialty at the India Retail Summit 2005, 2007 & 2009. It won the Retailer of the Year Award - Leisure (Books, Music and Gifts Category) at the Images Retail Awards 2005 & 2007. Crossword received the Federation of Indian Publishers Award for excellence in Publishing for the year 2004 on 18th June 2005 at the hands of Shri Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development.

Launched in 1992, Crossword currently has 81 stores across 23 cities in the country in Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kota, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur, Pune, Siliguri, Udaipur, Vadodara Vapi and Vijayawada.

 

Gulzar and Mahesh Bhatt release Zia Us Salam’s book “Housefull”

Zia Us Salam’s book “Housefull” was released recently in presence of many eminent personalities of bollywood. To name a few, famous lyricist Gulzar, actress Tisca Chopra, renowned director Mahesh Bhatt and documentary filmmaker Umesh Aggarwal were present on the occasion.

Zia Us Salam is a renowned journalist/critic and feature editor of The Hindu. This talented writer and editor has written more than 1000 articles.
Zia Us Salam’s book Housefull is about the “Golden Era of Bollywood”