Toddy to Tequila: The Story of Alcohol in India-Sandhya Mulchandani

Book: Toddy to Tequila: The Story of Alcohol in India
Author: Sandhya Mulchandani
Publisher: Juggernaut

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you explored the history of Alcohol in India?

Alcohol in India has never been just a drink; it has also been a ritual, a taboo, a temptation and a tool of power. Toddy to Tequila uncovers the deeper story, of how alcohol evolved alongside India itself. From Vedic altars and tribal stills to Mughal durbars, colonial taverns and today’s sleek distilleries, alcohol has been worshipped and banned, taxed and outlawed, served in earthen pots and showcased in jewelled goblets. It has served as sacred libation, social glue, political weapon and economic engine, reflecting the shifting currents of faith, class and authority. Tracing millennia of myth, medicine, empire and society, this book dismantles persistent notions about Indians and drinking, revealing instead a patchwork of traditions unique to the subcontinent. At its core are the people who brewed, celebrated, condemned and controlled alcohol: gods and ascetics, kings and soldiers, women distillers and reformers. India’s history of alcohol is ultimately a history of India itself.

Toddy to Tequila is a very well researched book that brings to light the entire journey of how Alcohol was treated and understood by the Indian people and culture. Through mythological stories and historical references, Sandhya explains how it evolved over the years from being the “Drink of the Gods” to something that should be prohibited. What I loved about the book is that each chapter is distinct and presents a different aspect of alcohol to us. Another aspect I really loved was that the book is structured in a linear fashion, so you start with Soma and Sura, and right down to the modern blends that we see. One fact that I learnt was about Varuni-the Goddess of wine, intoxication and divine liquor, and I think that says quite a bit about the research that would have gone into writing the book. Then there are quotes and sayings about drinking during the time of the Mughals and Alexander that highlight how intoxication was an important part of the culture of the time. In the last chapter, the author explores the representation of alcohol in Indian cinema, and how the Indian alcohol market is growing. The writing is quite gripping and even though it is a non-fiction book, the author makes it feel as if you are reading a story and keeps you hooked in the pages. The extracts from the references are interesting to read and understand the verbatim context of the scenario she is presenting in the book.

Overall, the book is a good reference for someone looking to understand the timeline and interpretation of it across the ages-from the gods to the modern humans. The book scores a 4.81/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.

P.S. The review does not promote consumption of Alcohol in any manner. The review is strictly for the contents of the book.

Wedding on the Maharaja Express-Prakhar Vishwani

Book: Wedding on the Maharaja Express
Author: Prakhar Vishwani
Publisher: Penguin India

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What if you could get married on the most luxurious train in India?

Vir has spent his life quietly loving Vani. Now, against all odds, he’s about to marry her on the opulent Maharaja Express―a moving palace for their week-long nuptials as they travel across India. But Vani doesn’t love him yet, so Vir makes a deal: if he can win her heart before the train reaches its final stop, the wedding goes ahead. If not, he walks away. As the Maharaja Express keeps moving, the dreamy destination wedding soon becomes a runaway train for family drama. Exes show up uninvited. Blackmail, ego clashes over regressive traditions and betrayals disrupt the celebrations. Then, after one explosive night, a guest is found dead. With the train derailed and no one allowed to leave, every passenger becomes a suspect. On the Maharaja Express, love is a gamble, and someone is willing to kill to win.

The premise of “Wedding on the Maharaja Express” is interesting. You put together 2 families in close quarters; sparks are sure to fly. Prakhar sets the tone of the story quite nicely and pulls you into the chaos almost immediately. The writing is gripping and fast paced, and at no point do you feel that the plot is dropping or lagging. The idea of a fairy tale wedding turning into a crime scene is well executed. What I loved about the book was the romance between Vani and Vir. Another aspect that is nicely captured are the family dynamics which are a part of any Indian family, and how that becomes a part of the entire storyline. What did not work for me in the book was the second half of the book, specially where the entire crime angle unfolds. The writing is quite hurried and as a reader you are confused as to what really happened. Prakhar unravels too many threads at once and you are left scratching your head trying to understand the reasons behind the murder and the entire investigative process, or rather the lack of it. Coming to the characters, while we see some bit of background on Vir and Vani, there is not a lot of background on the other characters. There are fleeting references to the life of a few characters, but that does not do justice to information required for a whodunnit.

Overall, I think the plot had good promise to be a wonderful story with a balance of a well written romance and a whodunnit, something I have been wanting to read for a long time. The book scores a 3.81/5 for me.

Grab your copy of the book from a bookstore near you or on Amazon India.

Jagannath: Stories of Faith and Devotion-Smita Das Jain

Book: Jagannath: Stories of Faith and Devotion
Author: Smita Das Jain
Publisher: Srishti Publications

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you been to the Jagannath Temple in Puri?

Jagannath: Stories of Faith and Devotion brings together seventy-five powerful accounts from the traditions of Jagannath worship, one of India’s most enduring spiritual legacies. Drawn from temple chronicles, scriptures, traditions, and oral narratives, this collection reveals a God revered by his devotees as one of their own. It moves from the earliest tribal worship in forest groves to the grandeur of the Puri temple, offering readers a layered understanding of belief, symbolism, and cultural continuity. Here, a king is humbled and then protected; a devotee is cared for by the Lord Himself; a poet sings across boundaries; a single offering of love outweighs everything else. Across the stories, the distance between the devotee and the Divine begins to dissolve. Whether you’re a spiritual seeker, a lover of Indian mythology, or simply drawn to the power of stories, this book invites you to see the divine in ways you never have.

Smita is a storyteller who likes to explore with the books that she writes, and while I have read her fiction titles, this is a book that I was quite interested to pick up based on the content that it was based on. While I have heard some of the origin stories about Lord Jagannath, what impressed me was the wonderful organisation of the stories into 6 different sections that explore various aspects of the Lord, right from the origin to the local and international rituals. The research that Smita has done for the book is quite detailed and I loved that she has made distinction between the stories from the scriptures, stories from the devotees and the folklores. What works for the book is its simple and concise manner that focusses on the content and the message that the author wants the reader to imbibe. Each of the 75 stories are prefaced with a small message or learning that is the essence of the chapter. For me, this was a wonderful way of setting the tone for the stories and incidents and for the reader to develop a mindset to look at the events in a certain way. The stories about the Lord of the Universe show that he does not just look at us from the temple, but is a god who comes to his devotees in the time of need, and there are multiple stories that bring out this fact beautifully.

Smita’s writing in the book keeps you engaged and at the same time generates curiosity which makes you reach out to read and research more about Lord Jagannath. The stories are short and of a length that deliver the message, but at the same time do not feel like a sermon or preachy. Another aspect of the book that makes it interesting are the illustrations in between the stories that add a wonderful flavour of spirituality. The shlokas in the beginning of sections also provide a wholesome feel to the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a comfort read, and to anyone looking to visit Puri. The book scores a 4.94/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a Bookstore Near you.

Lucknow: After the Lamps Go Out-Parveen Talha

Book: Lucknow: After the Lamps Go Out
Author: Parveen Talha
Publisher: Rupa Publications

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you heard the stories of ghosts and jinns of Lucknow?

When the lamps go out, Lucknow becomes another city. In Lucknow, after the Lamps Go Out: Tales of Ghosts and Jinns, Parveen Talha gathers stories that move through the old quarters, ruined buildings, graveyards, railway platforms and forgotten houses of the City of Nawabs—stories of spirits, apparitions, unexplained visitations and jinns whose presence lingers just beyond the visible world. These are not conventional horror stories. They are tales steeped in Lucknow’s history, tehzeeb, memory and loss. The city’s past—especially the violence, grief and dislocation surrounding 1857— presses constantly against the present, giving rise to legends attached to places such as the Residency, Begum Kothi, La Martiniere, Firangi Mahal, Aminabad and Malhaur station. Moving between folklore, faith and lived recollection, the book evokes a Lucknow where the dead are not always gone, where jinns may intervene in human lives, and where memory survives in eerie, intimate forms.

Parveen explores the stories of Ghosts and Jinns in Lucknow through these 15 stories that span across the city-from La Martiniere to the Residency, and tell us how a different city lives within the boundaries once night arrives. What stands out in the book is that each of the stories is unique and while the theme remains common, the concept and idea is not the same, each story has its own essence that shows that not all apparitions are necessarily malevolent. The story titled “The Good Old Doctor” was one such story which I loved reading. Similarly, “Who Did the Surgery on Her” was another story that shows that all the stories about ghosts and jinns need not have unfavourable consequences. “Where Did the Delicacies Come From” and “Coronavirus and the Funeral” were stories that show that if your intentions are pure, then the jinns do help a person in the time of need.

The overall experience of reading the book is good and the stories are written with a good pace which prevents the reader from getting bored. The writing is engaging and keeps you turning the pages and move forward with the book. The sourcing of the stories is commendable, and I loved that it is not just the commonly known places, but places such as Malhaur that the author has covered in her book. Having lived in the city for quite some time and heard a few stories myself, this was a read that took me back to the lanes and the roads of Lucknow once again.

Overall, this is a book that is recommended to anyone looking to read about some of the hauntings of Lucknow. The book scores a 4.25/5 for me.  

Grab a copy of the book from a bookstore near you or on Amazon India.

People We Love-Preeti Shenoy

Book: People We Love
Author: Preeti Shenoy
Publisher: HarperCollins India

Have you ever wanted to explore the stories of the characters you read in a book, before the events in the book occur?

The people we love never truly leave our story. In these tender yet piercing stories, Preeti Shenoy returns to some of her most beloved characters to reveal who they were before they appeared in her bestselling novels It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. Aniket, a coder, carries the weight of a longing for Trisha that he cannot bring himself to act on. Nidhi abandons her corporate life to teach pottery, only to discover that clay is far more forgiving than the people she loves. A quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance between Aman and Shruti, one that must withstand parental disapproval and class divides. And Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she almost misses the one unfolding in her own life. Set against the pulse of contemporary India, People We Love explores the tug-of-war between duty and desire, family and freedom, who we are and who we dare to be. Intimate and deeply felt, these are stories about love that stays, leaves and almost slips away ... love that quietly and irrevocably shapes the people we become. For fans of Preeti Shenoy's It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have

It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have were two of my favourite titles from Preeti and to meet the characters once again, after almost a decade, was an interesting experience for me.

Aniket and Trisha’s story- “Before the Planets Aligned” gives us a brief peek into how Aniket gets the opportunity to meet Trisha, and how Nidhi comes into the picture. The entire office romance has been written quite nicely and I loved that hesitancy in Aniket’s approach, and Subbu’s reaction to his friend’s situation. The story is simple and I loved how Preeti shows the entire arc of a relationship, from longing, to meeting and the slow development of cracks in a relationship. The hesitations in the beginning of a relationship to the insecurities towards the later stages are wonderfully captured. I also loved how Preeti uses clay and pottery as a way to put forth some very poignant life lessons for the readers.

The One Who Changed Everything, where we meet Aman and Shruti starts off as a meet cute romance. The first half of the story makes you smile with the small, romantic gestures. As things progress, conflict arises and the classic chasm of class, caste and region take over the story. I loved how the story gives context to Shruti and Aman’s story that we see in The One You Cannot Have. Preeti’s writing in this story keeps you engaged, and at the same time raise an important question-Isn’t just love enough for two people to be together. I loved the visual aspect of the storytelling that Preeti uses in this story to show the gap between the families. Be it Aman’s house in Gwalior, or Shruti’s house in Bangalore, the descriptions are vivid and you are able to visualize the difference that the author wanted to portray.

The One I Almost Missed takes the previous story forward and we see the moment Aman and Anjali interact for the first time. Here again, the storytelling keeps you hooked, specially the email exchanges that are a highlight of the story. I loved the tennis metaphor and somehow I resonated quite a bit with it.

While each of the story is a standalone, discrete story, there is a common theme of a sense of duty, desire, family and the idea of freedom-how it changes for each person. I liked the idea that Preeti wove in all the 3 stories that if it hurts you, sometimes walking away and starting fresh might be a better option, rather than holding on. I just have one grouse that since all the stories are in based Bengaluru, I was low-key hoping for a cross-over of our characters. It would have brought an interesting perspective into the stories as well.

If you’ve read Preeti’s previous works, specially It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, then these 3 stories would definitely enhance your memory of these books. If you’ve not picked up the books, then start with this book and then take up the other books to have a complete experience of the stories of Aniket, Trisha, Nidhi, Aman, Shruti and Anjali. The book scores a 4.75/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a Bookstore Near you! I sourced my copy from Crossword Cyber Hub.

Grab the books referenced:

It's All in the Planets

The One You Cannot Have

Folktales, Myths and Legends from the Deccan-Nithin Kushalappa

Book: Folktales, Myths and Legends from the Deccan
Author: Nithin Kushalappa
Publisher: Rupa Publications

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you heard the folktales of the Deccan?

Across the rugged terrain of the vast Deccan, stories have endured for centuries on the strength of a vibrant oral storytelling tradition. The Deccan—that encompasses the sprawling plateau, fertile coastal plains, undulating hills and dense forest belts—is where heroic ballads, sung epics, possession rituals and other immersive traditions have flourished through the generations. Nitin Kushalappa gathers ten powerful narratives and offers a rare glimpse into a region that’s home to dozens of languages and dialects—as varied as the stories born of them. Here, local heroes are worshipped as deities, warriors are immortalized and goddesses walk the earth in human form. From the dry plains of Bayaluseeme comes the tale of Junjappa, the herdsman-hero, who rises from death and becomes a folk deity. In the mist-laden mountains of Kodagu unfolds the legend of warrior-sorcerer Kalyat Ponnappa, who masters magic to defend his people. Koti and Chennaya, the divine twins from the coastal lands of Tulunād, reshape the destiny of their clan. From the forests of Chhattisgarh comes the haunting ballad of Lorik and Chandaini—a tale of forbidden love. The myth of twelve abandoned children explains the origins of entire communities in ancient Kerala. Beyond these, Folktales, Myths and Legends from the Deccan also offers other fictional retellings that move across linguistic and cultural borders. The lone non-fiction ethnographic narrative in the collection explores the ancient tradition of seven mother-goddesses, long feared and revered by Deccan’s people. Meticulously researched and written with deep sensitivity, Kushalappa transforms the region’s oral histories into lyrical stories that reveal a landscape as brutal as it is magical.

Nithin’s book is a nice peek into the folktales of the area that is geographically quite vast, as well as it a melting pot of various cultures. The author has selected some interesting stories that span the region, and are wonderfully retold. The book opens with a detailed Author’s note which explains the region, various sub-regions that make up the Deccan and how each of them are connected. The author also wonderfully explains the difference between the terms-Folktales, Myths and Legends-to help the reader grasp the concept of the book. He also provides a short context of the stories in the author’s note. The 10 stories that Nithin has picked up for the book are quite interesting, and the storytelling done by Nithin is equally engaging. You are drawn into the story and the visual descriptions help you visualize the scenes as they happen. Each story is prefaced with a short summary of the local beliefs and what is to come into the book later, which helps set the tone perfectly.

While the book does keep you engaged, I did feel that the number of stories and the length of the stories were a tad bit too less. Covering a vast region, I think that all the sub-regions could have been better covered by segmenting the book as per the sub-regions and adding a few more stories from each region. I also did feel that a certain aspect of emotion was missing in the storytelling and the book feels more like an academic treatise rather than a retelling of regional folktales.

Overall, the book is a good collection that can be recommended to a reader looking to explore the region. The book scores a 4.50/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.

he Great Indian Medico Masala-Dr. Kumar Nirbhay

Book: The Great Indian Medico Masala
Author: Dr. Kumar Nirbhay
Publisher: Rupa Publications

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you wondered what goes into the mind of a doctor during his daily practice?

In The Great Indian Medico Masala, a collection of stories inspired by real-life incidents, the protagonist, Dr Arun, discovers that life in a hospital is anything but routine. His days are packed with encounters so hilarious, heart-warming, and medically bizarre that even your stress might need ‘ventilator support’. Within these pages, ward rounds morph into stand-up acts, ‘miracle cures’ arrive inside green coconuts, patients gleefully defy medical logic, and families create more complications than laboratory reports ever could. Meet the octogenarian flying officer who gets a high ‘flirting’ with his doctor, the mysterious midweek-only virus, and the infamous ‘chakkarometre’, an invention designed to measure dizziness with precision.

The Great Indian Medico Masala is a book that captures some interesting moments that a doctor can encounter as they practice medicine. Told from the eyes of a fictional doctor, Dr. Arun, the book starts off from the first year of medical school, and brings in instances that he faces right till some time into the practice. The book explores how sometimes it is not just medical education that is import, but also your wit and the understanding of the local customs. Set in a government hospital, the author also hilariously brings in the lengths to which people go to to skip work and pretend that they are sick. While there are funny incidents, there are also a few stories which are a commentary on how the elder members of the family are treated, and specially when there are government jobs at play, how the feelings and emotions of the family members change. Dr. Nirbhay has not spared the administration as well, and there are interesting stories around hospital administration, office bearers and the VIP culture in the government hospitals.

Overall, Dr. Nirbhay’s stories are wonderfully told and capture your attention. I loved the fact that the stories have been kept short but they are just long enough to convey the message that the author wanted to send across. His own witticisms are sprinkled throughout the book and they add a wonderful masala to the tales. The book is a definite recommendation for anyone looking to pick up a book to read after a long day at work and unwind. The book scores a 4.69/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book from a bookstore near you or on Amazon India.