WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

A lil bit here, a lil bit there.

A new job, grappling with its systems, travelling.

Such be the excuses of staying away.

Promises of regularity, I wish I could make.

But the work week has only just begun after a lovely two weeks in India.

Try I will.

Till then I suggest, you read:
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Superstar India - From Incredible to Unstoppable by Shobhaa De
The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

SINGULARLY FUNNY

It had to be a book which would bring me back to the blogosphere.

The excuses, of which, there are many, aren't worth narrating, so let me get down to the book.

I saw it at my fav book store - Capital, Sec 17, Chandigarh, on the annual Bharat darshan, of course.

It was cheeky. A sari and sneakers.

I've got to admit, till then I hadn't heard the name Advaita Kala - my loss, of course. A fortnight sans connectivity meant waiting to find out all about this rocking author.

Decided to give Almost Single a shot the evening I bought it.

As it always happens with a good book was up all night. It turned out to be a riveting read. Added bonus - seriously funny too. When was the last time I'd laughed this much. It had to be Anurag Mathur's Inscrutable American and that was many, many years ago.

Keepng you rolling in laughter is the story of 29 year old Aisha Bhatia, her lack of vital stats, when half of India's masala mags (yes, indulging in that mindless gossip is a guilty pleasure) are obsessed with Kareena Kapoor, her two hours of yoga and her size zero, provided just the reading change I needed.

But Almost Single isn't just about witty one-liners, the plot is taut as is the narrative which makes reading a breeze. The book lives up to its cover. Ms Bhatia does appear in the sneaker-sari outfit - what a refreshing sight indeed.

The mismatched outfit unravels the story of her topsy-turvy life, her boss from hell, the bitches on swtiches, her search for love, guru and all, makes Almost Single a superb read.

One sitting is all it takes to get to the end of it and not one bit of it disappoints.

What makes the author and her book all the more real, is her blog. In this post, she takes readers through the publishing process. See the comments that follow. They do say it all.

The Washington Post calls it "India’s cheeky ‘Chick Lit’."

A worthy successor indeed to their Bridget Jones.

More on the book and the author here. Get your copy now.