I am Lakshmi Prasad, native of Bitihar. I am doing PhD on a very important subject -Mating habits of gay chimpanzees in West Africa- at PANU University, the best University in India and possibly the best University in the world. My idols are -Faizal Guru-, -Janab Kasab Sahib-, -Focus Carat-, -Baba Badkar-, -Zakir Nalayak-, -Gharkha Dutt-, -Dr. Kana Ayyub- and all PhD students who had committed suicide since they failed to solve their PhD problems. I personally feel that, all deprived Indians should automatically be awarded a PhD degree coupled with a free pension of 1 lakh rupees/month to be delivered in cash via post at door step. Till then we are going to fight for azaadi from India. Imagine a day, when no PhD student would have to commit suicide, imagine a day, when no lower caste will be humiliated by upper caste, s/he can use his/her doctorate degree and force others to call him/her Dr. X, Dr. Y, etc. Imagine a day, when all deprived people can take part in active politics and -Make Communism Great Again- thanks to my -one lakh per month- pension idea.

Shanthamaaya Sthalam in Kerala is nothing less than the Iron Man of Ayurvedic spas. Here patients have to receive daily shots of ghee laced with cow's urine and he purged both by leeches and the world's most powerful laxative. Anshu, a regular, is a firm believer in the powers of Ayurveda, but on this visit she finds it harder to rebalance herself. For among the milieu of new patients is a familiar and unsettling one--her ex-husband.

A young girl transforms her village with an idea. At 68, Noni Appa is drawn to a married man. Bablu Kewat becomes obsessed with sanitary napkins, and a young woman keeps checking the weather as she plans each of her 5 weddings. Funny, observant and wise, this is storytelling at its most irresistible

Full of wit and delicious observations, Mrs Funnybones captures the life of the modern Indian woman a woman who organizes dinner each evening after having been at work all day, who runs her own life but has to listen to her mummyji, who worries about her weight and the state of the country. Based on Twinkle Khanna’s super-hit column, Mrs Funnybones marks the debut of one of our funniest, most original voices.

From the former editor-in-chief of Nylon comes a provocative and intimate collection of personal and cultural essays featuring eye-opening explorations of hot button topics for modern women, including internet feminism, impossible beauty standards in social media, shifting ideals about sexuality, and much more. Gabrielle Korn starts her professional life with all the right credentials. Prestigious college degree? Check. A loving, accepting family? Check. Instagram-worthy offices and a tight-knit group of friends? Check, check. Gabrielle’s life seems to reach the crescendo of perfect when she gets named the youngest editor-in-chief in the history of one of fashion’s most influential publication. Suddenly she’s invited to the world’s most epic parties, comped beautiful clothes and shoes from trendy designers, and asked to weigh in on everything from gay rights to lip gloss on one of the most influential digital platforms. But behind the scenes, things are far from perfect. In fact, just a few months before landing her dream job, Gabrielle’s health and wellbeing are on the line, and her promotion to editor-in-chief becomes the ultimate test of strength. In this collection of inspirational and searing essays, Gabrielle reveals exactly what it’s truly like in the fashion world, trying to find love as a young lesbian in New York City, battling with anorexia, and trying not to lose herself in a mirage of women’s empowerment and Instagram perfection. Through deeply personal essays, Gabrielle recounts her struggles to reconcile her long-held insecurities about her body while coming out in the era of The L Word, where swoon-worthy lesbians are portrayed as skinny, fashion-perfect, and power-hungry. She takes us with her everywhere from New York Fashion Week to the doctor’s office, revealing that the forces that try to keep women small are more pervasive than anyone wants to admit, especially in a world that’s been newly branded as woke. From #MeToo to commercialized body positivity, Korn’s biting, darkly funny analysis turns feminist commentary on its head. Both an in-your-face take on impossible beauty standards and entrenched media ideals and an inspiring call for personal authenticity, this powerful collection is ideal for fans of Roxane Gay and Rebecca Solnit.

Renuka Sharma is a dutiful wife, mother, and daughter-in-law holding the fort in a modest rental in Delhi while her husband tries to rack up savings in Dubai. Working as a receptionist and committed to finding a place for her family in the New Indian Dream of air-conditioned malls and high paid jobs at multi-nationals, life is going as planned until the day she strikes up a conversation with an uncommonly self-possessed stranger at a Metro station. Because while Mrs Sharma may espouse traditional values, India is changing all around her, and it wouldn't be the end of the world if she came out of her shell a little, would it? With equal doses of humour and pathos, The Private Life of Mrs Sharma is a sharp-eyed examination of the clashing of tradition and modernity, from a dramatic new voice in Indian fiction.

What is it like to be known as Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's daughter? Or to have a mother as famous as Sharmila Tagore? Or to be recognized as Saif Ali Khan's sister? Or as Kareena Kapoor's sister-in-law? And where do I stand among them? Actor Soha Ali Khan's debut book is at heart a brilliant collection of personal essays where she recounts with self-deprecating humour what it was like growing up in one of the most illustrious families of the country. With never before published photos from her family's archives, The Perils of Being Moderately Famous takes us through some of the most poignant moments of Soha's life-from growing up as a modern-day princess and her days at Balliol College to life as a celebrity in the times of social media culture and finding love in the most unlikely of places-all with refreshing candour and wit.