The Friendship Between Renuka, A Bengali Poet, And Rachel, An American Missionary, Lies At The Heart Of This Novel. Two Women From Entirely Different Backgrounds, They Share A Bond That Overcomes The Barriers Of Nationality, Race And Religion. Both Are Exiled To A Hill Station, Which Is Populated With Provincial And Prudish Memsahibs, Who Adjust Their Recipes To Compensate For The Altitude And Substitute Ingredients From Home. While Rachel S Husband Works At A Psychiatric Hospital In The Plains, In Ranchi, She Looks After Their Sons Who Attend A Mission School In The Hills. While Editing A Cookbook, Rachel Begins To Realize The Contradictions Within Her Community. She Also Discovers The Seductive Voice Of Renuka S Poetry& Renuka, Stephen Alter S Fourth Novel, Builds To A Startling Climax, While Uncovering Hidden Truths About Love, Sexuality And Passion. In Renuka, Alter Has Drawn A Remarkable Portrait Of A Totally Credible Woman& He Captures Exactly The Love-Hate Attitudes Of Westerners Who Spend Time In The Subcontinent&A Rare Achievement To Use A Simple Framework So Effectively Sarah Curtis, Times Literary Supplement Renuka Is A Most Accomplished, Utterly Convincing Study Of Two Women Of Different Backgrounds And Contrasting Temperaments&The Book Rises To A Moving Climax, Followed By An Adagio Of Lingering Sadness Like The Aftermath Of A Disturbing Dream &By Far [Alter S] Best John Mellors Books By Stephen Alter Renuka Neglected Lives Amritsar To Lahore: Crossing The Border Between India And Pakistan All The Way To Heaven: An American Boyhood In The Himalayas Sacred Waters: A Pilgrimage To The Many Sources Of The Ganga Elephas Maximus: A Portrait Of The Indian Elephant Fantasies Of A Bollywood Love Thief: Inside The World Of Indian Moviemaking The Penguin Book Of Modern Indian Short Stories (Co-Edited) Hill Stations Are Not As Sleepy And Tranquil As They Might Seem& You Will Discover Forbidden Love And Intrigue In The Most Unlikely Places. Kipling S Mrs Hawksbee And Her Simla Crowd Would Have Approved! Ruskin Bond

A little girl asks who Shiva is and it is the beginning of a family journey through stories and incidents across the expanse of Shivbhumi-all the way from the mystical Mount Kailash to the fabled Ocean of Milk and the netherworld. Story after story from across India takes us closer to this elusive but much-loved god of gods, the Mahadev-his avatars and his lilas; his drinking the Kalakuta poison to save the world and his grief at the passing of Sati; his restoration as a householder and his eternal identity as the Mahayogi; his temples and their history; and his quirky, tender and wholly unpredictable involvement with the mortals who love him. Writing in the Harikatha style of traditional storytelling, Renuka Narayanan builds a unique narrative to draw the reader into the loving, giving world of Mahadev.

Written with plenty of heart and a touch of humour, A Spoonful of Curds brings together a dozen short stories that unfold around Tamilians - both in India and abroad. From negotiating an arranged marriage and surviving the politics of the domestic realm, to love blossoming for the first time between newlyweds and empowering journeys of self-discovery - these stories bring out the curious, sometimes eccentric, singular world of their loveable characters. Accessible yet evocative, this is perhaps the closest we can get to a new R.K. Narayan - stories set in the recent past, told for the present and sure to be cherished in the future.