ESSENTIAL COLLECTION

The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In The Forest of Enchantments, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills. How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’ Daughter of the royal kennel keeper, the beautiful Jindan Kaur went on to become Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s youngest and last queen, his favourite, and regent when her son, Dalip, barely six years old, unexpectedly inherited the throne. Sharp-eyed, stubborn, passionate, and dedicated to protecting her son’s heritage, Jindan fought hard to keep the British from annexing Punjab. An exquisite love story of a king and a commoner, a cautionary tale about loyalty and betrayal, and a powerful parable of the indestructible bond between mother and child, The Last Queen brings alive one of the most fearless women of the nineteenth century, an inspiration for our times. August, 1946. Priya, Jamini and Deepa, Dr Nabakumar Ganguly’s daughters, live in Ranipur, Bengal, safe from the rising turbulence in the country. When India is partitioned, the sisters find themselves separated from one another, afraid of what will happen to not only themselves, but also each other. It is only then that they understand what it means to be independent, and the price one has to pay for it. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Independence is a moving story of loyalty and love, nationhood and sisterhood, set against India’s freedom movement, at once exhilarating and devastating.