Bipathu And A Very Big Dream
Anita Nair
Puffin, pp 216, Rs 299
When school reopens in the village of Kaikurussi after the pandemic lockdown, nine-year-old Bipathu makes new friends. And one of them wants to play football...
Red Sky Over Kabul
Baryalai Popalzai and Kevin McLean
Speaking Tiger, pp 288, Rs 499
This is a vivid portrait of a vanished Afghanistan — a world of kite flying, duck hunting and sitar lessons; a world lost to unending, horrific violence.
The Starved
Mangalu Charan Biswal
Hachette, pp 160, Rs 399
A tale of crippling deprivation and staggering optimism, this revolutionary work of Sambalpuri literature inspects the longevity of hope in the face of adversity.
I Named My Sister Silence
Manoj Rupda
Eka, pp 180, Rs 499
A little boy follows an elephant into a forest, fascinated and as if in a trance. His foray ends in tragedy, for the elephant is eaten alive by wild dogs even as the boy is sitting atop it...
The Yogi Witch
Zorian Cross
HarperCollins, pp 352, Rs 399
Myths become real and the mundane becomes enchanting as Jai and his witchy family remove the veil that separates reality from fantasy while enjoying endless cups of lavender tea.