Of the many enduring fascinations of the love story, a vehicle for the vicarious satisfaction of our hidden desires and obscure longings, is the pleasure we take in its subversion of the conventions that govern the relationship between the sexes. At least, this is true of tales about young lovers who are believed to express the purest of romantic sentiments. This book is a compilation of classic Indian Love Stories.
A compilation of love stories and poems from the classical literature and folklore of India Set in regions of great natural beauty where Kamadeva, the god of love, picks his victims with consummate ease, these stories and lyrics celebrate the myriad aspects of love. In addition to relatively well-known works like Kalidasa's Meghadutam and Prince Ilango Adigal's Shilappadikaram, the collection features lesser-known writers of ancient India like Damodaragupta (eighth century AD), whose 'Loves of Haralata and Dundarasena' is about a high-born man's doomed affair with a courtesan; Janna (twelfth century), whose Tale of the Glory-Bearer is extracted here for the story of a queen who betrays her handsome husband for a mahout, reputed to be the ugliest man in the kingdom; and the Sanskrit poets Amaru and Mayaru (seventh century), whose lyrics display an astonishing perspective on the tenderness, the fierce passion and the playful savagery of physical love. Also featured are charming stories of Hindu gods and goddesses in love, and nineteenth-century retellings of folk tales from different regions of the country like Kashmir, Punjab, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Both passionate and sensuous in its content, this book is sure to appeal to the romantic in all of us.
Now a film from Netflix India, this memorable novel confronts issues of sexuality in a changing society through a love triangle between a brother, sister, and their family’s lodger Recently adapted into a stunning Netflix film, Cobalt Blue is a tale of rapturous love and fierce heartbreak told with tenderness and unsparing clarity. Brother and sister Tanay and Anuja both fall in love with the same man, an artist lodging in their family home in Pune, in western India. He seems like the perfect tenant, ready with the rent and happy to listen to their mother’s musings on the imminent collapse of Indian culture. But he’s also a man of mystery. He has no last name. He has no family, no friends, no history, and no plans for the future. When he runs away with Anuja, he overturns the family’s lives. Translated from the Marathi by acclaimed novelist and critic Jerry Pinto, Sachin Kundalkar’s elegantly wrought and exquisitely spare novel explores the disruption of a traditional family by a free-spirited stranger in order to examine a generation in transition. Intimate, moving, sensual, and wry in its portrait of young love, Cobalt Blue is a frank and lyrical exploration of gay life in India that recalls the work of Edmund White and Alan Hollinghurst—of people living in emotional isolation, attempting to find long-term intimacy in relationships that until recently were barely conceivable to them.
This 10th anniversary edition of I Too had a Love Story brings to life one of the decade's most-loved romance novels with gorgeous illustrations in a brand new design. With a personal note from the author, this book is a collector's edition. It will also make for a fabulous gift. Do love stories ever die? . . . How would you react when a beautiful person comes into your life, and then goes away from you . . . forever? Not all love stories are meant to have a perfect ending. I Too Had a Love Story is one such saga. It is the tender and heartfelt tale of Ravin and Khushi--two people who found each other on a matrimonial site and fell in love . . . until life put their love to the ultimate test. Romantic, emotional and sincere, this heartbreaking true life story has already touched a million hearts. This bestselling novel is a must-read for anyone who believes in the magic of love . . .
An international bestseller and winner of the 1981 Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, Zemindar is a magnificent, twisting love story, all unfolding against the tempestuous backdrop of the Indian Rebellion. Englishwoman Laura Hewitt accompanies her newly engaged cousin to India, first to Calcutta and then to the fabled fiefdom of Oliver Erskine, Zemindar – or hereditary ruler – of a private kingdom with its own army. But India is on the verge of the Mutiny, which will sweep them all up in its chaos... Praise for Zemindar: 'If you loved The Far Pavilions – and who didn't – this will be your dish too' Cosmopolitan 'Utterly addictive' Washington Post
I thought it was all over until I met her again. I was hurting myself to forget her, and yet I kept falling in love. I saw her, smiling and happy with him. As the tears in my eyes pleaded for freedom, I waited, for her, to give me that one smile... Sometimes life gives you a thousand reasons to fall in love, and just one reason to fall apart. I had stepped on it, and, I had to wait for three years to rediscover the soul within me. But, what happened to her in these three years? Does she love me still? This intense love story will make your heart fall in love over and over again.
Great Indian Love Stories is a collection of 10 electrifying stories of love and passion. Overflowing with romance, adventures and fun, these short stories will keep you hooked till the very end. 1. Varsha's Wedding Night Varsha and Sandeep are newlyweds and have been saving themselves for marriage. What happens when Varsha and Sandeep are left to their own devices in their marital bedroom? Give in to the magic of firsts with Varsha’s Wedding Nights. 2. Varsha's Honeymoon After their wedding night, Varsha and Sandeep travel to Bangkok for their honeymoon. Newlywed and newly in love, do things get heated up much sooner than either of them expected? Read the story to find out where Varsha and Sandeep’s love takes them. 3. Smriti's First Smriti is young heiress to a large fortune, but she has always been unlucky in love, all her life. She is attracted to her father's friend, the much older and suave Sam Rodriguez, but doesn't believe she would ever act on her attraction. When events rapidly transpire to lock Sam and Smriti together in confinement and in each other's company, will Smriti finally act on her attraction? Will things get heated up between Smriti and Sam? 4. Tanvi's Party - 1 Tanvi is an affluent young woman who is an adventurer at heart. Tanvi organizes a party along with her friend, Natasha, where things get heated up. Will things get out of hand at Tanvi's party? 5. Tanvi's Party - 2 Tanvi can’t forget a man she met at her party. Natasha and Tanvi discuss him, and then they make a plan. Read ahead to find out what happens when Natasha and Tanvi meet him. 6. Aditi's Game Aditi is a voluptuous young woman in her early thirties, working as an Assistant Professor at an acclaimed university. Having had her heart broken once in her twenties, she enjoys playing games with much younger inexperienced men, most of them her college students. But as Aditi starts meeting and spending time with the much older Prof. Gupta, she discovers that her heart, though once broken, is not beyond repair. Will Aditi discover true love or will she go back to her old ways? 7. Amreen's Lover Amreen works as a house help in an upscale apartment complex. Rohit is a resident in the complex visiting his parents from abroad. What happens when the two meet? Read their unusual love story to find out. 8. Amreen's Boyfriend Amreen and Rohit might as well be from different planets. Amreen is a maid servant. Rohit is an NRI, visiting India for a brief period of time. But what happens when love takes over and makes them forget all about their status, money, and creed? 9. Pooja's Passion Pooja is a young widow living with her mother-in-law in her husband's house. One day, Pooja meets her old colleague, Yash, who she had a crush on, even before she got married. Yash, on his part, fell in love with Pooja when he first saw her. What happens as Pooja and Yash meet? Do sparks fly? 10. Anisha's Wedding Anisha is about to be married, but she is yet to get over her ex, Rashi. What happens when Rashi comes to stay over at Anisha's place for her wedding? Do sparks fly?
"In India, there are 650 million people under the age of 35. These are men and women who grew up with the Internet, and the advent of smartphones and social media. But when it comes to love and marriage, they're expected to adhere to thousands of years of tradition. It's that tension between obeying tradition and accepting modernity that drives journalist Mansi Choksi's [book]"--
It is believed that love is the most magical feeling in the world. Yet, only a few lucky ones get to experience it in their lives. If the beginning of Ravin and Khushi's journey is anything to go by, their story is bound to be anything but conventional. However, if they have been lucky enough to find true love in each other, will they have the strength to deal with the biggest challenge life throws their way? How was Ravin to know that what essentially started off as a joke among friends—the idea of creating a profile on a matrimonial site to find 'the one'—would end up changing his life completely? How did he end up falling for Khushi, someone he had not even met in person? Was she really the one? Read on to find out if Ravin is ready to take the big leap in this instalment of Ravinder Singh's I Too Had a Love Story.
