9 game-changing titles from Westland Books

On February 1, 2022, multinational giant Amazon announced the impending closure of Westland Books – an Indian publishing company that it acquired from Trent Ltd. a subsidiary of the Tata Group in 2016.

This news has created a stir in the publishing industry since Westland has built a reputation for publishing some of the most game-changing titles in India, be it commercial and literary fiction (under the Tranquebar imprint), non-fiction (Context), translation (Eka) or business books, poetry and children’s literature (Red Panda).

We bring you a list of nine titles to read before the curtains go down on March 31:

The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

Arguably the first Hindu mythological fiction superhit, this book has been a bestseller due to its larger-than-life characters and the repackaging of Indic philosophy for a contemporary audience. It proposes the idea that gods were humans who later got deified because of their deeds. It explores themes such as rebirth, civilization, good and evil.

The House that BJ Built by Anuja Chauhan

This entertaining novel is a sequel to the author’s bestselling work Those Pricey Thakur Girls. The former Vice-President and Executive Creative Director at JWT got a whopping advance for this book, which was a hit among readers for its lively Indianisms, and her hilarious take on family feuds, love, emotional blackmail and real estate in central Delhi.

Tawaifnama by Saba Dewan

Drawing on her experience of making documentary films about bar dancers, courtesans, and women who dance in rural fairs, the author tells the story of a family of well-known tawaifs with roots in Varanasi and Bhabua. This multi-generational chronicle is set against the backdrop of British rule in India, nationalism, Victorian morality, and the freedom struggle.

Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace by Parmesh Shahani

A cross between a memoir and a manual, this book was written when the author was serving as Vice-President at Godrej Industries Ltd. This is a must-read for corporate leaders with a strong mandate for diversity, equity and inclusion in terms of recruitment and retention. It provides a roadmap for policy-making, relationship management, and fighting discrimination.

Aranyaka: Book of the forest by Amruta Patil and Devdutt Pattanaik

This jugalbandi between a graphic novelist and a mythologist is loosely based on the story of Yajnavalkya, a rishi from the Upanishads, and the women in his life – Katyayani, Gargi and Maitreyi. It is lush and luminous, dark and disturbing, because the nature of the forest is such. It raises questions about development, gender roles, and hunger – literal and metaphorical.

A White Trail: A Journey into the Heart of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities by Haroon Khalid

The white stripe in the national flag of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan stands for the country’s non-Muslims. This work of non-fiction takes readers on a pilgrimage to Sikh, Hindu, Christian, Baha’i, and Zoroastrian places of worship in Pakistan. It addresses majoritarianism, blasphemy laws, syncretic traditions of worship, and the destruction caused by the Partition.

There’s Gunpowder in the Air by Manoranjan Byapari (translated by Arunava Sinha)

Set in the 1970s, this novel investigates the price that idealism extracts from revolutionaries challenging oppression. It was written in Bangla, then translated into English. A refugee from Bangladesh, the author came into contact with the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha at age 24. He presents a fictional account of the Naxalbari Movement through the story of a jailbreak.

The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State by Josy Joseph

Having proven his mettle as an investigative journalist, the author examines India’s democratic credentials through a critical lens in this shocker of a book. According to him, India’s security establishment has been compromised by corruption, and its declining professional standards have given free rein to executive overreach and authoritarianism.

Poonachi or the Story of a Black Goat by Perumal Murugan (Translated by N. Kalyan Raman)

Originally written in Tamil, and translated into English, this is a coming-of-age novel about a goat whose body is inscribed with political meaning. The author wrote it after a period of self-imposed exile from the world of writing in response to threats. He chose to write about goats as they are “problem-free” unlike cows and pigs that have religious associations.