Weekend Cooking: What I ate in India

I started a new role around 7 months ago. If you had of said that as a result of that decision I would have had the opportunity to spend a week in Kolkata, India, I would not have believed you. However, that is exactly what happened over the last couple of weeks. In previous roles the furthest I got to travel was to Sydney for two days.  

The arrangements for this trip came together very quickly. A few weeks ago my boss said I think we are going and then next thing I knew I was applying for business visas and we were off.  We went to visit our offshore processing team, and I have to say the welcome we received was incredible. We were looked after really well!

One of the bonuses of travelling for work with this company was that it is business class travel all the way. I have never travelled business class before, and I am pretty sure that there is no way that my husband will ever pay for that so it might be the only time it happens! So, yes, I was absolutely the person taking photos of everything around me including the meals. It will be a bit of a struggle to go back to economy when we go on holidays in a few weeks...depending on what the state of the world is at that time. We are supposed to be going to Türkiye via Dubai so that may or may not happen!

The food in business class was pretty good, and came with real cutlery and crockery. I had pre-booked all my meals so knew exactly what I was having. I made sure it was a good mix of western food, Indian food and Singaporean food. 

The company we were visiting is huge. There is something like 27000 people working at the site we were visiting. It's hard to comprehend that number! We ate in the executive dining room every day where we had soup, a choice of dishes from the buffet and dessert. Most of the buffet and dessert dishes were local Bengali dishes. It was here that I discovered that I do actually like paneer. It is not something that I would necessarily have chosen to eat off a menu here, but I tried several different versions and they were all delicious!

My favourite discovery though was a Bengali dessert called Mishti Doi. It is a yoghurt that is sweetened with jaggery and then set within clay pots. The clay pots are porous and help draw the liquid out so that it sets into a firm but smooth texture. The closest texture I can think of is like a panna cotta. It is so delicious! I have been trying to find restaurants here that serve it, but I think it will be a case of if I see it on a menu I will just have to have it as it might not be there the next time! We also tried some other dessert such as Roshomolai, Baked Rusgala and a saffron flavoured Sandesh.

One of the highlights was a dinner that we had with the leaders. It was at a beautiful restaurant at an upmarket hotel and the food was amazing. The host just ordered a selections of dishes which came out one after another ranging from prawns to chicken to paneer and more. Everyone was really full when she said now it's time for the main course!

Whilst the work aspect of the trip was really intense, as was the humidity in Kolkata, they also made sure that we got to see some of the sights. I stayed two days longer than my bosses because we booked flights so late, and so I go to do a day trip around the city visiting some incredibly interesting places.

Whether I get to go again or not, I had an amazing experience and I am so glad I got to go! 

Weekly meals

Saturday - Away
Sunday - Away
Monday - Spaghetti Bolognaise
Tuesday - Korean Chicken Burgers
Wednesday - Zucchini, Parmesan and Tomato Risotto
Thursday - Japanese Pork Curry and rice
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

This week...

 

I'm reading

Before I went away last week I carefully constructed a reading order to decide which books I wanted to read while I was away taking into consideration various challenges, upcoming review books and other factors. It would appear that I was kidding myself as I read on the plane on the way to India on Monday, and then didn't pick up a book again until Friday afternoon once work was done!

I did make a good deal of progress with The Leopared by Tomasi de Lampedusa which is my current read for The Classics Spin. I have enjoyed this one, although it is taking me a bit longer to read than I otherwise might normally.

The other book I finished was James by Percival Everett. This book was everywhere last year and I can see why. It also filled three categories in the current Goodreads challenge!

I am very conscious that I have multiple library books due back that I can't extend and so there is every chance that they will be going back to the library unread. For some of those books it won't be the first time!

I'm watching

I didn't actually turn the TV on while I was in Kolkata. I did, however, have plenty of times for watching movies and I watched four good ones.

On the way to Singapore I watched Rental Family, which stars Brendan Fraser. It is set in Tokyo and is about an American actor who is hired out to play roles in people's lives. For example, he plays a reporter who is supposedly interviewing an elderly actor about his life. It was a really nice movie and worth a watch.

On the flight from Singapore to Kolkata I watched an Italian movie called The Tasters. It is about a group of women who were forced to become the tasters of Hitler's food to check that it wasn't poisoned. The existence of these women and their role only came to light in the 1990s so it was a very interesting story.

On the way back I watched a movie from New Zealand called Tina. It was out here last year and I really wanted to go and see it but I didn't get to it. It was a lovely movie, very sad though. It is about a woman who is depressed following the death of her daughter in the Christchurch earthquake. She is forced to go back to work as a teacher in a rich school and it is about her providing inspiration to a whole new group of students. 

And finally I watched a French movie called Nun in the City. This is currently showing here as part of the French Film Festival so I was delighted to find it on the movie channel on the plane. This was such a fun movie. A bit silly, but fun nonetheless. A nun named Lucie finds herself discovering what life is like after 20 years in a convent. 

Life


Well...what a week! It started with a good week's wedding last Sunday evening, and then the rest of the week I was in Kolkata in India! I never imagined I would get this kind of opportunity in my line of work so to get the chance was amazing! It was also very intense and tiring. It was so much fun to meet our offshore team in person and they were so welcoming! 

The company that they work for is massive, and at the campus we were visiting there are something like 18000 people working there at any one time, with round the clock shifts, so around 27000 in total. And they have six other offices in the city as well, and then more around the country. It is mindblowingly big!

The hospitality was incredible. We were really looked after very well. We had a driver everyday as well as 3 course buffet style lunch every day and they took us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant as well! On two nights they took us out to see a bit of the city including visiting Victoria Monument, the Ganges River, the Mother House where Mother Theresa lived and worked and more. 

My bosses went home earlier than I did, so I got some extra time with the team and then on Saturday I had a day to myself so I went on a sights and sound tour! There were definitely both of these. I was able to visit the Mother House again and take a bit more time, as well as visit the pottery area of the city, College Street which is where the book markets are, the flower markets and walk on the Howrah bridge.  Here is a short video from College Street. There is a really large area covering several blocks which is just stall after stall of booksellers. 

I will say that it was very humid, which I struggle with but that aside, it was a great trip with lots of great memories created! 

Who knows if I will get to go again, but if not, I am grateful that I had the chance to go this time

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Chronologically Speaking
Afternoon Tea Diaries: Victoria: The place to be at Oxi Tea Rooms
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: February Statistics



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Weekend Cooking: Everything is Indian by Justin Nararyan

When Justin Narayan's Everything is Indian was announced as the May selection for the Lambs Ear Cook Book Club, I was curious about the book without being convinced that it was one that I needed to buy so I borrowed it from the library. Before the book was even due back at the library, I had already purchased it and had it delivered as I know that we are going to be cooking out of this book in the future!

Justin Narayan was the winner of Masterchef Australia in 2021. He was born and bred in Australia and has a Fijian Indian background and this mixed background is reflected in the ideas and flavours in this book. In the introduction, Narayan ponders on the importance of food in creating connections with other people

When you first look at a recipe or think about cooking, I don't want you to think about how to make it tasty. I want you to think about how to make someone happy. Think about who you are cooking for rather than what you're cooking. Whose that person is they are more important than what you cook. Food is just a way to connect with them and make them feel something That is is how my mum and my parti (grandma) cooked.

He also talks about growing up in Australia

The recipes in this book are about me, my culture and where I come from. Food is how I relate to the world and these recipes are how I've related to the people around me. It starts with the Fijian-Indian recipes I grew up with (traditional and easy versions you can make in around 30 minutes), then it goes into all the dishes I've learned to cook growing up in Australia. It's a melting pot of cultures here - when it comes to food, I think Australia is one of the best places in the world - and that mix of cultures is part of me. It's part of who I am and its inspired me.

The three main recipes sections of the book are titled 

The Family House

Love, Entertainment, Hunger, Pressure: Everything That Made Me a Cook

I Grew Up Very Confused: Maybe We're Not That Different

In The Family House we see a lot of the Fijian Indian recipes so there are a lot curries, but also recipes for roti bread, lolo bread and other dishes. Interestingly, for the Masterchef fans,  Justin has shared two chicken curry recipes related to his appearances on the show. One is what he is calling The OG Chicken Curry and was the dish that he first shared with the judges on the show as his signature dish. The second curry is called The "Chicken Curry" That Got Me a Masterchef Apron. Why the "chicken curry ". Because it is served as a juicy piece of chicken breast with a chicken skin crackling, a curry sauce and cauliflower puree. It's not your normal looking curry.

In the second section we find recipes such as roast chicken, pizza, pork belly as well as Victoria sponge, caramel slice and lots of different sauces

In the final section, we see how everything can come together to make the familiar new. For example, there is a Green Chicken Curry Tacos recipe and a Fried Fish Sando with Curry Tartare. A sando is a sandwich - Australians have a tendency to short words and/or add sounds to the end. In this case it was both. For those with a sweet tooth, there is an amazing looking recipe for Chai Creme Brulee, as well as Dessert Tacos and Tres Leches cake which can be made either with the traditional flavours or by giving it an Indian flavour twist. 

So far we have made 

Curry Roast chicken with marsala roast potato and raita

Prawn Curry

Curried Sausage rolls

We have actually made the roast potato a few times, and this has now become our go-to technique of how to make roast potatoes. We don't always do the spices but the technique is a winner.

Just some of the other recipes we intend to make include

Caramel slice

Fried Eggs with Roti

Egg Curry

Potato Curry


The Caramel Slice is an example of several recipes in the book where you can either use the more traditional recipe or use the with a twist variation.  In this case, the traditional caramel slice recipe of biscuit base, a caramel layer and then covered in chocolate is adapted by adding vanilla, cardamon and grated nutmeg into the caramel mixture. You then sprinkle roasted pistachios on top of the chocolate.

The book is super colourful and easy to use. It has a great table in the front where you can say I need to cook something, let's say cooking for a crowd, and then there are a list of the recipes that you might want to use which includes recipes for tacos, Portuguese chicken, curries, lamb shanks and more

When I was thinking about which recipes to share, it had to be the Curried Sausage Rolls which got a very big thumbs up in our house. One thing I would clarifiy is that in Australia, puff pastry comes in sheets that are around 20cm square, so the size of the rectangles will be about 10 x 20cm. Also, in the recipe the instruction is to bake until GBD which stands for Golden Brown and Delicious. 

I didn't put the seasoning on the ones I made in this picture, just in case you were wondering.

And now, I am craving Curried Sausage Rolls. Good job I have some mince in the fridge!

Curried Sausage Rolls


1 tablespoon light olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Fiji masala powder or garam masala
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) minced (ground) lamb (see tip)
½ cup (30 g) Japanese (panko) breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 puff pastry sheets, thawed if frozen
200 g (7 oz) tasty cheese, grated (optional)

Egg wash

2 tablespoons milk
1 egg


Seasoning

½ teaspoon chilli flakes
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
½ teaspoon cumin seeds

To Serve

Your favourite sauce (there are no rules)




Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is lightly browned. Add all the powdered spices and chilli and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Add the lamb, breadcrumbs, salt and egg to the bowl and massage with your hands or a spatula until you have a smooth uniform mixture. Cut or shape four even rectangles from the puff pastry (if it's store-bought, just cut each sheet in half).

Spoon a quarter of the lamb mixture along one side of a pastry rectangle, about 1 cm (½ inch) from the edge.Scatter the cheese over the lamb mixture, if using. Roll up the pastry, starting from the lamb edge, to enclose the filling. Arrange so the seam (where the pastry edges overlap) sits underneath the sausage roll log. Repeat with the remaining pastry and lamb mixture. Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F). Line a tray with baking paper.

Meanwhile, slice each log into six even pieces for party size or in half for a meal size, then place the sausage rolls on the prepared tray. Mix the egg wash ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Ina separate bowl, combine the seasoning ingredients. Brush each sausage roll with the egg wash, then sprinkle the seasoning over the top. Bake until the sausage rolls are GBD (see page 13), about 30–35 minutes. Serve with sauce.

Tips

You can swap out the lamb mince for any other kind of mince. If you want to make these in bulk and freeze them, place the tray in the freezer after rolling. Once frozen solid, transfer to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready, preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F), egg wash the frozen sausage rolls, season and bake from frozen for 35–40 minutes.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Away
Sunday - Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
Monday - Pizza
Tuesday - Nasi Goreng
Wednesday - Bacon, Vegetable and Risoni Soup
Thursday - Mexican Chicken and Rice
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Blog Tour: Lilac Skies by Shivani Bansal

 

Like most readers, I gravitate towards certain genres, certain settings and certain time periods. This doesn't mean to say that my attention can't be gained with something out of the ordinary.

When I saw the blog tour pitch for this book, I was instantaneously interested. At the shallowest level there was the purple on the cover (hello favourite colour). Then there was the blurb. The story starts in 1942 in India and then moves to Kenya. When's the last time you read a book with that combination of settings?

Even though there were no reviews anywhere online and I could find very little about the book other than the blurb, I volunteered anyway.

Sometimes when you take a risk on something different, it pays off. Other times not so much. Unfortunately, for me, it was the latter with this book.

We meet Meena in Punjab in 1942. She is a young girl who lives with her family knowing that she is loved. Yet she seems blissfully unaware and woefully prepared for the fact that it is her fate to be married to a stranger. It is therefore a shock when she is told that within a matter of days she will be married, and that her husband Amir resides in Kenya, and therefore she will be moving there with him.

Once she gets to Kenya, she realises that she will be sharing her home with both her new husband and his domineering and disapproving mother. She is lonely, missing her family, particulary her younger sister Parvathi. But loneliness and isolation are not her only problems. Soon, it becomes clear that her seemingly mild mannered husband has a violent temper 

The only bright spot for Meena is the arrival of her beautiful sister in law, Lakshmi who becomes her closest friend and ally, until suddenly it is determined that Meena and Amir are moving to London. Once again Meena is alone and apart from everyone she knows. Eventually she makes friends with her next door neighbour

Whilst this book touches very briefly on historical events such as the decline of the British Empire both in India and Africa, racial violence and a few other topics, there isn't a lot of focus on time and place. As a historical fiction reader that is something I look for to anchor the story. There is no doubt that Meena's life story was interesting, albeit grim with her life being affected by domestic violence, family rivalries, fertility issues and alcoholism.  Thank goodness for the strong and supportive female friendships which bought some hope and joy to the story.

There are now a handful of reviews on Goodreads, and it seems that I am very much in the minority on this one. And that's okay. It's probably a case of it's not the book, it's me.

If the setting sounds interesting to you, maybe check out other stops on the blog tour to see what others thought.

Rating 2/5

My thanks to Rachel's Random Blog Tours for inviting me to participate in this tour. 

About the book

Lilac Skies

Punjab, India. It's 1942 and Meena is still a girl when her parents tell her she is to be married, in five days, to a total stranger. What's more, he lives in Kenya. A different country, a different continent, thousands of miles away from everything she knows. She doesn't want to marry, but with four brothers and sisters, Meena knows she will be a burden to her parents if she stays. And it isn't her decision to make.


Nairobi, Kenya. Meena's new home is beyond anything she could have imagined. Nairobi is beautiful, but tensions under the colonial British rule run high. She is told she is lucky because her husband Amar is young and handsome, but all is not as it seems within her marriage... Tucked away from the outside world, Meena spends her time by the mango tree dreaming of going home... until she realises the friendships that she forges here are all she can hold onto. Going from girl to woman in a strange land, can Meena find a way to finally make her life her own?

Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/3SxkNKc

About the author

Shivani Bansal has a First Class degree in International Relations and Politics, which has yet to be putto use! She works full time in digital marketing in the charity sector, and also runs a small baking business from home called Sweet Beginnings Bakes. She loves writing story ideas in her Pusheen notebook in her spare time.



Social Media Links–Twitter: https://twitter.com/shivanib_writer

Blog Tour: Serena Fairfax on Why I Love the Rani of Jhansi

Today I am very excited to welcome Serena Fairfax to my blog with a guest post as part of the blog tour for her new book Mango Bay

I found this post totally fascinating and wanted to know more after reading the post, and I hope you do too!

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her name was Manikarnika and, often called Cchabili (playful), she was born in 1827 in Varanasi, a city on the banks of the Ganges River. Her mother died when she was a toddler whereupon her father moved to Jhansi, some 500 km away in northern India, where he was employed in the service of the Maharajah of Jhansi. This gave her access to a good education, something that many girls in those days lacked; she had a head for figures and excelled at horsemanship, swordsmanship and shooting.

Attractive, intelligent and good-humoured, she caught the eye of the Ruler, Maharajah Gangadar Rao Newalkar, a cultured, statesmanlike, but lonely, man who, despite the age difference of thirty years, determined to make her his queen. On her wedding day in 1843, she changed her first name to Lakshmi, in honour of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, fortune and power who enables one to achieve one’s goals.

The Rani shunned the practice of purdah; worked tirelessly to improve the lot of the destitute, regardless of caste; immersed herself in affairs of state; took action to grow Jhansi’s economy; was outspoken at meetings with courtiers and foreign officials, endlessly quizzing the latter about life in their homeland, and liked nothing better than being a hands-on gardener.

The flipside to her otherwise happy marriage was the sudden cot death of their first-born infant son. The couple had no more children but, as was then usual, they adopted a five- year- old boy, a son of the Rajah’s cousin. The adoption ceremony, witnessed and endorsed by a British Political Officer of the notorious East India Company, ratified the child as the lawful heir and the Rajah’s designation of Lakshmi as Regent and Ruler of Jhansi for life, in the event of the Rajah’s death.

The Rajah, whose health had been rocky for some time, succumbed in November 1853. The widowed Rani took up the reins of power and, with women as her close aides, ruled in a no-nonsense, business-like yet compassionate manner managing, every morning before breakfast, to exercise by wrestling, weightlifting or riding.

In March 1854 the Company reneged on its deal and sought to annul Lakshmi’s government. Applying the Doctrine of Lapse it rejected the adopted child as the rightful heir, unlawfully annexed Jhansi to its territories and offered Lakshmi a generous pension on condition she ceded control and departed from Jhansi and the palace. ‘Main apni Jhansi nahi doongi’ (I won’t surrender my Jhansi) she declared, flatly refusing to budge.

When the Rani’s negotiations with the Company broke down three years later, Company troops, under General Hugh Rose (a life-long bachelor), who found her to be ‘personable, clever, accomplished and beautiful and the most dangerous of all Indian leaders,’ besieged Jhansi. Thousands of Lakshmi’s subjects were gunned down and the city was set ablaze. Men, with their wives clutching children, threw themselves down wells in a bid to escape.

At dead of night the Rani saddled up and leapt astride her favourite 15 hands, black Arabian stallion, Baadal (meaning Cloud), and galloped out of Jhansi, taking a secret route only she was privy to, with her young son strapped to her back.

Meanwhile, a serious rebellion had erupted against the Company in other parts of India. This is the uprising that’s known as the First War of Independence (formerly called the Indian Mutiny). Lakshmi threw in her lot with the protestors. Women and men flocked to her call to arms and she raised and trained a disciplined battalion of warriors of both genders.

Donning a turban and uniform and accompanied by loyalists commanding their own forces, the Rani charged into combat in Gwalior to confront the 8th (King’s Royal Irish) Hussars. A fierce battle ensued. She was thrown from her horse, badly wounded by a hussar’s curved-blade sabre. As she lay on the ground in blood stained clothing, she drew a pistol, took aim and fired it at the soldier. He later reported to his Colonel: ‘I despatched the young lady with my carbine.’ She was twenty-nine.

‘The Indian Mutiny had produced but one man,’ General Rose said when fighting ceased, ‘and that man was a woman.’

The Company’s widespread corruption and tyrannical policies led to its downfall and abolition in 1858 when, by Act of Parliament, its powers were transferred to the Crown who assumed direct control of India until Independence in 1947.

And what had become of the young prince? Rescuers had fled into the jungle with him and it was several years before the British authorities stumbled across them. They treated the boy well, awarded him a lifetime allowance, provided him with seven retainers and placed him in the care of a kind-hearted guardian. He never returned to Jhansi.

Lakshmi — unconventional queen, wife and mother — left an indelible mark on history. She’s commemorated in statues throughout India and on postage stamps. Celebrated in films, TV series, novels, poetry and song, parks, thoroughfares and institutions are named after her.

An icon of emancipation, she blazed a trail for future generations of women.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

About the Book

• Paperback : 299 pages 
• ISBN-10 : 0957040563 
• ISBN-13 : 978-0957040564 
• Product Dimensions : 13.97 x 1.91 x 21.59 cm 
• Publisher : Ironberry Books (26 Sept. 2020) 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mango-Bay-Rituals-secrets-intrigues/dp/0957040563

BLURB 

Jazz clubs, yacht clubs, aunty bars and a Bollywood beauty shadowed by her pet panther. This is glamorous Bombay in the late 1950s. 

Love has blossomed in London between vivacious Scottish Presbyterian, Audrey, and clever Indian lawyer, Nat Zachariah. 

When the happy newlyweds move to Nat’s exotic homeland and the striking family villa, Audrey must deftly navigate the rituals, secrets, intrigues and desires of his Bene Israel Jewish community, and adjust to perplexing new relatives. 

In time, the past unlocks, old family ties unravel, lies are exposed and passions run high as different generations fall out. Then something shocking happens that undoes everything. Will this marriage that has crossed boundaries survive? 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Serena spent her childhood in India, qualified as a Lawyer in England, and worked in a London law firm. 

Some of her novels have a strong romantic arc although she burst the romance bubble with one quirky departure. Other novels pull the reader into the dark corners of family life and relationships. She enjoys the challenge of experimenting and writing in different genres. 

Her short stories and a medley of articles, including her reviews of thrillers and crime fiction, feature on her blog. 

Fast forward to a sabbatical from the day job when Serena traded in bricks and mortar for a houseboat that, for a hardened land lubber like her, turned out to be a big adventure. A few of her favourite things are collecting old masks, singing and exploring off the beaten track. 

Serena and her golden retriever, Inspector Morse, who can’t wait to unleash his own Facebook page, live in London. 

www.serenafairfax.com

Twitter @Sefairfax

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna

The year is 1878. As the first girl to be born to the Nachimandas in over sixty years, beautiful, spirited Devi is adored by her entire family. She befriends Devanna, a gifted young boy whose mother has died in tragic circumstances. The two quickly become inseparable, 'like two eggs in a nest', as they grow up amidst the luscious jungles, rolling hills, and rich coffee plantations of Coorg in Southern India; cocooned by an extended family whose roots have been sunk in the land for hundreds of years.

Their futures seem inevitably linked, but everything changes when, one night, they attend a 'tiger wedding'. It is there that Devi gets her first glimpse of Machu, the celebrated tiger killer and a hunter of great repute. Although she is still a child and Machu is a man, Devi vows that one day she will marry him. It is this love that will gradually drive a wedge between Devi and Devanna, sowing the seed of a heartbreaking tragedy that will have consequences for the generations to come.

Whilst I haven't seen a lot around about this book, apparently it was a pretty big deal in India. The author received the biggest advance for a debut novel in Indian publishing history and has been translated into numerous languages as well. It seems to me that it also quite unusual for a piece of Indian historical fiction written by an Indian author makes it into English. I love reading historical fiction set in India but generally those books will be mainly focused on the British characters rather than the Indian characters. In this book, it is very much the other way around, with issues relating to colonisation taking only a small, but pivotal, role in the book.

The story starts in 1878 with the birth of the first girl to be born to the Nachimanda family for sixty years. Her name is Devi, and she is treated as a princess by the family - princess, not only when she is a child but also when she is older. Her childhood companion is a boy named Devanna. He practically becomes a member of the family after a tragedy leaves him an orphan. Devi and Devanna are inseparable!

Once they start to go to school, it is clear that Devi is a very clever young man and he is taken under the wing of the German missionary who runs the local school. Devi takes an avid interest in many subjects, but most especially in botany. Devi's future is so bright that there is even the prospect of an overseas education, until that choice is taken away from him before he even knows of it.

Devanna has long been in love with Devi and knows that they are feted to be together but unfortunately for him, she has set her sites on his cousin Machu, the tiger killer and she will settle for no one else.

When Devanna's education is cruelly cut short and Devi's choices are even more cruelly taken away from her, so begins a lifetime of hurt and pain for all the characters involved, and even for future generations.

This book has been compared to other famous sagas like The Thorn Birds and Gone With the Wind and to be honest it was this comparison that compelled me to want to read the book when I heard an interview with the author on NPR. Whilst it never quite reached the same heights in terms of the romance aspects, it was most definitely a book that I loved reading!

I would classify this book as more literary style of historical fiction. Amongst it's strengths were the use of the land and traditions of Coorg, a region in India now known as Kodagu and apparently referred to as the Scotland of India. During the span of 60 years or so, we see the changes that take place in India, including the battles fought by the British colonists, the establishment and importance of the coffee crops, culture superstition and class,  important national events such as the first Indian hockey team to play in the Olympics and many more. I suspect that Indian readers would really love some of the name checking of people that I have never heard of but who may well be important characters in Indian history.

There were certain scenes in the book that were so well written that my heart was in my mouth as I was reading them. For example, I am not sure that I will ever forget the scene where Machu is fighting alongside the English during a battle in the mountains.

There were however also weaknesses with the book as well though. The first, and biggest for me, was definitely Devi. She is portrayed as being so beautiful and so perfect, but by the end of the book she has become a hardened crone and she treated people, specifically her family pretty badly. She did have a hard life and was undoubtedly treated unforgivably, but then she made decisions that left her in the same situation ongoing. It took her many, many years to even think of what it was that Devanna has also suffered. Believe me, I am not excusing Devanna for his actions in the events by any stretch of the imagination, but it dragged out way too long.

The other thing that wasn't that strong was the very end of the novel. It really annoys me when an author carries a particular plot line and then suddenly in the last couple of pages turns everything on its head. It could well be that there is a sequel in the works, but I was left feeling manipulated by the last chapter or so.

There are also a few typos within the text, including in the back cover copy which is not the author's fault but is disappointing.

If you enjoy beautiful imagery, family sagas, books set in India, or just historical fiction with a setting outside of the more common European countries, then this may well be a book that you will enjoy.

Rating 4/5

East of the Sun by Julia Gregson

Summer 1928. The Kaiser-i-Hind is en route to Bombay. In Cabin D38, Viva Holloway, an inexperienced chaperone, is worried she's made a terrible mistake. Her advert in The Lady has resulted in three unsettling charges to be escorted to India.

Rose, a beautiful, dangerously naive English girl, is about to be married to the cavalry officer she has met only a handful of times. Victoria, her bridesmaid, is determined to lose her virginity on the journey, before finding a husband of her own in India. And overshadowing all three of them, the malevolent presence of Guy Glover, a strange and disturbed schoolboy.

Three potential Memsahibs with a myriad of reasons for leaving England, but the cargo of hopes and secrets they carry has done little to prepare them for what lies ahead.

From the parties of the wealthy Bombay socialites to the poverty of the orphans on Tamarind Street, East of the Sun is everything a historical novel should be: alive with glorious detail, fascinating characters and masterful storytelling.

Normally when I see a book mentioned somewhere and it prompts me to add it to my TBR list, I try to write it down on my list, so that I can thank the person who recommended the read. For some reason, when I added this book to my list I didn't do it, and it's a real shame, because I would love to say a hearty THANK YOU to whoever it was.

The book opens with Viva Holloway. She is a young woman with great spirit, great secrets, but unfortunately not great means. She spent many of her formative years in India before she was sent back to school in the UK, and now she longs to return to India - ostensibly to take ownership of a trunk of her dead parents possessions that is being held in trust for her by an old family friend. It does also give her a chance to run away from a disastrous love affair.

The only way she can get to India though is to act as a chaperone to three young people. Rose is on her way to India to get married to a dashing soldier by the name of Jack. She has only met him a few times, but she is excitedly planning a life with him, having no real idea about life in India or about what to expect from marriage, especially as a soldiers wife. Accompanying her is her friend Victoria, known to everyone as Tor, who is going to be her bridesmaid, and hopefully to find herself a husband whilst she is at it. The third person that Viva has to chaperone is a young man of 16 years age called Guy Glover, who has been dismissed from his English school and is returning back to India to be with his parents.

From the start it is clear that there are going to be issues, and so it proves to be. Whilst it is not all plain sailing (sorry, bad pun!), we are also given a glimpse into the life of board for young ladies of the day as they attend parties, make new friends, stop off in Port Said and do a quick trip to Cairo, as the weather warms up and they all sleep on deck - men on one side and women on the other thank you very much.

The journeys that our characters take are very much individual. Along the way we meet up with the rich and bored memsahibs who are only interested in their own lives, the early days of marriage to a stranger for Rose, the search for a husband for the less than confident Tor, and for Viva, a life where she is struggling to make ends meet and therefore has to take up work in a local orphanage and therefore gets to see first hand the poverty, the joy and the conflicts amongst the locals. For those days in India are leading up to the end of British Colonial rule and therefore it is not all swigging G and T's at the club for those people who have chosen to make their lives in a far off land.

There is a great joy in the reading of this book. It's not great literature, but there are times when what you want is an absorbing read that you can get lost in, as opposed to something that you have to think really hard about all the time! There are a few times when the narrative loses a little bit of smoothness, but I was fully invested in the characters, in the setting and in the story and so it didn't really bother me at all.

Reading this book also made me think about my grandmother's life. She made the journey from the UK in the 1930s, not to India, but to Australia. I am pretty sure that she travelled with her family and not as a single woman, but we have talked a bit before about getting off the boat in Egypt. One time when I was at her house, she even got out some things that she had kept from the boat trip over - including a few menus and things. It's fair to say that the food that we eat today has changed a lot from what was served up in those days. If it wasn't for the fact that I live so far away from her, I would have been around to her house to look through all that information again!

This book is apparently one of Richard and Judy's Summer Reads (a big deal in the UK - somewhat similar to getting chosen to be a Oprah book club book) and doesn't seem to have been released in places like the US yet, but I am really glad that my library had it. I have now requested this author's first book, called The Water Horse, and I am very much looking forward to reading it. Another book that I remember reading which featured a similar story about travelling by ship to a different life that I enjoyed was Jojo Moyes' Ship of Brides.

A very interesting read, set in a very interesting location in very interesting times, and a joy to read.


Other Blogger's Thoughts:

A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore

Reading Challenges

I have a post all written up and ready to post where I take the step of committing to joining up with The Pulitzer Project, but then The Complete Booker came up, and so now I am tempted by two challenges. The dilema is to do either one of them, or just do both. The advantage of the Booker is that there are less books to read, but no time limit on either challenge! Decisions, decisions.

In other news, I have a review of Taj: The Woman and the Wonder by Sandra Wilson up on Historical Tapestry. I'm surprised that there haven't been more books written about the love story that inspired the building of the Taj Mahal.

I had a really busy weekend! This weekend was the baby shower and so we had a friend come over from Adelaide for it, and therefore I had to cook dinner for everyone on Saturday night and then the baby shower on Sunday. I'll write up a post about the baby shower, and the games we played a little later! Unfortunately somebody forgot to take photos even though they took their camera with them specifically to do so! Whoops!

Reading Challenges

One of the things I decided last year is that I definitely was not going to do any challenges this year because I have enough trouble keeping my library list under control let alone adding other lists to the equation. But I have to say that there was a new one posted today that is very tempting.




It's called The Pulitzer Project, and it's aim is to read all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels. There is a list off all the winners at the link above, and if we are just looking at recent years, I am not doing too badly, having read 4 out of the last 5 winners, but before that...not so good! I am seriously contemplating joining up!


In other news, I have posted my review of The Temple Dancer by John Speed over at Historical Tapestry.