The Madras Affair
by
SundariVenkatraman
Blurb:
Sangita Sinclair was not always this successful & passionate lady, heading the NGO “Penn Urimai” for downtrodden, abused and homeless women….
When Sangita catches the eye of Gautam Sinclair she is a simple, homely girl; utterly unaware of her charms & capabilities. She has the devil’s own time in overcoming her inhibitions, hesitation, and her family’s orthodox and outdated rules before recognising her love for Gautam.
Will Gautam be able to solve Sangita’s Dilemma or will she be forever trapped in her past?
Meet Gautam:
Gautam has an Indian mother and American father. Built like a giant, he has brown hair and brilliant blue eyes.
Gautam lives with his maternal grandparents in Besant Nagar, Madras. He used to run a business with his father in Washington DC. Giving up his high-flying career, he chooses to teach at Loyola College in Madras. Yeah, Gautam had fallen in love with the city in Tamil Nadu during his visits to his grandparents.
Despite his American upbringing, he’s comfortable living in the same house as his grandparents. And does he love teaching!
He’s attracted to Sangita at first sight and pursues her relentlessly.
Read The Madras Affair to find out if he’s able to get together with the love of his life.
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What Reviewers Say:
Guest post:
Meet SundariVenkatraman:
Five reasons why readers should pick up
The Madras Affair
Hi Sarika,
Thank you so
much for hosting me on your blog. Here goes… why one needs to read my book:
The Madras Affair is the story of Sangita and Gautam.
Sangita is a widow who’s barely twenty-one; with a little son and is from an
orthodox family. The story is set in 2000 Madras. Having grown up in Madras, I
know how the people living there are as eclectic as they come. Actually they
are typically Indian. We find women walking around our streets in Kanjeevaram
saris as well as shorts. That’s how diverse our lives are. And that’s what
makes us all the more fascinating as a people.
Sangita and
Gautam are from two such families. They couldn’t have come from more different
backgrounds. But then, Gautam is Yang to Sangita’s Yin. I can’t think of a
better recipe for a romance.
The story
also highlights a few issues in society. No, I don’t set out to preach, so
please don’t expect a moral lecture. I have just brought together some
characters and situations that are extremely probable. Sangita had been a
victim of marital rape. This is an issue that’s seldom addressed. Even her
parents don’t want to acknowledge that she could be having a troubled marriage.
We have this
attitude of ticking our life achievements: A girl child is born. She grows up
with a lot of restrictions. She’s given education though the ultimate aim would
be to get her married to a well-settled guy from a good family (with a huge
dowry thrown in). Then it’s time for her to have a child; she’s nagged no end
if she doesn’t get pregnant within a year or two. Point to be noted here is that
it’s always the woman’s fault even if science says differently. Then once she
has a baby… the cycle continues since generations.
If,
unfortunately, the husband dies, all hell breaks loose. It’s her fault of
course. My heroine is different though. She simply refuses to mourn her
husband’s death. She’s honest that way.
And I was
keen to turn Sangita’s life into something positive. That’s where Gautam steps
in.
A problem
brings a solution along with it. And that’s why I have created a romance that
shows one way in which the problem gets sorted.
I have always
loved reading fiction and most of my knowledge of people and places has been
garnered from reading stories set in different parts of the world. As one reads
a book, the knowledge seeps in without appearing like boring studies. Well,
let’s face the truth, studies and exams are boring though important to enhance
our lives. If knowledge can be acquired through fiction that is fun to read,
can you think of a better way to learn?
Growing up on a heavy dose of fairy tales and comic books, Sundari fell in love with the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end.
Soon, into her teens, Sundari graduated to Mills & Boon romances. And that got her thinking – how about such breezy romances in Indian settings? Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years.
Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! Sundari had just quit her job as a school admin and was taking a break. She was saturated with reading books. That’s when she returned home one evening after her walk, took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in her head – all those years of visualising a perfect Indian romance had to be put into words. The dormant romantic storyteller in her finally found its calling and The Malhotra Bride was born. While she felt disheartened when publishing didn’t happen, it was her husband who encouraged her to keep writing.
In the meanwhile, she landed a job as copy editor with Mumbai Mirror. After working there for two years, she moved to the Network 18 Group and worked with two of their websites over the next six years, as content editor.
Despite her work schedule, she continued writing novels and short stories and had them published in her blogs. She also started blogging voraciously, writing on many different topics – travel, book reviews, film reviews, restaurant reviews, spirituality, alternative health and more.
Her first eBook Double Jeopardy – a romance novella – was published by Indireads and has been very well received by readers of romance.
In 2014, Sundari published The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition); Meghna; The Runaway Bridegroom; Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters From India (Box Set) and Matches Made In Heaven (a collection of romantic short stories) in form of ebooks.
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Thank you so much Sarika for giving me an opportunity to air my views on your blog :)
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