Dear Readers,

Last week, we drove very early in the morning to the banks of the Hooghly river.

We had with us, sadly, painfully, an urn full of ashes, the ashes of a family member we loved - my husband’s mother. This was a river she crisscrossed everyday on her way to work as a music instructor of schools.

And now eighty six years after she began life on the banks of Ganga, we are here on her river, to immerse her ashes in it.

There are derelict buildings on both sides of the river.

“What are those, baba?” our youngest daughters ask.

“They were warehouses for jute, tea and indigo. Even opium. Indentured labour went from here too. To the plantations in Mauritius, Guyana“ he says

We are silent for a minute, staring down at the rusty barges & the few ferry boats. A hundred years ago this used to be a great port.

We think of Amitav Ghosh. Of the aha moments of reading his Sea of Poppies, set on this river two hundred years ago

Rivers have always been special for our species, civilisations have grown on them. Maybe that’s why river books are so fascinating ; with stories that criss cross geography, history, culture, religion, food.

Here below, are three favourite river books for you.

Adding spirit to this mix, scroll down to Vikram Achanta, our reader of the fortnight, for river rafting and cocktail making. Also read his reveal on where he gets questions for his lively pub quizzes.

Book events feature discussions with Corinne Seminoff & Ramu Ramanathan.

And if you’d like to revamp your reading life in 2023, how about giving yourself or family or friends a gift of reading ?

Fiction Book of the Fortnight

The Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of our favourite heroine Deeti, a widowed young woman who leaves the opium fields of Bihar and comes down the Ganga with her low caste lover to seek a better life abroad. The book and the two others in the trilogy aren’t afraid to deal with the explosive subject of opium trading, never mind that the Western world has shoved this shocking trade into the shade. It is a story that will help you understand generations of geopolitics - definitely worth your time.

Non fiction books of the Fortnight

Seven Sacred Rivers by Bill Aitken : Aitken is a Scotsman with a love for wandering. In this book on 7 rivers - the Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Indus, Narmada, Godavari and Kaveri, Aitken observes the geographical significance of land ; he reflects on history, geography, religion & culture in a fascinating, meandering mix.

The River at the Centre of the World by Simon Winchester : There is a gigantic dam being built on the Yangtze, even though the world is realising how catastrophic big dams can be. Simon Winchester tracks the politics and economics of this, journeying his way up China’s wayward waterway, past Shanghai and Wuhan all the way up to Tibet. Along the way, he soaks in history, geography, geology, culture, politics, architecture and environmental policies. An easy read and a good way to learn about China. Since the book was written, the Three Gorges dam has been built, but this book is a fascinating back story.

Reader of the Fortnight

Drinks entrepreneur Vikram Achanta has a favourite river book - Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome. More deadly though, from the founder of beverage consulting company Tulleeho , are his personal river rafting stories.

• Tell us about a river rafting trip that has had the most impact on you ?

  In Sept 2014 we went rafting down the Zanskar river. There was a sense of danger from the start – you are in bleak, Lord-of- the- Rings kind of landscape, there is no network, no communication. The rapids are intense. The elements keep changing, chilly winds most days. It is a long trip – you pack up camp every morning and are on the river by 8 am. It puts everything into perspective – suddenly the stakes are the very highest.

• You are known for conducting the best pub quizzes. Which books & publications do you pick up your questions from ?

  My go-to is The Financial Times weekend supplement. I also find interesting trivia in the New York Times & the Guardian.

• As a writer yourself & Consulting Editor of Brews and Spirits, what are your top three drinks books ?

  In Raw Spirit, crime writer Iain Banks drives through Scotland in search of the perfect single malt.

  The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan

  My book - Shaker Sutra - The Tulleeho Book of Cocktails. It has easy to follow cocktail recipes with desi ingredients, lots of anecdotes and interesting trivia.

• What books are you currently reading ?

  The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo and The War that Ended Peace by Margaret Mcmillan

• What book do you give away as a gift the most ?

  The New Journalism by Tom Wolfe

If you’d like learn cocktail making, swirling Singapore slings , melding Moscow mules or mojitos or margaritas, Achanta runs some fun cocktail making workshops you can sign up for .

Upcoming Book Events

Dec 11 at 6 pm IST on Zoom : The Juhu Book Club chats with Corrine Seminoff, Producer at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Russia on the landscape of Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Dec 13 at 5 pm IST on Zoom : Ramu Ramananthan discusses his play 3 Sakina Manzil with the Beas Book Club.

To attend any of these events or to be featured as Reader of the Fortnight, please mail sonyasbookbox@gmail.com.

Until next fortnight then, Happy reading !

Warm regards,

Sonya

PS - To revamp your reading life this new year, give yourself, friends and family, a gift of reading !

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