In Vacant or in Pensive Mood

Set in the 1600s and revolving around the life of a newly-married couple, this book fits aptly into the genre of "Historical Romance". However, the authors do not limit the story to just that, but have added in delightful elements of suspense, drama, action, feminism, and even a pinch of horror! There are highway robberies, betrayals, disguises, deaths, lovemaking and treasure chests in the same story - so you can guess the expansiveness of the plot. The narrative is always in third person, but the perspective switches consistently between that of the two protagonists, the husband and the wife. The reader, most often, is aware of details that the spouses have not shared with one another, and this gives way for some nail-biting, palm-itching impatience. Trapped in the body of one, despite knowing the mind of the other, powerless to do anything but to be lead by the story-teller; there is definitely some delight in being such a reader. The book strikes a beautiful...

One Sunday afternoon, I sat with a few cousins, my brother-in-law, and my youngest uncle, playing a game of Monopoly . When a certain argument started out at one point in the game, we had to refer the rules in order to settle it. The argument was regarding a certain sum of money I was to pay my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law claimed one thing, saying he always played the game online and that he knew the rules. I claimed that the rule with the traditional version of the game was different, and so we decided to look it up. My uncle, who played the ‘banker’ (and, for those who know the game, the person with the last say in Monopoly), read the rules and proclaimed it in favour of my brother-in-law. I wouldn’t have worried if it had been a fair decision. However, on reading the rule, it was pretty clear that the situation was actually in my favour. But the men had just decided it was more convenient for them the other way. Well, what could I say? It was the word of two people against ...