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What’s on the shelves this week?
In this photobook, Shino Cherian guides readers into the heart and legend of Koovagam, a sleepy hamlet in central Tamil Nadu, which hosts one of the most extraordinary festivals in the world in which thousands of transgender women participate. While beauty pageants, sexual health awareness workshops, etc, define the first 16 days, the festival crescendos over the final 48 hours when these women enter the Koothandavar temple to marry Lord Aravan, who played a crucial role in the victory of the Pandavas.
Snowed Under by Nirmala Thomas. Translated by Radhika P Menon. Speaking Tiger. Pages 317. Rs 599
Set against the cold landscape of Canada and the quiet routines of immigrant life, this book (first published as ‘Manjil Oruval’ in Malayalam) captures the emotional reality of living with cancer — the waiting, the medical procedures, the stigma that surrounds the illness and the strain it places on the closest relationships. It tells the story of Ashwini Ram, a successful engineer in Canada, who discovers a tiny lump in her right breast. What follows is a journey she never expected to take.
From Jaitewali to the Halls of Academia by Harjinder Singh Rose. Adhyyan Books. Pages 478. Rs 599
More than a conventional memoir and a chronicle of personal achievements, this book offers an unfiltered narrative of the academic ecosystem. Born and raised in the modest surroundings of Jaitewali village in Punjab, the author, a zoologist, reflects on the interplay of circumstances and opportunities, and how he pushed himself to achieve new heights despite the constraints.
