SOWMYA AJI

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My novels:

Cinderella In Khaki

When minister Sarthak Maadara, charming and suave, walks into a slum in Bengaluru, he sets off deep political intrigue, violent ideological battles, potent gang wars in the teeming life of the unreported and neglected underbelly of India's Silicon city. This gritty political thriller gets as real as it can, living the grim life of the modern-day Cinderella who protects her men and her ideals. Is this a fairy tale that can end well?

Reviews:

Amazon.in
If people like Manjari Gowda and Dhruva live in her book

"Cinderella is a shot of Adrenaline. This political thriller goes beyond being a book and becomes an aesthetic experience. It tears through jobs, errands or whatever that may need your attention. Impossible to put it down however brief the break. Every character steps out of the book live and makes you want to follow her/him around quietly as Sowmya leads them."

Cinder-Ella

"Fairy-tale romance-check. Suspense-check. Adventure-check. Politics, sleaze, kindness, bravery , chivalry- check . And Happy Ending, the most important part of a story-CHECK. This is what happens when a journalist writes a novel. The story writes itself once the lead paragraph falls in place. The traverses the many worlds that lie hidden in Bangalore’s heart, and reveals the human, humane residents of its poor, crime-infested quarters. "

Twists, turns and then more twists!

"It’s a story which makes you speculate and think about people and life around you.. How life is for the untouchable in India... Casteism that is rampant not only in rural areas but also in our political system... how the rowdy networks are intertwined with the government, the police and the citizens.. Though the story is definitely a Bengaluru-Karnataka based one, it still conveys a larger picture of what most of the country is and has been facing! "

But it takes a seasoned journalist who hasn't stopped dreaming ..

"Sowmya hasn't used the word 'secular' anywhere in the novel, though it hugely supports secular nature of our constitution and talks about food rights extensively, especially from economics perspective. The novel is also a tribute to the women power we see everyday but don't recognise."

Vivid, pacy imagination rooted in reality.

"Some scenes and descriptions, especially the disturbing sexual assault incident (won’t reveal more and spoil it!) is wildly imaginative, rings real and transports the reader to the very location where it is set. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to read a novel set in the heart of Bangalore, with a flavor of suspense and romance."

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The Wall

A stone wall at the periphery of a village somewhere in Karnataka guards a dangerous mystery. Yet, four generations of women from the headman's family helpless and spirited, headstrong and weak with desire have a wayward fascination with it. And with Annaiah who comes, some say, from across the wall. Tradition and subversion coexist with superstitions and the slow advent of modernity in this powerful novel where time is a wilful beast and the gods walk among us.

Media:

The Hindu:
Of myths and fantasy

"One of the challenges I faced was presenting the Kannada sensibility in English. We have had translations of Kannada works in English, but I have attempted something new in The Wall .."

Deccan Chronicle:
The Wall, a Taalamaddale of Romance & Erotica

"We have a tradition in the Malnad region of Karnataka called taalamaddale, which takes the old Mahabharata and Ramayana tales and within their frame, all of the current day's politics, social, cultural and economic issues are debated to great effect. What I have sought to do in The Wall is taalamaddale in writing."

Sakal Times:
What lies beyond the Wall ..

"The storyline subtly draws parallels between the old and the modern world. The story is set somewhere in a remote, unnamed village in Karnataka. India is on the brink of independence and modernisation yet to reach the village. "

Bangalore Literature Festival Live:
The wall and the world of Kamadeva

"Young women in Aji’s book deal with the activity of exploring ‘Kama’ or sexuality. This also runs through the parallels of Feminism. Women trying to find and concern themselves with sexuality means the word has been circulated and soon it will be absorbed. "

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Delirium

Even as Anjana is swept off her feet into a whirlwind romance, the reporter within her sniffs out the biggest scoop of the season. All too soon, she is neck-deep in trouble with her bosses and the cricket board, struggling to make sense of the sordid world of steroids and celebs. Will anjana give up the delicious young man she is hooked on to? And does she even want to? Sinful and alluring, Delirium is a heady cocktail of intrigue, temptation and betrayal.

Media:

New Indian Express:
Cricket, Romance and Scandals

"There’s a whole lot of cricket – from BCCI officials, to drug controversies, to green room trash talk to the practice nets. A well-researched book, Delirium will take most readers to real events that have taken place over the course of the last few years in Indian cricket."

The Hindu
An Affair to Remember

"The plot takes time to gather speed, but soon the readers are kept wondering what’s next. The three elements — illicit affairs, cricket and the ‘scoop’ of the season, — make for a good read. Will Anjana reveal her source?"

Flaming Sun: Sundari Venkatraman (blog):
Sports, Love, Steroids... Will love win?

"The affair and love scenes between Anjana and Avinash have been handled very well. It would have been so easy for them to slide into a sleaze fest. I must congratulate the author for presenting them with class. I am so glad that I got my hands on Delirium."

Vanya's Notebook (blog):
I am definitely a small fish in this ocean

"Ha ha! When I wrote the book—completed in 2004—Virat Kohli was probably still in school! It’s not based on any actual person, its imagination! And while we are at it, Kohli is aggressive not charming, surely! :)"

Book News India (blog):
The title was so intriguing for me

"It draws a fine line between how easy or how hard is for females to get the inside out of the stories, stories that are nothing but a bitter truth with ugly faces. It outlines the internal facts and developments, around dressing room and within the Indian sports industry, ‘Cricket’ in particular."

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Short story:

Another Time Another Place

He still keeps her letter in his pocket—the letter from his beloved—even though the words in it were clear and final: It was over. So what if he missed her a little too much and had read that letter every single day for the last three years? He tried to go about his daily businesses like any other person—eventually, he would be capable of managing without her, right?—but, every now and then, sadness engulfed him. What choice did he have?

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