Rahul Bhattacharya

A cricketing romp through Pakistan In early 2004, the Indian cricket team set out for Pakistan. Pundits describes the subsequent tour, detailing the matches, the moods, the games and the players. More than merely that, though, it is also a book about the first major sporting encounter between India and Pakistan in 15 years - a period in which the two countries had fought one war and come close to another. What emerges is a fascinating contemporary account of a beautiful game in its most crucial setting, captured through the eyes of a young Indian discovering Pakistan.

On Tour with India, 2003-04

Pundits from Pakistan

When a young Indian journalist quits his job to take a year off in Guyana, he discovers a country of epic indolence, lush rainforests and an array of characters . Among the motley crowd of seasoned rogues, Samaritans and ideologues, people trying to escape or accept their colonial legacies, he falls for Jan, a girl who transports him to a new place—within himself and in the world. Acute and lyrical, this brilliant first novel is one of the finest literary achievements to come out of the subcontinent in the last decade.

The Sly Company of People Who Care

"Magnificent . . . I would follow Miss Chitol to the ends of the earth." -Kamila Shamsie "Profoundly tender [and] vigorously alive to the currents of national change." -Megha Majumdar From the Man Asian Prize–shortlisted author Rahul Bhattacharya, a breathtaking novel about a woman forging a life for herself on the railways of twentieth-century India.

A Novel

Railsong

WINNER OF THE ONDAATJE PRIZE 2012 WINNER OF THE HINDU LITERARY PRIZE 2011 SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE 2011 A twenty-six-year-old Indian journalist decides to give up his job and travel to Guyana, a forgotten colonial society of raw, mesmerizing beauty. But he is not just seduced by the country: he is also captivated by the feisty yet fragile Jan, and together they embark on an adventure which will take them into a new country and change both their lives. In his dazzling and ambitious debut novel, Rahul Bhattacharya has captured the heady adventures of travel, the overheated restlessness of youth, and the paradoxes of searching for life’s meaning in the escape from home. ‘His narrator has a charming, confident voice that engages instantly, and his descriptions of landscapes and people are ravishing . . . We look forward to seeing this on (at least) the Booker longlist.’ The Times ‘He is clever, insightful and funny. With a style resonant of some of the best Asian writing by giants such as Naipaul and Rushdie . . . If you can keep up, this debut novel has powerful charm.’ Daily Mail ‘It is beautifully written and brims with charm . . . Definitely a book to be savoured lying in a shady hammock, with a bottle of rum and cricket on the radio.’ Financial Times

Rahul Bhattacharya

About

Books

Join the club