India Booked with Ayushi Mona Ayushi Mona

Set in Bombay during the Quit India movement, the book is about three children—Sakina, Zenobia and Mehul—who are eager to be a part of Indian freedom struggle. When Sakina realises that there’s an underground radio network and her Bela aunty is a part of it and that she might be ousted to the British Government, she and her friends help the Underground People’s Radio in their mission to evade the British police—while their mothers are just running a cooking club.

Read it for a glimpse of 1942 Bombay and the role the underground radio (and Usha Mehta!) played in the freedom struggle.

Join the author in a conversation with the host Ayushi Mona as they discuss multiple facets of the book and the author's journey. 

Based on the repercussions of the Burma War between British India and the Japanese Army, the book centres around Raji and her sisters who are sent off to live in Manikoil, in their mother’s village in 1944. Away from the war but also terribly embroiled in it through her brother who decides to enlist in the British Indian Army, Raji feels the whiff of independence in the air. When Ilavarasi, her new friend, also lets on that she’s a refugee of the war, Raji is forced to come to terms with its devastation. Amidst all this, rumours swirl that Gandhi thatha might be assassinated prompting the freedom fighters to enlist the help of Raji and her friend Lakshmi to deliver secret letters discreetly.

The book provides a glimpse into the role South had to play during the freedom struggle apart from touching upon themes such as girls’ education and empowerment.

Our podcast delves into the Behind the Scenes journey of Aditi's experience while writing the book.

Through six chapters dedicated to a mostly unknown village in Bengal and its craft, Payal Mohanka paints a picture of the rural crafting communities that produce rather unusual crafts objects like wigs, decorative lights, polo balls, boats, shuttlecocks and jeans.

As a journalist, when Payal was filing four-minute capsules on each of these activities for the India Business Report on BBC World Service television, she made a decision to capture these activities in more detail. After a decade Payal Mohanka returned to these six villages; Baniban Jagdishpur, Chandernagor, Deulpur, Balagarh, Jadurberia and Chatta Kalikapur and the result is this book.

Join her with host Ayushi Mona as she shares her peculiar and fascinating journey. 

Tanjore, 1942

There are few excitements in Thambi's quiet life. There is the new hotel, disapproved of by elders, which lures him with the aroma of sambar with onions. There are visits to the library to read the newspaper, and once in a while, a new movie at the Rajaram Electric Theatre. More disagreeably, there are fortnightly visits from his uncle to lay down the law.

When Gandhiji announces the Quit India movement, Tanjore is torn apart by protests. The train station-the lifeline of the town-is vandalized. Mysterious leaflets are circulated, containing news that newspapers do not publish. And inspired by the idea of a free India and his own dreams of being an engineer, Thambi must find the courage to do what he believes is right-even when it endangers all he holds dear.

The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

Join author Devika Rangachari in a conversation with host, Ayushi Mona to discuss her writing and research process.

Calcutta, 1928

As the student protests gather momentum all across Calcutta, and police atrocities grow, ten-year-old Bithi wants to join in the struggle for freedom.

But living in a society where her best friend is to be married and just the fact that she is going to school is regarded with disapproval, how can Bithi play a substantial part? How can she fight those who are dearest to her? Discouraged but not daunted, Bithi schemes and plots and lies and is drawn into unexpected danger-all for the sake of fighting injustice in all its forms.

The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence. Join author Lesley Biswas and host, Ayushi Mona in a vibrant conversation on what the freedom struggle narrative for India looked like, from the eyes of children.

Join author VR Devika and host Ayushi Mona as they describe the indomitable spirit of a woman who campaigned to get rid of the practice of wet nurses, fought for girls’ education and widow remarriage, equal property rights for women, education reform, and rural healthcare for women. She took up the case of getting the practice of dedicating young girls as Devadasis, abolished.

This monograph describes how Dr Reddy established Avvai Home for poor and destitute girls, from where thousands have graduated and found their feet. Thereafter, following a successful career as a specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics, she founded the Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai, which has grown to be an iconic hospital for cancer treatment throughout Asia.

About the Author

VR Devika is a well-known story teller, educationist and Gandhi scholar, with a PhD on MK Gandhi’s communication strategies. She is known as a cultural activist, having been associated with the inception of Chennai’s Dakshinachitra Heritage Museum and Tamil Nadu INTACH. Trained in Bharatanatyam, she lectures on dance and cultural heritage. Winner of several awards, Devika contributes frequently to leading publications in India and abroad. She is the founder trustee of The Aseema Trust linking traditional performing arts and education, to bring Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of non-violence to children.