Past Events
Exploring India through books
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, with discussions held both in person and on Zoom.
The June book is Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World by Louis Fischer
Louis Fischer has written several books about Mahatma Gandhi. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi was Fischer’s first comprehensive biography (550 pages) published in 1950 with subsequent editions. A recent publication (2010) with the Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World is shorter (224 pages) and you may prefer to read this briefer version. Fischer knew Gandhi well. In his books, he answers questions such as, “how did the son of modest parents become the powerful leader of India?” What spiritual force transformed the successful English-trained lawyer into a man who freed India and brought moral guidance for the entire world? Behind the general known facts of his life, Fischer also unveils many mysteries.
Please join us on Friday, June 5, at 4:00 (ET) for a thought-provoking discussion of Gandhi’s life, work, and spiritual teachings.
Location in person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
If you are planning to attend the group via Zoom, please register to receive the Zoom link.
Women of Truth and Courage:
The Widows of Kalangarai
The Block Island Film Festival (BIFF) selected our Documentary!!!
May 26-28, 2026
Place: Block Island Maritime Institute and Champlin’s Marina & Resort
Women of Truth and Courage
will be screened in the Documentary Short Film Block
on Thursday, May 28, 2:30 pm – 3 pm.
The Award Ceremony and Wrap Party will be later that evening.
MORE INFORMATION AND SCHEDULE
Trailer: Women of Truth and Courage:
The Widows of Kalangarai
Sunday, April 19, 2026 | 4:00 – 5:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Society
Auditorium | 102 Green Street | Fairhaven, MA 02719
FREE ADMISSION
Please Join
Dr. Winston Langley, author of Abolishing War
in conversation with
Dr. Deborah Winslow Nutter
as we explore the question:
Is it possible to abolish war
in today’s global (dis)order?
Dr. Winston Langley is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Relations and Senior Fellow, McCormack Graduate School for Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Biography
Dr. Deborah Winslow Nutter is the former Senior Associate Dean and Professor at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Biography
Dr. Langley’s book Abolishing War will be available for purchase
For more information, contact kalangarai.friends@gmail.com
Exploring India through the Lens of Novelists
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, with discussions held both in person and on Zoom.
The April book is A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Set in colonial India during the early 1900s, this novel delves into the complexity of human relationships shaped by culture, colonialism, prejudice and racial tension. A young Indian Muslim physician befriends several English tourists during a journey. A mysterious accusation inflames a courtroom drama, exposing cultural differences and disconnection between East and West.
“One of the 100 great works of 20th Century English literature.”
—Modern Library
“Because of the reputation the novel has acquired as a classic since its publication in 1924, one tends to forget what a smashingly good story it is.”
—The New York Times
Please join us on Friday, April 10, at 4:00 (ET) for a thought-provoking discussion of this classic novel.
Location in person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
If you are planning to attend the group via Zoom, please register to receive the Zoom link.
Exploring India through the Lens of Novelists
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, with discussions held both in person and on Zoom.
The February book is The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny by Kiran Desai
This 2025 novel is about two young Indian-Americans, Sonia and Sunny, who meet on a train in India and navigate love, family, and cultural alienation as they search for happiness between India and the U.S. The story explores themes of immigration, class, race, and the complexities of modern life, blending a love story with a family saga and a rich novel of ideas. It follows their separate lives in the U.S. and India, their past connection through a failed matchmaking attempt by their grandparents, and their eventual reunion as they confront personal and societal challenges.
Join us for our book group discussion on Friday, Feb 20, 2026, at 4:00 pm (ET).
Location in person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
If you are planning to attend the group via Zoom, please register to receive the Zoom link.
Exploring India through the Lens of Novelists
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, with discussions held both in person and on Zoom.
The December book is Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
Finalist for the Kirkus Prize
“A raw and deeply moving memoir from the legendary author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness that traces her complex relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, a fierce and formidable force who shaped Arundhati’s life both as a woman and a writer.” (Amazon, 2025)
Join us for our book group discussion on Friday, Dec. 12, at 4:00 pm (ET).
Location in person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
If you are planning to attend the group via Zoom, please register to receive the Zoom link.
Fall Festival Fundraiser
We are excited to announce that we are having a Fall Fundraiser
Join us for the fundraiser
Sunday
Oct. 26, 2025
2:00 pm–5:00 pm
The Keith Farm
775 Horseneck Road
Westport, MA 02790
Screening of
Women of Truth and Courage: The Widows of Kalangarai
Silent Auction! 23 premium items
Tickets $75 per person and may be purchased online
BUY TICKETS ONLINEOr mail check to:
Friends of Kalangarai I P.O. Box 8755 I New Bedford, MA 02742
100% of the event’s ticket sales will go toward the programs for the widows and their children’s education.
Exploring India through the Lens of Novelists
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, and the discussion is both in person and on Zoom.
The October book is Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq
Winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize
Heart Lamp is a collection of 12 powerful short stories that capture the lives of underrepresented women and girls in patriarchal communities of India.
Join us for our book group discussion on Friday, October 3 at 4:00 pm (ET).
Location in person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
To register online, click on the button below
Exploring India through the Lens of Novelists
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, and the discussion is both in person and on Zoom.
The August book is The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey
This is the second in a series of Perveen Mistery novels. The story takes place in Western India, 1921. Perveen, who is Bombay’s only female lawyer, is called to the princely state of Satapur to assist in a complex dispute over a late maharaja’s estate. Instead of straight-forward legal matter she becomes entangled in web of mystery surrounding the palace and a history of suspicious deaths.
Location in-person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
For more information and to register to receive a Zoom link to attend online.
Exploring India through the Lens of Novelists
Interested in traveling to India but don’t want to leave the comfort of your armchair? Our book group meets regularly, and the discussion is both in person and on Zoom.
The June book is The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy
The story takes place in 2015 when Lila De, a young Indian American editor, gets a call from her mother in India, informing her that she’s inherited her family’s sprawling estate. She returns to Kolkata and reunites with her mother after a decade of estrangement, and her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who still live in the house, resent her sudden inheritance. Lila is forced to come to terms with both the past and present, as family secrets emerge.
Location in-person:
Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740
For more information and to register to receive a Zoom link to attend online.
