Our next book is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy) is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are impacted by the Indian “Love Laws”—laws of Indian culture to maintain social structures and give parents control of their children. Set in Kerala, India during the 1960s, the novel explores “how small, seemingly insignificant occurrences, decisions and experiences shape people’s behavior in deeply significant ways” (Wikipedia, 2024). The book also examines the effects of casteism and British colonialism in India.

Roy’s book won the Booker Prize in 1997.

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.

Our next book is Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri writes brilliantly about the challenges of Indian families who are navigating the divide between traditional Indian culture and contemporary society of a new world. The book consists of nine short stories set in Boston, Bengal, and beyond.  The book’s introduction describes the stories as “spiced with humour and subtle detail” and “speak with universal eloquence to anyone who has ever felt the yearnings of exile or the emotional confusion of the outsider.”

Lahiri’s book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000.

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.

Our next book is The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese

The Covenant of Water takes place in Kerala, on the southwest coast of India. The story spans the years 1900 to 1977 and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning.

“A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a bumbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. Imbued with humor, deep emotion, and the essence of life, it is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.” [From book cover]

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.

Our next book is The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey

The story takes place in Bombay, 1921. Perveen Mistry, one of the first female lawyers in India, is handling the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy businessman, who has left three widows behind. Perveen notices something strange with the will: all three have signed over their interitance to a charity.  What will they live on if they forefeit what their husband left them? Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian?

Tensions escalate to a murder. It’s Perveen’s responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that nobody is in further danger

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.

The book for our second session (April 12) is Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai.

Kiran Desai tells a hilarious and poignant story of life, love, and family relationships that captures the vivid culture of the Indian subcontinent and the universal intricacies of human experience.

Kiran Desai is the winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss. She is one of the most talented writers of her generation.

Place 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.

“AWAKE”NING Entrepreneurship in Women: Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods by AWAKE in KARNATAKA India

AWAKE (Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka) is a nongovernmental organization that has nurtured many women into entrepreneurs covering both rural and urban areas of Karnataka. It has been recognized as a pioneer organization in the field of women empowerment through entrepreneurship development and helped several thousands of women to become economically independent and become role models to be emulated by future generations.

Speaker: Rajeswari Ranganathan

Dr. Rajeswari is a practicing Veterinarian specialized in Vet microbiology. She started her career as an entrepreneur in the veterinary diagnostic and farm consultancy services and had been serving the farming sector since 1997. She has been a volunteer at AWAKE, serving on various committees. She is currently the President of AWAKE

The book for our first session (February 23) is The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar.

Place in-person: Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740

Or register to receive Zoom link for attending online.

Integrated Self-help Group Model for Enhancing Resiliency among Women in the War-affected Zone

The presentation will cover the background of the war-affected communities, the challenges faced by women, the need for an integrated self-help group approach, development, and the implementation of model and sustainable changes observed.

Speaker: Ms. Shamila Sivakumaran

Ms. Sivakumaran has worked extensively with women in the war-affected areas in Sri Lanka since 2011.

The book for our first session (February 9) is The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar.

Place in-person: Friends of Kalangarai
227 Union Street – Suite 707,
New Bedford, MA 02740

Or register to receive Zoom link for attending online.