Translated from Indian languages: books for grown-ups

From the Bookbear grown-ups' shelf: 11 books on translated from indian languages, chosen for curious, conscious parents.

1. Yuganta: The End of an Epoch

   Yuganta: The End of an Epoch

   by Irawati Karve

   AdultsIndian author

   A landmark Sahitya Akademi-winning study by an anthropologist who reads the Mahabharata's characters as real, flawed people — Kunti, Draupadi, Karna, Krishna — stripped of divinity.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹350 ↗

2. Bhima: Lone Warrior

   Bhima: Lone Warrior

   by M.T. Vasudevan Nair

   AdultsIndian author

   A Malayalam classic (Randamoozham) that retells the Mahabharata through Bhima, the second-born brother always overlooked for the crown.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹374 ↗

3. Parva

   Parva

   by S.L. Bhyrappa

   AdultsIndian author

   An epic Kannada novel that strips the Mahabharata of miracles and retells it as a realistic human story of war, kinship and ageing.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹730 ↗

4. The Liberation of Sita

   The Liberation of Sita

   by Volga

   AdultsIndian author

   A Sahitya Akademi-winning Telugu novel in which Sita meets Surpanakha, Ahalya, Renuka and Urmila and finds her own path to freedom.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹163 ↗

5. Yajnaseni: The Story of Draupadi

   Yajnaseni: The Story of Draupadi

   by Pratibha Ray

   AdultsIndian author📱 eBook only in India

   The Jnanpith-winning Odia author's novel of Draupadi, written as a letter to Krishna that questions the men and gods who decided her life.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹338 ↗

6. The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story

   The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story

   by A. Revathi

   AdultsIndian author

   The first memoir by a hijra in India, from a small Tamil village to activism in Bengaluru.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹241 ↗

7. I Am Vidya: A Transgender's Journey

   I Am Vidya: A Transgender's Journey

   by Living Smile Vidya

   AdultsIndian author

   A trans woman's memoir of transition, family and finding dignity in Tamil Nadu.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹195 ↗

8. Me Hijra, Me Laxmi

   Me Hijra, Me Laxmi

   by Laxmi Narayan Tripathi

   AdultsIndian author

   The life of one of India's best-known transgender rights activists.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹549 ↗

9. Tomb of Sand

   Tomb of Sand

   by Geetanjali Shree

   AdultsIndian author

   International Booker-winning Hindi novel of an 80-year-old widow who travels to Pakistan to face her Partition past. Translated by Daisy Rockwell.

   Buy on Amazon.in · ₹464 ↗

10. Ghachar Ghochar

    Ghachar Ghochar

    by Vivek Shanbhag

    AdultsIndian author

    A Bengaluru family's sudden wealth quietly corrupts them. Translated by Srinath Perur.

    Buy on Amazon.in · ₹224 ↗

11. Hangwoman

    Hangwoman

    by K.R. Meera

    AdultsIndian author

    Chetna, from a family of hangmen, becomes India's first woman executioner. Translated by J. Devika.

    Heads-up: Violence

    Buy on Amazon.in · ₹404 ↗