Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Five New Books Explore Faith, Craft, Queerness and Loss
This article introduces five books and explains what each one is about.
One book looks at how Mahatma Gandhi understood Hinduism and faith.
Another explores the people and work behind Odisha’s appliqué craft.
A collection of stories considers queer lives, desire and gender in South Asia.
A photography book shows animals and encourages people to think about living alongside them.
The final book is about a girl named Livia, who finds comfort in music after her brother dies.
The books cover different subjects, from religion and craft to stories, animals and grief.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s Gandhi’s Hinduism examines Mahatma Gandhi’s religious convictions through his own words.
Chandua: Canopies of Labour documents Odisha’s appliqué traditions, drawing on research across 45 craft clusters.
Shastri Akella’s A Queer Shade of Saffron explores desire, gender and queer experiences across India and South Asia.
Animals pairs photographs by Raghu Rai with an introduction by animal rights activist and politician Maneka Gandhi.
Barbara Kingsolver’s Partita follows 11-year-old Livia Bohusz as music helps her cope with her brother’s death.
- Who
- Authors and editors include Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Premjish Achari, Sibdas Sengupta, Shastri Akella, Raghu Rai, Maneka Gandhi and Barbara Kingsolver.
- What
- A roundup introduces five books spanning religion, craft, queer stories, animals and a novel about grief and music.
- Where
- The books address subjects including India, Odisha and South Asia; no publication location is specified.
- Why
- The roundup presents the books’ topics and central themes.
- Gandhi’s Hinduism
- By Gopalkrishna Gandhi; Aleph Book Company; 208 pages; Rs 699.
- Chandua
- Edited by Premjish Achari and Sibdas Sengupta; Odisha Craft Odyssey; Rs 6,500.
- Chandua research
- The publication draws on nine months of research across 45 craft clusters.
- A Queer Shade of Saffron
- By Shastri Akella; HarperCollins; 248 pages; Rs 599.
- Animals
- By Raghu Rai and Maneka Gandhi; HarperCollins; 208 pages; Rs 3,999.
- Partita
- By Barbara Kingsolver; Hachette; 352 pages; Rs 1,999.