The Madras Affair by Sundari Venkatraman

A romance with a powerful social message!

The book starts with Sangita, the empowered, successful head of an NGO that works to improve the lives of battered and homeless women. We are introduced to her supporting and loving husband Gautam, an American.
 As the story unfolds, we find out about Sangita’s past. She is born to an orthodox South Indian family and married off at the age of nineteen. We find out about her abusive husband, his sudden death while driving drunk, and the impossible demands and blame her family places on Sangita and her little boy. Young Sangita falls head over heels with Gautam while working as a receptionist in a hospital,. But she has been brought up to follow the norms of her conservative society and finds it difficult to accept Gautam’s affection.
Gautam is born to an American father and Indian mother, and lives with his grandparents in India, teaching at a local university. Having grown up in the US, he does not understand the traditions and taboos a young widow with a child faces.
With the help of her sister-in-law, her son, and Gautam’s grandparents, Sangita finds the will to overcome parental pressure and establish her authority to finally free herself form the societal chains that bind her. 
​With strong and well fleshed out characters, an interesting plotline, vivid imagery and a satisfying conclusion, Sundari Venkatraman takes us on a romantic journey, which leaves us smiling in the end.
Highly recommended!

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