Why We Love the Way We Do

When 26-year-old Ayan is sent to live with his grumpy old grandfather Gopal Shanker in a tiny village in Kerala, he is understandably devastated. What can a sleepy, idyllic village without even internet connectivity offer a young man?

Packed with her hilarious narratives, poignant observations and a writing style loved by millions across the world, this book is certain to strike a chord with anybody who has children or who has been a child themselves! For those who have read 34 Bubblegums and Candies, this is a new version, with many additional stories. 

Ankita has fought a mental disorder, been through hell and survived two suicide attempts. Now in Mumbai, surrounded by her loving and supportive parents, everything seems idyllic. She is not on medication. She is in a college she loves, studying her dream subject: creative writing. She has made friends with the bubbly Parul and the glamourous Janki. At last leading a ‘normal life’, she immerses herself in every bit of it - the classes, her friends, her course and all the carefree fun of college. Underneath the surface, however, there is trouble brewing.

It’s the mid-’90s. Studious, smart and sincere, Veda harbours big dreams for the future. But her parents arrange a marriage for her, and the 20-year-old discovers she has no say in the matter. Forced to leave behind an idyllic life in the hill town of Joshimath - filled with conversations and pleasurable times with her siblings and her best friend, the handsome Suraj - she puts aside her ambitions and moves into a flat in Pune with an indifferent husband and a mother-in-law from hell. Though brought up to be quiet and obedient, Veda chafes at the meaninglessness of her existence.

Life would have been easier had it been possible for us to plan falling in love; more importantly, avoid falling in love.... "Love is not for you," she told herself. Inside, just like any girl, she desired to be loved. She had accepted her life the way it was, till one day love showed up unannounced, uninvited! That’s the thing with love. It doesn’t take permission. It’s in its very nature to gatecrash into our lives.

There is nothing really wrong with Priya Bakshi and Akash Srivastav's six-year-old marriage...except that Priya is having an affair. And Akash, too, seems to be on the lookout for sexual adventure. When Tarun, their richer, older, and manipulative friend, tells them about Delhi's couple-swapping parties, Akash wants to jump right in. With some reluctance, Priya agrees to give him company. Soon, Akash and Priya find themselves in a world of swinging couples and sexual abandon, joined by friends who are equally keen to test the the waters.  

When Vipasha, Vee to friends, 18 and single, makes the decision to have her baby, she does more than give up her promising modelling career. She ends up cutting ties with her family and with Ankush, the man she thought she was in love with. Fast-forward 16 years, and she now has two unusual careers: she runs a dog-boarding facility and is a gym instructor. Aryan thinks she is the coolest mom in the world and hopes she will one day find her Prince Charming - exactly what her best friend, Suchi, has in mind for her.

At 16 Diksha, like any girl her age, finds her life revolving around school, boys and endless hours of fun with her best friend. But one day all that changes. What starts as an innocent crush explodes into something far beyond her control. Eighteen years later she finds herself at the crossroads of life. Urged by a twist of events, a wish list is born. But can a wish list help her piece her life back together? Will she succumb to the tangled mess of an extramarital relationship?

Some of the best relationships that exist in this world are nameless ones. They crouch behind those sanctioned by society: the legitimate ones, the ones that you can define because they are approved, allowed, understood and normal. In this finely crafted short story, Preeti Shenoy examines one of these ‘nameless relationships’, peeling back the layers of complexities that underlie marriage, love, desire - and the many grey zones that lie between two people.

Meet Aniket. Twenty-seven, techie, Mr. Average. His best friend is Subbu, a nerd who breathes, thinks and lives code. Aniket cannot believe his luck when he starts dating Trish - a stunning, sexy model who is totally out of his league. But Trish has a list of things she wants him to work on, beginning with his potbelly and his geekiness.

Once upon a time, there was an intelligent boy called Vidoy. And there was a beautiful girl called Dibisha. They met under the Virgin tree. He was not her cup of tea. But very soon they became close friends. He fell in love with her. But he could never say. And she never thought about him in that way. For her, he was just an average looking boy. She can do all nonsense before him. She doesn't feel odd. He can hold her hand while crossing the road. But they are "just friends".

Life is a bit like bubblegum and candies. Sometimes you have to keep on chewing so that you extract whatever you can out of it. At times, the bubble you blow bursts unexpectedly and you are left with a sticky mess. Sometimes you lick it slowly and relish it. When you greedily bite off more than you can chew or a hard boiled sugar candy slips down inadvertently, you bear the pain as it makes its way down the food pipe. At rare times, when you manage to strike just the right balance, a feeling of contentment reigns supreme.

The bond that is forged in an ice skating rink and made stronger over many tea and coffee breaks at work eventually turns crazy when love sneaks in. Meera, a carefree and successful fashion blogger, falls in love with her khadoos best friend, Ishaan. Walking together, falling together, getting up together - somewhere they find their destination, only to realise that the journey itself was far better. 

Armaan is a young television writer and seems to have it all - a dream job, ample money and a good place to live in Mumbai. Despite all that, his heart lies somewhere in his hometown, Indore. Merry and beaming through all of life’s ups and downs, Sara is a little desolate and now needs a different space to rethink her life as she joins a leading television channel in Mumbai. Armaan and Sara meet in FILMY style and quite obviously then cannot help but fall in love.

When the younger players in India's cricket team find out that advertising executive Zoya Singh Solanki was born at the very moment India won the World Cup back in 1983, they are intrigued. When having breakfast with her is followed by victories on the field, they are impressed. And when not eating with her results in defeat, they decide she's a lucky charm. The nation goes a step further. Amazed at the ragtag team's sudden spurt of victories, it declares her a goddess.