The hairdresser James (Juan) had dreamed of the Costa del Sol every Christmas as he went home to his cantankerous mother in Glasgow instead. Then on another windy morning two days after IndiaNeed closed, a Spanish woman visited his salon; he carefully highlighted her blond hair as she chattered, and forgot his accent as he watched her smile in the mirror. Events moved along so rapidly that, shortly afterwards, he accompanied her to Barcelona, instructing the estate agent to advertise the sale of his salon.
Mr Khan of Waterford Way already owned two takeaways in Cambridge. He knew his neighbours resented the parked delivery van outside his residence, but Mr Khan had other things on his mind and his eye on Mill Road, and once the salon was on the market he lost no time in making a successful bid as a cash buyer. The salon space was ideally suited to an Indian restaurant.
Meticulous to the last detail, Mr Khan aimed to provide authentic cuisine; not for him new-fangled dishes such as Indian-style pasta, nor would he ever serve curries, burger and pizza under one roof. He carefully proofread the menu for errors, changing motor panir to read matar panir instead.
The name of the restaurant was initially a challenge; Mr Khan had proposed Koh-i-noor and The Taj, but these were already in existence, as were The Gandhi, Curry Palace, India Gate, India House, Indian Garden, Royal Tandoori, Raj Mahal, Raj Villa, The Mogul, Spice City, the Bottisham Tandoori, Downham Tandoori and Romano’s Histon Village Tandoori Restaurant.
In an inspired moment while painting on top of a ladder in the restaurant, Mr Khan tumbled upon the name. He would call it The Cambridge, like the popular pub that went by the name of The Granta at Newnham. A day later, his uncle from London suggested he add the word ‘club’ for an air of exclusivity and refinement. It was to be The Cambridge Club until Mrs Khan insisted that no flavour was possible without the word ‘curry’. She always had the last word.
The Cambridge Curry Club opened in early December and was taking bookings for Christmas. A gust of wind almost unhooked the sign; Mr Khan had it firmly nailed back the next day. The telephone staff occasionally stumbled over the long name and privately thought The Taj would have been snappier, but The Cambridge Curry Club it remained.
In the concluding chapter of the prayer book, Swarnakumari’s Guru Ma had succinctly elucidated the transmutation and transformation of all matter over time:
Nothing ever died that had never lived, nothing lived that had never died, and nothing lived or died, that was not reborn.
THE HOUSE OF SUBADAR
Vijay Medtia
Veer Subadar murdered a man, for family honour and the people of his rural community in northwest India. Upon their release from prison years later, Veer and his friend Mohan discover that the Subadars’ farm has been repossessed by the bank, and any chance of a livelihood destroyed. Veer and his family seek work in Bombay, lured by the promise of a new life.
The impoverished Subadars are forced to travel across 1,000 miles of Indian countryside, from their home in the Punjab through Gujarat and Rajasthan. They trek through a landscape of weary campsites and despondent souls, a test of endurance and will set against the fury of religious intolerance and hostility between Hindus and Muslims.
Their dreams begin to dissolve around them as they are told that employment is scarce, and the new arrivals are treated with hostility. Can Veer control his passions, and can his family find stability and a better future? The House of Subadar is a vivid journey of chance and will, cruelty and tragedy, and of the perseverance of the human spirit – a modern-day Grapes of Wrath.
‘A remarkable debut – a celebration of family and hope’
SUE BAKER, Publishing News
‘Unpretentious and evocative, danger never far away’ Independent
250pp
ISBN: 978–1–901969–27–6
RRP £11.99
ANCESTORS
Paul Crooks
HOW A LOST FAMILY WAS FOUND
It is the late eighteenth century. Aboard a slave ship bound from West Africa to Jamaica, a terrified young boy is cared for by Ami, a fellow captive, who becomes his surrogate mother during that nightmare voyage. They are sold to separate owners, but their lives remain curiously intertwined, and the boy, now a man named August, marries Ami’s daughter, Sarah. Ancestors tells the story of their lives, their part in the struggle for emancipation, and the hope and faith that sustains them.
At the age of ten, Paul Crooks’ great-great-great-grandfather John Alexander Crooks was captured and put aboard a slave ship bound for Jamaica. Ancestors is the fictionalised account of John’s experiences from 1798 to 1838, the year that slaves in the British West Indies were set free.
‘A moving tale of a black British family that travels through the ages from slavery and beyond’ BONNIE GREER, Guardian
‘An inspiring piece of literature. You can also smell the sweat and blood, hear the cracking whips and bitter cries of a people thrust into bondage’ The Voice
‘An exceptional debut novel. It is rightly being hailed as the heir to Alex Haley’s Roots… A highly recommended read for the entire family’ Woman to Woman
308pp
ISBN: 978–1–901969–07–8
RRP £9.99
BAHIA BLUES
Yasmina Traboulsi
Translated from the French by Polly McLean
SALVADOR DE BAHIA – AN ILL WIND IS BLOWING
THROUGH THE OLD QUARTER OF THE CITY. THIS
POWERFUL DEBUT HAS ALREADY EVOKED
COMPARISONS TO THE BRAZILIAN FILM
CITY OF GOD.
On a vibrant square in Salvador, a small community, although impoverished, lives in harmony: Maria Aparecida, former carnival queen; Ivone, the beautiful, naïve convent guardian who dreams of becoming an actress; Padre Denilson, full of compassion and understanding for his wretched pensioners; seven-year-old Sergio, who sells sweets and perfumed napkins to support his whole family; Zé and Manuel, two gay teenagers begging to survive. Despite the hardships they are forced to endure, it is their deep-rooted sense of community and positive outlook which protects them from the violent chaos that rules Brazil’s two major metropoles. Suddenly a stranger called Gringa enters this small world, and everything starts to change: Maria has disappeared, one-eyed Tonio has stopped singing and Mama Lourdes foresees nothing but tragedy. One by one, the inhabitants of the Square, tired of their provincial existence and dazzled by the urban glamour portrayed on their favourite soap opera, depart for the cities of Rio and São Paulo. However, the reality of life in the cities’ favelas is a bitter disappointment – a tough game of survival guaranteed to harden even the most tender of hearts.
‘A very impressive and engaging first novel and Yasmina Traboulsi is unquestionably a writer to watch’ SALMAN RUSHDIE
‘Traboulsi’s tough, pungent prose works well in translation, and one never doubts the authenticity of her favela portraits’ Guardian
220pp
ISBN: 978–1–905147–28–1
RRP £10.99
MISTRESS
Anita Nair
A SEARING NEW NOVEL OF ART AND ADULTERY
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF LADIES COUPE
When travel writer Christopher Stewart arrives at a riverside resort in Kerala to meet Koman, Radha’s uncle and a famous kathakali dancer, he enters a world of masks and repressed emotions. From their first meeting, both Radha and her uncle are drawn to the enigmatic young man with his cello and his incessant questions about the past. The triangle quickly excludes Hyam, Radha’s husband, who can only watch helplessly as she embraces Chris with a passion that he has never been able to draw from her. Also playing the role of observer-participant is Koman; his life story, as it unfolds, captures all the nuances and contradictions of the relationship being made – and unmade – in front of his eyes.
A brilliant blend of imaginative storytelling and deeply moving explorations into the search for meaning in art and life, Mistress is a literary tour de force from one of India’s most exciting writers.<
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‘A talent…She makes the closed world of the Kathakali performers come alive and paints a poignant picture of the segregated, cloistered Muslim village’ Washington Post
‘Nair is a powerful writer…she has created what must be one of the most important feminist novels to come out of South Asia’ Daily Telegraph
428pp
ISBN: 978–1–905147–30–4
RRP £11.99
THE HOLY WOMAN
Qaisra Shahraz
A POWERFUL AND COMPELLING FAMILY DRAMA
A romantic story of love and betrayal set in a wealthy Muslim community, with all the pressures and conflicts that modern life and old traditions bring.
‘A dramatic story of family intrigue, religious passions and riproaring romance’ MICHÈLE ROBERTS
‘A lean, lyrical meditation on tradition and independence, sensuality and sacrifice, set against the moral background of modern day Pakistan. Shahraz’s debut beguiles throughout’ The Times
‘An international best-seller … an extraordinary story of love and betrayal in rural Pakistan’ Manchester Evening News
‘An intriguing tale of love, envy and jealousy … Compulsive reading’ Asian Times
‘A riveting family saga, where three young women are haunted by the events that occurred two decades earlier’ Bradford Telegraph & Argus
‘A very moving tale of love, passion and Islamic traditions … Difficult to put down’ BBC National Asian Network
‘Stunning debut novel. An intricate study of love, family, politics and sacrifice’ Eastern Eye
‘A real story-telling’ SUE GEE
570pp
ISBN: 978–1–905147–63–2
RRP £8.99
TYPHOON
Qaisra Shahraz
THREE WOMEN, ONE MAN, ONE NIGHT
Typhoon is a riveting family saga of deceit. The long-awaited second novel by the best-selling author of The Holy Woman.
Chiragpur is a traumatised village, warped in time and space. Haunted by what happened some twenty years earlier in a courtroom, Typhoon is a tragic tale of three young women, each one demonised by her past.
‘Full of vivid detail about the lives and loves, the duties and desires in Muslim life’ YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN
‘Seamlessly takes her readers on a vivid journey exploring the lives of her Pakistani heroines’ Manchester Evening News
‘Gripping, involving and satisfying. Shahraz gives us a compelling insight into Pakistani village life’ Indie Magazine
‘Her long-awaited second novel about love, jealousy, adultery and rape – tells the tragic tale of three young women in Chiragpur, Sindh’ Asian News
354pp
ISBN: 978–1–905147–62–7
RRP £7.99
About the Author
Saumya Balsari was born in India, has travelled widely and lives in Cambridge. She has worked in London as a free-lance journalist and columnist covering lifestyle issues for Indian print media. Her play The Curry Club for Kali Theatre had a reading at the Soho Theatre, London, in 2003. Her first novel, The Cambridge Curry Club is seen in various countries as essential reference for new directions in postcolonial literature. She is currently completing a novel for young adults, poems for children and a collection of short stories.
Copyright
Arcadia Books Ltd
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www.arcadiabooks.co.uk
First published in the UK by Arcadia Books 2004
Reprinted 2008
Copyright © Saumya Balsari 2004
Saumya Balsari has asserted her moral right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–1–909807–39–6
This ebook edition published by Arcadia Books 2013
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The Cambridge Curry Club Page 21