Many times when I used to read Mills and Boon as a teenager I could never relate with the protagonist and I wished that there would come a day when romance novels would get more local and desi .Mills and Boon, Harlequin was a part of growing up. I have devoured hundreds of M&B’s and whenever I got a chance would even re-read some of my favourites. But there was always the Indian tall dark and handsome I longed to read romancing an Indian woman.
Looks like years down the line my prayers have been answered! Random House India has published a series ‘Kama Kahani’ .The romance series are historical romances rather than contemporary love stories. So you have a rich backdrop of palaces, historical places and colorful characters such as Maharajas, Thakurs, Britishers. Think Heer-Ranjha, Soni-Mahiwal …the book tries to re-capture the essence of all these and more. The books, however, don't score much on the authenticity of the period details. I also felt the writers have a severe M&B hangover. The plot is almost the same –
· Boy meets girl
· The girl hates him at first
· Then a few chance encounters make her fall in love with the handsome man
· She is unsure of his reciprocation
· By the end they manage to clear the misunderstanding and live happily ever after!
Apart from a few drawbacks I feel it’s a good attempt by the publishing house to initiate an Indian Romance Series. What I’d really like to read though would be a few contemporary romance novels from them.
Some of the Titles available in the series:
Mistress to the Yuvraj –Sanyogita Rathore
Passion in the Punjab- Kiran Kohl
The Zamindar’s Forbidden Love-Jasmine Saigal
Ghazal in the Moonlight-Alessandra Shahbaz
The Thief of Poompuhar-Nila Iyer
