Yet another book on Chennai

Publishers seem to be benefiting from the good times. This year saw the release of “Chennai Latte – A Madras Brew” by Ranjitha Ashok and Biswajit Balasubramanian. "Madras Mosaic" is the latest one to hit the circuit. Although "Chennai Latte" had a distinct brand of humour, it tried to stick to usual stuff like Filter Kaapi, December Kutcheri, Deepavali shopping, Mosquitoes etc. "Madras Mosaic" promises something unique and different. The success of such ventures could trigger a new wave of books in new and different themes.

Meera has an eye for the offbeat. "Middle-aged Mothers" is about "a new tribe of middle-aged grandmothers in Chennai", who are "in their late forties or early fifties, still full of life, and have a wide range of interests and hobbies to pursue, but no time for them. Their spouses are on the verge of retirement and have hectic post-retirement plans. But for the new breed of `mothers' there is no super-annuation or relaxation, because the life cycle begins all over again, a cycle involving more work and greater responsibility."

Although, women appear a lot more in the book, it's not a book about them. It's also about "elusive grooms", "a choosy beggar" ("He has been a familiar sight in Alwarpet and Mylapore in south Chennai for over five decades, the only difference being that at first, he used to beg for milk to feed his snake, and after his snake's death he begs to feed himself"), multiculturalism, personality training, Akshaya thritiya and a lot more.