A conversation about a book written by a woman, about a woman, for women, could ask for no better pairing than Avni Doshi and Shweta Bachchan. Doshi, whose debut novel, Burnt Sugar, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, flew in from her current home in Dubai to be at The Nod Book Club’s third in-person gathering to chat about her newly released sophomore novel, The First House. Bachchan, author of Paradise Towers and an avid reader herself, brought all her burning questions to this 50-minute chat, which covered everything from women-led fiction to Italian mothers and The Odyssey.
At the House of Masaba store on Bandra’s Linking Road, 40-plus guests braved a bunch of traffic and then sat in rapt silence, riveted to the back and forth between the aforementioned duo. The front row held a sweet surprise in the form of Shweta’s family—mum Jaya Bachchan and daughter Navya Naveli Nanda. Other attendees included content creator Naina Bhan, entrepreneur Roohi Jaikishan, author Amrita Mahale, and journalist Raghu Karnad (the star of our last gathering in Delhi). Surrounded by jewel-toned lehengas, chairs were filled with the telltale blue-and-orange cover of Doshi’s book and hands were preoccupied with craft cocktails courtesy Scottish gin brand Hendrick’s. Read all about it below.Â
