Banaras Talkies is one of India’s greatest coming-of-age novels, following three friends as they navigate undergraduate college life, which is full of ups and downs, stealing exam papers, struggling to speak to women, and forging friendships that will last a lifetime over bad mess food. This story is relatable and reminiscent to many people who would like to relive their college experience through this book.
Banaras Talkies is a slice-of-life novel that captures the struggles, aspirations, and lives of young Indians through the idiomatic flourish that is the hallmark of Banarasi colloquialism from the halls of Banaras Hindu University, one of India’s most vibrant colleges.
“It is an award-winning Hindi bestseller,” author Satya Vyas says of the upcoming English translation. “For years, readers in Hindi have been entertained by this ‘hostelgic’ fiction. It gives me great pleasure that we can now reach out to new English readers through Penguin Random House.”
“Translating the book has been a journey of love, laughter, and adventure,” said Himadri Agarwal, the book’s translator. “I was honoured to translate it, and I’m excited to hear what English readers think of it.”
“Banaras Talkies is a witty novel that takes readers on a laughter-filled ride back to their college corridors, bantering with friends, conspiring to skip classes, the heartbreaks and lucky successes in love, and the ever-looming pressure of having to one day leave college and ‘get serious about life,” says Elizabeth Kuruvilla, Executive Editor, Ebury Publishing & Vintage, Penguin Random House India.
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