ZaRa’s World of Fantasy

  THE SECRET KEEPER OF JAIPUR Author : Alka Joshi  Publication : Harper Collins  A sequel to ‘The Henna Artist’ and Part II of the Jaipur Trilogy by Ms.Alka Joshi. Set in Shimla and Jaipur city,The Secret Keeper of Jaipur takes place 12 years after where the Henna artist ends with all the characters being positively moved on in life.The central role is shared by Lakshmi and Malik (Lakshmi’s Servant boy in part one who is now a grown up educated adult).The story develops through the life events of Malik with a love story and a mysterious business situation and how he solves the puzzles with the aid of Lakshmi,who is known as the real Secret keeper (of Jaipur). Unlike the first part which focused more on character development, the second part is pure story development with a grippy element of mystery. Go for this if you are interested in reading about India’s culture and tradition which was beautifully described in both the books. Overall, a decent level sequel  👍🏼 ...

 THE HENNA ARTIST  Author : Alka Joshi  Publication : Harper Collins A recent favourite of most bookstagrammers ‘The Henna Artist’ is the first part of the Jaipur trilogy by Ms.Alka Joshi. Set in Post-independence India of 1950s, the protagonist Lakshmi Shastri is a prolific henna artist serving the elite section of the Jaipur city.Lakshmi’s grief ridden past life and a younger sister Radha (whom she wasn’t aware of) suddenly creates an imbalance in her seamless stream of life.Does she fall prey to the circumstances?  Shaping a bold and fierce character like Lakshmi in the times of 1950s (an age where most women were underprivileged and discriminated ) is not an easy task. Kudos to the author for framing the characterisation of Lakshmi a resistant personality.I also loved the vivid narration which fed my visual imagination. Best Wishes to the author  👍🏼