The Cult of Chaos by Shweta Taneja

Cult of Chaos: An Anantya Tantrist Mystery
Shweta Taneja
2014
380 pages, speculative, mystery, detective
Found: some bookstore in Kolkata

I had to pick up this book when I saw the cover for the first time. Just look at this beauty!

In an alternative modern-day New Delhi, supernatural forces have come into the open: the tantrics, who have always practiced a form of magic, have formed an official government organization; gods walk among mortals disguised as fat businessmen; nagas and other supernatural creatures haunt special, magical bars; and one lone woman tantrist works as a detective, trying to keep these supernatural beings from killing each other – or at least, clean up after they are done.

Anantya is an incredibly strong spellcaster who knows her way around potions and magic of all sorts. Being the only major female tantrist (except for her reclusive guru), she faces a lot of scorn and disapproval, and her fiery temper often gets her into trouble. For all that, she is an excellent, quick-thinking detective with a talent for surveillance and fighting - and a need to protect those who no one else will. 

When a string of murders connected to illegal black tantrist rituals shocks the city, Anantya is called in to discover the culprits and their motivations. As the situation becomes more and more dire, she must use all of her skills, training, and contacts to stop these evil rites that hit closer to home than she even dares to think about.

Mice In Men by Anirban Bose

Mice in Men
Anirban Bose
2010, Harper Collins India
212 pages, short stories
Found: on sale at Crossword bookstore, Kolkata

This collection of short stories written by a medical doctor and university professor combines clear, precise wording with a knack for quirky storytelling. Each tale examines the life of an ordinary person, many of them in the field of medicine, who find themselves in an unusual position.

The stories are:

"The New Job"

After finding out that he needs surgery to correct his debilitating back pain, an old man takes a job as a driver for a wealthy businessman's family. To his dismay, he discovers that the husband is cheating on his wife everyday - and as the driver it is his responsibility to ferry him to the assignations. This leaves him in a moral quandary: he needs the money from this job, but after a long marriage, he feels morally repulsed by his employer's adultery.

"The Magic of Medicine"

A young Indian doctor administers to a severely ill patient, but is troubled by his status as an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. 

"Mice in Men"

B. Lal Chowdhury is an efficient civil servant whose life is planned down to the millisecond. But when he rescues an injured mouse from his coworkers, his schedule needs to change - and he discovers that change is good.