One of the blessings (though it sometimes feels like a curse) of hosting Grand Tamasha, Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy, is that our host Milan Vaishnav ends up reading a ton of books and interviewing many authors. In what we hope will become an annual holiday tradition, Milan has made a list of his top three India reads of the year, based on some of the books we’ve highlighted on the show’s recently wrapped eighth season. 

Our Grand Tamasha top three books of 2022 (drumroll, please):

Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence

By Shrayana Bhattacharya. Published by HarperCollins India.

The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao’s Hints on the Art and Science of Government

By Rahul Sagar. Published by Hurst/HarperCollins India.

The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India

By Mansi Choksi. Published by Atria/Icon/Penguin Viking.

In this episode, Milan talks about why he loved each of these books and includes short clips from his conversations with Shrayana, Rahul, and Mansi. Think of this bonus episode as our little holiday present to you, our listeners. We'll see you in January.