(HarperCollins, 2018)
“In a world overdosing on speed and size, Adithi draws us into the endearing lives of simple folk with human-sized goals in a community-sized world. A heart-warming and reassuring celebration of the small and relevant which is the need of the hour.”
– Mansoor Khan (Filmmaker, Author)
An old walking stick reveals secrets of love and bygone glory. A Catholic priest’s impossible dream engenders tiny miracles that touch the lives – and deaths – of the townspeople. An old man passes on the magic of self-belief to a child. A young boy communes with a pillar to reveal the will of the gods … And Rudrapura unites to save the Nameless Shop and its fantastically-flavoured ice creams from impending ruin!
Then, there are the heart specialists of the town. Tessie, tiny, uncompromising dream catcher. Lakshmi, indomitable lover of the impossible. Narayanamma, maker of ice-creams, keeper of secrets. Adishree, Hibiscus Girl, with her head in the clouds and her feet gently planted in her husband’s home…
This debut collection seeks to create a quaint world reminiscent of the gentle charm of Malgudi Days. Here, magic intersects with the commonplace through stories that journey into love or the loss of it, and where, at last, each character only ever finds themselves. Rudrapura bubbles with a sense of community. A life left behind. A life to which one longs to return…
READ EXTRACTS FROM THE BOOK HERE…
From “Wife” (Story 9) on She The People
From “The Beggar of Rudrapura” (Story 7) on Firstpost
(Listen to a narration by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the play button.)
From “The Poster Painter (Who no longer Painted Posters)” (Story 1) on Scroll.in
INTERVIEWS & REVIEWS …
– Privy Trifles, The Book Elf, (11 Jan, 2019)
– Sheila Kumar, The Hindu Literary Review (5 January, 2019)
– Meghna Mazumdar, The Hindu Metro Plus (31 December, 2019)
Adithi Rao’s ‘Left from the Nameless Shop’ captures essence of Indian towns in 1980s
– Suridhi Sharma, The New Indian Express (18 December, 2018)
– The Sri Lankan Guardian (9 December, 2018)
– The Assam Tribune, (25 December, 2018)
– Deccan Chronicle, (9 January, 2019)
– The Bookworm Society, (16 January, 2019)
– Udayavani, (24 February, 2019)
Book Readings and Events
And here’s what happened at Nossa Goa, Bangalore, on Sunday, 10th Feb, 2019…
Books for sale on a carrom board at the venue! 
With Marianne de Nazareth of the Book Bound Club 
Discussing plot lines and characters 
Our wonderfully responsive audience 
On the Shelf! 
With Krishna Bala Shenoi, who illustrated the beautiful book cover
The people of Bengaluru getting to know the people of Rudrapura! 
Coffee after the session 
With Sudeshna, editor and friend
Writer of Stories, Spinner of Yarns. 