World of Books and Travel

Before the Sunset" is Lakshmi Menon's new novel. It is a heart-touching page turner, while being a hard-hitting and realistic slice of life. The plot mainly deals with the fortunes of two families, that of Raju and Dr. Manoj, which are interwoven by Fate. It is only at the end that the two threads come together.


The story starts as a heart-stopper, the experience being akin to plunging one’s hand into ice-cold water. Raju, the protagonist, returns home from office to find his wife, Viji, critically ill. She passes away giving birth to a baby girl, whom Raju hands over to the childless Dr. Manoj. The story then follows two separate bit interrelated plots, following the fortunes of Raju, his second wife Janaki and his son Tarun on one side, and Dr. Manoj, his wife Shobha and adopted daughter Deepthi on the other. The revelation of the truth about Deepthi’s origin comes at the end when Raju meets Deepthi.

The main strength of the novel lies in its characterization. Menon has sketc…

Hello friends,

It is my pleasure to inform you that an introductory offer of 35% discount is given to my new book BEFORE THE SUNSET  for 3 days - on 26th,27th and 28th June 2017.  Those who are interested can grab this opportunity. This is the link -
https://notionpress.com/read/before-the-sunset



You can also buy this book on any of the market places mentioned there (amazon.in, flipkart, infibeam, shopclues, and paytm).

 Please don't forget to avail this opportunity to get the paperback of this book.

The paperback is available now only in India.  The ebook version of this book will be available in a couple of days.

BEFORE THE SUNSET is my 3rd novel which is going to be released soon.  It is the touching story of a man whose two children got separated at the birth of the younger one, and they meet again at the same spot after 25 years without knowing who they are.


The sample chapter is here.


Chapter 1

The lights shone brightly in all the houses on the 3rd street, except in the fourth house. It was half past seven and why has she not switched on the light yet, Raju wondered. Usually, when he returned home after work, his wife would be anxiously waiting for him at the door. All his weariness would disappear on seeing her warm smile and listening to her sweet words. He hoped nothing was amiss.

Raju knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no response. He banged again, this time with a little bit of urgency, and still, there was no reply. He panicked when his wife didn’t open the door even after continuously knocking at the door and calling out her name. 

"Viji,...please open the door. Mmm....…

1. "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller





2. "To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiary it is taken for granted." - Bill Bryson




3.  “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
― Jawaharlal Nehru

4.  “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” ― Anita Desai
5.  “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” ― Gustave Flaubert
6.  “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” ―Mary Anne Radmacher
7.  “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― Augustine of Hippo
8.  “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. …

Some times we look forward for getting some writing advice from the famous writers which may help us in improving our writing career.


1. “To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make.”    -  Truman Capote
2.  “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”  - Robert Frost
3. “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”  - George Orwell  
4. “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”  - Oscar Wilde
5.  “Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself... It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of his divine discontent.”  - Harper Lee 
6. We write to taste life twice, in the m…

During our family trip to Coorg, we stayed in a home stay named 'Chili Pili'. We wanted to be more with nature and for this purpose, we preferred to stay in a home stay.  This estate is a nature lover's paradise and we truly enjoyed our stay and food there.  It was truly a home away from home. The house is located in the centre of the estate, surrounded by coffee and pepper.





The hosts were very warm and friendly and made us feel at home. So it was definitely a pleasant stay of 3 nights with lovely Coorgie food.  We wanted to take a tour of their estate, but because of the lack of time, we cancelled our plan. 




The address of the Homestay -
ChiliPili Estate Stay
Hoskeri Village
Arekkad P.O
Kodagu Dist - PIN 571253

http://coorgchilipili.com/en/