Books by Ravi Gupta
Explore the books by Ravi Gupta, filled with compelling stories, rich characters, and thought-provoking themes.
Discover your next great read!
Latest Book
Gather Around the Fire
AFRICAN FOLKTALES were traditionally passed on by word of mouth, told by moonlight around a village fire after a long day’s work.
In this charming collection of authentic tales, Ravi Gupta weaves his stories of caution and cunning, jealousy and compassion, and always a hint of excitement with a little help from the animals of the African jungle.
EACH TALE from a different country of southern Africa is followed by a quiz so you can get to know the fifteen countries as well as their lore.
SO GATHER around the fire, children, and let the spirit of Africa pass through you.
Breathes There The Man
A plane crash finds Damo, an oilman, recuperating in a Lagos hospital while the state oil regulator goes missing.
Damo’s hard-driving boss, Joanne, wheels and deals to get a prized oil block. While convalescing, Damo meets Adaeke, an intriguing American journalist, who is scarred by her past. Damo, a global migrant, is cut off from his roots in rural India where his father, a retired army officer, wages a battle against caste-politics and pays a heavy price.
In the midst of searching for petroleum, will Damo succeed in making Adaeke reciprocate his feelings? Will the return to his native land shine some light on an acute problem that has created a vast underclass in India? Breathes There The Man is an engrossing tale that will take you from the murky waters of the Niger Delta to the cut-and-thrust of cosmopolitan London; and to the badlands of rural Bihar in India.
Where is My Heaven
Where Is My Heaven is a parable that will assist you to navigate the choppy waters of life.
It is a story of four animals in a jungle who have taken a beating in their lives, then chart a way out of their current crises, in search of their heaven.
Dee Pride is a cheetah, young and ambitious, who loses a power struggle to become the new king. As Dee Pride lay dejected, he comes across Gripe Scott, a falcon, who complains of relentless wingbeats and the drudgery of hunting. Gripe Scott has heard of a distant land across a mighty river where life was easy. They both enlist the help of Miss Grab, a chimp, to build a raft to cross the river. Miss Grab was ostracized by her troop because of gluttony and greedy behaviour. The fourth to join them is Dos Smart, a mongoose, who volunteers to help with ropes to lash the raft. Dos Smart is friendless; she is considered manipulative and too clever by her fellow creatures.
Together these four cross the swollen river and reach the uplands. What happens when they reach the destination? Did they find the heaven they craved? What lessons did they learn?
You can read this book in a short sitting. But the lessons learnt will make you revisit the book many more times and reflect for a lifetime.
Ramganga & Other Stories
Each story promises to bring a smile to your face. It takes as much time to read a story as it takes to drink your cup of tea or coffee.
There is a jaw-dropping final twist – you skid into the shocking denouement and backtrack to reread the story.
Not crime fiction but better than a hand grenade lobbed into a garden on a quiet lazy afternoon. The stories will transpose you to different countries and cultures – a thoroughly captivating and satisfying read.
Excerpts from Breathes There The Man
“Namaskar, munshi ji,” Brij Choudhary replied in a voice sounding more baritone than his normal.
The estate manager had seen him since he was a boy running around the house in half pants. It was always a delicate balance to assert one’s authority over such a person. Brij Choudhary saw the munshi smiling from beneath his monster of a moustache, hanging from his face pendulously.
The retired colonel was clean-shaven but years of service in the army had made him develop his own notion of a man’s personality by looking at the moustache the man kept. The munshi’s was a moustache of a man of the land. A man of honour. A man of infinite patience. But hair also sprouted from the munshi’s ears, wild and insouciant. This, in the retired colonel’s mind, was a sign of insubordination.
With a smiling face, Gordon took out three envelopes from the inside pocket of his Austin Reed jacket. “Take a pick, old boy. I have to execute what the Board has asked me to.”
The pun was not lost on Rowland. He walked to a concealed drink cabinet in his room, took out a bottle of Isle of Jura, poured himself a drink and drank it in one gulp.
Joanne knew what the envelopes contained. The first one had a letter, which in plain English stated that the Board had sacked Rowland for non-performance. The second contained a press release mentioning that Rowland had resigned for personal reasons and would like to devote time to his interest in archaeology. The third was a Board resolution thanking Rowland for his tireless contribution to the company and appointing him deputy chairman of the board. This letter also mentioned the appointment of Miss Joanne Livingstone as the CEO of the company.
Rowland crumpled the first and third envelopes and hurled them away. He pushed the second envelope towards Gordon and without a word or a handshake, he left the room. Joan saw an amused expression on Gordon’s face: there goes the gladiator who had built his Rome but whose wobbly knees were of no further use to him.
Damo looked at the delight on Adaeke’s face as she watched the children play. She caught his eyes on her and turned coy. Damo took her palms in his hands and traced the lines on them with his fingers. She squeezed Damo’s hands and her fingers entwined with his. They got up and Adaeke led him upstairs to her room. Damo put his arms around her waist as Adaeke’s hands rested behind hishead, her fingers caressing his hair. Damo kissed her tenderly, she with abandon. The easterly wind ruffled the laced curtains and a pigeon cooed on the windowsill. For the first time, Damo noticed the tension fall away from Adaeke as he undressed her. Her kissing was ardent; the tortured equivocation of the past had vanished.
Excerpts from Gather Around The Fire
One evening when the tortoise was crawling slowly back to his home, he met the baboon on his path.
“Hello friend,” said the baboon. “Have you found much to eat today?”
“No,” replied the tortoise with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “Very little indeed.”
The baboon danced up and down, suppressing his laughter as a mischievous idea had just come to him.
“Follow me, my dear old fellow,” he exclaimed, “and when you reach my home, I will have supper ready for you.”
(The Tortoise and the Baboon, a Malawi folk tale)
The little bee smiled as he flew into position. Then he cried, “Bee-ware from bee-hind!” as he gave the lion a sting that he would never forget.
Of course, in the heat of the battle none of the animals heard the little bee’s battle cry. All they noticed was that their leader, the lion, had suddenly dropped his tail.
And they knew what that meant. The animals stopped fighting and ran for their lives.
(Bee-ware from Bee-hind, a Namibia folk tale)
The monster’s big old belly was shaking up and down, from side to side and he went BBRAPPP! Then suddenly the monster’s mouth threw out the father who was still alive but very slimy.
The boy said, “YESSS!” and he got back on his drum. He played faster and faster and once again the monster went BBRAPPP!
This time the boy’s mother popped out of the monster’s mouth.
“Alright,” said the little boy. Then he began playing his drum real slow. Why?? Because he liked his aunt to remain right where she was in the monster’s belly.
The boy’s father admonished him,
(How the aunt became quiet? a Zimbabwe folk tale)