In this one-of-a-kind anthology, Indrajit Hazra introduces you to booze jabberwocky in an essay brimming over with linguistic playfulness; Sidharth Bhatia writes about drinking in Hindi cinema—from ‘permit rooms’ and Prem Chopra’s close relationship with Vat 69, to Honey Singh and Deepika Padukone’s Cocktail, while Sandip Roy mulls over India’s enduring obsession with whisky—has anything changed? Gautam Bhatia’s haunting story about a father’s hidden alcoholism and Vijay Nambisan’s painfully honest account about being in rehab take one to the darker sides of drinking; while in a lighter vein, Jairaj Singh talks about drinking in 4S, the legendary bar in Delhi’s ‘Def Col’, Kanika Gahlaut is in confessional mode about her drinking days, and Manohar Shetty writes about quitting feni. Palash Mehrotra says ‘eff off, single malt snobs’ as he takes you on a tour of cheap whisky brands, and Soumya Bhattacharya tells you all about drinking in Prohibition Gujarat. Hang out in the country liquor bars of Colaba with poet Adil Jussawalla, drink at a Bangalore highway bar with Zac O’Yeah, or attend a party with the teetotalling Amit Chaudhuri. All this and more in a collection of thirty-one essays, stories and poems that you will savour to the last drop.

Review

‘The book emphatically proclaims that India, as a state, loves drinking, by unmasking the pretentions otherwise’.—Navhind Times

‘The stories, poems and essays have three overlapping pitches: why we drink, the drinking games that we play once we get going and lastly, the downside when the going gets rough with drinks.’—Navhind Times

‘A breezy, unputdownable book on drinking in India that doesn’t preach’.— The Financial Express

‘The collection as a whole is a sombre attempt (in all its humour – and the facetious handling by some of the authors) where neither the alcoholic is not ridiculed nor the drinking glamorised. It is all-told, an impressive collections of work on drinking habits of people in various parts of India from Kolkata to Mumbai, Kerala through Bengaluru to Dehra Dun, the ‘North” and of course, Punjab.’—The Free Press Journal
‘House Spirit will always remain special for being the first celebratory toast of a nation that loves its drinking’.—Biblio

Review

‘Fine fiction apart, House Spirit has a delightful collection of essays on drinking in India.’—India Today

‘From first drinks to last ones, from dingy thekas to expensive bars, from drinking in movies to drinking at home, House Spirit becomes an opportunity for confessions and celebrations, all bottled up and served chilled.’—The Hindu

'With such variety of topics, hilarious poems, bone-chilling rehab stories, family secrets and strained relationships, the language and tone of the anthology is earthy and refreshing.’ - Sakal Times

'The anthology has stories from Haridwar, Kerala, Delhi, Kolkata, Dehradun, Bengaluru and Gujarat (yes, you read it right), revealing a tantalising tip of the iceberg.’ - Sakal Times

‘Mehrotra’s anthology, which like all anthologies should be savoured in bits and parts, is great start. I’m only too happy to wait for the next round.’ - Man's World

Review

House Spirit: Drinking in India - Stories, Essays, Poems… edited by Palash Krishna Mehrotra is an anthology that brings together the experiences of individuals, ex-alcoholics, social drinkers and teetotallers, in a country where drinking is still a habit that is frowned upon’. - The Telegraph

The collection as a whole is a sombre attempt (in all its humour – and the facetious handling by some of the authors) where neither the alcoholic is not ridiculed nor the drinking glamorised. It is all-told, an impressive collections of work on drinking habits of people in various parts of India from Kolkata to Mumbai, Kerala through Bengaluru to Dehra Dun, the ‘North” and of course, Punjab.’ - The Free Press Journal