Penguin Random House India is proud to announce a powerful slate of non-fiction titles from November and December 2025 and publishing in January 2026 that brings together diverse and celebrated voices across theatre, food, culture and business. The upcoming line-up features memoirs from a serial entrepreneur and a Michelin-starred chef, a groundbreaking history reclaiming women’s place in Kerala theatre, a witty and incisive guide to feminism for men, a manifesto on living with self-defined elegance, and a leadership memoir tracing the journey from middle-class India to the boardroom of one of the world’s most valuable consumer goods companies.
For the Love of Art: The Lost History of Women in Kerala Theatre
By Sajitha Madathil (Translated by Jayasree Kalathil)
This book unveils the untold story of women who fundamentally changed Kerala’s theatre and eventually took centre stage. For centuries, theatre in Kerala was dominated by men, who wrote, directed, and even played the women’s roles. For the Love of Art rewrites this forgotten script, focusing on women actors, writers, and theatre workers. The book argues that when women first stepped onto the Malayalam stage, they were intended only to act, not to author, embodying emotion rather than ideology. Through fragments, memories, and rediscovered histories, the author, Sajitha Madathil, uncovers a hidden lineage connecting art with activism and performance with protest. The work is both a correction and a confrontation, recognizing women as the “rightful creators and owners of cultural capital”.
Putting the Toilet Seat Down: A Man’s Guide to Feminism
By Harshveer Jain
This book is described as a witty, relatable, and disarmingly honest guide for men navigating modern feminism. The author, Harshveer Jain, uses humour and honesty to break down concepts of gender, privilege, and power without jargon or judgment. The book asserts that structural inequalities are reflected in statistics, such as only 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies being run by women CEOs, and women owning less than 10% of privately held land worldwide. Jain provides a logic-based approach for men to move beyond neutrality and become active feminists. The book tackles cultural flashpoints, dismantling the “alpha male” myth and rejecting the dehumanizing “simp” label.
Never Say Die: My Life in Business and Entrepreneurship
By Shripal Morakhia
Shripal Morakhia’s memoir refuses the conventions of business storytelling, offering a raw and candid look at a life defined by extraordinary success, financial ruin, and profound spiritual resurrection. Morakhia, the founder of SSKI, Sharekhan, and Smaaash, is known as a visionary who “turns impossibilities into blueprints”. His career spanned India’s highest-risk sectors, and he famously co-founded India’s pioneering online trading platform Sharekhan and built SSKI into one of the country’s largest institutional brokers.
Tell my mother I like boys
By Suvir Saran
This is a fearless memoir from the Michelin-starred chef, Suvir Saran, who is one of the world’s first openly gay chefs. Saran, who changed how the world tastes Indian food, now tells the truth he hid the longest. His restaurant, Devi, made history by becoming the first non-Northern European restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin star, shifting the flavour of culinary history.
“A memoir at once tantalizing and enlightening… Reminiscent of De Profundis.” —Geetanjali Shree
Caste
A Global Story | A Powerful Account of Dalit Rights, Caste Discrimination, and Social Justice Movements Around the World
Caste, and caste-based discrimination, are not just Indian issues. They are experienced throughout the world, from Britain to Bahrain, Canada to South Africa. This is a global phenomenon, demanding global solutions.
Leading scholar Suraj Milind Yengde shines a light on the Dalit experience internationally, from indentured labourers in the nineteenth-century Caribbean to present-day migrant workers in the Middle East. Combining history, ethnography and archival research, he offers a compelling, comparative approach to caste and race from ancient times to today. What have been the impacts of colonialism, religion and nationalism on caste-based hierarchies worldwide? What can we learn from caste-related movements in India and internationally? Why hasn’t the South Asian diaspora embraced the anti-caste struggles of the homeland? And what are the limits of Dalit–Black solidarity?
Exploring the global footprint of the anti-caste struggle—from its links with Black Lives Matter to the work of international Ambedkarite organisations—this is a powerful analysis of world politics from the perspective of one of the most oppressed communities on Earth. Asking probing questions about the nature of inequality, Yengde issues an energetic call for a cosmopolitan Dalit universalism, as a vital part of today’s fight for social justice and equality.
JANUARY 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
The Art of Being Fabulous
Shalini Passi
Shalini Passi, noted Delhi-based art collector, artist, and philanthropist, writes a timely part-memoir and part-manifesto on the ten key paths to a beautiful life. Already known for her prominent voice in contemporary art patronage and starring role in the 2024 Netflix reality series Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, Passi defines fabulousness as a form of profound self-trust and the courage to carry one’s own story, rather than seeking applause or conforming to trends. The book invites readers to cultivate inner strength, develop personal style as an expression of energy, and embrace philanthropy as an empowered extension of self, encouraging everyone to stop looking for external approval.
A CEO’s Brew
Sanjiv Mehta
Sanjiv Mehta’s A CEO’s Brew traces an extraordinary journey from a middle-class upbringing to the helm of Hindustan Unilever Limited, one of India’s most valuable companies. Starting his career in the shadow of the Bhopal Gas disaster, Mehta rose to lead HUL through a defining phase of growth and legacy-building. Grounded yet aspirational, the memoir distills career-shaping moments into timeless leadership lessons, offering a compelling portrait of resilience, values, and ambition.
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