Shambala Junction Paperback – April 11, 2017

This story, SHAMBALA JUNCTION, is a FIND. Our protag, Indian-born Iris, has been raised in the States and thoroughly Americanized. The story opens when spoiled Iris is touring India with her controlling fiance when she steps off their train for a quick refreshment when a mishap causes her delay and she’s left behind at the Shambala Junction train station. Although Indian, she feels like a stranger. It’s a clever character portrayal for through Iris’ eyes we see India first as a chaotic strange place, gradually becoming familiar as the people and places turn from first-impression to full-bodied people. Penniless and unable to speak the language she finds herself embroiled in a stranger’s family emergency. She’s initially pressured and then wants to help them. Politics, poverty, family, crime comes through Iris’ eyes and it’s all relatable. Author Mukherjee casts light on the underbelly crime of infant kidnapping/trafficking. At times sobering, often warm – as the story progresses IIris finds an identity embracing both cultures, learning to become a better version of herself along the way. Repost of review on goodreads.

"Shambala Junction" by Dipika Mukherjee"Shambala Junction" was the first book I read in 2021. As soon as I finished reading, I wanted to tell the world how much I enjoyed it. I was on the edge of my seat until the last page. The story deals with many real-world issues, big and small, narrated in a simple, elegant style with deep insight into Indian culture.The novel begins with an Indo-American girl, Iris from Ohio, traveling with her fiancé Danesh in India. She wanted to experience the real India by traveling on an ordinary train, not the rich would travel. As they were traveling, she steps out to the railway platform in Shambala junction for a cup-of-tea. The train leaves without her, and from that point onwards, her life changes drastically.Even though the novel is based on child trafficking and international adoption, several subplots are weaved into the main plot to make the story captivating—the problems general to Indians or unique to Indians who live in the USA. The author cleverly shines lights on them in a subtle manner. In the end, Iris learns a valuable, life-changing lesson which she would not have gained even from any Ivy League schools. Characters like Lilavati, Maitri, Lakshmy, and the little Laila teach us that beneath the layers of poverty, there are people who value kindness, respect, and humanity rather than affluency.I highly recommend this book for the beautiful writing and cultural adventures. I also believe that Iris's experience will be great for the children who grow up in the US or other affluent countries to go to India and experience first hand. It will make them humble, and who knows, they may become future human rights activists, wholeheartedly dedicating their lives for the betterness of humans. It will be a culturally rich and metamorphic experience.

For once, an Indian novel not about immigration adjustment. On the contrary, the heroine goes goes back to India and becomes deeply involved with a local family.

Shambala Junction is a good read that sheds light on many important current issues, such as misogyny, baby trafficking, and black market adoptions in India. The writer captures the vibrant sights and sounds of India with her colorful prose. There were a few plot developments that seemed less than plausible, and the main character was not particularly sympathetic, but on balance, I enjoyed the novel, and look forward to reading more of Dipika Mukherjee's work.

Shambala Junction is enjoyable to read. It’s characters are engaging, and the plot moves along quickly. Along the way, the reader learns a lot about life in and culture of India from its chai vendors to how its bureaucracies function to the social status of its people. Most importantly, you will learn about issues surrounding the international “adoption” of Indian children. Is it a legitimate way to improve the lives of impoverished children? Is it a racket driven by profit motives? Is it kidnapping? Shambala Junction made me want to learn more about how and why this business operates.

I bought this book at the same time as Ode to Broken Things by the same author. I expected to like that book more than this one, but I enjoyed Shambala Junction more. It is a fast moving page turner and, in an era where international adoptions are often under a microscope and human trafficking of children is a tragic reality, this fictional account seems very timely. Well written, and, I expect, based in some truths of the topic at hand.

On time delivery!! Book was ok. Had to read for my book club.

Well written, fearless heroines leading with her heart and strong women making a difference!! Surprisingly intelligent and loved the non traditional ending.

Being stuck at home a lot this year, I wanted to pick up a book that was situated somewhere else and somewhere I have never been before and travel through the world of books instead. This was a really good read, that was well written and was exactly what I was hoping for with this read.It was such an easy and quick read, being fast paced and enjoyable, flicking through it so quickly and not wanting to put it down until I had finished it. It being a travel based story down at its base, the journey that is taken by Iris, her own journey is one of self growth sprinkled among her actual journey. This story did have a very serious topic discussed within it, it's about Child Trafficking, but I thought they did it fairly well and for a book with such a heavy topic, this was an easy read and did have some humour within it.

This novel gives the reader a colourful depiction of India with sights and smells almost wafting off the pages. The dirt and odours are, ironically, at odds with the hygiene gel which accompanies ‘clean-freak’ Iris wherever she goes. And yet, Iris wishes to sample the Indian culture and way of life as romanticised by first generation Asians who have embraced Western culture.Iris is a second-generation American who is travelling with her fiancé, Dan in India. She envisages a 26-hour train journey, overnight from Kolkata to Delhi, as more ‘real’ than completing the journey by aeroplane. However, Iris is left stranded on Shambala station platform in India just after 2.45am, having disembarked to investigate her whereabouts. Her overnight train unexpectedly and subsequently departs with her partner and belongings on it. Her journey ironically and ‘shambolically’ becomes more real from hereon in.Iris’s self-growth and metaphorical inner journey reflects her outward physical journey. She is constantly being thwarted and has to recognise and overcome hurdles before she can be reunited with her family and possessions which increasingly mean nothing when you have nothing. This is a story about growth and maturity, from self to selfless and is sprinkled with colour and humour.An entertaining and original read!

This novel starts out as a typical 'foreigner travels through India' story but it takes a dramatic turn. Iris is from an Indian background but is visiting India for the first time and not enjoying it. She finds herself in a town and becomes involved in events in the town. The main one is an illegal adoption operation and she becomes immersed in the world of child trafficking. She decides that she needs to help and make a change and she herself changes in the process. She also meets a large range of interesting characters in her journey. I love novels set in India and I did enjoy this book. It is a bit of a travel-themed potboiler with a serious side to it. The majority of the characters are interesting, including the lead character, and you do find yourself rooting for many of them. I do think a few events in the novel are not completely realistic but I think this is such an interesting and enjoyable novel it doesn't really matter.

I found this an easy read and liked the style of writing however there were aspects of the story that were a bit unrealistic. The baby trafficking theme is quite believable but the way Iris ( an wealthy American of Indian background) met up with and became involved with the very poor local Indian families is a bit far fetched.Why was she not ill from eating the local food and drinking their water? I can’t see a spoiled rich girl coping with living in a poor local Indian home but still it was an interesting story.I liked the fact that the best and strongest characters were female . Not all the males were a waste of good oxygen but they didn’t come over that well with the exception of Zoran.This was a nice easy travel read that I enjoyed while on ferries and needing a book that didn’t need a lot of concentration.

There is a dark theme below the surface of this novel. India through the eyes of an American Indian (not native american) gives room for details and views that a white tourist would probably edit and spoil.i have been to India seen the squalid filth many of the poor live in. I know it smells bad…….and that life is considered cheap and girl babies are often not wanted. Back then they would be mutilated for “better begging” or killed at birth.“Iris is an American, is visiting India for the first time with her fiancé and not enjoying the trip. When she steps down from the train at Shamble Junction ready to buy a bottle of water, little does she know her life will radically change. Stranded at the small town, she becomes involved in a local stall holder’s battle to recover a lost child - one which is about to be sold to a rich Westerner”Iris’s reaction to the poverty and squalor seems real and not at all downplayed nor exaggerated.I found the novel to be both accessible and informative on the awful issue of child smuggling/selling. There are complex reasons for this to be happening and these are woven simply into the story. It never feels like a lecture.In a way the topic is almost reduced to tabloid status because this is also a romantic novel believe it or not.The book cover is a cross between a Bollywood poster and an old pulp fiction type of paperback. And sure enough there is a love story in here. No spoilers though.The split between men and women is well represented and described. Indian women have much less status but also tend to be very strong characters. In India many of the population are Hindu and believe you get the life you deserve so a Welfare State is unlikely to be on the cards.I loved the first half of the book but then began to find the plot a bit muddled and became less absorbing. Other characters are introduced but then go no further like the Buddhist Teachers. In the novel it is mentioned that Shambala Junction is near to the Bodhi tree where the Buddha became enlightened. I enjoyed the inclusion of this fact, but expected that to play more of a part in the plot.So I have given it four stars. I did feel that the book had lost it’s pace before it finished and also I wanted a more punchy finish. It is as if the author remembered not to be depressing and went for a more light hearted and upbeat ending.