Why we’re excited
A girl of sixteen loses her mother without explanation and lands in her grandparents' house in Jaipur, where every hour comes with a rule. Her escape is kathak, taught in secret by a courtesan, and each lesson brings her closer to whatever her mother left behind. The dancing is the rebellion here, and also the way she finds out what the women in her family have been hiding.
Alka Joshi made her name with The Henna Artist and the Jaipur novels that followed, so readers already know how she writes this city. Pick this up for colonial India, mothers and daughters, and art as a way out.
On our most-anticipated list since 2 November 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about Daughters of the Pink City
We have reviewed one of Alka Joshi’s books so far: Six Days in Bombay, which we gave 4 out of 5.
At 352 pages it is one of the longer historical books out in March 2027; the typical one runs about 304 pages.
From the publisher
A richly woven coming-of-age novel about family secrets, rebellion, and the inheritance of women’s resilience.
Sixteen-year-old Deepa lives under the weight of her family’s expectations. After her mother’s sudden disappearance, she and her younger brother Avi are sent to live with their strict grandparents in Jaipur, where tradition rules and freedom feels out of reach. Everything changes when Deepa discovers kathak, an ancient dance that offers her liberation, and a hint of her mother’s mysterious past.
Secretly learning kathak from a courtesan, Deepa risks everything to pursue her passion, defying her family’s rules and rigid societal norms. As she loses herself in dance, she uncovers long-buried family secrets—whispers of forbidden love, betrayal, and a legacy of resilience passed through generations of women. When her lessons are discovered, she must choose: the path laid out for her or the life—and art—that sets her soul on fire. Set against colonial India, this is a story of art, rebellion, and the bond between mothers and daughters.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read Daughters of the Pink City yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
