On 1st July, The Book Fairies celebrated the 30th anniversary of PENGUIN INDIA by hiding copies of Penguin published books by the celebrated Indian author, Arundhati Roy!

Happy Birthday, Penguin India

We were exhilarated to receive fifteen copies of Roy’s books including the 20th anniversary signed edition of The God of Small Things and her new book, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness from Penguin India for the book drop on 1st July.

#Repost @bookfairies_bangalore from yesterday's drops!! ? Arundhati Roy's new book The Ministry of Utmost Happiness was dropped by our Book Fairy @namita.nafri to mark the 30 years anniversary of Penguin India. The book was dropped at The Humming Tree, an art and music performance space in Indiranagar. Hope someone finds it soon! ? #ibelieveinbookfairies @penguinindia #bookfairiesworldwide #bookfairiesbangalore #bookfairiesdelhi #penguinindia30 #booklovers #TheMinistryOfUtmostHappiness #arundhatiroy #keepreading

A post shared by Book Fairies Delhi (@bookfairies_delhi) on Jul 2, 2017 at 7:50am PDT

The plot of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness:

The tale begins with Anjum, who used to be Aftab, unrolling a threadbare Persian carpet in a city graveyard she calls home. We encounter the odd, unforgettable Tilo and the men who loved her–including Musa, sweetheart and ex-sweetheart, lover and ex-lover; their fates are as entwined as their arms used to be and always will be. We meet Tilo’s landlord, a former suitor, now an intelligence officer posted to Kabul. And then we meet the two Miss Jebeens: the first a child born in Srinagar and buried in its overcrowded Martyrs’ Graveyard; the second found at midnight, abandoned on a concrete sidewalk in the heart of New Delhi.

As this ravishing, deeply humane novel braids these lives together, it reinvents what a novel can do and can be. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness demonstrates on every page the miracle of Arundhati Roy’s storytelling gifts.

What the book fairies did to celebrate

The Book Fairies from Delhi and Bangalore hid books across the two cities at beautiful, well favoured locations and provided spontaneous clues to the book lovers to find these through the official Book Fairies social media channels like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Incredible!!! BOOK FOUND!!! ??? This Penguin edition of Arundhati Roy's latest book The Ministry of Utmost Happiness was found by @chicabeingme at @dhidecafe on 1st July ? The seeker was following us on Instagram and as soon as the book was dropped by the Book Fairy @spoorthynr she commented that the place is near her and went for it!! @chicabeingme we love your enthusiasm ?? Thank you for sharing the picture.. Enjoy the book and share it with others to enjoy too! #ibelieveinbookfairies @penguinindia #penguinindia30 #bookdrop #bengaluru #bookfairiesbangalore #bookstagram #arundhatiroy #theministryofutmosthappiness #bookfairiesindia #bookfairiesdelhi #bookfairiesworldwide

A post shared by The Book Fairies Bangalore (@bookfairies_bangalore) on Jul 4, 2017 at 7:15am PDT

The book lovers were overjoyed in trying to find copies of these excellent books by Arundhati Roy in places like cafes, metro station and cultural venues. This wholesome experience of spreading literary magic took another turn when few of the book finders reached out to the Book Fairies to express gratitude and announce where they found the book!Media Coverage:We were delighted to see this beautiful article by LBB Bangalore who were closely following the Book Fairies throughout the Arundhati Roy’s Penguin India campaign.

Want to get involved? Order your book fairy stickers here!