Shobhan Bantwal - Official Web Site. Come and learn about the author of Woman's Fiction, Romance, Short Stories, Articles and more...

Mainstream and romantic women's fiction set in India and America...

Women's Fiction with a touch of romance and sometimes a little mystery is what I write most of the time. I like to incorporate the rich elements of my Indian culture: Religious beliefs, Myths, Legends, Superstitions, Foods, Scents, Recipes, Clothing, Accessories, Language including slang, History, Geography, and most anything that I feel adds to your entertainment and knowledge.

I like taking my readers on exotic adventures where they not only see different places and taste, smell and touch through my characters, but experience their thrills, their joys, sorrows and triumphs. To that end, I invariably fall in love with my characters, especially my heroes, and I hope you will, too.


The Dowry Bride: How did this novel come about?

The idea for this debut novel was sparked by my interest in women's issues, especially South Asian women. While the subject of dowry and dowry deaths is rather dark, it has always fascinated me to no end.

While growing up in India, I often read news items about young Indian brides burned to death or killed by other means, or simply abused because they had failed to produce the expected dowry. I was horrified by these stories, especially because I was lucky enough to be born in a community called the Saraswat Brahmin caste, a forward-thinking, educated bunch of people who don’t believe in dowry. I wondered what could possess otherwise normal and sane individuals amongst certain social groups to kill someone for money, especially an innocent young woman whose only fault was to come into this world as a female.

I also wanted folks outside India to get a rare peek into an element of Indian culture that’s rarely written about in fiction. I needed to tell the world about it in my own fashion: a story of one young woman trapped in an arranged marriage and the dowry system and her extraordinary journey to freedom.

Another reason I wrote this book is because Indian authors typically don't write mainstream books. Most of them write literary novels that are beautiful but don’t always reach large segments of the reading public. I’m talking about the readership that wants to learn about other cultures, but wants to be entertained at the same time, with stories that have romance, mystery, sadness and humor. I wanted to give those readers something to sink their teeth into.

So for all those reasons, THE DOWRY BRIDE became a project that I felt compelled to write. I was probably destined to write it. I firmly believe in destiny, fate, karma, whatever its name is. And I also have tremendous faith in astrology and horoscopes.

I hope you enjoy THE DOWRY BRIDE as much as I enjoyed writing it.


Some Interesting Facts & Figures about Dowry in India

  • The first law to ban the giving and receiving of dowry, The Dowry Prohibition Act, was passed in India in 1961 and amended twice in the 1980s.

  • Despite the law, each year, anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand Indian women allegedly die violent deaths as a result of dowry-related abuse, either by suicide or homicide.

  • Himendra Thakur, activist and founder of the International Society Against Dowry and Bride Burning in India (ISADABBI), in an article titled ARE OUR SISTERS & DAUGHTERS FOR SALE? in Indiatogether.org, June 1999, says, “It is estimated that about 25,000 brides are killed or maimed every year in India over dowry disputes, a number that exceeds 21,000 civilians killed or maimed in land-mine accidents every year all over the world.”

  • In 2005, the National Crime Records Bureau of India recorded a dowry death every 77 minutes.

  • The statistics vary widely depending on the source. The discrepancy in numbers from the various sources is difficult to verify because of lack of reporting and documentation.

  • One interesting development as a result of anti-dowry and domestic violence laws and public outcries is what Indian men call “reverse victimization.” Shrewd, educated women have now supposedly started to exploit the system by bringing frivolous lawsuits against their husbands, using dowry abuse as a convenient means to escape an unsatisfactory marriage.

  • Dowry continues to be a controversial subject in India, with its supporters claiming it is a means of ensuring equitable distribution of property amongst female and male children. The anti-dowry advocates condemn the system as nothing short of abuse, greed and unnecessary violence. The fact remains that the custom of dowry exchange is still alive and well in contemporary India.

  • TO READ AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT INDIA'S DOWRY SYSTEM IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, CLICK HERE: latimes.com

Works in Progress:

At the moment, I am working on a number of projects including my next manuscript for Kensington Books, and a couple of short stories and articles for other publications. There will be periodic updates to this page as my work progresses.


My Agent:

Stephanie Lehmann
The Elaine Koster Literary Agency
55 Central Park West, Suite 6
New York, NY 10023