Westland Books Launches Tangerine, a Personal Journey into Hindu Philosophy by Namita Devidayal
A candid journey into the heart of Hindu philosophy by a celebrated writer and journalist
City Air News
Aug 25, 2025 05:27
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New Delhi, August 25, 2025: Westland Books is delighted to announce the release of Tangerine: How to Read the Upanishads Without Giving Up Coffee by Namita Devidayal, acclaimed author of The Music Room, Aftertaste and The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan.
In Tangerine, Devidayal embarks on a deeply personal exploration of Hinduism after a chance encounter in the Himalayas with a practitioner of the faith. What begins as an unexpected detour soon becomes a transformative journey into the ancient texts and precepts of a religion she had only nominally belonged to.
Navigating through the Upanishads, the teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and the philosophy of Dayananda Saraswati, she learns not only about the vast reserves of wisdom that Hindu thought offers, but also how to unself the self. At a time when she was confronting restlessness, doubt, and the dissolution of a long marriage, this immersion gave her balance, resilience, and a new way to see herself and the world.
Speaking about the book, author Namita Devidayal said, “This book is about my journey as an accidental pilgrim. I think the voice of the centrist— which is the vast majority of people who follow 50 shades of Hinduism— has got drowned out in the battles between Left and Right. Tangerine is my own and rather irreverent subversion of saffron. Above all, this is a really personal story, about faith and about learning to unself the self.”
Karthika VK, Publisher, Westland Books, said, “Namita has given us a book that is both timely and timeless. Her writing is intimate and expansive, rooted in personal experience while opening out into the larger questions of faith, identity, and balance. Tangerine leads the user to pause, reflect, and rediscover the quiet strength of Hindu philosophy.”
