The Call of the Mahua

This gentle, heart-warming medical romance, the first in 'tribal tryst series', follows the quest for love of Holland-returned Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Dr. Arjun Xalxo and the spirited but shy Irish-Indian nurse Lieutenant Tara McHardy at Major Sherwood’s Memorial Hospital at the Paramilitary Base in MacLean Ganj in the naxal torn Jharkhand in 1970s. In the busy schedule of day-to-day hospital life, saving precious lives, Dr. Xalxo and Tara have reasons not to get their hearts involved and steer clear of the malady called love. The son of a tribal mother outcast by her clan, he wouldn't wish for history repeating itself by falling for an outsider. Tara's life is dedicated to her mother who is battling debilitating illness.

As Dr. Xalxo’s and Tara’s paths cross, despite valiant efforts to resist their attraction towards each other, the inevitable happens; their hearts do become involved, gradually but intensely, though they hide their sentiments effectively from each other. Intertwined is the tryst with the tribal culture of Jharkhand and its scenic beauty which too play a significant role in gently tugging their heartstrings a wee bit tighter.

About the Author: Smritee Raghubalan is a best-selling academic author and hopes to achieve the same success in romantic fiction genre too. Her life reflects her multi-faceted personality: she has been a dietician at a heart hospital, a nutritionist at an organic store, a master of ceremonies at events, an editor, a dabbler in watercolour and oil paintings, and a University Professor and mentor for a good part of two decades. Throughout, a constant has been her love of Betty Neels romances and Jane Austen classics, but it took a pandemic for her to realise that her passion of writing romances was still to be pursued. Following her instincts, she bid adieu to teaching assignments to tread into fiction-writing.