1. India in the Persianate Age by Richard M Eaton In this book, Richard M Eaton tells the story of the rise of the Persianate culture, beginning in the 11th century, and how India evolved over the years, thanks to her engagement with different people and cultures.

2. Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World by Ruby Lal The book traces the domestic life of women during the times of the first three Mughal kings in India — Babur, Humayun and Akbar — and how men and women negotiated their life.

3. Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India by Suchitra Vijayan Reviewing the book for Open Magazine, Mukhoty said, “What it achieves, in fine, careful and lyrical prose, is a transformation with grace and dignity of these everyday lives into a catalogue of memories, the walking wounded which we, as fellow citizens, are duty-bound to remember.”

4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin This science fiction book that has completed over fifty years takes us to an icebound planet of Winter where the people are gender-fluid. It traces the journey of a human ambassador who has been sent.

5. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Set in England in the 1500s, this fictionalised biography is set in the time of King Henry VIII. It documents the rise in power of Thomas Cromwell in the king’s court during a time of great political instability.

6. Beloved by Toni Morrison The protagonist, Sethe, is born a slave and escapes to Ohio but continues to be haunted by the ghost of her baby who died, and whose tombstone is engraved with the word, ‘beloved’.

7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Author Rebecca Skloot uncovered the story of how cervical cancer cells were taken out of a young black woman, Henrietta Lacks, without her knowledge, and continue to be used in research. The book deals with the ethical issues of race and class in medical research.

8. Hunchprose by Ranjit Hoskote “Infused with wry humour, informed by the wisdom traditions, Hunchprose urges us to look at our world, and within ourselves, with renewed ardour,” reads the book synopsis. Mukhoty tweeted about this book and called the author marvellous.