[Dharitree passed away on 26-11-2026 following a tragic accident. Her loss has deeply affected all of us. She will always be remembered as one of the earliest believers in the Readiot journey. May her soul rest in peace, and may her blessings continue to guide us.]

For the Love of Apricots by Madhulika Liddle is a feel-good read, perfect for those slow and leisurely mornings. It takes the reader along for a ride amidst the lush green hilly landscape of the Uttarakhand region of India while portraying a simple story of a homegrown romance. The protagonist is Nandini, a business woman who runs a pickle and jam business known as the Mukteshwar Women’s Cooperative. Her life is a monotonous routine of taking care of her aged father and running her pickle business day and night, until the arrival of the urbanite, Vikas Joshi. Vikas is a man who has lived most of his life in metropolises and his arrival in Mukteshwar instantly gives him an unwanted spotlight. The plot primarily revolves around Vikas and Nandini and their development from being enemies to friends and then lovers. But along with the classic enemies to lovers trope, the plot also heavily delves into the way of life of the people of the hills of Mukteshwar, what they eat, how they dress, what their livelihoods are and their strong sense of community.

The readers are given a look into the food habits of the people in the Uttarakhand region in India, especially their practice of pickling fruits and vegetables. Pickling as a community practice has been a part of Indian culture for a very long time. Liddle takes up that simple practice and concocts an even simpler romantic plot around it. Nandini however, is not your typical romantic heroine. She is a headstrong and steadfast character who runs an organic pickle business wherein she successfully incorporates almost all the women of the village in it, there by giving them something to look forward to everyday besides their usual household chores: she gives them a sense of purpose, sisterhood, friendship and of course stable income sources.

Madhulika Liddle, in her book, describes her mother’s apricot jam — “That glorious orange-gold jam, tart, and sweet studded with apricot kernels: that is Mama’s jam”. Through her characterisation of Nandini and the womenfolk, Liddle concocts numerous jams and pickles like amla, apples, tamarind, mango, garlic, cauliflower, carrot, turnip etc. At the same time, she also goes on to paint the whole picture of a women-run pickle business post-production, which includes labelling of jars, maintaining accounts of jars sold, arranging vehicles for shipping to different cities and so on. These bottles of jams and pickles and the hard-work behind them, thus become a symbol of purpose, community and care amidst the women of Mukteshwar and not a mere commercial practice. It can be argued that Liddle successfully wraps a tale of women entrepreneurship and empowerment within a tale of romance.

Liddle’s writing is simple and yet very vivid. She fixates on the striking greenery around her and writes: “Yes, wherever you looked, there was green. Green in a million shades. The deep, dense green of the deodars; the glossy green of the rhododendrons, the two-toned green of the oak. The brighter, lighter greens of the shrubs and bushes and wild plants. Shiny, matte, hairy, smooth. Teal, jade, olive, mint, apple, pistachio, grass, lime. And every hue in between. Shifting shades under the bright sunlight of the morning and the more muted light of the afternoon.” Through her words she paints the hills and trees into the minds of the readers, providing them a breath of fresh air. In a time where peace is meagre and chaos is the norm, Liddle successfully envisions and creates a slow paced romance, in a small and cozy hilly corner of the world providing peace and comfort to whoever picks it up to read it.