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Soldier & Spice

Soldier & Spice

Aditi Mathur Kumar
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For Pia, regular life is a thing of the past. She is now an army wife. From ‘just Pia’ to an aunty, a memsaab . . . and, her favourite words in the whole wide world, Mrs Pia Arjun Mehra.

Pia finds herself having to suddenly be more ‘lady-like’, focus on themed ladies’ meets, high teas and welfare functions, and deal with long (unexpected) spells of separation from her husband. She faces extraordinary challenges, a little heartache and, well, army-life lessons. In the mysterious and grand world of army wives, Pia learns that walking in high heels is okay as long as you don’t trip on combat boots. She learns that ‘civil’ is also a noun, that JCO and GOC are (very) different from each other, that snacks are ‘shown’ and ‘WTF’ is better explained as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Yes, it really is a new world.

This quirky, hilarious story of the first year of Pia’s life as an army wife will show you that the spice to a soldier’s life is most definitely his better, very strong, extremely elegant, never-cussing, witty, warm and passionate half-his army wife.

Imprint: Penguin Veer

Published: Feb/2023

ISBN: 9780143459873

Length : 272 Pages

MRP : ₹299.00

Soldier & Spice

Aditi Mathur Kumar

For Pia, regular life is a thing of the past. She is now an army wife. From ‘just Pia’ to an aunty, a memsaab . . . and, her favourite words in the whole wide world, Mrs Pia Arjun Mehra.

Pia finds herself having to suddenly be more ‘lady-like’, focus on themed ladies’ meets, high teas and welfare functions, and deal with long (unexpected) spells of separation from her husband. She faces extraordinary challenges, a little heartache and, well, army-life lessons. In the mysterious and grand world of army wives, Pia learns that walking in high heels is okay as long as you don’t trip on combat boots. She learns that ‘civil’ is also a noun, that JCO and GOC are (very) different from each other, that snacks are ‘shown’ and ‘WTF’ is better explained as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Yes, it really is a new world.

This quirky, hilarious story of the first year of Pia’s life as an army wife will show you that the spice to a soldier’s life is most definitely his better, very strong, extremely elegant, never-cussing, witty, warm and passionate half-his army wife.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Aditi Mathur Kumar

Aditi Mathur Kumar is an author, mother, advertising professional and a proud Indian Army wife. Aditi's first book, Soldier & Spice, is a heart-warming and poignant story about the grand and mysterious world of Army wives, and since it was released in 2013, the book gave way to a whole new genre of stories about defence families. As a civilian married to an Army officer, she believes that the world needs to hear the stories of families of those serving in the forces.

Aditi is also the only Indian Army wife to deliver a TEDx talk about the lives of Army families.

Aditi's other books include Love, Whatever That Means, which is a hilarious and moving story of an Army girlfriend, and This Heartbreak, a collection of poems.

Aditi's latest book, Operation Payback, is the story of a Veer Nari (war widow) and her unmatched grit and courage in the face of misfortune and adversity. This is a story that takes inspiration from the brave Veer Naris who know the price of freedom, and from the brave Lady Officers in the Indian Forces who are heroes to every young girl and boy growing up in today's India.

Aditi can be found on social media on @adicrazy.

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