By The Water Cooler

by Parul Sharma

A smart, witty tale of messy work, quirky colleagues and a wily attempt to tame both.

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Parul Sharma is an Indian novelist and essayist based in Singapore. She grew up in the small towns of Uttar Pradesh, gaining early exposure to eccentric characters, complex family dynamics, and layered social hierarchies. This has lent her a distinctive voice blending the flavours of mofussil India with big-city dilemmas.

After studying Economics and graduating from the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, Parul worked for two decades in qualitative market research before turning to writing full-time.

Her debut novel, Bringing Up Vasu: That First Year (Westland, 2009), was followed by By the Watercooler (2010) and Tuki’s Grand Salon Chase (2013), establishing her as a unique voice in contemporary Indian fiction. Over the years, her work has grown more inward-looking and introspective, with an increasing engagement with memory, belonging, and ideas of home and inheritance. Her critically acclaimed novel 17, Morris Road (Hachette India, 2024) marked this significant turn in her literary career.

Alongside her fiction, Parul writes personal and cultural essays in her Substack newsletter, exploring insights gained through lived experience.

She currently writes in a study overlooking the ocean, where Retro, her golden retriever, provides rigorous canine supervision to every word.

Her forthcoming novel, The Missing Piece (Hachette, 2026), traces the journey of a curious British-Indian girl in search of her ancestral home and, in the process, the missing piece of her identity.

Reviews

[Ahtims · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want a light Indian chicklit, without much life's lessons to learn or quotes to underline and remember - this is it. This is an easy-to-read, just-for-fun sort of book which will be perfect to counterbalance serious thought-provoking books. Mini, a twenty something MBA, unmarried, spouse-searching, unsatisfied with job goes on to stabilize her job and get a boyfriend by the end of this book. To add zing to the story, sheis supported by her goofy female friends and is exasperated by her bossy boss and uncaring room mates.

[Harish Venkatesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine read .. some charters in the book were fun ..

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Jyoti Babel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an easy and light read. The story started slowly but picked up the flow as it progressed. The author has sketched the characters in good detail that the readers could easily make up their image in their minds, they seemed so real and relatable. I had an instant liking for Mini for her 'never say die' attitude. I loved the way she got hold of herself and managed to survive in her job against all the odd circumstances and amidst uncooperative people. There are some hilarious terms used throughout the book like the nicknames used to denote a person of which 'Lardie' is one, I will always remember.I found Tanya a bit more melodramatic than I would have liked. All the other characters in the novel are distinct and add a different hue to the story. As the story progressed, there were twists and turns and the climax was just perfect.
Overall the story has a perfect balance of spice, humor and thrill. The title is very aptly given as a lot happens by the water cooler in a corporate office. It is meeting spot for the people to take a break from their work and stretch their arms, to get update on the office gossip and politics etc. It is a breezy and hilarious read that will have you reading in anticipation at one moment and laughing out loud in another.It will definitely make you smile, worth picking it

[Rinaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just happened to pick this up at the recently concluded World Book Fair 'coz it was pretty cheap. I wasn't looking for much, just a light read. What I got was a hilarious account of one girl's struggle at work that was simply un-put-downable. I started reading at 11pm & at 2am finally slept after finishing the book.
If you're looking for a chic-lit that doesn't preach much or have any 'deeper insights into life', then grab this one pronto!

[Nithyarc · Rating 4 out of 5]

set in the backdrop of a typical corporate today, the book is defintely an interesting read, each plot leading into another, filled with excitement and a tinge of cute suspense. I couldnot stop till I finished it ina single go:-)

[Deepa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good light read, Indian chick lit.

[Dasha]

Couldn't get into this one unfortunately.