DescriptionIn the decades following 1947, as the tallest national leaders were building anew India, they were supported by a band of idealistic civil servants fiercelycommitted to the country's Constitution and its people. Among these remarkableofficers was Bhairab Datt Pande, a young man from the Himalayan district ofKumaon, who joined the Indian Civil Service in 1939. Over almost forty years ascivil servant, and later as governor, he played an important role in the country'sadministration, and interacted with leaders like Indira Gandhi (as cabinetsecretary during the Emergency), Morarji Desai and Jyoti Basu. His memoir-which, respecting his wish, is being published posthumously-is a fascinatingrecord of his own life and that of India in the half century after Independence.Pande chronicles several landmark events and initiatives that he eitherparticipated in or witnessed. He helped increase food-grain allotment to thestate as food commissioner of Bihar in the early 1950s and drew up a newfamine code as land reforms commissioner. His work in the CommunityDevelopment programme some years later still has important lessons for today'sPanchayati Raj institutions. After retirement, he was governor of West Bengalduring the resurgence of Naxalism in the early 1980s, and of Punjab in 1983-84-a tragic and turbulent year in the history of the state and the nation. Pandechose to resign as governor rather than carry out unconstitutional orders. Hiscompelling narration of the behind-the-scenes events and negotiations leadingup to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and Operation Bluestar is of great value.Engaging and inspiring in equal measure, this memoir is both a fascinating recordof an extraordinary life and an important and revealing historical document.
Description''[Bama has] painted the Tamil-Indian village from the perspective of the cheri(Dalit colony), thus turning the socio-cultural geography upside down.'' -TheHinduFrom the author of the widely acclaimed novels Karukku and Sangati, this isa fiery, feisty collection, comprising all the stories from her acclaimed bookKusumbukaran and new ones written for this volume. Set among the Dalits ofrural Tamil Nadu, these stories display the full potential of the ''weapons ofthe weak''-small, everyday acts of rebellion, sharp, irreverent humour and adetermination not to be crushed and extinguished.Pachayamma in ''Chilli Powder'' taunts the rich landlady Gangamma bycollecting fodder only from her fields, despite dire threats, and laughs in theface of blustering policemen. The handsome and audacious young Ammasileaves a landlord fuming in impotent rage by calling him his brother. A pig anda monkey debate which of them deserves a higher status. A ghost demandswhisky and insists he has no caste.Bama''s prose bristles with the raw energy and vitality that comes from livingclose to the ground, and Ravi Shanker''s translations retain all the power, witand brilliance of the originals.
Intrepid reporter Edward Malone decides to investigate the claims of Professor Challenger, a temperamental but brilliant scientist, that dinosaurs still exist deep in the jungles of South America. Soon, they, along with Challenger’s unenthusiastic colleague Professor Summerlee, and the adventurer Lord John Roxton, embark on a journey to this land frozen in time. Here, they come across ferocious flying dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures as well as an equally ferocious tribe of ape-like people, who feel threatened and are determined to destroy the travellers. What follows is a tale of nail-biting adventure as the band of explorers tries to escape this lost world.Originally published in 1912, The Lost World is a science-fiction classic by the creator of Sherlock Holmes, which continues to inspire and captivate readers to this day. It comes alive once more in this edition, with an insightful introduction for modern-day readers by the acclaimed sci-fi writer Manjula Padmanabhan.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a clever mongoose who is determined to protect the human family he lives with. What happens when Nag, the cobra, shows up in the garden with evil plans on his mind? Mugger of Mugger-Ghaut has lived an exciting life and tells grand stories to Jackal and Adjutant Crane, little knowing that the greatest threat is lurking close by in the form of the White Man. Kotick is an unusual seal. Not only is his fur white, but he is also filled with curiosity and a sense of adventure. After he witnesses the brutal killing of seals by humans, he decides to find a place where no human can reach. And so begins his search through the icy waters of the Arctic. Can he find such a place and claim the leadership of his pack of seals?Elephants who dance, camels that talk, tailor birds with louder voices than brains, the desolation of an Arctic winter, high tales of cunning and bravery—all of these come alive in the brilliance of Rudyard Kipling’s writing. Go wild with this collection of stories on and about animals from the classic Jungle Book, now with a wonderful introduction by Ranjit Lal.
Thippy, the beautiful ‘girl from the outhouse’. Ashwath, only son of a feudal family of landowners. A love that could never be blessed by Destiny.Disillusioned by his family’s rejection of his love for Thippy, stifled by its traditions and conservative ways, Ashwath leaves Bangalore for a university town in America’s Midwest. It is 1981, and the American economy is booming. Ashwath enjoys the three C’s of success: a condominium, a car and a credit card. But a decade later, when the market crashes, he sees the other side of the American dream—joblessness, dingy one-room tenements, and loneliness.Casting its shadow over it all is Neel Kamal, his family’s sprawling bungalow in Bangalore, now a piece of prime real estate. Ashwath is compelled to return after twenty-five years to lay claim to his inheritance. In doing so, he has to once again face tangled relationships—with his sister, Savitri, her ne’er-do-well husband, Keshav, his first love Thippy—and the ghosts of his parents who died without ever seeing him again. He also finds love of a different kind, through his high-spirited niece, Shweta, and his intense, idealistic nephew, Aprameya. Finally, it is Neel Kamal that decides what he must do.
Through these spare poems, Sharmistha Mohanty weaves together, inseparably, the contemporary and the almost primal. The result is a singular voice, new and old at the same time. In its oral quality, in its questioning and assertion, in its vigour and vulnerability, it seems to be uttering anew what was once collective, and perhaps still is, under the surface. The poems in The Gods Came Afterwards are a calling out, far beyond the personal, through an unusually pared down English language and a long Indic heritage.
Ajji may have died, but her presence lingers around the abacus she used, always ready to pick faults in her grandchildren and point out their mistakes. But when a royal necklace goes missing, only Ajji can save the day.Banno Bi says she is a witch, and the neighbourhood children stay far away from her. Yet it is to Banno Bi and her djinns they turn when they are in trouble.Dhani’s life may have ended too soon, but can he take the help of his old laptop and his social media account to bring a bully to justice?And when a Biryani vs Pulao battle breaks out in Nawabi Lucknow, who else can settle scores but the ghost of a celebrated chef?Subhadra Sen Gupta’s ghost stories are curious, quirky and entertaining. They will make you laugh, sigh, and look carefully over your shoulder each time you turn a page!
‘This brave and timely book should be required reading for every Indian.’—Nayantara SahgalIn this revised paperback edition of his best-selling book, Ravish Kumar, one of our bravest and most mature public voices, examines why debate and dialogue have given way to hate and intolerance in India, how elected representatives, the media and other institutions are failing us, and looks at ways to repair the damage to our democracy.A new introduction and two additional essays examine developments since the election results of May 2019.
In The Last Dance, Anmol Arora explores themes of identity, love and ambition in a compelling debut novel that carries the reader along with it till the end.The year is 1991. The Kurdish-Turkey conflict is at its peak, and eleven-year-old Ayla's family is caught in the crosshairs. When her father is accused of anti-national activities, they are forced to flee their homeland and take refuge in Delhi.Here, a chance prediction by a pavement fortune-teller convinces Ayla's mother that her daughter's future lies in dance. She enrols Ayla in a Pratistha, a dance school run by Guru Chandrashekhar. Ayla develops a fascination for Bharatnatyam, and sets her sights on fame and success as a dancer.Ayla is keen to perform her arangetram, a dancer's first solo performance, but Chandrashekhar, traditional in his ways, refuses to let her do so until he is sure she is ready. Ayla's frustration leads to an abrupt and unceremonious falling out and she joins Studio Anubhooti, a rival dance school run by Guru Ranmohan.What follows is a tragedy: Ranmohan promises Ayla an arangetram, but rapes her on the eve of her performance. Traumatised and disillusioned, Ayla gives up on her dreams and returns to Mardin.Destiny reunites her with Chandrashekhar years later. The ensuing journey transforms them both in fundamental ways. They begin to question their beliefs, their life-choices and assumptions, and in turn discover new possibilities. Finally, Ayla performs her arangetram - in a way she could never have imagined.
An immensely valuable and revealing book about the decades-long Naga national movement, containing interviews with leaders, ideologues and soldiers that have never been published before. This first-of-its-kind book tells the story of the Naga national movement from the inside. Based on extensive interviews of the Naga nationalists, conducted in the late 1990s in Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dimapur and Delhi, it explains why the Indo-Naga conflict has lasted more than seven decades, and why successive prime ministers of India, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi, have personally met the Naga leaders and tried to resolve the conflict. In Kuknalim, leaders and members of ten Naga tribes spread across India and Myanmar speak directly to the reader about their childhood experiences, reasons for joining the armed struggle, and their personal triumphs and tragedies. They recount their journeys from small impoverished mountain villages through the jungles of Myanmar to China-from where they carried back arms to fight for an independent Nagaland-and finally the journey to the negotiating table. These stories relate to the period of the Naga movement from World War II to 1997, when Naga nationalists under the NSCN (IM) entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Indian state and began peace talks. And in the introduction to the book and the different sections in it, the authors also write about subsequent events, besides providing the political context for each interview. A groundbreaking work, Kuknalim offers invaluable insights into the world of Naga insurgency and its geo-political significance. Without asking the reader to agree or disagree with the people and movement it profiles, the book also examines complex questions of identity politics; the role of religion in nationalism; and the sentiments that drive men and women to take up arms and endure extreme hardship in pursuit of their dreams.
Bulbul Sharma, Janice Pariat, Manjula Padmanabhan, Mitra Phukan, Paro Anand, Pratyaksha, Uddipana Goswami, Venita Coelho. Eight of India's best fiction writers come together to produce a book of intrigue and murders most foul. In Mitra Phukan's story that opens this edge-of-the-seat anthology, She Stoops to Kill: Stories of Crime and Passion, a singing diva chokes to death onstage. The weapon is a poisoned paan-but who would want her dead? And Pratyaksha follows Mitra's entrée with the murder of an equally glamorous victim-air hostess Ginny Kalra. Bulbul Sharma, in 'Murder in the Wedding Season', creates a cosy setting for a wedding in Shimla; but the guests include a politician and a timorous widow whose past will disrupt the party in ways no one had imagined. And in Uddipana Goswami's 'Beloved of Flowers', a folktale about a girl reborn as a lotus leads young Dino to the truth behind a mysterious disappearance. Manjula Padmanabhan's 'Serial Killer' brilliantly explores what it is like to be a perfectly normal person-except that you enjoy the act of murder. While Janice Pariat's delicately nuanced 'The Nurse' shows us another side of death altogether. In the penultimate story by Venita Coelho, Sister, a vigilante eunuch, helps the police solve a gruesome killing in a city slum. And Paro Anand brings the collection to a grand finale with a story that begins with lust and ends with a murder-or two-that may or may not have happened. By turns chilling, horrific and morbidly fascinating, She Stoops to Kill: Stories of Crime and Passion, is a steaming witches' cauldron of stories that will keep you riveted, page after page.
One of the finest and most unusual autobiographies written in contemporary India.In this unusual, extraordinary autobiography, Shanta Gokhale-writer, translator and one of India's most illuminating cultural commentators-traces the arc of her life over eight decades through the progress of her body, as it grows, matures and begins to wind down. Starting with her birth in 1939-in philosophic silence, till the doctor's slap on her bottom made her bawl-she recounts her childhood, youth and middle and old age in chapters built around the many elements and processes of the physical self: tonsils and adenoids, breasts and misaligned teeth; childbirth and fluctuating weight, cancer and bunions. And through these memories emerge others, less visible but just as defining: a carefree childhood growing up in a progressive Marathi household in Mumbai's Shivaji Park; the pleasures, in adolescence, of badminton, Kathak and hairdressing; the warmth of friends and an almost love in cold England; finding and losing a mate-twice-and bringing up her children as a single parent; the great thrill of her first translation from Marathi into English; nursing her mother, dying of cancer, as she would a baby; surviving cancer herself, and writing her second novel through the recovery.Told with effortless humour and candour, One Foot on the Ground is the story of a life full of happiness, heartbreak, wonder and acceptance. It will rank among the finest personal histories written in India.
An unprecedented and timely collection of writings by and on Jawaharlal Nehru-the man who shaped newly independent India; and the icon whose legacy is the subject of intense and often angry debate today. 'Who is this Bharat Mata, whose victory you wish?' asked Jawaharlal Nehru-a leading light of the Indian freedom movement who would become the country's first prime minister-at a public gathering in 1936. And then he explained: the mountains and rivers, forests and fields were of course dear to everyone, but what counted ultimately were 'the people of India…spread out all over this vast land. Bharat Mata, Mother India, [is] essentially these millions of people, and victory to her [is] victory to these people.' This collection of writings and speeches by and on Nehru shows us the mind-the ideology, born of experience, observation and deep study-behind this democratic and inclusive idea of India. It is a book of particular relevance at a time when 'nationalism' and the slogan 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' are being used to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens. 'Who Is Bharat Mata?' contains selections from Nehru's classic books-An Autobiography, Glimpses of World History and The Discovery of India; his speeches, essays and letters from the pre- and post-Independence years; and some of his most revealing interviews. The concluding section of the book comprises reminiscences and assessments of Nehru by his contemporaries-among them, Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sheikh Abdullah, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Ali Sardar Jafri, Martin Luther King Jr and Atal Bihar Vajpayee. In this carefully put-together anthology-which also carries an illuminating introduction-Nehru emerges as a remarkable man of ideas and action who had an instinctive understanding of India's civilizational spirit, as also a clear commitment to the scientific temper; and as a leader who, despite the compulsions of politics, remained a true democrat. His legacy continues to be extremely relevant-for, in the words of the editor, an understanding of 'Nehru's political and intellectual journey is a pre-condition for India's survival as a democratic polity and as a humane, compassionate society'.
A romance about modern lives as lived in India's tech capital and city of youth, Bangalore. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think the better of it. Their eyes met in the rear-view mirror and Aditi raised her well-shaped eyebrows in query. 'I prefer start-ups,' he said flatly. Aditi Pillai is an entrepreneur-part-owner of the Snack Team, a food start-up. Sitting in her shared cab one day, in Bangalore's gridlocked traffic, she suddenly notices that her cab driver is extraordinarily good-looking. Turns out he is Aditya Shenoy, owner of cab aggregator start-up Caboyea. And so starts a whirlwind romance between Aditi and Aditya. While she negotiates deadlines, irate clients and tries to have a fun time of it, he battles big-name competitors and driver integrity, all the while trying to get out of the long shadow cast by his flamboyant-and notorious-tycoon father. But as their romance gets more and more serious, they need to start talking about the big C word-commitment. Will this Bangalore start-up affair take off and take wings, or will it crash and burn? Weaving its way through the lanes and bylanes of Bangalore, India's start-up capital, Our Start-up Affair is a funny, hip, romantic story that will warm every reader's heart.
'Yesterday, by the grace of Allah, I, Mehr-un-nissa, daughter of Mirza Ghiyas Beg and Asmat Begum, completed thirteen years of existence on this earth… Thirteen years…I'm not sure how pleased I am to have reached this significant age.' Long before she became Nur Jahan-Emperor Jahangir's last wife and the most influential Mughal queen-she was Mehr-un-nissa. Born to Persian refugees who attained eminence at the Mughal court, Mehr-un-nissa grew up on the fringes of Emperor Akbar's court in Agra, Kabul and Lahore. In this fictional diary, Deepa Agarwal gives us a glimpse into the queen's teenage years: how she grows into a strong and passionate young woman; her love for poetry and writing; and her interest in the larger world around her. Her diary also describes the Mughal world through the eyes of a young girl: the vibrant Meena Bazaars; the elaborate festival celebrations; and the intricacies of life in the zenana. But above all, her diary records her ambition to meet the love of her life and also to carve a place for herself in history. A fascinating blend of history and fiction, The Teenage Diary of Nur Jahan brings alive a bygone age in a unique and captivating manner for young readers.
A comprehensive and accessible battle-by-battle account of the Kargil war by an Army officer who witnessed it. Early in May 1999, when word came from a shepherd searching for his strayed yak that some mysterious men in black clothes were clambering around on the frozen hilltops of Kargil, no one could have anticipated that it would be the precursor to a full-fledged armed conflict between India and Pakistan. Over the next several weeks, the Indian Army responded with courage, focus and immense professionalism to craft a comprehensive victory, recapturing all the posts that had been occupied by stealth by the Pakistani Army. This Himalayan showdown is brought alive in these pages through the words of a veteran Indian Army officer who was present throughout the conflict and, for the first time, recounts both his own experiences and the stories of the heroic soldiers who fought and won fierce battles from one peak to another. He narrates the individual and collective acts of bravery and the astute military strategies that won the war for India. Containing detailed maps, eye-witness accounts and photographs, The Kargil Victory is a thorough, inspiring and accessible book for all those who want to know the real story of the Kargil War.
In the shadow of the Himalayas, a fantastic saga has begun. With zombie clowns, flying gods, exotic animals and a curious bunch of children who refuse to be defeated…Every summer, twins Shari and Tal Kandhari, sisters Iti and Trikaya Pillai, and Safir Idris holiday in Devagarh, a village high in the hills of Kumaon. Here, they've set up the Kumaon Secret Society, or the KSS. This summer they have a new member: the mysterious Isaac Shroff. Also back in Devagarh is Mesmerizing Mister Mer, the strange and cruel magician whose appearance has timed perfectly with the disappearance of all cats from the village.As the KSS sets out in search of the cats, it reaches the forbidden village of Yakshagarh, where a whole new world slowly reveals itself to them. In this world there are cat-hungry rakshasas, warrior statues, yakshas and devas, and a shadowy Midnight King-all guardians of the two villages. But Mister Mer is determined to invoke spells best left unsaid and gain untold powers that will forever destroy the peace not only of the villages and the hills, but the entire world. Can the members of the KSS discover their hidden superpowers in time and foil Mister Mer's diabolical plans? The Rise of the Midnight King is an edgy, action-packed fantasy-full of wit and high adventure-that will enthral and captivate readers of all ages.
'Set in the heart of the world of Indian music, these are stories with a rhythm entirely their own. They speak of hope and disaster, genius and fakery in surprising ways. And they are wickedly funny.'-JERRY PINTO After thousands of hours of training and practice, the gods of music smile upon the deserving few. Genius shines; melody and goodness reign supreme; and all is right with the world. Or is it? What happens, for instance, when a cunning PR brain brings together two star musicians from India and Pakistan in a concert for peace? Or when a Hindustani vocalist, long denied a foreign tour, flies from Pune to Philadelphia? Or when a small-town music teacher and a big-city businessman team up to plan a hunt for India's best new classical talent-and make a few crores in the process? How does it all end when a harmonium player desirous of a Padma Shri award comes to a powerful ustad for a recommendation? Or when a Bollywood director calls a classical singer, offering to make her a sensation, like the mysterious Miss Sargam whom no one hears anymore but everyone remembers? And is it really a good idea for an old-world recording company to reinvent itself for the twenty-first century, or a devotee of a pious godwoman to compose songs for Hollywood? In this, her debut work of fiction, one of India's finest and most original musicians has produced a sparkling collection-utterly distinctive, hugely entertaining and mercilessly funny.
A collection of vivid and deeply emotional stories... [that] deals with issues of identity and belonging, allowing one to experience the hope, pain, and remarkable perseverance of a people and region that are at risk of being forgotten. -Shashi Tharoor In this collection of short stories, heart-breaking and heart-warming in equal measure, the lives of displaced Tibetans building new homes in India are chronicled with rare nuance. The eleven stories are divided into the five colours of the Tibetan prayer flag: in Blue (Sky), 'Zinda' is the name of the Tibetan village which a child has to escape after Chinese occupation, returning only as a young man to this unfamiliar motherland after a bittersweet surprise. Mariko, the former monk protagonist in White (Air), shatters expectations by becoming a beauty icon and dancer. 'In the Footsteps of Buddha's Warriors' from Red (Fire) tells the story of the Chushi Gangdruk, the forgotten Tibetan guerrilla group which fought bravely from Nepal for an independence which never arrived. Madhu Gurung writes evocatively and with deep empathy about the Tibetan community's struggles and success, despair and hope, and the fabric of family and identity that stretches and dissolves and knits itself back in new configurations.
Travel around the world with this glorious collection of best-loved folk tales.Harisharman, a poor man from India, pretends he has magical powers and can solve any problem. But what will he do when the king himself asks for his help to find the gold stolen from the royal treasury? In ancient Arabia, Ameen Beg meets a scary ghoul. With just some salt and an egg, he outsmarts the ghoul and makes him run away fast and far. In distant Eastern Europe, a king is furious with his attendant George. The only way George can escape punishment is by finding the mysterious maid with the golden hair. Will he be able to find her and bring her to his king? Meet these and many other odd and wonderful characters-wily witches from Australia, brave and just eagles from North America, magician-giants from South America and boastful tailors from Scotland-in these captivating stories. There are tales of love and humour, of adventure and daredevilry, of ogres and animals. Beautifully illustrated and skilfully retold, this collection will thrill and charm readers young and old.
'Sumana Roy is one of the most original writers in Indian English today, whose writing easily slides out of the clutches of genres.'-The Indian Express '"Every relationship is a long-distance relationship," we read in one of Sumana Roy's intriguing new poems. Out of Syllabus brilliantly anatomizes those relationships, viewing them from every disciplinary perspective: chemistry, physics, biology, geography, history, botany-and finally art. The result is a dazzling dissection of love, longing, and loss in all their conflicting moods and moments. Roy's images and metaphors are as enigmatic as they are precise. However private and personal her subjects, Roy maintains an aesthetic distance, wit and verbal control that recalls Sylvia Plath-but a Plath less angry, wiser-even philosophical. This is a very special book-one that deserves a wide readership.' -Marjorie Perloff, Emeritus Professor, Stanford University 'Sumana Roy's wonderful book of poems, Out of Syllabus, combines rational ordering with the "unreason" of striking figures of speech. The rational ordering lies in the naming of sections as items in a comprehensive syllabus: "History", "Chemistry", "Physics" and so on. The striking figures of speech are everywhere in these poems. They give "out" in the book's title a negative as well as a positive meaning. These metaphors are often coupled to what they figure by way of a key word in Out of Syllabus: "is." But you must read these powerful and challenging poems for yourself, dear reader, to get a feeling for what they are like and for what they mean as unique poetic experiences.' -J. Hillis Miller, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, University of California at Irvine
In this timely and comprehensive book, a professional with rare experience in policy making reminds us that merely casting our votes is never sufficient, we must be constantly involved with the decisions which affect us in our daily lives, and the country. Did you know that: • Flawed policies-in the economy, in governance and in legislation-are the biggest reason why India, despite its demographic advantage, lags behind in many indices of growth and progress • Draft policies are routinely put up in the public domain for citizens' feedback, yet receive very little response • Policies, even after they are ratified, can always be contested and changed if they don't suit the country through various means • We can always get in touch with our political representatives, at the district, state and national levels, and offer our suggestions on the policies which affect us, but we rarely do so Your Vote Is Not Enough covers a diverse range of issues-from agriculture, the economy, defence, retail and job markets to technology, governance and administration, among others-to demonstrate how a lack of engagement on our part as citizens has led to the many problems which plague these sectors. And even as it points this out, the book also provides practical and concrete solutions. These innovative solutions range from the systemic to the technological-a self-sustaining district-level agency to facilitate and encourage entrepreneurship across India; a mobile application which will serve not only as a database for the unorganized labour force of the country but also connect them with prospective employers; and a plan to completely transform the bureaucratic culture to make it more citizen friendly and performance driven. Written with authority and conviction, Your Vote Is Not Enough is a reminder, not only to citizens of the country but also its leaders and policy makers, about all that we must do to take our rightful place as a developed nation which has ensured peace and prosperity for all its citizens.
A timely and wide-ranging anthology that brings together reports from the various battlefields of present-day India where marginalized groups-dalits, adivasis, workers, minority communities-and committed democrats, including writers and artists, are resisting oppression and intolerance. For well over a decade, there has been a battle going on in India, as old divisions and inequalities have become deeper. Since 2014, this battle has reached a feverish pitch with the combined onslaught of majoritarian politics and market-driven policies. There are now, as the editors of this anthology argue, two signposts as we enter the Indian nation-one reads: Battling India, and points to a domain of coercion and plunder; the other says: Battling for India, and invites us to spaces where many brave, indomitable people demand their share of dignity and lay claim to citizenship. This necessary collection brings us the voices and experiences of those who are battling for India through their private struggles and public activism: Alivelamma, a woman farmer. Huchangi, Rohith, Ravan-poet, scholar, activist; all dalit. Sukalo, Rajkishor, Leelabati-activist, poet, singer; adivasis. Eighteen-year-old Muddu Thirthahalli and ninety-one-year-old Nayantara, both writers. Amarjeet, Sonia and 2000 others gathered at a workers' rally. Salima, Hafiz, Aslah, who refuse to be second-class citizens. Among them, and with them, are the voices of journalists, artists, teachers and students. Together, they speak to us of the many ways in which state and extra-state forces have been excluding more and more citizens from India. And together, they show us ways to re-make the nation envisioned by our Constitution-a nation whose people can, without exception, live as free and equal citizens.
A lyrical and gripping read that captures the drama and intrigues in the Mughal empire at the height of its glory. It is 1626, and Jahanara is in Mandu, central India. Her father, Prince Khurram-who will later become Emperor Shah Jahan-has fallen out of favour with Emperor Jahangir, and now lives in the Deccan with his wife Arjamand Bano and their five children. As events unfold around her, Jahanara records them in her diary-her father's reaction to his exile; Empress Nur Jahan's demand that Jahanara's brothers be sent to her court as hostages; the conspiracies in faraway Agra and Lahore as Jahangir slides into ill-health; and her own growth as a sensitive writer and poet. Then one day, her father rides away to capture the Mughal throne, paving the way for Jahanara to return to her beloved Agra. This fictional diary recreates the drama of ambition, intrigue and loyalty that marked the Mughal empire at the height of its glory. As young Jahanara witnesses her father's rise to the throne, she also contemplates the incredible cruelty that men inflict on each other, and the love and tenderness that will finally redeem all. Gripping and lyrical, The Teenage Diary of Jahanara brings to life a time we only read about in history books.
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