A glimpse into the heart and mind of a young girl who went on to become an important queen. In the Rajput kingdom of Amber, Jodh Bai, daughter of King Bihari Mal, is now a teenager. Her clan, the Kachhwahas, are a proud warrior race, but Jodh Bai is a dreamer and poet at heart. When she picks up an empty accounting book and starts writing her thoughts in it, she ends up recording the happenings in the world around her-the joys, sorrows and ambitions of the women, the brothers and uncles who are trained to be warriors, the beauty of the arid landscape, and the politics of the times that is bringing the Mughals from distant Agra closer and closer to Rajasthan. Then one day, she is told something unbelievable-she is going to wed the Mughal emperor Akbar. How will Jodh Bai, a Hindu princess, live in the Mughal zenana? Will she find a true companion in Akbar? And what will life be like away from her beloved Rajasthan? History does not record the existence of Jodh Bai. Instead, Akbar's Rajput wife is only referred to by the royal title of Mariam-us-Zamani. But in this heartfelt fictional diary, Subhadra Sen Gupta skilfully brings alive the story of a young Rajput princess who went on to become a powerful queen of the Mughal empire.
Nimmi Daruwala is back with a dreadful+fantastic=dreadtastic adventure!Nimmi Daruwala is back to school after a week of absence, thanks to some awful green-coloured jelly she ate, and it’s time for a dreadful+fantastic=dreadtastic adventure! While Nimmi was away, Principal Bakshi had two new ideas: beanbags for each class, and Cookaroo, a cooking competition in the school. But the beanbags in Nimmi’s class have burst and no one knows who did it; and Nimmi can only just about boil an egg. To top it all, Ms Atmaja is as ghastly as ever; and Sophia is now part of mean girl Alisha Dubash’s Evil Threevils. But Nimmi finds unlikely friends by her side in the class nerds Diya and Kavya;and a cooking partner in the mysterious new student from America, Kabir.Will Nimmi and Kabir be able to present a decent dish at Cookaroo? And more importantly, will Nimmi be able to fulfil her ambition of becoming a detective and crack the case of the burst beanbag? Full of twists and turns Nimmi’s Dreadtastic Detective Days is so funny that it will have you guffawing+chortling=gaffortling.
‘He painted pictures in vivid colours to the songs of flutes.’—Khushwant SinghUnder Something of a Cloud spans a lifetime of Dom Moraes’ work to select the very best of his travel writing. Featured in this volume is a vividly recollected childhood tour of Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and Australia with his father, Frank Moraes, and his mother, Beryl, who was then rapidly sliding into madness; a darkly comic account of a trip to the Sikkim-Tibet border, amidst rumours that the Chinese would soon attack India; and a thrilling adventure among the Dani tribe in Indonesia who, at that time, were reputed to be cannibals.Also included here are Moraes’ sojourns among dacoits in the Chambal valley, one of whom, Lacchi, he helped spring from police custody; the account of a heart-wrenching meeting with a man in Bhagalpur in Bihar who had acid poured into his eyes by the police; and encounters with women victims in Ahmedabad, soon after the riots in 2002, which left him shattered.With a keen sense for atmosphere, colour, understated wit and unfailing empathy for the underdog, Dom Moraes brings to life people and places like few other writers anywhere can. Not only will fans of the author love Under Something of a Cloud, it will also appeal to readers of world-class travel writing and connoisseurs of timeless prose.
Inspiring lessons from some of the world’s wisest and pioneering business leaders.• What does it take to achieve success?• How can you take charge of your career destiny?• What are the most important business principles that you should follow?• How can you create business opportunities in hostile market conditions?• How can you stay motivated amidst cutthroat competition and naysayers?In Achievement, the most legendary business leaders share their stories, insights and advice about creating immensely successful and sustainable businesses. Henry Ford writes about his journey, from being an engineer at Thomas Edison’s electricity company to revolutionizing the automobile industry. J.R.D. Tata shares his ‘golden rules’ for success and getting the best out of others. Azim Premji, the czar of the Indian IT industry, stresses the importance of hard work, humility and taking charge of your destiny. John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company and the wealthiest person in modern history, talks about sticking to his business principles, maintaining integrity and taking care of his employees. Coco Chanel, founder of the iconic Chanel brand, points to the inevitability of failure and the courage in thinking for yourself. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys and one of the great entrepreneurs of our time, shares lessons about having a long-term vision and self-belief, and the significance of fellowship and philanthropy.Whether you intend to start a business or are already engaged in one, this handy book will inspire you to think bigger, identify your goals—both long-term and short-term—and take concrete steps towards realizing them.
A brilliant collection of profiles of 20 trailblazing Indians who changed the world with their ideas, innovation and discoveries. For over 3000 years, the Indian subcontinent has contributed to fields as diverse as mathematics and science, spirituality and philosophy, as well as music and literature. In this absorbing book, Shruthi Rao profiles 20 legendary Indians who dared to think differently and changed the world-from starting a new religion based on the principles of compassion and peace; to creating the first set of rules for grammar; to discovering the existence of black holes, and so much more. 20 Indians Who Changed the World is as informative and well-researched as it is inspiring, a book every Indian can read with pride. Amartya Sen Ashoka Bhaskara II (Bhaskaracharya) Buddha C.V. Raman Faqir Chand Kohli Har Gobind Khorana Indra K. Nooyi Jawaharlal Nehru Kalpana Chawla Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mother Teresa Narinder Singh Kapany Pandit Ravi Shankar Panini Rabindranath Tagore Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Swami Vivekananda Tipu Sultan Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
'Here is a fine collection of escape hatches arrayed in front of you: all open, all leading far away from this reality. Why not climb through one and see where it takes you?'What if machines meant to help humans took over their owners? Or if unending traffic jams forced Swedish detectives to levitate around the Indian city of Bluru? How did the deadly cyclone in the Bay of Bengal that had everyone on tenterhooks suddenly calm down? What does one do when killer zombies launch an attack in Chennai or when eager-to-please musical creatures refuse to go back into their pods? And did the giant Tetrahedron appear on the streets of New Delhi to help people see beyond their present reality?Alternate worlds and futures-or pasts-have never seemed as full of potential or as visionary as in these stories by some of the best storytellers in the country, including Manjula Padmanabhan, Jerry Pinto, Vandana Singh, Srinath Perur, Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, J.C. Bose, Indra Das, Shalini Srinivasan, Zac O'Yeah, Sunando C. and Vinayak Varma. Satirical, humorous and thought-provoking, these mindboggling stories will amaze you with their depth of imagination and are a must-read for all sci-fi lovers!
'Where can one find the Mahabharata? The facile answer is "India".'A chance comment in 1974 fired Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière with the idea of producing a play based on the epic. Together they travelled across India, searching for all possible theatrical forms of the great poem. The result was an epic play-9 hours with two intermissions-later made into a film and a TV series, which has become a landmark in theatre. Another result was this delightful book made from the notes that Carriere jotted down during his travels, whose charm is enhanced by his piquant illustrations that run through the pages.The 'sacred frenzy' of Theyyam in a Kerala village and the intricacies of Kathakali are interwoven with their encounters with the aged Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram, a 'one-in-three saint', and the legendary Satyajit Ray in Kolkata. Here they also meet Professor P. Lal, who has been working for twenty years on translating the Mahabhararta into English. It is vignettes like these that make their search for the epic into a journey that shows India, through Carrière's words and sketches, in a way it has never been seen before.
A comprehensive guide to our body, our food, and what we must do-and guard against-to keep ourselves and our children healthy and energized.• Why have we Indians become so suddenly, and so quickly, obese?• Why are our children overweight? Will they be diabetic and hypertensive before they are thirty?• What is making us overweight? Is it our 'homefood' or 'outsidefood'?• What happens to food once we eat it, and how is it linked to obesity?• And if we are obese, what can we do about it?In Fat, doctors Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan meld the newest research with their own clinical experience to answer these questions and uncover the links between food and our bodies. We discover the magical relationship between the brain and the fat cell; how it enhances our enjoyment of a delicious meal, how it tricks us into choosing the right foods in the right amounts, and how this perfect balance can go haywire. We learn of the ways in which the stresses of our modern lifestyles-especially in urban India-are pushing us into becoming overweight, and what we can do about it. We learn, also, the essential principles of the perfectly balanced meal and how easy it is to implement them in our kitchens.
An essential guide for cancer patients and caregivers about what to eat, when and why.• Can our diet have an impact on the prevention of cancer?• What kind of foods should we eat if we are undergoing surgery, chemotherapy or radiation?• What kind of foods should we cut out to avoid and recover from cancer?In Cancer, Your Body and Your Diet, Dr Arati Bhatia breaks down the latest research, and uses her own clinical and personal experiences to answer these, among other, pressing questions about cancer. She explains the hows and whys of the cancer cell cycle, what to do after being diagnosed with cancer, and the crucial role that food plays in the prevention and treatment of all types of cancers.The author, a medical doctor, is herself a cancer survivor and later, was her husband's primary caregiver in his own fight against cancer. Drawing on these experiences, she takes readers through every stage, from diagnosis to therapy (chemo, surgery or radiation) to palliative care, with a focus on the quality of a cancer patient's life. She applies her considerable medical training and experience to advise cancer patients, their relatives and caregivers, as well as the general health-conscious public who want to avoid cancer.Practical, informative and complete with diet advice and eating schedules, this is an accessible and immensely useful handbook for fighting against cancer and leading a healthier, fuller life.
Enter the magical, timeless world of classic fairy tales from India.A prince sets out on an adventure and is joined by a talking parrot and the 'Ant-Raja'. Together, can they win the heart of the beautiful Princess Labam?Gangazara, the soothsayer's son, rescues the tiger-king, the serpent-king and the rat-king from a well. But did he make a grave mistake when he also rescued the cunning goldsmith?A boy is born with the mark of the moon on his forehead and a star on his chin but his enemies want to kill him as soon as he is born. Can he overcome his cruel destiny and return to his rightful kingdom?Also in these pages are stories about animals both wise and cruel-a tiger tricked into returning to his cage by a jackal, a crane outwitted by a crab, and the cat, dog and mice who pit their wits against crafty humans.Brave girls, adventurous men, wily tricksters, loyal friends populate of this book, bringing alive an imagined world from long, long ago. Beautifully illustrated in colour and introduced by Jerry Pinto, these fairy tales are as unique as they are unforgettable and will ignite the imagination of a new generation of readers.
He also discusses the songs of other greats, like Shailendra and Sahir Ludhianvi; his favourite music directors, like SD and RD Burman, Hemant Kumar and AR Rahman; and playback singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Vani Jairam, Jagjit Singh and Bhupinder Singh.
A legendary journalist's close encounters and candid profiles of the powerful, the famous, the glamorous and the rich-from Nehru, Jinnah and Sheikh Abdullah to Meena Kumari, Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi. In this frank and freewheeling narrative, Kuldip Nayar recounts his experiences of meeting many of the men and women who shaped the destiny of pre- and post-Independence India, revealing hitherto unknown aspects of their personalities and shedding light on many key events in the country. Was Nehru a secret dynast who had only his daughter Indira Gandhi in mind as his successor? What role did Nayar himself play in Lal Bahadur Shastri's election as prime minster after Nehru's death? Why did Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan-revered as the Frontier Gandhi-refer to Indians as 'baniyas'? And who did Zulfikar Ali Bhutto think should be the prime minister of the entire subcontinent-India, Pakistan and Bangladesh? Interspersed with these political reminiscences are delightful accounts of Meena Kumari's encounter with Shastri on the sets of Pakeezah, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz's flawless recitation of his great poetry even after consuming a full bottle of Black Dog whiskey. Nayar does not fight shy of expressing his opinions-be it a comparison of JRD and Ratan Tata, advice for Narendra Modi, or reflections on the shape of Indo-Pak relations had Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah lived longer. In this absorbing and entertaining book-which he finished only weeks before he passed away-Kuldip Nayar writes in the grand old tradition of journalists who were not afraid to tell it like it is.
'Gloriously provocative…fearless in her writing and acute about female sexuality in a way we still rarely see.'-Kamila Shamsie, The Guardian In The Heart Breaks Free, set in pre-Independence UP, Bua, a free-spirited woman in a conservative Muslim household, is goaded into submission by the women in the family. But even as Bua surrenders to the forces of circumstance, Qudsia Apa, an uncomplaining abandoned wife, stuns everyone by transforming into a rebel. She rejects the life of celibacy and denial forced upon her and picks her own life partner, showing future generations the value and pleasure of subversion. The Wild One is the love story of a servant girl, Asha, and her 'master', Puran, in a feudal household where such a relationship can only be a horror and a tragedy unless it is conducted in secret and quickly forgotten. Yet, when Puran can't muster the strength to defy his class, it is gutsy Asha who manages to beat the odds and win him for herself. Provocative, witty and intensely human as always, Chughtai delivers in these novellas scathing critiques of the cant and hypocrisy of Indian society.
Spanning half a life, My Father's Garden tells the story of a young doctor-the unnamed narrator-as he negotiates love and sexuality, his need for companionship, and the burdens of memory and familial expectation.The opening section, 'Lover', finds him studying medicine in Jamshedpur. At college, he discovers an all-consuming passion for Samir, a junior, who possesses his body, mind and heart. Yet, on their last morning together, when he asks Samir to kiss him goodbye, his lover tells him, 'A kiss is only for someone special.'In 'Friend', the young doctor, escaping heartbreak, finds relief in Pakur where he strikes up an unusual friendship with Bada Babu, the head clerk of the hospital where he is posted. In Bada Babu's house, they indulge a shared love for drink, delicious food and convivial company. But when government bulldozers arrive to tear down the neighbourhood, and Bada Babu's house, the young doctor uncovers a sordid tale of apathy and exploitation-and a side to his new friend that leaves him disillusioned.And in 'Father', unable, ultimately, to flee the pain, the young doctor takes refuge in his parents' home in Ghatsila. As he heals, he reflects on his father-once a vital man who had phenomenal success at work and in Adivasi politics, then an equally precipitous downfall-and wonders if his obsessive gardening has anything to do with the choices his son has made.Written with deep empathy and searing emotional intensity, and in the clear, unaffected prose that is the hallmark of Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar's style, My Father's Garden marks a major talent of Indian fiction writing at the top of his form.
'In Mukta Sathe we have a new voice that displays a deep understanding of both the old and the young, of their complex relationships, and of how crime and punishment play out under our flawed judicial system. A Patchwork Family is a novel that I found difficult to put down.' -Shanta Gokhale, author, columnist and translator Young and idealistic, Janaki is eager to serve the cause of justice as a lawyer. Her only confidant is Ajoba, an elderly friend of her grandfather's, who supported her throughout her childhood. They are unrelated by blood or marriage ties, but they have both lost their own families. So together, they struggle to create a family, patched together perhaps, but stronger for it. As this gripping novel unfolds, the two characters in turn tell the traumatic story of how they came together: how Janaki being the eyewitness to a gruesome crime led to years of court cases and police investigations; the toll it took on the members of her immediate family; the ways in which Ajoba and Janaki each overcome their immediate prejudices to connect with each other; and the impact of the judicial system's vagaries on each of their worldviews. Written in spare, unadorned and confident prose, A Patchwork Family is a debut novel of unusual wisdom and maturity.
Brilliant retellings of some of the world's and India's earliest stories, beloved by children and adults alike for over 2,000 years.In a small forest, a hare convinces his friends-a monkey, a jackal and a water-weasel-to share their food with the hungry. But when the hare finds nothing to eat, and a fairy disguised as an old man comes asking for food, what does the hare do?The king of monkeys asks his tribe to keep the delicious mangoes in their forest a secret from humans. But what happens when Brhmadatta, the king of humans, discovers the fruit and wants more of it?A king spots the mysterious and beautiful deer, Sarabha, deep in the woods. He wishes to capture it but falls into a deep chasm on the way. Will Sarabha rescue him? The twenty stories in Great Jataka Tales, retold by the remarkable writer Noor Inayat Khan, have been drawn from the Buddha's former lives and the legends around him. These tales bring alive a world from long, long ago: a world that shows the importance of courage, compassion, non-violence and love. Written in simple, dramatic prose and beautifully illustrated in full colour, these magical stories will enchant a new generation of readers.
'…the greatest Indian prose stylist, with the most beautiful sentences.'-Amitav Ghosh, Hindustan Times Dom Moraes was not only one of India's greatest poets, he was also an extraordinary journalist and essayist. He could capture effortlessly the essence of the people he met, and in every single profile in this sparkling collection he shows how it is done. The Dalai Lama laughs with him and Mother Teresa teaches him a lesson in empathy. Moraes could make himself at home with Laloo Prasad Yadav, the man who invented the self-fulfilling controversy, and exchange writerly notes with Sunil Gangopadhyaya. He was Indira Gandhi's biographer-painting her in defeat, post Emergency, and in triumph, when she returned to power. He tried to fathom the mind of a mysterious 'super cop'-K.P.S. Gill-and also of Naxalites, dacoits and ganglords. This collection is literary journalism at its finest-from an observer who saw people and places with the eye of a poet and wrote about them with the precision of a surgeon.
A beautifully written account of the childhood of one of India's favourite writers'I am now over eighty years old. A very grand age, when I am allowed to sit back and listen to birds, examine the shapes of mountain ranges, and let my mind wander. These days I find my thoughts going back to my childhood all the time…We become like little children when we are old!'In this beautiful, heartfelt and often humorous mini-autobiography, beloved storyteller Ruskin Bond relives the days of his childhood and teenage. He writes of carefree days in the port city of Jamnagar where little boy Ruskin read books upside down, wandered into rambling empty palaces, went for rides on lurching boats and in swooping, looping aeroplanes, and listened to tall tales told by a loving ayah and a colourful cook. He also describes his schooldays in Shimla-being dressed up as Humpty Dumpty for his very first stage performance, making friends, planning pranks and discovering a secret tunnel. He remembers his days in Delhi, where he lived with his father for one magical year when they explored monuments and cinema halls and became each other's closest companions. And he recalls his time in Dehra when he developed his love of reading and writing, cycled far and wide and loafed in the bazaar with new-found friends, and finally set out on the path of becoming a writer.Funny and imaginative, nostalgic and tender, this timeless book-embellished with lovely colour illustrations-is a record of a very special childhood.
'Like Eat, Pray, Love but with more heart…dazzlingly romantic and yet still very real; a unique and uplifting read that's as much about traveling to India as it is about finding happiness.'-Library JournalHow far would you travel for love?Alison Singh Gee was a glamorous magazine writer with a serious Jimmy Choo habit, a weakness for five-star Balinese resorts, and a reputation for dating high-born British men. Then she met Ajay, a charming and unassuming Indian journalist, and her world turned upside down. Traveling from her shiny, fast-paced life in Hong Kong to Ajay's village, Mokimpur, not very far from Delhi, Alison learned that not all was as it seemed. It turned out that Ajay was a landed prince (of sorts), but his family palace was falling to pieces. Replete with plumbing issues, strange noises, and intimidating relatives, her new love's ramshackle palace was a broken-down relic in desperate need of a makeover. And Alison could not help but wonder if she would be able to soldier on for the sake of the man who just might be her soulmate.Hailed as 'Eat, Pray, Love's down-to-earth cousin', Where the Peacocks Sing takes readers on a cross-cultural journey from the manicured gardens of Beverly Hills to the bustling streets of Hong Kong, and finally, to the rural Indian countryside as Alison falls in love, comes to terms with her complicated new family, leaves the modern world behind, and learns the true meaning of home.
'[This] book succeeds in making us see the poetics of disobedience in the utterly illiberal prosaic ethos of our times, in the light of giving Gandhi a new radical and transformative significance.' -Ashok Vajpeyi, from the ForewordIn this original and timely book, Ramin Jahanbegloo, one of the world's leading political philosophers, engages with the most pressing question facing all of us today: is it not our duty, as free and autonomous citizens of democracy, to question and speak out against all authority? Should we not take back the power from self-interested political actors in the true spirit of Gandhi, for whom Swaraj was more than mere freedom from oppression?The core idea of Gandhi's philosophy of resistance, Jahanbegloo argues, is his unshakeable conviction that it is no longer possible to organize political action without disobedience. Democracy, to be worthy of obedience, he says, must be structured so that every citizen can question and disobey unjust laws and institutions. This is what Mahatma Gandhi still tells us, more forcefully than any other thinker of the twentieth century.The Disobedient Indian is a compellingly argued, persuasive handbook about the history, philosophy and necessity of disobedience. It is a vital tract for our times.
'One of the most challenging voices in contemporary young adult literature.'-Anthony HorowitzWho is the Other? Is it you? Is it me? Is it all of us?Childhood and teenage years-adults insist they are the best time. They cotton wool adolescence in soft lights, ignoring the heartaches and shadows. In this collection of stories, award-winning writer Paro Anand exposes the secrets and sorrows-and courage-that are part of today's life. A girl dealing with grief; another who is witness to a horrible assault on a woman in broad daylight; a boy who pushes himself to the brink of extinction; teenagers coming to terms with their otherness. Her stories ask, how do you tell a friend that you are different from everyone else in a deep, fundamental way? How do you go back to school and face friends and teachers when your own family has betrayed you? And when you put your faith in Superman, does he deliver when the bullies come calling?Dark yet uplifting, unflinching yet deeply positive, these stories are a searing portrayal of the minds of today's teenagers. In Paro Anand's The Other, we are forced to examine our actions and inactions and every reader will find a fragment of themselves in the stories. It is a book every young adult and adult must read.
'Ira's writing is masterful…very real yet intensely sublime.'-DNAFrom early to middle age, Pilgrimage tells the story of Monica-Mona at home-over three defining, pivotal events in her life. In the opening section, set in contemporary times, Monica, now a woman with a penchant for causes and sympathy for the dispossessed and the underdog, is stranded on a highway, surrounded and stalled by aggressive kanwariyas marching to the Ganga, even as her father struggles for life in the ambulance they are travelling on. Then, going back in time, the novel unearths two incidents which made the girl the woman she has become. 'Punishment' finds Mona stepping into adolescence in a small town in north India in the 1980s, becoming aware of her body and its possibilities for the first time, the norms and attitudes which seek to control it, and the ways in which she can subvert them. But when her mother catches Mona spying on a rooftop homosexual encounter, everything changes.And the in-between story, 'Transgressions', follows Monica as a young scholar of Delhi University in the 1990s-having rejected the demands of home and parents-conducting research on the psychology of drug-addicts, and a doomed, intense love affair with Ajay, a heroin junkie.Evocative, precise and spare, Pilgrimage is an extraordinary exploration of one life negotiating family, sex, love-and the illusion of home. It is also the story of middle-class India and its dysfunctions, its casual bigotry and paralyzing insecurities.
'Usha Ananda Krishna has a sparkling way with language.'-The TelegraphIn the aftermath of a bizarre confrontation with Kalol Mondal-a small-time hustler and Party goon-Pinaki Bose, a timid Bengali babu, bumbles into the ambit of the savagely brilliant architect, Biren Roy. Dazzled by Biren's breadth of vision and utter contempt for the conventional, he commissions him to design a country house-committing the whole family's savings to it. But Biren, paralyzed by his grand ideals and his passion for perfection, is slowly sinking into a drunken torpor. And Pinaki, ignorant of the Party's involvement in all land deals, must endure not just Kalol Mondal's ominous presence while buying his plot, but more worryingly, his infatuation with Pinaki's young daughter. Set in the bleak Communist Calcutta of the 1980s,The Escapists of J. Mullick Road is a wry meditation on a fabled city in physical and moral decline. Usha Ananda Krishna's subtly witty but compassionate take on the disparate lives that entwine over the building of a house is a tour de force of modern literary writing.
'Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti (When I Hid My Caste) was hailed as "the epic of Dalits". These brilliant stories gave Dalits the strength to face the painful and humiliating experiences of their wretched lives...'-K Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu Baburao Bagul's debut collection of short stories, Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti (1963), revolutionized Dalit literature, bringing to it raw energy and a radical realism-a refusal to understate or dress up gritty, brutal reality. Through the lives of people on the margins, Bagul exposed the pain, horror and rage of the Dalit experience. The unnamed young protagonist of the title story risks his life and job, and conceals his caste from his fellow workers in the hope of bringing about social change. Damu, the village Mahar, demands the right to perform a religious masque-a preserve of the upper castes-thus disrupting the village order. Jaichand Rathod revolts against his parents' wishes and refuses to take up the caste-enforced task of manual scavenging. Years of repressed maternal love begins to resurface when, in the face of death, Banoo calls out to her estranged son. And behind Savitri's desire for revenge lies the gruesome pain she suffered at the hands of her husband. Utterly unsparing in its depiction of the vicious and inhumane centuries-old caste system, this landmark book is now finally available in English, in a brilliant new translation by the award-winning author and translator Jerry Pinto.
Set against the backdrop of approaching civil war, the story of a young girl's coming of age by one of Nepal's newest, strongest voices writing in English Sumnima Tamule is in a crisis. Her friends at Rhododendron High School-all girls from semi-royal and other rich families-will soon be going abroad, but she, with second-division marks in her final exams, might have to settle for a grimy little college in town. Her parents, plodding away in middle-class Kathmandu, are deeply disappointed, and all their hopes are now pinned on Numa, her sister. Sundry cousins from their village in far-off Lungla-driven out by poverty and the warring Maoists-come to live with the family, trample upon her privacy, and wage kitchen politics with Boju, her foul-tongued grandmother. Other relatives embarrass her with their gauche village ways. And, worst of all, Sagar, Sumnima's US-returned RJ boyfriend, for whom she has been lying, sneaking around and stealing money from home, keeps her waiting for his phone calls. Employing a rich cast of characters, The Wayward Daughter tells the story of a young girl seeking out love, finding herself and her own spaces in life. Equally, it draws a telling portrait of Kathmandu-its class and caste divisions, its cosmopolitanism which exists alongside conservative attitudes, and its politics due to which a civil war looms. Written with humour, empathy and skill, this novel is a must-read.
Is Jwala Kumar a bird? A bat? A chameleon? Or is he something no one has ever seen before? And did he really just fall out of the sky into Champakbagh?Mohan Chandar lives with his wife and three children in the tiny and remote village of Champakbagh. One day, he rescues a strange creature from the storm that is raging outside. When he brings the creature home, the family is astonished. What sort of animal is this? Is he friendly? What does he eat? Where will he sleep? They name him Jwala Kumar, and as the days go by, they discover that Jwala Kumar is no ordinary animal. He has special powers that he uses to help his human family in their times of need. When the days are dark and hope seems to dim, Jwala Kumar lights up their lives in many ways. But who is Jwala Kumar and will he stay forever? Jwala Kumar and the Gift of Fire is a captivating story of innocence and friendship, of magic and love, and of gifts that last a lifetime.
An unforgettable story of cricket and friendship from a master of sports fiction.Jibon and Ananto are best friends and promising cricketers-Jibon a stylish batsman, and Ananto a gifted fast bowler. But one day they have an accident and Jibon loses half his right arm. Considered the more talented of the two, his cricket career is over. Not one to give up, he makes it his mission to see that his friend plays for India. Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team is in turmoil as it heads into a Test series against Australia. Jibon is determined that Ananto will find his opportunity and shine at the international level. But even if he gets his chance, will Ananto be able to deliver?With its fascinating descriptions of playing cricket for the country, the workings of a cricket team, the politics of selection committees and the life of sportspeople, Right Arm Over is not just a novel about sports. It is also about the grit and determination needed to succeed, about friendship, and about sacrifices that are made out of love and commitment.
'This splendid book will deepen the understanding of nationalism in our dark time.'-Talal Asad, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, City University of New YorkThis urgent and compelling book comes at a time when toxic nationalism is causing the violent and systematic exclusion of political, religious, sexual and other minorities. Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee reminds us that the modern nation-state, built on fear and an obsession with territory, is often at odds with democracy, justice and fraternity.Critically analyzing the ideas of thinkers who laid the political and ethical grounds of India's modern identity-Nehru, Ambedkar, Gandhi, Tagore, and Aurobindo-Bhattacharjee shows how we have strayed from their inclusive, diverse visions. He effortlessly weaves personal and intellectual histories, navigating through vast swathes of scholarship, to sketch a radically ethical imagination against the sound and fury of nationalism. He dips into fascinating anecdotes, recalling Ashok Kumar's friendship with Manto against the shadow of Partition, Ali Sardar Jafri's Jnanpith Award acceptance speech, and his own encounter with the Sufi qawwal, Fareed Ayaz, among others. Concluding with an enlightening genealogy of modern politics in the light of its present crisis, he exhorts us towards a new politics of trust. Brimming with thought-provoking analyses and commentary, Looking for the Nation is an extraordinary and illuminating account of India's politics and culture.
'Saadat Hasan Manto has a good claim to be considered the greatest South Asian writer of the 20th century… [He] incarnated the exuberance, the madness, the alcoholic delirium of his time…'-Suketu Mehta, The New York Times This remarkable anthology brings together stories about Saadat Hasan Manto, essayist, scriptwriter, and a master of the short story, by his friends, family and rivals-among others, Ismat Chughtai, Upendranath Ashk, Balwant Gargi, Krishan Chander, his daughter Nuzhat and nephew Hamid Jalal. These are accounts of grand friendships and quarrels, protracted drinking bouts, cutthroat rivalries in the world of Urdu letters, and intense engagement with issues of that turbulent age. Together, they form an unprecedented portrait of the literary and film worlds of the time, and of the great cities of Bombay, Delhi and Lahore.They also offer a glimpse of the making of a legend even as they reveal Manto as a complex man of many contradictions. A devoted husband and father, he was as comfortable at home as he was at prostitutes' quarters, seeking new material. Generous to a fault, he freely gave away his earnings and often put his family in financial jeopardy. Fiercely competitive and an outspoken critic of others' writing, he brooked no criticism of his own, at times choosing to sever ties rather than have his words tampered with. And, for much of his adult life, right until the end, Manto was an alcoholic who fiercely defended his choice to remain one.Honest, frank and personal, at times sentimental, and critical-even gossipy-at others, the pieces in Manto-Saheb constitute an unparalleled, multi-faceted biography of a genius
'This is an inspiring book by an inspiring man and deserves to be widely read…A must-read for all those interested in Dalit politics and caste change.'-Hugo Gorringe, author of Untouchable CitizensEknath Awad was a rare Dalit Mang activist from the Marathwada region of Maharastra, who fought for the rights of all underprivileged communities, irrespective of their caste or religion. In his compelling autobiography, Awad describes his rage against the humiliation of the Mangs by the upper castes; and his struggle to overcome caste prejudices as well as extreme poverty to get an education. He revisits his heady days of activism: rejecting caste-based labour and religious practices by cutting the Potraj's dreadlocks; joining the Dalit Panthers; being at the forefront of the Land Rights Movement; battling to rename Marathwada University after Dr Ambedkar; and working with an NGO in Thane that helped free Adivasis from bonded labour. He writes about his decision to return to Marathwada, where he continued to fight against caste-based discrimination until his death. Awad doesn't shy away from admitting his shortcomings, such as his tendency to resort to violence to settle disputes. He also recounts the casteism he faced from other Mangs, and his pain and disillusionment after some of them attempted to kill him.Originally published in Marathi as Jag Badal Ghaluni Ghaav, Jerry Pinto's remarkable translation makes this inspiring book available in English for the first time.
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