The immaculately dressed Chowringhee, radiant in her youth, had just stepped on to the floor at the nightclub.’ Set in 1950s Calcutta, Chowringhee is a sprawling saga of the intimate lives of managers, employees and guests at one of Calcutta’s largest hotels, the Shahjahan. Shankar, the newest recruit, recounts the stories of several people whose lives come together in the suites, restaurants, bar and backrooms of the hotel. As both observer and participant in the events, he inadvertently peels off the layers of everyday existence to expose the seamy underbelly of unfulfilled desires, broken dreams, callous manipulation and unbidden tragedy. What unfolds is not just the story of individual lives but also the incredible chronicle of a metropolis. Written by best-selling Bengali author Sankar, Chowringhee was published as a novel in 1962. Predating Arthur Hailey’s Hotel by three years, it became an instant hit, spawning translations in major Indian languages, a film and a play. Its larger-than-life characters—the enigmatic manager Marco Polo, the debonair receptionist Sata Bose, the tragic hostess Karabi Guha, among others—soon attained cult status. With its thinly veiled accounts of the private lives of real-life celebrities, and its sympathetic narrative seamlessly weaving the past and the present, it immediately established itself as a popular classic. Available for the first time in English, Chowringhee is as much a dirge as it is a homage to a city and its people.An excerpt (Chapter 1) from the book :http://arunavasinha.in/2011/05/27/cho...

    This selection gives excerpts from the scriptures that best explain the philosophy. Included are discussions on The Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God, How To Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal. There are also chapters on the Vedas, Tantras, and other scriptures and famous teachers of India.

    Hindu & Xian scriptures. Philosophy & religion. Religious dialog. Veda, Vedānta & Gītā. IN THE BEGINNING Creators. Existence & non-existence. Māyā & cyclic appearances. Two creation myths. Breath & wisdom. The Logos. Cyclic & linear patterns. THE ONE & THE MANY Aryans & Indus people; caste. Monism & the ātman. Nonduality. Lord, soul & bhakti. Implications of monotheism. Transcendence & immanence. Spirit & Logos. Duality.WHAT IS MAN? Body & soul; nature & breath; sleep & death; being & bliss. Asceticism. Pessimism? Life-affirming, materialistic religion. Body-soul unity. Breath & spirit. Anthropomorphism. IMMORTALITY The eternal soul; pre-existent & post-existent. Transmigration & karma. Memory, progress, detachment. Soul as breath of God. Pre-existence? Sheol. Resurrection. A spiritual body. HEAVEN & BLISS Heavens & underworld. The final goal; moksha & nirvāna. Union w/the Lord. Heaven, Paradise & Gehenna. Eternal life. Communion w/God. THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE Yoga & its techniques. Postures. The Lord. Ascetic prophets. Fasting; prayer. Xian yoga?MYSTICISM Mystical knowledge or union? Absorption & identity. Devotion & bhakti. Grace & revelation. I & Thou. Transcendence & union. Divine indwelling. The beatific vision.CONDUCT & SUFFERING Karma & tragedy. Determinism. Indifference. Ways of works & devotion. Personal relationships. Forgiveness & morality. Law & love. The suffering of the righteous.MORAL EXAMPLE status obligation; unattachment. Caste rules. Nonviolence. Ethical monotheism. Social justice. The inner motive. Love your enemies. Social service. Index