But, as it turns out, 'time immemorial' may not have been all that long ago. To tell us the story of our ancestry, journalist Tony Joseph goes 65,000 years into the past—when a band of modern humans, or Homo sapiens, first made their way from Africa into the Indian subcontinent. Citing recent DNA evidence, he traces the subsequent large migrations of modern humans into India—of agriculturalists from Iran between 7000 and 3000 BCE and pastoralists from the Central Asian Steppe between 2000 and 1000 BCE, among others. As Joseph unravels our history using the results of genetic and other research, he takes head-on some of the most controversial and uncomfortable questions of Indian history: Who were the Harappans? Did the 'Aryans' really migrate to India? Are North Indians genetically different from South Indians? And are the various castes genetically distinct groups? This book relies heavily on path-breaking DNA research of recent years. But it also presents earlier archaeological and linguistic evidence—all in an entertaining and highly readable manner. A hugely significant book, Early Indians authoritatively and bravely puts to rest several ugly debates on the ancestry of modern Indians. It not only shows us how the modern Indian population came to be composed as it is, but also reveals an undeniable and important truth about who we are: we are all migrants. And we are all mixed.

    When a fierce storm wrecks a ship nearby, she risks everything in an act of bravery that alters the course of her life.Aboard the doomed vessel is the handsome John Sinclair, a Scottish soldier on his way to India. The connection between them is instant, but soon fate intervenes and leaves Alice heartbroken and alone. Determined to take charge of her destiny but secretly hoping her path will cross again with John’s, she too makes a new start in colonial India.Life there is colourful and exotic, but beneath the bright facade is an undercurrent of violence, and when the British invade Afghanistan, Alice is caught up in the dangerous campaign. When at last she hears news of John, she is torn between two very different lives. But will she follow her head or her heart?

    Before the promised highways and jobs, everybody has been unfailingly given one thing—fear. For every individual, fear is now the daily bread. We are all experiencing fear; it comes to us in many different forms—from the moment we step out of our homes, with so many warnings ringing in our ears... It is only the lapdog media which is safe in India today. Jump into and snuggle down in the lap of authority and nobody will dare say anything to you.’At a time when free expression and individual liberty in India appear to be under serious threat, Ravish Kumar is one of our bravest and most mature public voices. Few journalists today have as keen an understanding of Indian society and politics and as strong a commitment to the truth. Fewer still can match him in eloquence and integrity. In this necessary book, he 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.

    Thus begins the story of Poonachi, the little orphan goat. As you follow her story from forest to habitation, independence to motherhood, you recognise in its significant moments the depth and magnitude of your own fears and longings, fuelled by the instinct for survival that animates all life. Masterly and nuanced, Perumal Murugan’s tale forces us reflect on our own responses to hierarchy and ownership, selflessness and appetite, love and desire, living and dying. Poonachi is the story of a goat who carries the burden of being different all her life, of a she-goat who survives against the odds. It is equally an expression of solidarity with the animal world and the female condition. The tale is also a commentary on our times, on the choices we make as a society and a nation, and the increasing vulnerability of individuals, particularly writers and artists, who resist when they are pressed to submit. Reviews for Poonachi “Murugan’s sarcasm speaks of the robustness of his spirit … As in all his novels, (his) story is rich in detail … (He) sustains the narrative tension right from the start.”- Elizabeth Kuruvilla, The Hindu Literary Review

    Thus he created a boy with a long hair covering his eyes and named him BILLOO. This lanky was liked by the readers so much that the editor of the magazine asked the cartoonist to increase the episodes from one page to two. Billoo is seen roaming the streets with his pet pup - Moti. When he is at home, he is stuck to the TV.Billoo and his gang which includes Gabdu, Jozi, Mono, Bishamber etc; are at loggerheads with Bajarangi, the wrestler and his aide Dhakkan. They are always in search of some excuse to showdown each other. Jozi is friendly to Billoo, but her dad Colonel Three - not - Three doesnot like the boy and always points his gun at him. Billoo and his friends are often seen playing cricket in lanes of the block, and their score is few smashed windows.

    With him ride his wives, his sisters, his daughters, his aunts and his distant female relatives. Unhindered by a relatively recent conversion to Islam, these women will help found a culture of such magnificence and beauty that it will become a by-word for opulence in the world. These Mughal women of Hindustan—unmarried daughters, eccentric sisters, fiery milk-mothers and beautiful wives, will contribute to the great syncretic culture of the Mughals by writing biographies, building monuments, engaging in diplomacy, and patronizing the arts. And even as the zenana changes from the earlier nomadic, tented spaces to the later more sequestered grandeur within the high stone walls of mighty qilas, the influence of the women remains visible and unquestioned. This book looks at the lives of these Mughal women, and the enigma of their disappearance, except as objects of curiosity, from our collective memory.

    Naxalites are waging war on India with details plans for an overthrow of the State. Urban Naxals act to amplify their message, serve as recruiters and wage a propaganda war through social and conventional media. This gripping story recounts Agnihotri's own grooming in College to be an Urban Naxal and details the plans and modus operandi of the movement. Agnihotri's story is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Buddha in a Traffic Jam", the violent resistance to its screening, and an expose of the world's largest extreme-left terror movement and its penetration into urban India.

    A police inspector's misadventure with a Maldivian woman results in a fabricated espionage case. A faction within a political party capitalises on the case to bring down a government. An intelligence agency obligingly plays into the hands of vested interests to slow down India's space programme. And a complex investigation finally proves the allegations untrue.In this riveting book, Isro scientist S Nambi Narayanan - who was falsely accused of espionage in ISRO spy case of the 1990s - and senior journalist Arun Ram meticulously unpick the ISRO spy case, revisit old material and discover new details to expose the international plot that delayed India's development of a cryogenic engine by at least a decade.It took four years for the CBI to exonerate Nambi, but his fight for justice to ensure action against the officers who faked the case and tortured him in custody continues.This book is as much a history of the early days of India's ambitious space programme as it is a record of one of the most sensational cases that enthralled the nation long before the era of online updates and 24-hour news cycles.

    The book follows the adrenaline-fuelled chase that took place across three states during Amit's tenure as superintendent of police of Shekhpura, a sleepy mofussil town in Bihar.How does Amit navigate between his many professional challenges and conquer his demons? What does he do when the ganglord comes after his family? Bihar Diaries captures vividly the battle of nerves between a dreaded outlaw and a young, urbane IPS officer.

    He broke hearts and he broke rules. He tinkered as furiously with his car as he did with his instrument, which he transformed technically to create the new sitar standard. And always there was the music, at the centre of his being, protected and unharmed—music that contained the sound of ‘fairies dancing, elephants walking’. Vilayat Khan saw music. He was the man who made the sitar sing. .Namita Devidayal, author of the acclaimed bestseller, The Music Room, recreates the extraordinary life of an artiste who fundamentally and forever changed Indian instrumental music. She follows his footsteps from Calcutta, through Delhi, Bombay, Shimla and Dehradun, to Princeton, USA, where he spent his last years. Filled with previously untold stories about the man and the musician, this is an intimate portrait of an uncommon genius. .It is also an absolute feat of research—and storytelling. .‘Vilayat Khan and Ravi Shankar promised each other they would never perform together after this. Kishan Maharaj later told someone, ‘If these two eyes of India play together again, one will shut for ever.’ i

    It allegedly involved sexual exploitation, forced castrations, private militias, illegal trade in arms and opium, and land grab on an untold scale-until the self-styled godman was convicted for one of his many crimes in August 2017. The book opens with an anonymous letter which led to the first-ever journalistic investigation, in 2007-Tehelka's Operation Jhootha Sauda-into the reported criminal activities at the Dera. In the years that followed, the author continued to document the lonely battles for justice against the influential godman who had the might of the Dera's machinery and manpower behind him. This book is as much about the grit and determination of ordinary citizens fighting power systems as it is about the difficulty of investigating crimes committed by the rich and powerful in India today.

    But India's millennials are nothing like their counterparts in the West.In a world that's marked by unprecedented connectivity and technological advancement, in a country that's increasingly characterized by ambition, political power and access, in an economy that appears to be breaking down the barriers to wealth that existed for every previous era, this is a generation that cannot - will not - be defined on anything but their own terms. They are wealth-chasers, attention-seekers, power-trappers, fame-hunters. They are the dreamers.Snigdha Poonam's remarkable cultural study of the unlikeliest of fortune-hawkers travels through the small towns of northern India to investigate the phenomenon that is India's Generation Y. From dubious entrepreneurs to political aspirants, from starstruck strivers to masterly swindlers, she travels - on carts and buses, in cars and trucks - through the India's badlands to uncover a theatre of toxic masculinity, spirited ambition and a kind of hunger for change that is bound to drive the future of our country. These young Indians aren't just changing their world - they're changing yours.

    Anand Teltumbde identifies the watershed moments of its journey: from the adoption of a flawed Constitution to the Green Revolution, the OBC upsurge, the rise of regional parties, and up to the nexus of neoliberalism and hindutva in the present day. Joining the dots between a wide range of events on the ground and the prevailing structure of power, he debunks the pieties of state and Constitution, political parties and identitarian rhetoric, to reveal the pernicious energies they have unleashed and their dire impact on India’s most marginalised people, the dalits.The exclusion and disempowerment of dalits emerges as intrinsic to India’s republican system, whether expressed through state policies on education, agriculture and land ownership, or the tacit encouragement of caste embedded in both law and political practice. Here, the carrot of reservations comes with the stick of atrocities. As a politics of symbolism exploits the fissile nature of caste to devitalise India’s poorest whilst appropriating their votes, Teltumbde’s damning analysis also shows progressive politics a way out of the present impasse.Anand Teltumbde is a civil rights activist and a columnist with the Economic & Political Weekly. Among his many books are Dalits: Past, Present and Future, Mahad: The Making of the First Dalit Revolt and The Persistence of Caste: The Khairlanji Murders and India’s Hidden Apartheid. He teaches at the Goa Institute of Management.

    Besides, Debu has only recently escaped a bunch of local ruffians who wanted him to ‘go back home to Bangladesh’.But Debu is unable to resist being friends with Clint. For, in return for doing his maths homework, Clint introduces him to a completely new life: the heady charms of Kalsang, the Chinese restaurant forbidden by Debu’s mother; the revolutionary sounds of Pink Floyd; and most importantly, the coolest, prettiest girl in town—Audrey Pariat. Audrey loves maths and detective stories, just like Debu, and does not make him feel awkward or exotic. Together, the three of them look set to embark on many adventures. But when tensions between the Khasi and Bengali communities boil over, Shillong becomes a battlefield—old neighbours become outsiders and the limits of friendship are challenged.With crackling energy, Nilanjan P. Choudhury immerses us in the tumultuous lives of Debu, his friends and his family, and their attempts to find love and belonging. Written with uncommon warmth, humour and a delightful evocation of place, Shillong Times is an exhilarating coming-of-age story—showing us how friendship can eclipse the hardened enmities of adulthood.

    It’s Asura Hayagriva who’s gotten away with the sacred scriptures.Lord Vishnu offers to go to the creator’s rescue and takes the guise of Matsya, the fish. King Satyavrath lands up with a tiny gold fish when he’s offering prayers to the Sun God one morning. Is the fish all that it appears to be?How can Satyavrath help the fish?Read more to find out the reason for Lord Vishnu taking the avatar on earth as Matsya. *This is a straightforward story of the first avatar of Mahavishnu, retold in simple English just the way it’s written over the ages. The target audience is the youngsters, children, who don’t know all that much about Indian mythology. It’s also for those parents who are keen to read aloud stories to their children and are looking for suitable books on mythology.

    Disheartened by his stressful existence in the city, he decided to give it all up and take up organic farming in a small village near Mumbai. But it wasn't easy. With no experience in agriculture, his journey was fraught with uncertainty. He soon went from negotiating tough clients, strict deadlines and traffic to looking forward to his first bumper crop of moong. As he battled erratic weather conditions and stubborn farm animals, he discovered a world with fresh air and organic food, one where he could lead a more wholesome existence. At times hilarious, and other times profound, this book follows his extraordinary story.

    In his insider account, author RVS Mani discloses how the country’s internal security establishment functioned in the period of 2004-2014 when India faced some of the bloodiest terrorist carnages. This former Home Ministry official posted in the Internal Security Division between 2006-2010 also poses several questions that the nation should seek answers to.

    In this rigorously researched book, based on 600 detailed interviews with women and some men across India's metros, social scientist Deepa Narayan identifies seven key habits that may dominate women's everyday lives, despite their education, success, financial status and family background. These behaviours may seem harmless, but each one has enormous impact, and it means only one thing - that Indian women are trained to habitually delete themselves. Shocking, troubling and revolutionary, Chup will hold a mirror to yourself - and you may not like what you see.

    David Gilmour captures the substance and texture of their work, home, and social lives, and illustrates how these transformed across the several centuries of British presence and rule in the subcontinent, from the East India Company's first trading station in 1615 to the twilight of the Raj and Partition and Independence in 1947. He takes us through remote hill stations, bustling coastal ports, opulent palaces, regimented cantonments, and dense jungles, revealing the country as seen through British eyes, and wittily reveling in all the particular concerns and contradictions that were a consequence of that limited perspective. The British in India is a breathtaking accomplishment, a vivid and balanced history written with brio, elegance, and erudition.

    Saadiq Haider, a renowned gene therapist and professor at Stanford University, receives a phone call that changes his life. Abandoning his duties and responsibilities, Saadiq hurriedly boards a flight bound for India, embarking on a journey that spans thousands of miles and pulls him back into a past Saadiq thought long-buried. Seated next to him on the flight, Anne Miller—an intrepid journalist with a nose for headline news—senses the reclusive genius has a story to tell.During the flight, Anne manages to break through Saadiq’s hard exterior and listens, rapt, as he unfurls a tale fraught with love and heartbreak.His story transports Anne back in time to a small, sleepy town nestled in the mountains of northern India, where Saadiq spent his childhood. Through Saadiq’s narrative, Anne meets Maryam and witnesses the friendship between Maryam and Saadiq mature into an intense love; a love that is tested when tragedy strikes and the lovers are separated. Try as they might, their devotion is no match against the workings of fate, and the tighter Saadiq and Maryam cling to one another, the faster they slip apart.Now, after two decades of trying to forget his past with alcohol and drug abuse, Saadiq tells Anne that fate has acted again; Maryam is the hospital, her condition critical. When their plane lands in India, the newfound friends part ways and while Saadiq rushes to Maryam’s side, Anne returns to her life, grateful to have met the enigmatic man.Months later, Anne learns that after wrenching Maryam from the indomitable grip of death, Saadiq took her back to America, where they finally married. But, her assumption that the greatest love story she had ever known would end happily is shattered when Anne receives devastating news.

    It was a grinding place where women sold themselves for fifty rupees and fourteen-year-olds injected drugs. It was the shadow world of transgenders and of young gay men in a country that still criminalized same-sex love. It was the strange world of truckers, lonely journeymen along forgotten highways. Above all, it was a place where valiant battles for a barely decent life were being fought every day. During the ten years Alexander built Avahan, it grew to become one of the largest and most successful HIV prevention programmes in the world, credited with averting over 6.5 lakh new infections. Based on his experiences, A Stranger Truth compellingly brings alive the world of people most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, and some of the unlikely heroes among them.

    What does ­it mean to live and die in relation to other animals?  Animal Intimacies posits this central question alongside the intimate—and intense—moments of care, kinship, violence, politics, indifference, and desire that occur between human and non-human animals.    Built on extensive ethnographic fieldwork in the mountain villages of India’s Central Himalayas, Radhika Govindrajan’s book explores the number of ways that human and animal interact to cultivate relationships as interconnected, related beings.  Whether it is through the study of the affect and ethics of ritual animal sacrifice, analysis of the right-wing political project of cow-protection, or examination of villagers’ talk about bears who abduct women and have sex with them, Govindrajan illustrates that multispecies relatedness relies on both difference and ineffable affinity between animals.  Animal Intimacies breaks substantial new ground in animal studies, and Govindrajan’s detailed portrait of the social, political and religious life of the region will be of interest to cultural anthropologists and scholars of South Asia as well.

     The demand for sugar was exploding with people consuming increasing amounts of sugar in chocolates, tea and sweets. To fuel the growing first-world sugar industry of the late 1800s, 1.3 million Indians were shipped to labor on sugarcane plantations in Mauritius, South Africa, Caribbean, Fiji and Reunion. The indenture system was not too different from slavery. Coolies labored from dawn to dusk, day after day, year after year in inhuman working and living conditions. This book is about the search for my great grandfather and the story of Indian Indenture.

    He illuminated Indian politics with pragmatic and sensible ideas of nation-building at a time when his contemporaries were unable or unwilling to shed the romantic lens. The very shape of India that we recognize today was stitched together by Patel, the Iron Man of India. The Man Who Saved India unravels the personality of one of the greatest men in Indian contemporary history.

    The Tata name is known for salt, software, cars, communications, housing and hospitality.How did they come so far?How did they groom leadership, delight customers and drive business excellence?How did they maintain a brand and corporate values that are considered gold standard?A deep-dive into the Tata universe brings forth hitherto lesser-known facts and insights. It also brings you face-to-face with business decisions and outcomes that are most intriguing:- How did Tata Motors turnround Jaguar Land Rover when Ford failed to do so?- Why wasn't TCS listed during the IT-boom?- Why wasn't Tata Steel's Corus acquisition successful?This definitive book tells riveting tales and gives insider accounts of adventure and achievement, conflict and compassion, dilemmas and decisions across twenty-five Tata companies. With over a decade of rigorous research, interviews with 100 senior Tata leaders, and pan-India site visits, this book decodes the Tata principles of business. It's an exceptional blend of a business biography and a management classic.

    Drawing upon the previously unexplored records of the Supreme Court of India, A People's Constitution upends this narrative and shows how the Constitution actually transformed the daily lives of citizens in profound and lasting ways. This remarkable legal process was led by individuals on the margins of society, and Rohit De looks at how drinkers, smugglers, petty vendors, butchers, and prostitutes--all despised minorities--shaped the constitutional culture.The Constitution came alive in the popular imagination so much that ordinary people attributed meaning to its existence, took recourse to it, and argued with it. Focusing on the use of constitutional remedies by citizens against new state regulations seeking to reshape the society and economy, De illustrates how laws and policies were frequently undone or renegotiated from below using the state's own procedures. De examines four important cases that set legal precedents: a Parsi journalist's contestation of new alcohol prohibition laws, Marwari petty traders' challenge to the system of commodity control, Muslim butchers' petition against cow protection laws, and sex workers' battle to protect their right to practice prostitution.Exploring how the Indian Constitution of 1950 enfranchised the largest population in the world, A People's Constitution considers the ways that ordinary citizens produced, through litigation, alternative ethical models of citizenship.

    This is a place where teenage love and friendships are tested by the violence that threatens to erupt at the slightest provocation. A town that always pulls you back into its ways, no matter how cosmopolitan the city has made you.In 'Diwali in Muzaffarnagar' - Tanuj Solanki's new book of short stories after 'Neon Noon' - young men and women straddle the past and the present, the metropolis and the small town, and also the parallel needs of life: solitude and family.

    Deep in the crouching mist lie their villages, while climbing the mountain slopes are forests of rhododendron, spruce and deodar, soughing in the wind from the ice-bound passes.’ A lifetime in the hills and a bountiful collection of stories throughout it—for over six decades Ruskin Bond has been charming readers with his stories from India’s hinterland. He has brought to the forefront of everybody’s imagination the mountains, valleys and rivers of Garhwal, as well as the magic of small, tucked-away places. Landour Bazaar is a collection of his best-loved stories about Garhwal over the years. Featuring some of his classics along with heart-warming anecdotes and essays woven around life in the hills, this book showcases Bond’s writing genius like never before.Get ready for an enchanting read that is sure to bring the mountains to you.

    An anthropology professor, she wanted to understand why, against the backdrop of a shiny new India, the country's poor had shunned the world's largest democracy and united with revolutionary ideologues. Dressed as a man in an olive-green guerrilla uniform, Alpa was the only woman and the only person not carrying a gun in the platoon. Her gritty journey reveals how and why people from very different backgrounds come together to take up arms to change the world but also what makes them fall apart. Unfolding like a thriller and brought to life by Alpa's years of research and immersion into the daily lives of the tribal communities in a Naxal stronghold, Nightmarch is a reflection on economic growth, rising inequality, dispossession and conflict at the heart of contemporary India.

    One year. Everything to lose.When Rishabh Bala reaches the tenth standard, life takes a turn for the complicated. The bewildered boy feels the pressure of the looming board exams and finds himself hopelessly-and hormonally-in love. But what he yearns for most is victory on the field: at least one trophy with his beloved school football team.Set in the suburban Thane of 2006, here is a coming-of-age story that runs unique as it does familiar. Hopscotching from distracted classrooms and tired tutorials to triumphs and tragedies on muddy grounds, this is the journey of Rishabh and his friends from peak puberty to the cusp of manhood.

    Yet, in this forcefully argued book, climate-change practitioner, teacher and investor Mridula Ramesh emphasizes that while the situation is grim, it is not without hope. Drawing on her extensive practical and investing experience, she explores myriad facets of this raging issue: why women are peculiarly affected by a warming climate; how climate change poses a security threat to the Indian state; why just focusing on green sources of power is an incomplete solution for India; how managing waste can create lakhs of urban jobs; and how households can cope in a ‘Day Zero’ water situation. In doing so, she shows how climate warriors, from the cotton fields of Punjab and thriving eco start-ups in Bengaluru to a forest guardian in Assam and the johads of Rajasthan, have employed ingenuity and initiative to adapt to the changing conditions – and sometimes reverse their shattering effects. Timely, urgent and thought-provoking, this book is an urgent call to action – and an essential manifesto for every Indian citizen to follow.

    To dip into these essays is to be absorbed in India’s story and reflect on the experiences of men and women whose lives were full of drama and action. We discover the advent of the railways, just as we learn about the history of Indian football; we hear of the hated Lord Curzon’s love of India’s monuments, even as we unravel the story of the photographer who was Jaipur’s maharajah. In the hands of a consummate historian and storyteller, these men and women speak also of the concerns and perspectives of the present, showing us what was, and what might have been. An exhilarating journey with the author of The Ivory Throne and Rebel Sultans, The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin is a retelling of history no reader will want to miss.

    Srimad Bhagavad Gita is unique among the body of scriptural literature for the simple, practical and relevant style with which it presents the essence of the Hindu way of life.

    So is murder.– A YOUNG REPORTER dies a dramatic death.– A VETERAN JOURNALIST investigating paid news is murdered in his hotel room– A BUSINESS TYCOON tries to seize control of a large media groupIn the midst of a private party hosted by a media mogul in Coorg, murder strikes, sending shockwaves through its influential guests.When Inspector Dhruvi Kishore arrives at the scene, she finds, to her consternation, that some of her suspects – prominent politicians, businessmen, a blackmailer and a purveyor of fake news – have fled. She pursues them to Delhi, only to find herself drawn into the bewildering world of fake news, paid news and tailored news. Fighting forces trying to shut down her investigation, Dhruvi struggles to weed out the truth from a web of well-constructed lies before time runs out.Revealing a world where ethics are scarce and lucre is abundant, Conspirator weaves a thrilling tale about how the people who uncover others' secrets often have the most to hide.Conspirator is the fourth novel in RV Raman’s corporate thriller series that explores white-collar crime in India.

    Excited by the opulent marble hallways and the grandness of the school, they quickly learn it lacks even the most basic supplies, like chalkboard erasers. The couple, however, make a go of it and ultimately adjust to the dizzying day-to-day life of Indian society where sacred cows stop for red lights, women wear glittery saris while planting rice, and dreadlocked sadhus go about renouncing all their worldly pleasures.Part memoir, part travelogue and part tragic comedy, readers will marvel at all the couple has to endure only to end up leaving the school and India abruptly, without even so much as a Namaste. Despite a catastrophe or two, their go-with-the-flow attitudes and kindred senses of humor help them to endure the overwhelming bustle of India, while recognizing and appreciating its distinctive allure.

    As women in a patriarchal country like India, they are often held back by family or society; and even education or employment does little to help improve their status.Bringing in lesser-known and exciting stories about goddesses from Hindu mythology, Awaken the Durga Within puts forward practical solutions that can be implemented immediately, without compromising on values and principles. These stories will help invoke the ‘Shakti’ within every woman so as to transform their minds and transcend their limits. The book helps her Identify the fears holding her back and discover a pithy, three-step process to take control of her life. She is guided on how to make choices that are right for her and experience the rewards. Now it's easy to discover the true spirit of feminism wherein women are given the same rights, power, and opportunities as men.

    He is valourised for his martyrdom, and rightly so, but in the ensuing enthusiasm, most of us forget, or consciously ignore, his contributions as an intellectual and a thinker. He not only sacrificed his life, like many others did before and after him, but he also had a vision of independent India.In the current political climate, when it has become routine to appropriate Bhagat Singh as a nationalist icon, not much is known or spoken about his nationalist vision. Inquilab: Bhagat Singh on Religion and Revolution provides a corrective to such a situation by bringing together some of Bhagat Singh's seminal writings on his pluralist and egalitarian vision. In doing so, it compels the reader to see that while continuing to celebrate the memory of Bhagat Singh as a martyr and a nationalist, we must also learn about his intellectual legacy. This important book also makes a majority of these writings, hitherto only available in Hindi, accessible for the first time to the English-language readership.

    

    Stumbling into India on an accidental layover 1980, she gets drawn into a seeker’s journey, searching for truth and encountering the many remarkable men and women, gurus and teachers, who would act as guides for her decades in India. From Sai Baba to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, from Anandamayi Ma to Amma, she records her close personal encounters and experiences.The journey will take us to secluded and unknown yogis in the Himalayas to the famous celebrity gurus, to colourful festivals and ascetic caves. But her real journey is the inner voyage to Yoga or union, a union with the Self. As we travel with and through her we get to reflect on love and death, rebirth and liberation and the necessity and the limitations of the guru. Finding both inspiration and disillusionment, she returns again to her own Self and to the wisdom of India, a treasure for all of humanity in its journey.

    Taken from Man-eaters of Kumaon, The Temple Tiger and More Man-eaters of Kumaon and Jungle Lore, these fourteen stories are as fresh and thrilling as the day on which they were first published. They show, too, why, besides his legendary exploits as a hunter of man-eaters, Corbett was one of India’s most important conservationists. As Valmik Thapar writes in his introduction: ‘As you thrill to his exploits in the jungles of Kumaon, spare a thought for his legacy. In part due to his efforts and the people he inspired to carry on his work after him...we still have over 2,000 tigers left in India, the largest population of wild tigers in the world.’

    Born in Pondicherry, K. Madavane went to school at the Lycée Français de Pondichéry. He received his PhD from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he explored the theme of death in the Theatre of the Absurd. He taught in JNU for years before retiring in 2011. Madavane’s plays include The Mahabharata of Women, The Veritree or the Falsity of the Gods, A Monologue for a Woman on Stage, and 1947: The Man from Lahore, which was shortlisted for The Hindu Playwright Award in 2017. To Die in Benares was first published in French as Mourir à Bénarès in 2004 and is one of his most acclaimed works. Madavane currently lives in Delhi with his wife. Blake Smith is a historian of Indo-French relations. He currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at the European University Institute. In addition to his scholarly publications, he also writes regularly for popular media in North America and India.

    His father, Akbar, transformed the Mughal kingdom into an empire, and his reign is often considered an epoch in itself. Jahangir's son Shahjahan built the tomb that Tagore famously described as a 'teardrop on the cheek of time', and was sometimes upheld as Akbar's true heir. Jahangir, on the other hand, has the reputation of a weak man, at best: an alcoholic with an eye for art and greed for pleasure, controlled by a powerful wife. But far from being a disinterested prince and insignificant ruler, Jahangir showed tremendous ambition and strength throughout his life. When his succession was threatened, Jahangir set up a rebel court in the face of the mighty Akbar himself. While he made no conquests to match his father's, Jahangir was the first Mughal to win the allegiance of the fearsome Ranas of Mewar. And, for all his reputed frivolity, Jahangir was the emperor who won his dynasty its glorious association with things of beauty and splendour - and who wrote one of the most perceptive and entertaining imperial memoirs of all time. The man who is most often defined by his relationships is here presented holistically as a canny ruler and conscientious administrator, an astute observer of human society and a connoisseur with wide-ranging interests. In this marvellous work of popular history, Parvati Sharma tells a compelling story of one of the most fascinating and undervalued rulers of India.

    Crime Never Pays—as Crime Patrol warns us over and over—but it does make for nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat reading.AJAY DEVGNCrime never pays, but it makes for good reading. This book gives you a ringside view of some of the most dangerous crimes,MANOJ BAJPAYEEIt’s imperative to understand the psyche of criminals and analyse the reasons for these brutal incidents in order to lessen crime. May this book guide us in that direction. SHILPA SHETTYShocking, moving, and riveting stories so well-written. Intriguing to see the modus operandi of criminals and the police’s skills in nabbing them. From an avid ‘Crime Patrol’ watcher and fan…this is an eye opener and a great read.

    But in the hallowed halls of DCTMR Bank’s Private Banking team, who cater only to the super-rich, there are battles to be fought on a different battlefield. Will the crafty head of sales, Rajat Bhatnagar, succeed in laundering his clients’ money? Or will the compliance team, headed by the well-meaning Ardeshir Cowasjee, be able to prevent him from doing so? And what role will the gorgeous Roxanne Colabewala, secretary to the Head of Private Banking, play in the machinations that ensue?

    . . whoo . . . whooo, cried the wind as it swept down from the Himalayan snows.'The wild wind pushes open windows, chokes chimneys and blows away clothes as it huffs and puffs over the village by Haunted Hill, where Usha, Suresh and Binya live. It's even more mighty the day Usha is on her way back from the bazaar. A deep rumble echoes down the slope and a sudden flash of lightning lights up the valley as fat drops come raining down.In search of shelter, Usha rushes into the ruins on Haunted Hill, grim and creepy against the dark sky. Inside, the tin roof groans, strange shadows are thrown against the walls and little Usha shivers with fear. For she isn't alone.A gritty, hair-raising story about friendship, courage and survival, this stunning edition will introduce another lot of young readers to the magic of Ruskin Bond's craft.

    Over the past two decades, the United States has invested billions of dollars and thousands of human lives in the region, to seemingly little effect. As Srinath Raghavan reveals in The Most Dangerous Place, this should not surprise us. Although the region is often regarded as peripheral to America's rise to global ascendancy, the United States has long been enmeshed in South Asia. For 230 years, America's engagement with India, Afghanistan and Pakistan has been characterized by short-term thinking and unintended consequences. Beginning with American traders in India in the eighteenth century, the region has become a locus for American efforts—secular and religious—to remake the world in its image. Even as South Asia has undergone tumultuous and tremendous changes from colonialism to the world wars, the Cold War and globalization, the United States has been a crucial player in regional affairs.The definitive history of US involvement in South Asia, The Most Dangerous Place presents a gripping account of America's political and strategic, economic and cultural presence in the region. By illuminating the patterns of the past, this sweeping history also throws light on the challenges of the future.

    Culled from the voices of people, often such stories only feed into the research of scholars, largely unacknowledged and forgotten. The dominant narrative is always from the perspective of the ruler and single individuals. One had hoped that democracy would set it right. But the people who are the primary contributors to the discourse always remain on the fringes. Written by Aruna Roy with the MKSS collective, this book is for everyone who asks questions, seeks answers to fight corruption and injustice and challenges arbitrary power. It is a celebration of commitment laced with humour, the struggle, the songs, the theatres of protest, long spells on the street and drafting a peoples’ law.(via https://www.amazon.in/RTI-Story-Power...)

    Chopra has two days to find it, or the gangster who bought it will not be happy. The Premier No.1 Garage is the place to go in Mumbai if you want a luxury car. Even Mumbai's biggest gangster shops there - he's just ordered a classic race car worth millions. But now the car is gone. Stolen from a locked room, in the middle of the night. Who stole it? The mechanic who is addicted to gambling? The angry ex-worker? The car thief pulling off one last job? And how on earth did they make it vanish from the locked garage? Inspector Chopra has just days to find the culprit - and the missing car - before its gangster owner finds out ... and takes violent revenge.

    The 'hibiscus girl' has her head in the clouds and feet gently planted in her husband's home. Two women, married to the same man, find a strange camaraderie binding them together. The whole town gathers to save the friendly neighbourhood shopkeeper's ice cream from spoiling in the heat. Short-tempered Seshadri hides a terrible shame in his outbursts. A grandfather passes on the magic of self-belief to his grandson.Reminiscent of Malgudi Days, Adithi Rao's debut Left from the Nameless Shop is a charming collection of interconnected stories set in the 1980s featuring the residents of Rudrapura, a small, fictitious town in Karnataka. This is a place bubbling with energy and the sense of community -- one you probably lived in and loved while growing up. These are stories of the life you have left behind. One that you hope to return to.

    In poems traversing Kashmir, New Delhi, Lahore, the UK, and the United States, readers encounter hope and heartbreak as they follow the river-like bends of Katyal’s astonishing new collection.

    Located by the volatile Line of Control and caught in the middle of artillery barrages from both ends, Pakistan-administered Kashmir was until over a decade ago one of the most closed-off territories of the world. In a first book of its kind, award-winning Pakistani writer Anam Zakaria travels through Pakistan-administered Kashmir to hear its people - their sufferings, hopes and aspirations. She talks to women and children living near the Line of Control, bearing the brunt of ceasefire violations; journalists and writers braving all odds to document events in remote areas; political and military representatives championing the cause of Kashmir; former militants still committed to the cause; nationalists struggling for a united independent Kashmir; and refugees yearning to reunite with their families on the other side. In the process, Zakaria breaks the silence surrounding a people who are often ignored in discussions on the present and future of Jammu & Kashmir even though they are important stakeholders in what happens in the region. What she unearths during her deeply empathetic journeys is critical to understanding the Kashmir conflict and will surprise and enlighten Indians and Pakistanis alike.

    In this revamped version, as NDTV's transgressions have been ruled on in the courts, the reader gets a ringside view of what happens when Business colludes with Bureaucrats and Bent Politicians. How a corrupt cabal manages to keep delaying the inevitable by tying up the cases in courts. Fake narratives and honey traps to coerce and blackmail. NDTV and the owner (who is revealed in the book) have resorted to every means foul to deny the truth from coming out. A compelling read for everyone who wants to know how the system has been thoroughly corrupted and compromised in India.

    But boy, does she hate public loos! On her way to her aunt's in Meghalaya, she has to pee on a train as well as stop at a hotel and even the really scary public toilet at the bus depot! And when those around her refuse to help her with her troubles, her only saviour is her Book of Important Quotes. Travel with Rahi and read all about her yucky, icky, sticky adventures in this quirky and vibrant book about the ever-relevant worry of finding safe and clean public restrooms

    His prolif ic writing contributed largely to shape the genre of the short story as we know it in India. His range and diversity were limitless as he tackled themes of romance and satire, gender politics and social inequality, with unmatched skill and compassion.Premchand had a deep affinity with the common man. No writer before him in Urdu or Hindi, and possibly other Indian literatures, had depicted the lives of the underdogs, the untouchables and the marginalized with such depth and empathy. His deepest critique was reserved for caste injustice that condemned certain sections of society to live a life of indignity and humiliation. This timely collection brings together some of his most celebrated stories on the theme of caste for the modern reader.

    In Dabholkar’s view, it is the constitutional duty of every Indian citizen to develop a scientific temper, and the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti’s (ANiS) campaigns have made this the central argument of their work. A few days after Dabholkar was shot dead by religious extremists in 2013, the Maharashtra government issued an anti-superstition ordinance that was in essence a tribute to Dabholkar’s life-long struggle. The Case for Reason is available in two volumes, the first of which—Understanding the Anti-superstition Movement—lays out the theoretical framework of the rationalist movement and also highlights the many practical battles that ANiS fought in a bid to insert rationalism in the public discourse. In this volume, Dabholkar discusses the concept of god and the role of religion, the importance of the scientific method and scientific outlook, and points in the direction of independent thinking and resolute action. Argumentative and illuminating, this book is a guide to the thinking of one of India’s most independent, important voices—available for the first time in an English translation.

    A Girl and Her ElephantRaised in the mountains of northern Siam, Kanita’s idyllic life is shattered when she is ordered to marry a much older man and leave her beloved yet cursed elephant behind. But Kanita’s stubborn nature refuses to bow to her parents’ wishes. Kanita and Safi flee their village with the goal of redeeming Safi from her cursed reputation and cementing their bond, vowing to never be separated. But the jungle is more dangerous than Kanita or Safi could have imagined. A Girl and Her PandaSuddenly told to leave her home, Lihua begins a treacherous journey alone. After being attacked on the road the first day, an unlikely hero comes to her aid: a panda she decides to call Panpan. Bound together for love and survival, Lihua and Panpan travel together through the mountains and forest of western China as Lihua struggles to find her new place in the world. A Girl and Her TigerAlone on the streets of Bombay, Priya is kidnapped and taken captive aboard a smuggler’s ship bound for the slave markets of the Americas. And in the cage next to her – is a ferocious mama tiger named Nabhitha! When Priya and the tiger see a chance for escape, will Priya dare to take it? Or will she end up the tiger’s dinner?Three incredible young women. Three brave animals. Three unimaginable adventures. One exciting collection!

    Finding an outside enemy against which everyone could unite washis best option. Coincidentally, India was emerging as the leader of the newly independent countries in Asia and Africa and the stakes were high for a war with India: winning the war could mean China would 'dethrone' India and take over. A border dispute with India and India's decision to grantasylum to the Dalal Lama after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet in 1959 gave China legitimate reasons to go to war.This book unveils how China has started planning the war as early as in 1959, much before Jawaharlal Nehru launched the 'forward policy' in the border areas. And how the war accomplished much for China: India lost, China became the main voice of revolutionary movements in the Third World, and MaoZedong was back in power.

    No matter what he or she answers to get an admission, very few have a clue why they are doing MBA, and those who do, their answer seldom has anything to do with Business Administration. This is a story of Jay who gets an admission in the best B-school of India without knowing an answer to the question ‘Why MBA?’ Nevertheless, in his journey, he meets two friends, Abhimanyu and Ishaan, who have an answer to this question. For Abhimanyu it’s money, whereas for Ishaan it’s passion. As a faith would have it, by the end of Jay’s journey, he faces the dilemma–money or passion! What would Jay choose? Will Abhimanyu and Ishaan regret their decision of single-minded persuasion of money and passion? Will B-school journeys of Abhimanyu and Ishaan help Jay in making the final decision?

    Hailed as an exciting, path-breaking narrative on the region, it has been cited extensively in studies of Northeast India, used as a resource for scholars and journalists and adopted as course material in colleges.Two decades later, in his new book, armed with more stories, interviews and research and after extensive travels through the region, Hazarika explains how and where things stand in the Northeast today. He examines old and new struggles, contemporary trends and the sweeping changes that have taken place and asks whether the region and its people are still ‘different’ to the rest of India, to each other and whether they are destined to remain so. While it may not be possible to overcome lingering hatred, divisions and differences by brute force, economic might or efforts at cultural or political assimilation, there are other ways forward. These include the process of engagement of accepting, if not embracing, the ‘Idea of India’ and working on forging connections between disparate cultures to overcome the mutual suspicions that have existed for decades. Hazarika tells little-known stories, drawn from personal experience and knowledge, of the way in which insurgents operate, of the reality of border towns in the region, the pain of victims and the courage of fighters on either side of the ideological and physical conflict, in the jungles and in lands awash with rain and swamped by mist. He travels across borders and mountains, listening to tales of the people of the region and those who live in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. He challenges the stereotype of the ‘North easterner’, critiques the categorization of the ‘Bangladeshi’, deals with issues of ‘race and discrimination’ and suggests best practices that could be used to deal with intractable issues and combatants. Critically, he tries to portray the way in which new generations are grappling with old and current issues with an eye to the future. Extensively researched and brilliantly narrated, strangers no more is arguably the most comprehensive book yet available about India’s Northeast.

    Indian princes pose a danger to the East India Company’s plans of commerce and domination. Warren Hastings, the British governor-general, is attempting to consolidate his power in the Company.Johann Zacharias Kiernander is on a mission to convert heathen souls in a land far from his native Sweden though he is not averse to lining his pockets while doing ‘God’s work’.Into this steaming cauldron of skullduggery and intrigue walks James Augustus Hicky, a wild Irishman seeking fame and fortune. Sensing an opportunity, he decides to establish a newspaper, the first of its kind in South Asia. In two short years, his endeavour threatens to lay bare the murky underside of the early British empire. Does it succeed?This is the story of the forces Hicky came up against, the corrupt authorities determined to stop him and of his resourcefulness. The product of five years of research by Andrew Otis in the archives of India, UK and Germany, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette: The Story of India’s First Newspaper is an essential and compelling addition to the history of subcontinental journalism.

    This synthesis leads to the determination of the timing of Mahabharata war sometime before 5125 BCE! The meticulous research of this book decisively falsified all existing claims for the year of Mahabharata war. A must-read for anyone interested in the History of Hindu civilization.

    One Indian GirlHi. I’m Radhika Mehta and I’m getting married this week. I work at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank. Thank you for reading my story. However, let me warn you: you may not like me too much. One, I make a lot of money. Two, I have an opinion about everything. Three, I have had a boyfriend before. Okay, maybe two. Now, if I was a man, one might be cool with it. But since I am a girl, these three things I mentioned don’t really make me too likeable, do they? Half Girlfriend Once upon a time, there was a Bihari boy called Madhav. He fell in love with a rich girl from Delhi called Riya. Madhav didn’t speak English well. Riya did. Madhav wanted a relationship. Riya didn’t. Riya just wanted friendship. Madhav didn’t. Riya suggested a compromise. She agreed to be his half-girlfriend. From the bestselling author Chetan Bhagat comes a simple and beautiful love story that will touch your heart and inspire you to chase your dreams. Revolution 2020 Revolution 2020 is the story of three childhood friends, Gopal, Raghav and Aarti, who struggle to find love, happiness and success in Varanasi, none of which is easily attainable in a society that favors unfairness and corruption. Gopal gives into the system, Ravi continues to fight it. Who will win? 2 States: The Story of My Marriage Welcome to 2 States, the story of Krish and Ananya, who are from two different states of India, deeply in love with each other and want to get married. Of course, their parents don't agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple has a tough battle ahead of them; for it is easy to fight and rebel, but harder to convince. Will they make it? From the bestselling author Chetan Bhagat comes another witty tale about inter-community marriages in modern India. The 3 Mistakes of My Life In late 2000, a young boy in Ahmedabad dreams of owning a business. To accommodate his friends’ passion, he opens a cricket shop. However, nothing comes easy in a turbulent city. To realize their goals, they will have to face it all religious politics, calamities, unacceptable love and, above all, their own mistakes. Will they make it? Can an individual’s dreams overcome the nightmares of real life? Can we succeed despite mistakes? One Night @ the Call Center In the winter of 2004, a writer meets a young girl on an overnight train journey. To pass the time, she offers to tell him a story. However, she has one condition: that he make it his second book. The writer hesitates, but asks what the story is about. The girl replies that the story is about six people working in a call center one night. It was the night they got a phone call. A phone call from God. One Night @ the Call Center is the second of bestselling author Chetan Bhagat’s novels. Five Point Someone This is not a book that will teach you how to get into IIT or even survive it. In fact, it describes how bad things can get if you don't think straight. Funny, dark and entertaining, Five Point Someone is the story of three friends whose measly five point something GPAs come in the way of everything their friendships, their love life, their future. Will they make it?

    He wanders from house to house buying old newspapers, broken utensils, plastic bottles--anything for which he can get a little cash. This custom persists and recreates itself alongside the new economies and ecologies of consumer capitalism. Waste of a Nation offers an anthropological and historical account of India's complex relationship with garbage.Countries around the world struggle to achieve sustainable futures. Assa Doron and Robin Jeffrey argue that in India the removal of waste and efforts to reuse it also lay waste to the lives of human beings. At the bottom of the pyramid, people who work with waste are injured and stigmatized as they deal with sewage, toxic chemicals, and rotting garbage.Terrifying events, such as atmospheric pollution and childhood stunting, that touch even the wealthy and powerful may lead to substantial changes in practices and attitudes toward sanitation. And innovative technology along with more effective local government may bring about limited improvements. But if a clean new India is to emerge as a model for other parts of the world, a "binding morality" that reaches beyond the current environmental crisis will be required. Empathy for marginalized underclasses--Dalits, poor Muslims, landless migrants--who live, almost invisibly, amid waste produced predominantly for the comfort of the better-off will be the critical element in India's relationship with waste. Solutions will arise at the intersection of the traditional and the cutting edge, policy and practice, science and spirituality.

    While Durjoy grew as the mad child of the misty hills, close to poetry and his mother, Nadia was the traditional, internally strong-headed woman of a motherless home. None of them revolted each other’s love and yet they ended up crossing each other at a threshold there was no coming back from. The story captures an endless wait on a mad lover’s part and his wife’s failed realization of the same. A series of attempts, hidden letters, awkward emotions and grave family secrets end into a loveless insanity behind the bars of a mental asylum Nadia and Durjoy share their fate in. What follows is a flashback they wish they could go back to, what’s left, is a longing and a life, without each other.To Naddiyaa is a Y/A women's fiction.

    Amrita grew up with a great sense of mischief and adventure in two very different worlds, in a village near Budapest, Hungary, and among the cool, green hills of colonial Simla. She defied headmistresses, teachers, art critics and royalty to make her own determined way in the world of grown-ups and art. Join her on a journey through her life, a journey that takes her family through World Wars and political turmoil as they travel in pursuit of love, a home and a modern, artistic education for Amrita!

    

    As the young scion of the Tripura royal family, SD struck out into the world of cinema and popular music. The early years were difficult, professionally and personally. His unconventional choice of profession and marriage to a ‘commoner’ caused his family to ostracise him, and his formal training was not enough to stave off rejections.This well researched biography—by the authors of the best-selling R.D. Burman: The Man, The Music—is both a tribute to a great artist, and a deep inquiry into what made his music great. Going well beyond merely listing his greatest songs, it explores hitherto unknown stories about the creation of each gem: Mera sundar sapna beet gaya (Do Bhai, 1948); Thandi hawaein (Naujawan, 1951); Yeh raat yeh chandni (Jaal, 1952); Babu samjho ishaare (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, 1958); Meet na mila re mann ka (Abhiman, 1973), and more.The book is packed with insights into SD’s life, work and his astute understanding of Hindi cinema. Despite the fact that he was an outsider who spoke little Hindi or Urdu, SD was the man who introduced Sahir Ludhianvi to the world, and the one who gave Kishore Kumar’s musical brilliance its due. His readiness to adapt to modern sounds and techniques, his unwavering faith in Lata Mangeshkar’s virtuosity, his closeness to Dev Anand that was seen as nepotism, charges of plagiarism—S.D. Burman: The Prince-Musician provides unmatched insight into both the genius of one of India’s most significant composers and a crucial aspect of its glorious cinematic history. An essential addition to every film music aficionado’s library.

     Join them on their wildlife adventure across India, as they travel from deserts to swampy lands and old rock formations and verdant forests. You will meet ickle bugs, colourful birds, magnificent mammals, and feisty reptiles in this comic book. Packed with activities, jokes, and trivia, this anthology of WWF-India's popular Uncle Bikky comics is sure to make children (and adults) fall in love with wildlife. The series has been developed for WWF-India by Rohan Chakravarty, cartoonist, illustrator and creator of Green Humour (www.greenhumour.com) with essays by Bijal Vachharajani, author and editor of children's books.

    In what is now northern Pakistan, the civilizations in the region called Gandhara became increasingly important centers for the development of Buddhism, reaching their apex under King Kaniska of the Kusanas in the second century CE. Gandhara has long been known for its Greek-Indian synthesis in architecture and statuary, but until about twenty years ago, almost nothing was known about its literature. The insights provided by manuscripts unearthed over the last few decades show that Gandhara was indeed a vital link in the early development of Buddhism, instrumental in both the transmission of Buddhism to China and the rise of the Mahayana tradition. The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara surveys what we know about Gandhara and its Buddhism, and it also provides translations of a dozen different short texts, from similes and stories to treatises on time and reality.

    It’s the obvious path for every girl in India. It’s supposed to define us, shape us and give meaning to our life. But does it, really? Figures show that nearly 74.1 million women in India are either divorced, separated, widowed or have never been married. And the number is on the rise. In what promises to be a path-breaking work on female identity, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, a proud-to-be-single woman herself, spills the beans on what it is like being over 30 and unattached in India, through her own compelling story and the chequered lives and journeys of nearly 3,000 urban single Indian women from all walks of life.Women, whether single by choice or circumstance, are under scathing societal pressure, invasive scrutiny and pervasive criticism. Be it the difficulty in renting an apartment, being character-assassinated by your gynaecologist, or being slut- shamed as having slept your way to the top, even when you’re successful professionally, a single woman’s life choices are the easiest to dissect. From one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Indian writing, comes a passionate narrative of grit and gumption, anger and loneliness and the daily struggle of being single in a country where the highest validation of your gender remains marriage and motherhood. Fiercely honest and painfully vulnerable, Status Single is a book that every woman and man—single or otherwise—must read.

    What led these women to strike out the way they did? When and how did the impressionable young child in them become an independent-minded adult? From Saina Nehwal, P. V. Sindhu and Sania Mirza to Rukhmabai Raut, Bama and Muthulakshmi Reddi, from the Rani of Jhansi and Razia Sultan to Sharmila Irom, Medha Patkar and Soni Sori, these life stories will engage and challenge the young reader. So, when next you want to read your child a story, reach for this book, with its wonderfully imagined portraits in words and art.

    By turns thoughtful, humorous, keenly observed and wise, these essays span more than sixty years of his writing—from reflections on companionship and solitude, to lyrical yet finely honed appreciations of nature, to nostalgic evocations of bygone people and ways of life. As an essayist, he brings to his travel narratives about the major pilgrimage centres of the Himalaya, or the story about searching for the gravestone of a long-forgotten author, the same empathy and sense of wonder that mark his accounts of glimpsing an elusive leopard, or watching the mist rise in a forest of pines.A Time for All Things contains the finest non-fiction of a singular writer who has inspired and comforted three generations of readers with his sustained, steady and affectionate engagement with life in a world that grows ever more hectic

     Shaped and sustained by the nondual tradition of Kashmir Shivaism, Eric Baret's words take us back to the simple observation of our felt sense of emotion and ultimately, to pure listening. This allows a liberating realization: the root of suffering is an illusion, and all claims to knowledge are a pretense. The dialogues recorded in this book are an invitation to celebrate life in the present moment, free from the fear of an imaginary future. “You don't need anything in life, because it all ends in the present moment. You do not have the time to build a conscious life. You cannot become anything.”

    But recent events remind us of the cracks that have formed: the quality of individuals apart, even the institutional arrangements that had been put in place to preserve the purity and independence of the institution—the collegium, conventions governing the way cases are to be assigned among judges—have frayed. These cracks provide a dangerous opportunity to political rulers to suborn this institution also.Through actual cases and judgments—of subordinate courts, High Courts, the Supreme Court—Arun Shourie enables us to see how frail and vulnerable this ‘last pillar standing’ has become.A judge who by a brazen manipulation of facts lets a prominent politician off … Events and a judgment that let the convicted choose the prosecutor who is to conduct the case against them … Courts that turn a blind eye to life-and-death reforms even as they preoccupy themselves with trivia … Courts that deliver ringing judgments and then do not care to look if their directions are being implemented … Courts that disregard their own judgments on penalizing persons for perjury, for dragging out cases … Courts that do not think through the consequences, even the predictable consequences of their judgments … Judges who prevaricate, who look the other way when some of their own fraternity come under a cloud … A judge who is manifestly unbalanced, judges whose knowledge of the most elementary facts of science is laughable, a judge whose prose even the Supreme Court is unable to comprehend—all of them continue to hand down rulings that affect the fortunes and lives of thousands … Judges who disregard well-settled principles to such an extent that their colleagues are compelled to make their grave misgivings public…And the non-bailable warrants that are issued for the arrest of Anita, Arun Shourie’s ailing wife, for evading summons that were never served, summons that were ostensibly issued for their having built a house that was never built, on a plot they did not own…Through the meticulous examination that is a hallmark of his writing, Arun Shourie leads us through judgments and instances-some hilarious, so many infuriating-and points to things that each of us-judges, lawyers, laypersons like us-can do to retrieve this most vital of institutions.

    Fast delivery through DHL/FedEx express.

    It was a time of catastrophic loss. Despite this, people found the strength to look towards the future and focused on rebuilding their lives and the country they had migrated to. This book captures stories of resilience and sheer grit of people caught in the vortex.It comprises life stories of twenty-one extraordinary individuals who were deeply affected by the Partition, yet went on to achieve greatness in Independent India. Through their first-hand accounts, they provide a visceral insight into the devastation of families who endured the migration, the camps, and the struggle of rebuilding their lives.Each of these stories is inspirational in a timeless way, and the book is ultimately about the resilience and triumph of the human spirit over everything else.Manmohan Singh | L.K. Advani | Madan Lal Khurana | M.S. Kohli | Dharampal Gulati | Faqir Chand Kohli | Manoranjan Byapari | Gulzar | Hamida Habibullah | Kasturi Lal Wadhwa | Krishen Khanna | Kuldip Nayar | Ajeet Cour | Brijmohan Lall Munjal | Govind Nihalani | Anjolie Ela Menon | Milkha Singh | Ram Jethmalani | Satish Gujral | Surinder Singh Gandhi | Ved Marwah

    Little does he know that he is a phasor and has accidentally travelled back in time.A series of strange and curious events progress as he gets rescued by a man who takes him to a hidden Gurukul, which is home to eight other gifted students who collectively are called The King’s Nine. He must learn to control his ‘phasing’ to return to his time.He embarks on a life-altering journey, trying to learn the ways of the Gurukul as he befriends the others and tries to learn how to discipline himself and amplify and manipulate his powers, all the while being unaware that there was a prophecy made many, many years ago in the same land that he is destined to fulfill.

    The Gupta dynasty is stepping into its golden ageBut the past holds many dark secrets... After long and bloody wars, Samrat Samudragupta sits on the pinnacle of an empire. yet, close to his throne are hearts filled with revenge, scheming to bring him down.Into this gathering storm arrives Chandragupta, the king’s long-lost son. As he settles into his new life devastating family secrets surface, old wounds are reopened and Chandra can no longer trust anyone – least of all those closest to him. Bizarre and sinister incidents abound as palace conspiracies unravel plunging Rajgriha into a pit of chaos. Will the son pay for the sins of his father?Yoddha: The Dynasty of Samudragupta unfolds the murky loves and lies of one of the most illustrious clans in history.

    Peopled with extraordinary beings both real and magical, human and divine, animal and demon this is a charming collection of folktales that has humour, fantasy and adventure in equal measure.Quirky illustrations add to the charm of this collection of folktales retold in a lively, contemporary style.

    

    Archaeological discoveries of ruins and artifacts off the city’s coast have now conclusively proven what many have long believed: Modern Dwaraka is built on the same site as the famed city of the same name from the Puranas and the Mahabharata, the “Golden City” of Lord Krishna. Transporting us back five thousand years to the time of Krishnavatara, the age in which Krishna lived, Vanamali leads us on a journey alongside Lord Krishna as he reigns over the ancient port city of Dwaraka and helps the Pandavas through the Mahabharata War. Recounting ecstatic celebrations, Krishna’s love for his wives and sons, and events surrounding the epic war, the author stresses Krishna’s ability to contain all opposites and stand above duality like a lotus leaf floating on a running stream. Offering potent spiritual lessons throughout her story, she shows how the truly spiritual individual is able to unreservedly accept all dimensions of life and rise above all dualities of existence, war and peace, love and hate, sex and abstinence, action and meditation. She also provides a historical timeline for the Mahabharata War and the sinking of Krishna’s city beneath the sea--3126 BCE and 3090 BCE, respectively--and shows how the Mahabharata War occurred under circumstances quite similar to those of the present day, both politically and astrologically. Through her vivid tale and her personal connection with Krishna across many lifetimes, Vanamali shows how the magic and mystery of Krishna’s ancient holy city live on through his spiritual teachings.

    Quiet and undemanding, Ahmed talks in aphorisms, bothers no one, and always gets the job done. But when one stormy night, Mehrotra discovers an aspect to Ahmed that defies all reason, he is forced to find out more about his trusted aide.As layers and layers of Ahmed’s history are peeled off, Mehrotra finds himself confronting some deeply unsettling questions. Does Ahmed really have a wife? Does he keep her imprisoned in their flat? Is Ahmed deranged, or is he just making desperate sense of the horrors that afflicted him in the past?By turns poetic, chilling and heartbreaking, Night of Happiness is an unforgettable novel set in a world without tolerance.

    Letters of Blood is set in the often violent world of prostitution in Bangladesh. Rahman brings great sensitivity and insight to her chronicles of the lives of women trapped in that bleak world as they face the constant risk of physical abuse, disease, and pregnancy, while also all too often struggling with drug addiction. A powerful, unforgettable story, Letters of Blood shows readers a hard way of life, imbuing the stories of these women with unforgettable empathy and compassion.

    Partitions do not happen every day.’But that was later. In the aftermath of Partition, India exchanged the Muslim patients in its Mental Hospitals for their Hindu and Sikh counterparts in Pakistan. This collection of interlinked short stories explores the impact of this decision in both countries, against the larger backdrop of the ongoing consequences of Partition. Rulda Singh and Fattu (Fateh Khan), recently discharged patients from Lahore’s Mental Hospital, find themselves separated by the deportation, possibly for ever. Years later, Prakash Kohli, an Indian psychiatry student, hears Rulda’s account of his journey to India, with its casual official cruelties and unexpected tenderness. When he visits Lahore at last, Prakash discovers the story of his own birth in 1947, forms a lifelong friendship with a Pakistani colleague—and realizes that nobody knows why so few mental patients survived the exchange. As Prakash becomes troubled, and then fascinated by finding the missing stories of these patients, he realizes that Partition continues to have a profound effect on the psyches of the ordinary people whom he treats. A middle-aged woman passes on a recurring delusion of being chased by murderous mobs to her children. A young boy from Simla is convinced that Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani President’s daughter, loves him and they discuss world affairs in his dreams every night. An elderly lawyer recounts a love story, doomed by impassable bureaucratic hurdles. And Prakash, seeing Punjab go up in flames again under a militant call for another land of the pure, wonders if Partitions can continue to happen every day, after all.These stories, and more, with their recurring and shared characters, remind us that Partition does not merely lie in the past. Powerful and unsettling, this collection is essential reading. About the AuthorAnirudh Kala lives in Ludhiana and is a psychiatrist. His interests include studying the lasting effects of Partition in both India and Pakistan. He has been instrumental in cross-border exchanges between the two countries among mental health professionals and many of his stories result from his own visits to mental health institutes in Pakistan. He has published several short stories. He likes Urdu poetry, hiking and semi-classical Indian music.

    An extraordinarily powerful and evocative literarywork that traverses new ground in the hinterland between biography and mythology. Nagaland is the story of Augustine and of the Naga people. With sensitively poetic prose, Doherty deftly draws the reader into worlds of parallel realities. The love story, desperate and damned, destined for tragedy; forged and upheld against the wishes of family and the dictates of culture, with a backdrop of violence and reprisals amidst the brutality of communal conflict. Alongside this is the telling of Augustine’s childhood story, growing up in the beautiful mountain state of Nagaland where the traditional way of life, loyalties and beliefs collide with modern imperatives that, for many, lead inexorably to poverty, dislocation, drug addiction, disease and despair. Seamlessly woven through each story, Naga legends and myths connect these disparate worlds, the source of profound insights that are simultaneously confronting and transcendent. Poignant and profound, the reader is left with a yearning nostalgia for a past where eternal truths prevailed, to be gleaned from ancient fables and sages; where a people lived in communities richly endowed with cultural and spiritual certainties, and were valued members of large family and tribal networks. Except, of course, if you choose not to follow the rules…

    Ambedkar as the most powerful advocate of equality and fraternity in modern India. While the vibrant Dalit movement recognizes Ambedkar as an agent for social change, the intellectual class has celebrated him as the key architect of the Indian Constitution and the political establishment has sought to limit his concerns to the question of reservations. This remarkable volume seeks to unpack the radical in Ambedkar's legacy by examining his life work from hitherto unexplored perspectives. Although revered by millions today primarily as a Dalit icon, Ambedkar was a serious scholar of India's history, society and foreign policy. He was also among the first dedicated human rights lawyers, as well as a journalist and a statesman. Critically evaluating his thought and work, the essays in this book—by Jean Drèze, Partha Chatterjee, Sukhadeo Thorat, Manu Bhagavan, Anupama Rao and other internationally renowned names—discuss Ambedkar's theory on minority rights, the consequences of the mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism, Dalit oppression in the context of racism and anti-Semitism, and the value of his thought for Marxism and feminism, among other global concerns. An extraordinary collection of immense breadth and scholarship that challenges the popular understanding of Ambedkar, The Radical in Ambedkar is essential reading for all those who wish to imagine a new future.

    Something strange is afoot at the Royal Academy of Science, Magic and the Arts ...A standing statue sits down with a meditative smile ...A demi-god is caught smuggling the Nectar of the gods into the Mortal Realm ...Traders in Madh find their goods have been turned into djinn's gold ...An illegal portal into the Inter-Realm has opened and no one knows who has done it ...A strange creature has been sighted in the vaults under the Academy ...Will Meenakshi and Kalban be able to get to the bottom of it before the creature in the vault gets too powerful to control?Or is all this a cover for something much more sinister―something that will destroy the city of Madh?

    A curious journalist. A terrifying conspiracy. When 10-year-old Sakshi goes missing from East Delhi, almost no one, including the police seems too concerned. Not until a journalist begins to ask questions. Soon, what started as an innocuous investigation into corruption and systemic apathy begins to reek of a larger and terrifying conspiracy, as chilling secrets and long-dead skeletons tumble out.Pieced together like a case-file, using police reports, interviews, leaked emails and WhatsApp conversations, COLD TRUTH takes you from the by-lanes of Delhi and the communist bunkers of Russia to the frozen grounds of Antarctica, following a trail that will leave you questioning what is real and what isn't.

    Begun as a joint-stock company for trade with the East Indies, this organization would evolve into one of the world’s first capitalistic corporations. Inside you will read about... ✓ The English in the Atlantic Era and the Founding of the East India Company ✓ The 17th Century: Struggling, Building, and Growing with Violence ✓ The East India Company Enters the 18th Century ✓ The British Government Steps In ✓ China and the Opium Trade ✓ Growing British Involvement in the 19th Century ✓ The End of the East India Company And much more! Over the course of their 250+ years, the East India Company had built a global trading empire, raised an army and waged war, and conquered vast territory, including the entire subcontinent of India. Without their involvement, the British presence in India would look very different in the historical record. Though the company was dissolved by 1874, their influence on world history cannot be overstated. The Dutch East India Company Once valued at close to seven trillion dollars by today’s standards, the Dutch East India Company, formed in 1602, became the world’s first multinational corporation. In the nearly 200-year reign of their empire at sea, the Dutch East India Company amassed unfathomable fortunes, laid the foundation of the modern globalized world, and built monopolies that controlled the economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe and the East Indies. Inside you will read about... ✓ The Superstructure of the VOC ✓ The Growth of VOC’s Colonies and Trade Routes ✓ The Golden Age ✓ Reorientation and the Expansion Age ✓ The Great Wars and Conquests of the VOC ✓ Decline and Fall And much more! The rich history of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie commonly referred to as the VOC, and its titanic exploits are as astonishing as the twelve labors of Hercules. Uncover the organization that in no small part built the world we live in from the ground up.

    It is on this night that I dedicate myself - to my self, to who I truly am, to what is invincible and without bondage of time, that predates me, that will outlive me.Ninth century. In Puduvai, a small town in what we now know as Tamil Nadu, young Kodhai is taught to read and to write by her adoptive father, a garland-weaving poet. As she discovers the power of words, she also realizes that the undying longing for a great love that she has been nursing within her - one that does not suppress her desire for freedom - is likely to remain unfulfilled. Then, she hears of a vow that she can undertake that might summon it to her.In deepest winter, the sixteen-year-old begins praying for a divinely sensual love - not knowing that her words will themselves become prayers, and echo through the centuries to come.Rich with the echoes of classical poetry, in The Queen of Jasmine Country, Sharanya Manivannan imagines the life of the devotional poet Andal, whose sublime and erotic verses remain beloved and controversial to this day.

    It’s a very wise owl with immense powers and responsibilities.There can be no argument that the RBI is not only among the very few islands of excellence when it comes to the institutions of the government of India, but also worthy of pre-eminence among all the other national banks in the world. Often described as the most conservative institution in India, this moniker has served the RBI well at all times. In recent years, however, the controversies like personality-driven narratives and some policy decisions such as demonetization, in which the RBI may or may not have had a big say, have come under intense media scrutiny. This trend is not new, though. Through its more than eight decades of history, and twenty-four governors, right from Osborne Smith to Urjit Patel, the RBI has always faced constant pressure from different governments to prioritize growth over monetary and economic stability.The Story of the Reserve Bank of India documents the origins and evolution of the Reserve Bank of India, by analysing its leadership, its autonomy, its ‘political economy’ and its role in financial development. The book also explores the impact various governors have had in shaping the institution and its relationship with the government, especially the ministry of finance, in shaping India’s economic policy.With in-depth research and wide-ranging accounts by leading economists, experts and former RBI governors and officials, this is the most impactful book ever written on the RBI.

     In this book, we will discuss: ● Why we are really here on earth ● Demystifying controversial aspects of the Hindu religion ● Forgiveness and freedom from restrictive ties that bind us on multiple levels Living the concepts and ideas in this book has improved my whole life and inner being. It is my genuine wish that they will do the same for you. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!

    Scratch the surface and you find a thick layer of corruption in this life-sustaining sector.This hard-hitting volume shows a mirror to the society and, more specifically, to those associated with the health sector---on how healers, in many cases, are shifting shape to becoming predators. In the essays by contributors from within and outside the medical fraternity, we see the many faces, the many facets of corruption---from exorbitant billing by corporate hospitals to the non-merit-based selection in medical colleges to the questionable motives playing strong in the area of organ transplantation.But Healers or Predators? is not only about the illness affecting the sector. It also offers solutions, and some stories of hope. The Foreword by Amartya Sen is an added bonus.

    The mob has always been a faceless, unidimensional machine. But the act of turning around and looking at individuals from that crowd changes everything. If we see the mob as amorphous and their hate as shifting, given to complex personal motivations and vulnerabilities, we are much closer to understanding it—and to opening up conversations that can lead to change.Revati Laul’s unforgettable narrative, built on a decade’s worth of research and interviews, is the very first account of the perpetrators of 2002—and a crucial new addition to the literature on violence. ‘Choice, however, is a vexing word. What part of choice applies when a tidal wave of anger tears through a state? What part of it is the moment, the madness, the collective, and what part individual, personal history?’

    Its fragile unity is riven by deep religious and ethnic contradictions waiting to explode into open conflict.Kalidas, a sinister mastermind who dreams of acquiring India’s nuclear weapons. He will exploit those contradictions to ignite a civil war and engineer a breakdown of Indian society.And twin siblings, Alexis and Jason Wolff, one a ninja, the other an elite ex-commando. They are all that stand between Kalidas’s dream and the nightmare of nuclear Armageddon.These are the ingredients of Bloodbath, a conspiracy that will force India to the brink of annihilation. And Alexis and Jason to fight for survival at the edge of the deepest abyss in the human soul, staring down an unfathomable evil.“Heaven help anyone who tries to stand in your way, my dear,” Jonathan said. “I’ve done too much evil in my life to qualify for such celestial protection, so I’m certainly not about to stand in the way when the Sword of Retribution is on a mission of vengeance.”Meet Ray RaoA FRESH NEW INDIAN AUTHOR VOICEA physician by training, Ray Rao studied at the Armed Forces Medical College in India, earning twelve medals, honors and distinctions for graduating at the top of the class in several areas. His experience spans three continents, from India to England, Japan and the U.S., where he is currently Professor of Medicine and recipient of the highest accolade of Distinguished Teacher.www.bloodbathbook.com

    They not only accentuate the splendour of the country’s diverse cultures—Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, Christian, Sikh, Parsi and tribal—but, collectively, they also blend to shape our nation’s psyche. Many of them are familiar to us from our own childhoods. Those that are new serve to remind us of the extraordinary complexity of India’s storytelling tradition. Sometimes these tales are archetypal and sometimes they defy categorization. Sometimes they affirm our core values and, at other times, they make us question the motives that drive us. But what is always true about them, no matter how fantastical or creative the forms they take, is the rare insight they give us into the lives we live. They teach us about kinship, desire, greed, conflict, friendship, treachery, compassion, arrogance, persecution, empowerment, secrecy, romance, suffering, courage, challenges, wisdom, sexuality and spirituality—and innumerable other things we might expect to experience in the course of our journey through life.Through her masterful retelling, Meena Arora Nayak brings to vivid life familiar and beloved stories from the Vedas, Puranas, the great epics, Kathasaritsagara and the Panchatantra, as well as lesser-known offerings from the Jatakas, Bible, Holy Quran, Sikh Janamsakhis and the folk traditions of the Santhals, Khasis, Oriyas, Bengalis and Punjabis, among others. Perhaps the most comprehensive collection of Indian myths and folktales to have been published in our time, the tales in The Blue Lotus will leave readers of all ages spellbound

    They joined forces and became champions of the league in 2017! This is one of the most fascinating turnaround stories in Indian sports. How did the underdogs achieve such an amazing feat?In Goals of Glory, Neel Sinha tells us not just about this wonderful victory but also traces the evolution of the ‘beautiful game’ and its support base in Mizoram in the past four decades. The book explores the interesting coincidences which brought together the winning combination and leaves us with an inspiring story of determination, passion and grit which conquered all odds.

    Based on 114 intriguing interviews with nineteen former chief justices of India and more than sixty-six former judges of the Supreme Court of India, Abhinav Chandrachud opens a window to the life and times of the former judges of India's highest court of law and in the process offers a history that largely remained in oblivion for a long time.

    Families are thrown into a spiraling cycle of hospital visits, critically poor health and financial trouble impacting their productivity and ability to participate in the economy. Children born in regions of high air pollution are shown to have irreversibly reduced lung function and cognitive abilities that affects their incomes for years to come. They all suffer, silently.The issue is exacerbated each winter as the Great Smog of India descends and envelops much of northern India. In this period, the health impact from mere breathing is akin to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. The crisis is so grave that it warrants emergency health advisories forbidding people from stepping out. And yet, for most Indians, this is now life as usual.

    Chundawat closely studied the Panna tigers and their prey, from 1996 to 2006—meticulously recording their space use, movements, feeding and reproductive behaviours—in the dry tropical forests of Madhya Pradesh. With support from the national park management, he oversaw a spectacular revival of Panna’s tiger population. However, by 2002-03, the fortunes of Panna’s tigers, and Chundawat’s research, nosedived when the park management changed. Monitoring privileges and access to the park were curtailed, and subsequently, poaching and poisoning of tigers spiked. When Chundawat blew the whistle on the alarming decline, he faced immense backlash from the state wildlife authorities. Despite the systemic opposition, Chundawat continued the fight to save Panna’s tigers, collecting data and petitioning the government to intervene. In this immensely informative work, Chundawat presents not just his research, but also an insider’s account of the politics and administrative apathy plaguing Indian wildlife conservation. He discusses the larger threats to Indian wildlife—and the possible solutions. Filled with stunning photographs, The Rise and Fall of the Emerald Tigers is a must-read for all wildlife enthusiasts and researchers across the world.