An Area of Darkness


V.S. Naipaul - 1964
    S. Naipaul’s profound reckoning with his ancestral homeland and an extraordinarily perceptive chronicle of his first encounter with India.Traveling from the bureaucratic morass of Bombay to the ethereal beauty of Kashmir, from a sacred ice cave in the Himalayas to an abandoned temple near Madras, Naipaul encounters a dizzying cross-section of humanity: browbeaten government workers and imperious servants, a suavely self-serving holy man and a deluded American religious seeker. An Area of Darkness also abounds with Naipaul’s strikingly original responses to India’s paralyzing caste system, its apparently serene acceptance of poverty and squalor, and the conflict between its desire for self-determination and its nostalgia for the British raj. The result may be the most elegant and passionate book ever written about the subcontinent.

Annihilation of Caste


B.R. Ambedkar - 1936
    Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste is one of the most important, yet neglected, works of political writing from India. Written in 1936, it is an audacious denunciation of Hinduism and its caste system. Ambedkar – a figure like W.E.B. Du Bois – offers a scholarly critique of Hindu scriptures, scriptures that sanction a rigidly hierarchical and iniquitous social system. The world’s best-known Hindu, Mahatma Gandhi, responded publicly to the provocation. The hatchet was never buried.

Let Bhutto Eat Grass


Shaunak Agarkhedkar - 2022
    India tested a nuke just months earlier, and Pakistan is desperate to acquire a few for themselves. Unfortunately for Bhutto, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, his scientists are nowhere close to building a nuclear weapon.Capt. Sablok, an intelligence analyst, is convinced that the Pakistani agent in Europe is passing sensitive weapons technology to back to Pakistan.But his evidence is weak. His inexperience and reputation for alcoholism conspire against him, and his Section Chief declines to authorise an operation.Sablok, however, has finally found a sense of purpose after two miserable years, and he will not give up without a fight. The only other person he trusts in R&AW is a washed-up Case Officer who was an outstanding field agent once.But can the two of them rein the ISI in before Pakistan steals all the technology it needs?

Neela Scarf


Anu Singh Choudhary
    The stories range from both urban and rural settings. All the stories included in the book are different from each other with a range of diverse characters. Some of the stories in this selection are Mukti, Kuch Yun hona Uska, Cigarette Ka Aakhri Kash, and Bisesar Bo Ki Premika. This book will make for a riveting and engaging read for those who enjoy Hindi short stories.

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey Among the Women of India


Elisabeth Bumiller - 1990
    In their fascinating, and often tragic stories, Bumiller found a strength even in powerlessness, and a universality that raises questions for women around the world.

Kuttiedathi and Other Stories


M.T. Vasudevan Nair - 1959
    This collection brings together some of the most well known stories of M T Vasudevan Nair, fairly representative of his literary works. Written over a broad span of time from 1962 to 2000, the stories collected here reflect the built-in variety of his fictional concerns and the changing tones of his narration.

Spark


Patricia Leavy - 2019
    One day an invitation arrives. Peyton has been selected to attend a luxurious all-expense-paid seminar in Iceland, where participants, billed as some of the greatest thinkers in the world, will be charged with answering one perplexing question. Meeting her diverse teammates--two neuroscientists, a philosopher, a dance teacher, a collage artist, and a farmer--Peyton wonders what she could ever have to contribute. The ensuing journey of discovery will transform the characters' work, their biases, and themselves. This suspenseful novel shows that the answers you seek can be found in the most unlikely places. It can be read for pleasure, is a great choice for book clubs, and can be used as unique and inspiring reading in qualitative research and other courses in education, sociology, social work, psychology, and communication.

So You Want to Know About Economics


Roopa Pai - 2017
    Why doesn’t the government simply print more money so that everyone has enough? Who decides that seventy Indian rupees equal one American dollar? How do you figure out what to price a glass of lemonade at the Diwali mela? Are economists really as boring as they look? For answers to these and other mystifying questions, look no further than this fun book! (Psst! You may even catch your adults sneaking a peek inside!).

The Mahabharata Murders


Arnab Ray - 2017
    In modern-day Calcutta.A beautiful model. He cuts her open. His DRAUPADIHe hammers surgical needles into his SAHADEVA. The head of NAKULA he severs.Will Detectives Ruksana Ahmed and Siddhanth Singh be able to keep him from his ARJUN, BHEEMA and YUDHISTHIRA?Or will Duryodhana finally win?

Seeing Like a Feminist


Nivedita Menon - 2012
    From sexual harassment charges against international figures to the challenge that caste politics poses to feminism, from the ban on the veil in France to the attempt to impose skirts on international women badminton players, from queer politics to domestic servants' unions to the Pink Chaddi campaign, Menon deftly illustrates how feminism complicates the field irrevocably. Incisive, eclectic and politically engaged, Seeing like a Feminist is a bold and wide-ranging book that reorders contemporary society.

Daughters of Jorasanko


Aruna Chakravarti - 2016
    Rabindranath cannot shake off the disquiet in his heart after the death of his wife Mrinalini. Happiness and well-being elude him. His daughters and daughter-in-law struggle hard to cope with incompatible marriages, ill health and the stigma of childlessness. The extended family of Jorasanko is steeped in debt and there is talk of mortgaging one of the houses. Even as Rabindranath deals with his own financial problems and strives hard to keep his dream of Santiniketan alive, news reaches him that he has been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Will this be a turning point for the man, his family and their much-celebrated home?Daughters of Jorasanko sequel to the bestselling novel Jorasanko explores Rabindranath Tagore’s engagement with the freedom movement and his vision for holistic education, brings alive his latter-day muses Ranu Adhikari and Victoria Ocampo and maps the histories of the Tagore women, even as it describes the twilight years in the life of one of the greatest luminaries of our times and the end of an epoch in the history of Bengal.

CASE No. 56


Chandrashekar Nagawaram - 2018
    Clues they untie lead them no-where while instances they encounter lead them to believe it as an accident and close the case. Restless Amar continues his investigation as he believes it is a murder. As enigma overshadows facts, suspicion turns over to everyone in the family. Can Amar foresee the hidden meaning in those clues? Is the murderer one among the Shinde’s family members? Will Amar’s hypothesis help him to solve the case or will it leave him spell-bound? Clues are meant to lead a criminal case to convergence. Criminals are bound to leave a clue. But Case No. 56 does impose big reluctance to these beliefs. Join the journey of investigation with the duo as they unveil some unbelievable truths.

Murderous Greed


Arun K. Nair - 2017
    The very same morning, Karthik, an up and coming young businessman is found shot dead in his car in the middle of the road — the only witness to the incident being his employee Drishti who was in the car with him at the time. The responsibility of getting behind the root of both incidents falls on Inspector Satyajit, an intrepid and honest police officer, and his team who get cracking on both cases immediately. But as the investigation proceeds further, the incidents and the stories of those involved get increasingly confused and murkier. What illegal deals was Karthik involved in? Did these deals cause his untimely death? How is all this connected to the housewife who was killed the same morning? What is the part played by the mysterious Gun Club in all these events? Follow Satyajit as he attempts to uncover these dubious questions.

The Murder of Sara Barton (Atlanta Murder Squad Book 1)


Lance McMillian - 2020
    Driven by his tragic past, prosecutor Chance Meridian seeks justice for a beautiful woman brutally murdered in her own home. Except nothing comes easy in Atlanta, certainly not justice. A lot of people in town wanted Sara Barton dead, and every single one of them is lying about something. Chance shouldn't be surprised. Murder is an ugly business. But so is love.Masterful, fast-paced, and full of intrigue, The Murder of Sara Barton is an intense courtroom drama brimming with suspense.

Ayodhya: The Dark Night


Krishna Jha - 2012
    Before the adversaries could discover his presence, he dashed straight towards Abhiram Das, the vairagi who was holding the idol in his hands and leading the group of intruders. […] The sadhu quickly freed himself and, together with his friends, retaliated fiercely. Heavy blows began raining from all directions. Soon, the muezzin realized that he was no match for the men and that he alone would not be able to stop them.22 December 1949: A conspiracy that began with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi culminated in the execution of the Ayodhya strategy. Late that night, a little-known sadhu, Abhiram Das, and his followers entered the Babri Masjid and planted an idol of Rama inside it. While it is known that the Hindu Mahasabha had a role in placing the idol in the mosque, the larger plot and the chain of events that led to that act have never been subject to rigorous scrutiny. Through intrepid research and investigation, Krishna Jha and Dhirendra K. Jha bring together the disparate threads of the buried narrative for the first time.Through a series of first-hand interviews with eyewitnesses and the unearthing of archival material, the authors take us behind the scenes to examine the motivations and workings of the Mahasabha members who pulled the strings. They also examine the liaison between Mahasabhaites and Hindu traditionalists in the Congress – an association that Jawaharlal Nehru sought to break in his cautious battle with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the right-wing forces. Ayodhya: The Dark Night uncovers, in vivid detail, what really transpired on the fateful night that was to leave a permanent scar on the Indian polity.