The Last Queen of Kashmir


Rakesh K. Kaul - 2015
    A lifetime ago. Before the murder of her father. Before she became Kota Rani, the wise regent who rules over Kashmir with a firm hand.As invaders and immigrants disturb the tranquillity of her land, Kota must find a way to protect her people. But at what personal cost? Can she weather the political intrigues and power-play of the court? Will she succeed in preserving the splendour and diversity of her society? Will social hypocrisy and notions of what a woman should be keep Kota from being the sovereign she knows she is?Set in fourteenth-century Kashmir, The Last Queen of Kashmir is the sweeping saga of a civilization in peril. It is also the tale of one of the greatest queens of the land - one that will speak to the men and women of today.

Buddha, Vol. 1: Kapilavastu


Osamu Tezuka - 1972
    Tezuka evidences his profound grasp of the subject by contextualizing the Buddha’s ideas; the emphasis is on movement, action, emotion, and conflict as the prince Siddhartha runs away from home, travels across India, and questions Hindu practices such as ascetic self-mutilation and caste oppression. Rather than recommend resignation and impassivity, Tezuka’s Buddha predicates enlightenment upon recognizing the interconnectedness of life, having compassion for the suffering, and ordering one’s life sensibly. Philosophical segments are threaded into interpersonal situations with ground-breaking visual dynamism by an artist who makes sure never to lose his readers’ attention.Tezuka himself was a humanist rather than a Buddhist, and his magnum opus is not an attempt at propaganda. Hermann Hesse’s novel or Bertolucci’s film is comparable in this regard; in fact, Tezuka’s approach is slightly irreverent in that it incorporates something that Western commentators often eschew, namely, humor.

Seasons of Splendour: Tales, Myths & Legends of India


Madhur Jaffrey - 1987
    Here are heroic legends of fearless warriors and mythical Hindu gods as well as traditional Hindu folktales. Full-color illustrations.

The Edge of Desire


Tuhin A. Sinha - 2012
    And it does, once again, in the lawless Bihar of the 1990s...When journalist Shruti Ranjan, newly-wed wife of the Deputy Commissioner of Kishanganj in the lawless Bihar of the 1990s, is brutally raped by a ‘politically sheltered local goon’ all of her attempts at getting justice are crushed by a corrupt and complicit state government. That’s when the charismatic Sharad Malviya, a leading member of the Opposition party, offers her an unlikely solution: his party’s ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Left with little to choose from, Shruti agrees, only to realize that being catapulted to an enviable position of power in an all-man’s world comes at a price. Caught between her mentor and her spouse – both upright but ultimately flawed men – and a host of envious others who continue to cast aspersions on her character, she struggles to address the larger problems of the country.Taunted for being a 'Draupadi' she makes the curse her identity and resolutely fights her fate...

Strange Men Strange Places


Ruskin Bond - 1992
    Soldiers, mercenaries, free-booters. Europeans all, braving the heat and dust of India. They fought for wealth, for glory, and for sheer fun. Their glorious and inglorious exploits are full of thrill, romance, and violence. Ruskin Bond has recreated the turbulent and colourful India of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the soldiers of fortune strutting across the subcontinent. The saga of their lives and loves in Delhi, Jaipur, Aligarh, Sardhana, and Lucknow reads stranger than fiction.

Towards the silver crests of the Himalayas


G.K. Pradhan - 1963
    

Mandodari: Queen of Lanka


Manini J. Anandani - 2018
    In her story, she speaks about her struggles after her marriage, her insecurities and her pious nature that challenged her husband's growing aspirations. She narrates the rise of Ravana's power and the blunders he made that ultimately caused the downfall of Lanka.Despite her husband's faults, Mandodari loved him and advised him to follow the path of righteousness. Ravana's defeat in a thirteen-day war turned him into a villain. But what if he were the real hero on his side of the war? What if his downfall was a result of scheming to push him out of power? This is Mandodari's story.

Clive Barker Omnibus


Gabriel Hernandez - 1999
    With no shortage of sprawling high-concept, spine-chilling thrills, and inspired art, the Clive Barker Omnibus is a great launching point into his dark universe.

Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love and Wisdom


Krishna Dharma
    Cherished throughout India and much of Asia for centuries, it has been faithfully preserved and passed on through poems, folk tales, music, dance, drama, sculpture, painting, even film and graphic novels. This story and its characters have captured the hearts and minds of countless generations. Revered through the ages for its moral and spiritual wisdom, it is an uplifting tale of romance and high adventure, recounting the odyssey of Rama, a great King of ancient India.

Daura: A Novel


Anukrti Upadhyay - 2019
    As he becomes more and more involved with the lives and troubles of the common people in his district, he finds himself sucked deeper and deeper into the dark heart of the desert. And there, with the help of the mysterious musician, the Sarangiya, he has an encounter with beauty in its purest, most absolute form. An encounter that precipitates a dangerous descent. The pages from the journal he keeps are combined with the narratives of those around him—a Tehsildar, a Circuit House guard, a camel-herder, a pair of tribal girls, a Medical Officer, a Police Superintendent and the Collector's orderly—to create a compelling account of his slide away from reality. Half-real and half-fable, and redolent with the songs and myths of Rajasthan, Anukrti Upadhyay's Daura announces the arrival of a powerful new literary talent.

The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes


Bill Watterson - 1992
    A tiger whose idea of adventure is to lie on his back by the fire and have his stomach rubbed. In six short years this unlikely duo has captured the hearts, the minds, and, most of all, the funny bones of America. They are the most phenomenal success story in syndication - and publishing - history. In only six years, they appear in more than 2,100 newspapers worldwide, and Calvin and Hobbes wins as many readership polls as Calvin has excesses. All seven of Bill Watterson's collections have sold a million copies within a year of publication.This treasury collection contains a never-before-published full-color section, as well as the cartoons appearing in The Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes "Boink." All Sunday cartoons are presented full-page and full-color.

Thor: Ragnarok


Roy Thomas - 2011
    The menace of Loki! The attack of the massive Midgard Serpent! The death of Balder! The sacrifice of Odin! Deadly battles with trolls and giants! The debut of a new redheaded Thor! All-out war with the forces of Hela! Does the fate of Asgard lie in the hands of a human reporter? As Ragnarok, the end of all the gods, looms on the horizon, Thor and allies Sif, Odin and the Warriors Three do all they can to stop it-but even their best may not be enough!Collecting: Thor (1966) #272-278; Prelude to Eternals Saga TPBs

Albert Einstein


Venugopal
    To top it he had speech difficulties and was vague and inattentive. Albert hated the kind of rote learning he was obliged to do in school, memorizing dates and texts. But as he grew older, it became clear that Albert was no ordinary person. 1905 is often termed his 'miracle year', the year he published not one but four entirely new papers, on four completely different topics.

Sufi Comics - The Wise Fool of Baghdad


Mohammed Ali Vakil - 2012
    Bahlool who lived in Baghdad, circa the 8th century AD, feigned madness to escape the oppression of the ruling class. Now free of the burden of normalcy he dispensed wisdom in strange and amusing ways.The Wise Fool of Baghdad is a collection of these true stories, richly illustrated in the Turkish-Iranian miniature style. Every story is followed by sacred verses of the Qur'an and traditional sayings, inscribed in Arabic By Muqtar Ahmed, one of India's finest Islamic calligraphers.Get the book. In the crazy times we live in, you'll probably need a fool to make sense of it all.http://www.suficomics.com

Marked


Steve Ross - 2005
     A people infested with demons. a time of revolution. a liberator rises. One of the oldest and most powerful stories in human history comes uniquely alive in this telling of the Gospel of Mark. Join a carpenter as he changes the world. And join Steve Ross as he re-imagines the ancient story, with all of its power and mystery intact. Told with unexpected and startling imagery, Marked will forever change the way you think about this both familiar and strange tale. This is a human story of passion and murder. Of a compassionate man brutally killed and yet compellingly alive.