And his greatest creation was, of course, Flashman. The novels collected here find our hero in the midst of his usual swashbuckling adventures of derring-do: fleeing adversaries in the First Anglo-Afghan War; meeting and nearly deceiving a young Abraham Lincoln in America; alternately impersonating a native Indian cavalry recruit and wooing women in India; and managing, whatever the circumstances, to keep his hero’s reputation unsullied.A must-have treat for the legions of dedicated Flashman fans, and a delightful introduction for those lucky enough to be encountering him for the first time.

    Historical novel that explodes all the myths that surround Mastani who was the second wife of Peshwa Baji Rao I in Central India in the 1700s.

    In Volga’s retelling, it is Sita who, after being abandoned by Purushottam Rama, embarks on an arduous journey to self-realization. Along the way, she meets extraordinary women who have broken free from all that held them back: Husbands, sons and their notions of desire, beauty and chastity. The minor women characters of the epic as we know it – Surpanakha, Renuka, Urmila and Ahalya – steer Sita towards an unexpected resolution. Meanwhile, Rama too must reconsider and weigh out his roles as the king of Ayodhya and as a man deeply in love with his wife. A powerful subversion of India’s most popular tale of morality, choice and sacrifice, The Liberation of Sita opens up new spaces within the old discourse, enabling women to review their lives and experiences afresh. This is Volga at her feminist best.

    First composed by the Maharishi Vyasa in verse, it has come down the centuries in the timeless oral tradition of guru and sishya, profoundly influencing the history, culture, and art of not only the Indian subcontinent but most of south-east Asia. At 100,000 couplets, it is seven times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey combined: far and away the greatest recorded epic known to man.The Mahabharata is the very Book of Life: in its variety, majesty and, also, in its violence and tragedy. It has been said that nothing exists that cannot be found within the pages of this awesome legend. The epic describes a great war of some 5000 years ago, and the events that led to it. The war on Kurukshetra sees ten million warriors slain, brings the dwapara yuga to an end, and ushers in a new and sinister age: this present kali yuga, modern times.At the heart of the Mahabharata nestles the Bhagavad Gita, the Song of God. Senayor ubhayor madhye, between two teeming armies, Krishna expounds the eternal dharma to his warrior of light, Arjuna. At one level, all the restless action of the Mahabharata is a quest for the Gita and its sacred stillness. After the carnage, it is the Gita that survives, immortal lotus floating upon the dark waters of desolation: the final secret!With its magnificent cast of characters, human, demonic, and divine, and its riveting narrative, the Mahabharata continues to enchant readers and scholars the world over. This new rendering brings the epic to the contemporary reader in sparkling modern prose. It brings alive all the excitement, magic, and grandeur of the original - for our times.

    Musafir Cafe is about all these lists in life and more. It is a like a stopover, in life, when we try and slow ourselves down to assess where are we, and where do we want to go from here? Musafir Cafe is story of two young and modern individuals, Sudha and Chandar. Sudha who is a lawyer by profession and a strong free spirited girl in person. she wants to become top lawyer of country while Chandar is a confused software engineer. Though both of them are sure that they don’t want to get married and settle down with anyone, they play this meeting game every weekend for they parents sake. Events lead them to stay together for a weekend, but they become so habitual to each other’s presence and interference in the life, that it becomes an unplanned live-in relation.Musafir Cafe is not only story of Sudha & Chandar, it’s story of everyone of us. Who are trying to tick off bucket list and searching for a perfect life.

    The novel sweeps across India, from an island, to a valley, a city, and a snow desert to tell a love story of epic proportions. We follow a scientist who studies trees and a clairvoyant who speaks to them; a geologist working to end futile wars over a glacier; octogenarian lovers; a mother struggling to free her revolutionary son; a yeti who seeks human companionship; a turtle who transforms first into a boat and then a woman; and the ghost of an evaporated ocean as restless as the continents. Binding them all together is a vision of life as vast as the universe itself. A young writer awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in India for this novel, Shubhangi Swarup is a storyteller of extraordinary talent and insight. Richly imaginative and wryly perceptive, Latitudes of Longing offers a soaring view of humanity: our beauty and ugliness, our capacity to harm and love each other, and our mysterious and sacred relationship with nature.

    The death shocks the students at the school and baffles the police.Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger’s reappearance after 5000 years strikes fear into the hearts of powerful members of a secret society, called the Sangha. Who is he and what is he after?What secrets are Arjun’s uncle and mother hiding and why do they inexplicably decide to leave town for an unknown destination?What is The Pataal Prophecy, that must be decoded even as the world hurtles towards a fate that may doom humanity?In a race against time, Arjun and Maya must join forces with the Sangha to face an ageless and terrible enemy from the depths of Pataal. But can they overcome an ancient power that is out to wreak vengeance?

    When the beautiful and lonely lady of the manor invites him to stay and share a story, his grief at the destruction of his glorious city spills forth in a story of two brothers, Taka and Wara - wolf and boy - a tale of love and loyalty, hurt and distrust. The storyteller is amazed when the lady, or Begum, responds with a tale of her own, of Aresh and Barab, and a friendship that transcends death. Transfixed by their storytelling duel and shocked by the discovery of forbidden love, the pair draw out their stories in order to delay the moment of their parting. Part fable, part fantasy, The Storyteller's Tale captures the twilight of the Mughals and transports the reader to the stunning setting of an unforgettable brief encounter. Adapting ancient traditions of storytelling, skilfully weaving history and the lives of ordinary people in a landscape of war and devastation, Ahmad's finely drawn tale draws from the great folklore traditions of One Thousand and One Nights and the Tales of Genji.

    But it contains much more than conflict. An epic masterpiece of huge sweep and magisterial power, “a hundred times more interesting” than the Iliad and the Odyssey, writes Wendy Doniger in the introduction, the Mahabharata is a timeless work that evokes a world of myth, passion, and warfare while exploring eternal questions of duty, love, and spiritual freedom. A seminal Hindu text, which includes the Bhagavad Gita, it is also one of the most important and influential works in the history of world civilization.Innovatively composed in blank verse rather than prose, Carole Satyamurti’s English retelling covers all eighteen books of the Mahabharata. This new version masterfully captures the beauty, excitement, and profundity of the original Sanskrit poem as well as its magnificent architecture and extraordinary scope.

    The book is an excellent narration of the historic details before birth of Shivaji Maharaj, his swarajya fight, till his death.The book is compiled with the reference of numerous historic documents and is in simple language for all. Author who has penned down many books, lectures, plays, movies, held exhibitions, slide shows on Shivaji Maharaj. With the aim about letting people know the greatness of Shivaji Maharaj, author has written this characters sketch of Shivaji Maharaj. Each person has been briefed in short about his background which doesnt prove anywhere out of the way story. All the details are given with the base of study of historic documents and which can know after reading.Each fort instances of battles, various attacks by Shivaji Maharaj etc. along with their dates are been given which form a live picture of each page in front while reading. All about Shivaji Maharaj can be known through this book and is worth adding to your library.The book is in the 17th edition currently is around 1000 pages.

    Michener sweeps readers off to the Caribbean, bringing to life the eternal allure and tumultuous history of this glittering string of islands. From the 1310 conquest of the Arawaks by cannibals to the decline of the Mayan empire, from Columbus's arrival to buccaneer Henry Morgan's notorious reign, from the bloody slave revolt on Haiti to the rise of Cuba's Fidel Castro, Caribbean packs seven hundred dramatic years into a tale teeming with revolution and romance, authentic characters and thunderous destinies. Through absorbing, magnificent prose, Michener captures the essence of the islands in all of their awe-inspiring scope and wonder.

    One of modern day's most articulate statesmen, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a on a wide variety of subjects. Describing himself as "a dabbler in many things," he committed his life not only to politics but also to nature and wild life, drama, poetry, history, and science, as well as many other fields. These two volumes help to illuminate the depth of his interests and knowledge and the skill and elegance with which he treated the written word!!

    The setting is a small village in southwestern Anatolia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Everyone there speaks Turkish, though they write it in Greek letters. It’s a place that has room for a professional blasphemer; where a brokenhearted aga finds solace in the arms of a Circassian courtesan who isn’t Circassian at all; where a beautiful Christian girl named Philothei is engaged to a Muslim boy named Ibrahim. But all of this will change when Turkey enters the modern world. Epic in sweep, intoxicating in its sensual detail, Birds Without Wings is an enchantment.

    But there are also tales told for pleasure about magic, treasure and adventure - even the first ever Cinderella story.

    The Naxalbari Movement is gathering strength in Bengal. Young men and women have left their homes, picked up arms to free land from the clutches of feudal landlords and the state, and return them to oppressed landless farmers. They are being arrested en masse and thrown into high-security jails. In one such jail, five Naxals are meticulously planning a jailbreak. They must free themselves if the revolution is to continue. But petty thief Bhagoban, much too happy to serve frequent terms for free food and shelter, has been planted by Jailor Bireshwar Mukherjee among them as a mole. Only, Bhagoban seems to be warming up to them. There’s Gunpowder in the Air is a searing investigation into what deprivation and isolation can do to human idealism. And Manoranjan Byapari is perhaps the most refreshing voice to emerge from Bengal in recent times.