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Category: Specials

Fascinating Folk Tales from ‘Cities and Canopies’

Posted on by Penguin India

Native and imported, sacred and ordinary, culinary and floral, favourites of various kings and commoners over the centuries, trees are the most visible signs of nature in cities, fundamentally shaping their identities. Trees are storehouses of the complex origins and histories of city growth, coming as they do from different parts of the world, brought in by various local and colonial rulers.

Drawing on extensive research, Cities and Canopies by Seema Mundoli and Harini Nagendra is a book on nature’s own museums.

Here are some interesting tree-related folk tales and myths from the book:

The silk cotton in folklore is termed as a ‘parrot’s despair’.

“Folk tales mention parrots eagerly pecking at the tasty looking seed pods and being disappointed to find they contain mostly inedible cotton.”

*

Trishanku, the ruler of Ayodhya is believed to be responsible for the creation of the coconut tree

“King Trishanku was seized by the desire to go to heaven alive…. But the gods, who would not accept this unusual route of approach, complained to Indra, who pushed him down. Pushed up by Vishwamitra and pushed down by Indra, the unfortunate Trishanku remained suspended for a while. Tired of holding him up with his magic powers, Vishwamitra propped him up with a long pole. The pole became the trunk of the coconut. Trishanku’s head is the fruit or the coconut.”

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Can trees predict the future? Many believed they do

“Mythologies from Greek to English talk of oracle trees—trees that can predict the future. Alexander the Great was believed to have received a warning from a Wakwak tree of the end of his life and the destruction of his empire.”

*

The frangipani is abundant around temples and graves due to its immortality

” The tree symbolizes immortality owing to its ability to produce flowers and leaves even after being uprooted. Its flowers adorn graves throughout the year. Great power is accorded to the seed of the tree as a cure for bites from the venomous cobra. Folk beliefs claim that the tree has no pods, as the cobras destroy them out of fear.”

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Many ancient human societies long believed that people can talk to trees.

“In ancient Persian, Chinese and Indian mythologies, there are frequent references to the Wakwak or Vagh Vagh tree, which bears fruits that look like human heads. When the fruits ripen, the trees begin to talk, say a number of beloved old fairy tales.”

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There are a number of tales about the tamarind from different parts of India.

“One legend from Sambalpur says that there was a fight between Bhasmasura, the asura chief, and Mahadev (Shiva). Bhasmasura hid in the tamarind tree, but Mahadev opened his third eye. The magical power from his third eye shattered the leaves of the tamarind tree, making them small forever.”

Cities and Canopies is a book about both the specific and the general aspects of these gentle life-giving creatures. AVAILABLE NOW.

Why You Should Be Reading The King of Kings rather than Endlessly Discussing Game of Thrones

Posted on by Penguin India

One of the great classics of Gujarati literature, the Patan trilogy by K. M. Munshi, is finally accessible to English readers owing to Rita and Abhijit Kothari’s brilliant translation.

K.M. Munshi is one of Gujarat’s most well-known literary writers and his historical novels have contributed profoundly to the sense of past that Gujarat lives with. His magnificent conclusion to his beloved Trilogy, Rajadhiraj or The King of Kings is a panoramic epic filled with adventure and intrigue, and a timeless classic with a nuanced insight into human nature and the complex links between statecraft and violence.

A mysterious emissary arrives in the port city of Bhrigukachchh. He has been sent by King Jaysinhdev of Patan with a secret message for Kaak, the valiant chieftain of the city. The king seeks to urgently enlist Kaak’s help in conquering the kingdom of Junagadh. However, Kaak has also received crucial summons from two others: Leeladevi, the firebrand princess whose marriage to Jaysinhdev Kaak himself facilitated; and Ranakdevi, the queen of Junagadh.

Caught in a web of conflicting loyalties, Kaak must navigate a treacherous terrain of political machinations where the slightest misstep could lead to grave consequences-where even he will not emerge unscathed.

Seven reasons why you should be reading The King of Kings—

 

  1. For a glimpse of the rich, varied history of 12th century India that you probably completely skipped in school

The King of Kings takes the reader through a highly layered and complex web of Gujarat in the Chalukya era. As a result of his historical research, Munshi came to the conclusion that Gurjaradesha was a region that dates back to very ancient times. It could be said to have come into its own around 550 CE; its fall began from the conquest of Qutub-ud-din Aibak, and Alauddin Khilji’s raid in the fourteenth century spelt its end. Gurjaradesha was a rather large portion of northern India centred around modern-day Mount Abu and Bhinmal.

 

  1. For a saga as fascinating and complex Game of Thrones set in 12th century India.

Even though the trilogy is based around the rise of Siddharaj Jaysinh,, we are hooked on to the interplay of machinations and intrigues around him. From the sagacious kingmaker Munjal Mehta, to the intelligent and calculating Chief Queen of Patan—Leeladevi, everyone has their own agendas and will do anything to achieve them. After all, power, lust, and glory are universal and timeless motives.

 

  1. For its powerful portrayal and multifaceted portrayal of women.

Women are very, very present in The King of Kings, not just as idealized trophies but as decision makers every bit as calculating and as potent as the men. From the paragon of all virtues-the beautiful, brilliant pativrata—Manjari, to the equally stunning, shrewd and incisively cold warrior princess of Laat turned chief queen of Patan, Leelavati, to the austere ascetic Ranakdevi, and the intelligent dowager Minalba. Even the ordinary women who pop up –from the unabashedly sensual Premkunvar to the frivolous teenager Samrath, dispay the same attention to actually creating vibrant, realistic women.

‘No, you don’t,’ the princess struck back like an experienced warrior. ‘Tomorrow, I will wear my grandfather’s crown and go at the head of my army against yours for our last battle. I will die, but I will be immortalized. Tales of my valour will spread far and wide and I will be deified like a goddess.’ There was no tremor in her voice or glint in her eyes. There was only an indifferent calmness.

 

  1. For the astonishingly wide breadth of its romantic and sexual relationships which range from strikingly modern to classical love stories

There is the classical romance and idealized connubial bliss of Kaak and Manjari , the political alliance of Leeladevi and Siddhraj—Leeladevi wants to attract her husband deeply but is far to brilliant and incisive to play the calculating wife to soothe his ego. Meanwhile Jaysinhdev is obsessed with a woman who rejected him years ago who is now the ascetically devoted wife of his arch-rival.

 

  1. For a truly realistic look at the idea of the kingdom, beyond the confines of the court to those of its satellite villages.

 

The King of Kings explores tensions between the centrist and regional contestations of power, and the relationship between state formation and violence. One sees in this novel the contrasting views that Patan and its margins have towards each other. For instance, when Amrabhat arrives in Bhrigukachchh, he notices that the houses of Bhrigukachchh are small and its streets narrow. The temples are old and unimpressive, not like those of Patan or Modhera.

Was it possible that the unvanquished bhatraj of Laat and durgpal of Bhrigukachchh, dearest friend of Tribhuvanpal maharaj and the enemy of a person as influential as his father, lived in a place like this? He smiled derisively: Where the palatial mansions of his father in Patan, Khambhat and Karnavati, and where this humble hut!

 

  1. For the brilliant subversion of the idea of the ‘heroic ruler’ and the reminder that great kingdoms are often the result of brilliant secondary figures behind the scene.

The collective energies of the wise prime minister Munjal Mehta, the warrior and chieftain, Kaak and the poised Queen Mother, Minaldevi are mobilized in accomplishing the suzerainty of the ‘great king’ Jaysinhdev , and the novel ultimately celebrates his victories. However we are on many occasions shown Jaysinhdev in a poor light, both as a person and as a statesman. If perfect states are to be achieved with full knowledge of the imperfections of those who represent it, can they remain perfect? Or rather, is the idea of the state more powerful than the one who governs it?

 

 

  1. For its delightfully rich and detailed prose interspersed with delicate flashes of humour.

This is no dry reconstruction of historical events, Munshi brings the 12th century landscape and society of Gurjaradesh to life vividly, handling the foibles and weaknesses of both the court and small towns with a deft hand.

 

Amrabhat was restless. He had imagined himself to be

immersed in revelry and pleasures in Bhrigukachchh. Instead,

as soon as he set foot here, he lost his servant, bore insults and,

to top it all, an unknown woman stole his heart. Such a series of

calamities at this tender age!

K.M. Munshi’s magnificent conclusion to his beloved Trilogy, The King of Kings is a panoramic epic filled with adventure and intrigue, and a timeless classic with a nuanced insight into human nature and the complex links between statecraft and violence.

The Success of the Successor to Steve Jobs.

Posted on by Penguin India

When it came to picking a successor to Jobs, there were rumors that the Apple board was likely to choose someone from outside the company, but this was never actually the case. The board was Jobs’s board, sometimes controversially so, and they were always going to accept whomever Jobs picked for the role. Jobs wanted an insider who “got” Apple’s culture, and he believed there was no one who fit the bill more perfectly than Tim Cook, the man he had trusted to run Apple in his absence on two previous occasions.

Tim Cook is now the CEO of Apple, and here is how Apple has been doing under his leadership.

Apple has become the world’s first trillion dollar company under his leadership

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Apple is on its way to having a more diverse workforce. Progress is slow, but it’s encouraging to hear that in 2017, half of Apple’s new hires in the United States were from underrepresented groups in tech.

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Apple’s products have received high praise from accessibility advocates. In 2017, the company won three major awards for innovations in accessibility. Being blind shouldn’t be a barrier to using the iPhone, and Apple is working hard to ensure that its products are for everyone.

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Because of Cook’s values, Apple will likely never experience privacy scandals to the same extent that Facebook has.

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Tim Cook has placed a clear emphasis on environmental efforts at Apple. Apple has made world- changing investments in renewable energy, responsible forestry, and sustainable manufacturing.  Apple’s operations now run on 100 percent renewable energy in twenty- fi ve countries, and it’s starting to bring the supply chain along. Apple’s supply chain— which accounts for 70 percent of its carbon footprint— will be 100 percent renewable in a decade or less.

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Aside from big, world- dominating products, Apple under Cook has innovated in many other areas. Apple’s AirPods are a giant hit, and they are remapping the wireless headphone space.

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Apple Pay is slowly taking off and is tipped to become the biggest contactless payment system in the United States; it’s projected to account for a third of all payments by 2022.

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The first major new product category launched under Cook, the Watch was initially greeted with skepticism and even scorn. But three years later, the Apple Watch is the biggest smartwatch on the market and is bigger than the entire Swiss watch industry. Apple is estimated to have sold forty- six million to date. It is likely to develop significantly in coming years.

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Since Cook took over the company, AAPL stock has tripled in value. Some experts attribute the trillion- dollar valuation to the success of the iPhone, the iPhone X especially.

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Apple under Cook has launched a comprehensive set of initiatives, from elementary schools to colleges, to improve the numbers of women and underrepresented minorities going into tech.

Drawing on access with several Apple insiders, Leander Kahney tells the inspiring story of how one man attempted to replace someone irreplaceable, and–through strong, humane leadership, supply chain savvy, and a commitment to his values–succeeded more than anyone had thought possible. Get your copy here!

Can India Excel At Sports? Here Are 7 Challenges We Face

Posted on by Penguin India

As we stand today, Indian sport is a fount of possibility— fast growing in opportunity, slow moving in delivering results, promising in its chaos. Sports management is a legitimate field of study that imparts knowledge on the business of all levels of sport, and is helping bright-eyed youngsters ‘follow their passion’ and channel it into specific directions of interest.

Go! India’s Sporting Transformation features never-before-seen collection of essays by leading athletes, sports writers and professionals, who together tell a compelling story of India’s ongoing sporting transformation.

Here are 7 challenges India faces that if addressed will help us reach new heights in sports:

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Sport in India has been viewed as a form of leakage of capacity and intent. The time spent on sporting activity was time spent not doing something more meaningful. Devoting time and energy to sport was in effect drainage of potential; time and attention paid elsewhere would be deemed to pay richer dividends.

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Sports as a career was a very high-risk choice, one in which being successful was no guarantee of being able to make a half-decent living.

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The idea of engaging in sweaty physical activity was seen to be a lower-order pursuit. What was valorised were the preoccupations that involved the upper body. The mind and its exertions were exalted, and there was a strong class connotation attached to things physical.

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The game of hockey had changed in character, and post the arrival of the astro-turf, the Indian lack of athleticism caught up with the team.

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Sporting federations across different sports displayed the same craven need for power, combined with a callous disregard for the sportsperson. The people charged with the responsibility of promoting sports have traditionally been the single-most important reason for the state that sport has languished in.

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We had a passive relationship with our bodies…..We increasingly think of our bodies as malleable and within our control. We can shape them, mould them as per our need, protect them, and use them to extract more life.

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Apologies… do not come easily to sports federations in India. That would mean the admission of an error and accountability to someone other than themselves. That doesn’t happen enough—neither the governors of an Indian sport admitting errors, nor feeling the need to be accountable.

Go! India’s Sporting Transformation is available now!

Want to be Successful? Guy Kawasaki Tells you How!

Posted on by Penguin India

“My stories do not depict epic, tragic, or heroic occurrences, because that hasn’t been the trajectory of my life. They do not depict a rapid meteoric rise, either. One decision. One failure. Hard work. One success. My goal is to educate, not awe, you.”

Guy Kawasaki has been a fixture in the tech world since he was part of Apple’s original Macintosh team in the 1980s. He’s widely respected as a source of wisdom about entrepreneurship, venture capital, marketing and business evangelism, which he’s shared in bestselling books such as the art of the start and enchantment. But before all that, he was just a middle-class kid in Hawaii, a grandson of Japanese immigrants, who loved football and got a C+ in 9th grade English. Wise guy, his most personal book, is about his surprising journey.

Here are some lessons from his book!

You should never underestimate the difference one person can make to your life. They can change the entire course of your future.

“Akau’s advice changed the trajectory of my life. If she would have not convinced my parents to send me to ‘Iolani, I would not have gone to Stanford. If I had not gone to Stanford, I would not have met the guy who got me interested in computers and gave me a job at Apple.”

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Your life is a sum of all your decisions. It is up to you to trust your own instincts and actions. A person’s happiness is in their own hands.

“You must believe that you control your own fate. No one else is responsible for your success or failure. Her insights had a profound effect on who I believed was responsible for my happiness – that is me.”

*

What matters is how you sell the commodities that you have. And the person who masters the art of selling wins the game.

“Working for Nova was one of the best decisions I ever made because of the CEO of the company, Marty Gruber, taught me one of the most valuable skills I ever learned : how to sell. Jewellery is made of commodities – expensive commodities, but commodities nonetheless. As such, the ability to sell is crucial to success in that line of work.”

*

Every great innovation does not require rocket science. Sometimes simple ideas turn out to be the greatest innovations.

“The truth probably is that Bill Gates wanted to get IBM’s business for the IBM PC, and he wasn’t looking beyond that. And Steve and Woz wanted to sell some Apple Is to the Homebrew Computer Club. The long-term plan was “until we run out of money and have to get a real job.”

*

Every word can cost a person their career

” In front of everyone, Jobs told Clow not to give me a copy. I don’t know what got into my brain, but I said “Why, Steve, don’t you trust me?” and Steve responded, “No, I don’t.”

And I countered, “That’s okay Steve, I don’t trust you either.” That response may have cost me tens of millions of dollars, because I clearly burned a bridge for working at Apple when jobs returned.”

*

Honesty is the best policy

“’What do you think of a company called Knoware?’

I told Jobs that the company’s products were mediocre and that the company was not strategic for us. After all, they didn’t take advantage of the Mac graphical user interface and other advanced features.

After my diatribe, Jobs said to me, “I want you to meet the CEO of Knoware, Archie McGill.” I shook his hand, and Steve said to him, ‘See? That’s what I told you.’”

Guy Kawasaki covers everything from moral values to business skills to parenting. As he writes, “I hope my stories help you live a more joyous, productive, and meaningful life. If Wise Guy succeeds at this, then that’s the best story of all.”

Heartfelt lines from ‘The Carpet Weaver’ that encapsulate the spirit of #Pride

Posted on by Penguin India

Afghanistan, 1977. Kanishka Nurzada, the son of a leading carpet seller, falls in love with his friend Maihan, with whom he shares his first kiss at the age of sixteen. Their romance must be kept secret in a nation where the death penalty is meted out to those deemed to be kuni, a derogatory term for gay men. And when war comes to Afghanistan, it brings even greater challenges-and danger-for the two lovers.

From the cultural melting pot of Kabul to the horrors of an internment camp in Pakistan, Kanishka’s arduous journey finally takes him to the USA in the desperate search for a place to call home-and the fervent hope of reuniting with his beloved Maihan. But destiny seems to have different plans in store for him.

Here are some soul-stirring lines from Nemat Sadat’s revolutionary new book, The Carpet Weaver!

“I took the bag from Faiz’s hand and pulled out a bra, rubbing the padding across my face and chest. ‘This is so nice. I love the way lace feels.’ Maihan draped the cup of the bra on my head. ‘Look how huge she was—like Marilyn Monroe!’”

∼

“Maihan grabbed a fur throw from the armoire, wrapped it around his neck, and swung his hips while lip-syncing precisely to the Hindi lyrics. When the song was over, he asked, ‘How many stars do you give me?’ ‘Five stars!’ Theatrically, I blew him five kisses. ‘I love India,’ Maihan said, putting his hands over his heart. ‘When I grow up and get married, I want to celebrate my honeymoon there.’” 

∼

“Maihan used a washcloth to buff Faiz’s lips and defined them with lipstick, then flecked his cheeks with rouge and rubbed it in. I opened a bottle and drizzled glitter on Faiz’s hair, put a gold dot on his forehead, and rubbed ambergris oil into his hands and neck. I snapped clip-on earrings onto Faiz’s ears, and when we were done, Maihan and I looked into the cheval mirror in front of us and saw Faiz transformed into a striking woman.”

∼

“In the distance to the east, a flickering lazy sun climbed slowly over the arid mountains, dwarfing our existence. Like sunflowers, Maihan looked to it and so did I, our eyes flaring, as it painted our nascent love with approving warmth. Maihan had become mine, and I his.”

∼

“I slipped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. Some of his drink spilled on my back. I was too intoxicated by his woodsy cologne to care. Maihan pulled away and gaped, and then smiled. I felt his warmth radiate into my soul. Since our voices capped over the unbearable decibel level, we funnelled our words directly into each other’s ears.”

∼

“‘I’ve dreamt about you. Only about you.’ He held his gaze then and studied my face. ‘I think you have the most beautiful almond-shaped eyes in all of Asia.’”

The Carpet Weaver is a sweeping tale of a young gay man’s struggle to come of age and find love in the face of brutal persecution.

Meet Krishna: An Indian Feminist Icon of the Early 20th Century

Posted on by Penguin India

Krishna Sobti is a magical being. From her experimental prose to her legendary parties to her unique sense of style to her male alter ego, the writer ‘Hashmat’, everything about her is deeply considered and infused with her special warmth.

Krishna Sobti tells stories in her writing, and in conversation, but she has an equal if not greater interest in language and style. Her preferred forms have been the novella and the essay, and this is perhaps because she has sought to boil sentences, phrases and entire narratives into the smallest number of words possible.

A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There is a feminist partition novel. Rape and abduction play a huge role in most literary works about the Partition, and Krishna Sobti has not shied away from the topic either in this book or in her other writings. Writing as a young woman, in the more conventional style of her early years, Sobti is already experimenting with brevity and focusing on single words.

Read on to know why translator Daisy Rockwell considers Krishna Sobti as a feminist icon of her time, especially through her protagonist Krishna

Sobti does not like being considered a ‘woman author’, in the sense that adding in the word ‘woman’ somehow makes one a woman more and an author less. Indeed she regularly wrote essays from the perspective of Hashmat, her male alter-ego, as noted above—a method, perhaps, for shedding her lady-author identity.

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Krishna, the protagonist, faces sexism and prejudice against refugees through what we would now call constant micro-aggressions. Yet these make her indignant. She never sees herself as weak, and it is that sense of strength and self-confidence, and not being a woman-hyphen-anything, which keeps her focused and protected throughout the narrative.

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When the young protagonist becomes the governess of Tej Singh, the child Maharaja of Sirohi, she finds herself standing at the site of multiple fissures and contested territories. She is a migrant (from Delhi) and a refugee (from Lahore and Gujrat), newly arrived at a border in the process of being drawn (between Rajasthan and Gujarat), charged with the education of a maharaja whose legitimacy is being contested. Everything is in a state of flux, and no one knows quite where they stand. She is treated as an outsider because she is not from Sirohi, but also because she is a woman who has left home for employment, and additionally because she is viewed as a refugee. The Governess is made of stern stuff, however, and she stands her ground as long as she can, even as she copes with a sense of what has been lost with Partition.

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The self-reliance of the protagonist mirrors that of the new nation. The flux of the historical moment, including the displacement of Partition, emboldens her to set out and find her own way. Though she is haunted by what has been lost, the sense of mourning gives way to a feeling of lightness—to a nimbleness and lack of encumbrance with ancestral baggage.

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The protagonist Krishna goes through many trials and tribulations yet is not a victim of Partition; she has her own feminist self-image pretty much reflective of the author’s own identity as a strong feminist.

Part novel, part memoir, part feminist anthem, A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There is not only a powerful tale of Partition loss and dislocation but also charts the odyssey of a spirited young woman determined to build a new identity for herself on her own terms.

 

An Honest Conversation about the Mindset that Divides Us, Please?

Posted on by Penguin India

26/11, 9/11, 7//7 – these are the dates that have changed the way see ourselves and those around us. Dates that have changed the world, and not for the better. It’s about time we had an honest conversation about religion, race, caste and the mindset that divides us.

In this collection writers from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – Gulzar, Elmo, Jayawardena, Manjula Padmanabh, Poile Sengupta, Kamail Aijazuddin, Bulbul Sharna and others – write about various kinds of conflicts that plague are world today.

In exclusive partnership with Flipkart, we present you to quotes from A Clear Blue Sky.

“‘…There will be moments when we feel unsettled by someone who is different from us. We just need to remember that being different is not a bad thing. It’s not something that should frighten us.’”

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“‘They are killing each other. Just yesterday we were all friends. Why this sudden madness?’”

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“His world had split into two – into ‘them’ and ‘us’. ‘They’ were anyone who believed in the teachings of Mohammed. ‘Us’ was the rest of the world.”

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“‘We cannot always know the wisdom of the Quran. It tells of jinns, of the Day of Judgement and also how to be a true Muslim. Allah will reveal all to those He wants…’”

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“‘Once he is the deity in a temple only the high-caste priests, royalty and noblemen are allowed inside. Not a low caste like me.’”

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“She taught me that I have a right to reject

What deep down in my heart I cannot accept

But first I must learn to practice the above

And to be heard by the world, I must say it with love.”

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“Kartikeyan is forgotten and like him, very soon I will be forgotten too.”

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“When he carves a goddess he can make the stone smile and when he creates the image of Nataraja, the dancing image of Lord Shiva, it is as if the stone begins to dance.”

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“‘They are ready to kill,’ the sergeant shouted at them.

‘But we are willing to die if the need be.’”

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“Life would have been different perhaps had I given him the answer he wanted. Instead I asked for time. I had wanted only a few days, to calm the seething emotions. But the gods granted me a lifetime.”

Get your copy here!

Feel the Nostalgia of Autumn in Pico Iyer’s Words

Posted on by Penguin India

Returning to his long-time home in Japan after a sudden death, Pico Iyer picks up the steadying patterns of his everyday rites: going to the post office, watching the maples begin to blaze, engaging in furious games of ping-pong every evening. As he does so, he starts to unfold a meditation on changelessness that anyone can relate to: parents age, children scatter, and he and his wife turn to whatever can sustain them as everything falls away.

After his first year in Japan, almost thirty years ago, Iyer gave us a springtime romance for the ages, The Lady and the Monk; now, half a lifetime later, he shows us a more seasoned place-and observer-looking for what lasts in a life that feels ever more fragile.

Here are some lovely quotes from his new book, Autumn Light

Get a copy of Autumn Light for more!

The Book to Read to know more about the RSS

Posted on by Penguin India

Tracing the growth of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since its formation in the mid-1920s, Walter K. Anderson and Shridhar D. Damle examine its ideology and training system in their book, The Brotherhood in Saffron. 

Read on to know why you should get your hands on the copy of this book:

It gives insight into the humble origins of the RSS

“The RSS was established in 1925 as a kind of educational body whose objective was to train a group of Hindu men who, on the basis of their character-building experience in the RSS, would work to unite the Hindu community so that India could again become an independent country and a creative society”

 

It answers interesting questions like whether the British considered the RSS to be a threat 

“In an official report on RSS activity, prepared in 1943, the Home Department concluded, ‘. . . it would be difficult to argue that the RSS constitutes an immediate menace to law and order . . .’

 

The book is a prequel to the award-winning ‘RSS: A View to the Inside’

Thirty years before they wrote the award-winning ‘RSS: A View to the Inside’, Anderson and Damle published their first path-breaking book on the RSS. As the first significant book on the RSS, this prequel provides readers their first glimpse into the inner workings of the Sangh.

 

It clarifies what the RSS actually thinks about communal rioting

(Hint: They consider it a weakness!)

“Its(RSS) founder viewed the communal rioting as a symptom of the weakness and divisions within the Hindu community.”

 

 The book helps you learn more about RSS, a significant cultural organization

The RSS is one of the most significant cultural organizations in India, making this book a powerful and important read.

The Brotherhood in Saffron is AVAILABLE NOW.

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