An Island’s Eleven by Nicholas Brookes takes us back in time to 19th and 20th century Sri Lanka, where cricket was becoming popular among different communities. The excerpt follows the story of a talented young player with Sinhalese roots, who played a crucial role in forming a club that truly represented the country. Despite facing challenges and missed opportunities, the book shows us the spirit and determination that shaped the island’s cricketing identity.
Read this excerpt to know more.
An Island’s Eleven || Nicholas Brookes
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For much of the nineteenth century, local cricket had been sustained by the Burghers—but a change began to take hold in the 1890s. While the Sinhalese on the whole resisted westernization, Ceylon’s Tamils proved more willing to learn English: from around 1870, their presence in the civil service swelled. Exposed to English customs, they soon took to cricket. Two Tamil clubs sprung up in Colombo during the 1890s, merging to form the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in 1899. Its first home at Campbell Park was leased from the government for 50 cents a year.
Meanwhile, Buddhist revivalism was changing the face of Colombo. Ananda College opened doors in 1886—by teaching in English but retaining a Buddhist foundation, schools like Ananda gave those Sinhalese wary of westernization opportunities to rise through society. Nonetheless, these schools submitted to aspects of Britishness: by 1895, old-Thomian J.C. McHeyzer was coaching Ananda’s boys at cricket. Around the same time, some Sinhalese were warming to the idea of sending their sons to anglicized schools. By my estimation, around forty-five Sinhalese boys played in the Royal-Thomian during the 1890s.
By 1898, schools cricket had advanced sufficiently for a Combined Colleges XI to take on the Colts. In drawing the game, the schoolboys gave an excellent account of themselves—and the fixture was rebooked for the following year. By chance, the 1899 team was made up exclusively of Sinhalese boys; remarkably, they led the invincible Colts by a single run after the first innings. Seeing eleven of their own perform so admirably stirred a burning sense of pride in the watching Sinhalese. Suddenly, there were calls for a sports club of their own.
In fact, in D.L. de Saram, this ‘all-Sinhalese’ XI included at least one boy with a heavy dose of Burgher blood. While still at S. Thomas’, de Saram was establishing himself as one of the island’s most destructive batters. He was not a tall man, but his shoulders seemed broad as the doors he walked through, his forearms the size of saplings. An inspiring leader and born entertainer on the field, beyond the boundary de Saram was shy, struggling badly with a stammer. He let his cricket do the talking—and was the kind of batter uncowed by any bowler. When he came to the crease the field would spread; the crowd growing restless in anticipation of scything drives and dashing hooks.
In 1900 de Saram made history by scoring 105* for NCC, the first century by a schoolboy in club cricket. But his allegiance would soon be tested. On 28 March 1899, H.J.V.I. Ekanayake called a meeting to discuss the founding of the SSC. The next year, the club leased a plot of land in Victoria Park. Though cinnamon trees sprouted from the sandy soil, D.S. Senanayake and Danny Gunasekara worked tirelessly to get the ground ready for cricket.
Gunasekara and de Saram’s names were on the team sheet for the SSC’s inaugural fixture in July 1901. No doubt the Colombo Sports Club fancied their chances against this fledgling local side, but by day’s end they were humbled and sick of the sight of the teenaged de Saram. He dazzled with an unbeaten 132, 18 more than the Sports Club could manage. It was a famous victory: the perfect start to life in cricket for the Sinhalese.
During the first years of the twentieth century, de Saram was the club’s beating heart. He scored eleven of the first fifteen centuries— while no batter scored a hundred against the SSC until 1906. Alongside Kelaart, de Saram was invited to Bombay for India trials in December 1903; said to be a certainty for selection, until the tour collapsed due to lack of funding.
The sense of opportunity lost was compounded by the lack of international visitors around the turn of the century: after 1896, no English or Australian side arrived for more than a decade. And when the whistlestops returned in 1908, the ‘All-Ceylon XII’ Vanderspar picked was without any truly Ceylonese men. T.W. Roberts smashed 70 in an hour against the MCC amateurs. He should have walked out against a full-strength English side, but the professionals—a young Jack Hobbs included—requested their £5 match fee doubled. Vanderspar refused, filling their places with cricketers from the garrison and Colombo Sports Club.
The payment of professionals was becoming an increasingly thorny issue. When the homeward-bound Australians stopped in 1909, the CCC refused to cover their match fee. Sniffing an opportunity, the SSC offered to sponsor the visit. They organized a gate, raising enough to offer the Australian pros £10 a man. So for the first time, a team that truly represented Ceylon—rather than the colonists who lorded over the island—would have the chance to play against cricketers of international calibre.
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Get your copy of An Island’s Eleven by Nicholas Brookes wherever books are sold
Embark on an enthralling journey through this collection of ten inspiring memoirs that delve into the extraordinary lives of remarkable individuals who faced daunting challenges with unwavering courage and hope. Each of these resilient tales will tug at your heartstrings and remind you of the indomitable human spirit.
Lost To The World || Shahbaz Taseer
Lost to the World is the remarkable true story of Taseer’s time in captivity, and of his astonishing escape. It is a story of extraordinary faith, bravery and sorrow, with moments of kindness, humour and empathy, offering a hopeful light in the dark years of his imprisonment.
While deeply harrowing, this tale is also about resilience. Taseer countered his captors’ narrative of a holy war by immersing himself in the Quran in search of hope and a means to see his own humanity under even the most inhumane conditions, and ultimately to find a way back to his family.
Water in a Broken Pot || Yogesh Maitreya
Incredibly moving and hauntingly honest, Water in a Broken Pot is the memoir of Yogesh Maitreya, a leading independent Indian Dalit publisher, writer, and poet. Encompassing experiences of pain, loneliness, depravation, alienation, and the political consciousness of his caste identity, this intimately moving memoir is a story of resilience and raw brutality. Growing up in a working-class family with meagre wages to get by in life, Yogesh writes of his father’s struggle against alcohol and passion for cinema; of intergenerational dreams shattered; working day and night shifts in factories; the struggle of being lost, overlooked and unmentored in India’s schooling, college and University systems which continue to be casteist, exclusionary and hostile; and feelings of lovelessness, loss and heartaches.
Nowhere Man || Shivalik Bakshi
Capt. Kamal Bakshi fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak War and went missing after the Battle of Chhamb–the bloodiest battle of 1971. Although no one from his battalion had seen him get killed, no one had been able to locate his body. And so, the military declared him ‘Missing, Believed Killed’–the ambiguous status assigned to soldiers when their death cannot be confirmed.
However, six years after the war, the Indian government changed its mind. The Ministry of External Affairs announced in Parliament that Indian intelligence agencies have reason to believe that Pakistan had not been truthful when it handed over the list of Indian POWs in its custody. It went on to state the names of at least forty Indian soldiers still believed to be in Pakistani custody and one of the names was Kamal Bakshi’s.
This book has been written by his nephew Shivalik Bakshi. It is his story, recreated from his letters, diaries, recollections of those who crossed paths with him and published accounts of the Battle of Chhamb.
A Walk Up The Hill || Madhav Gadgil
A Walk Up the Hill is an account of Madhav Gadgil’s life walking up and down the country’s hills and dales, watching peacocks dance and elephants prance, living among fisherfolk on the west coast, horticulturists on Western Ghats, and the tribals of Manipur and Maharashtra, all the while being a part of a vibrant scientific community.
Faf Through Fire || Faf Du Plessis
In Faf Through Fire, Du Plessis lays bare the story of his growth, from a youth with a questionable moral compass outside of cricket to a leader known for his integrity, values, honesty and empathy for his teammates. He reflects on how influential leaders, such as Gary Kirsten, Stephen Fleming, Doc Moosajee, Graeme Smith, A.B. de Villiers, Owen Eastwood, Russell Domingo, Ottis Gibson and M.S. Dhoni, helped mould him into a man who leads with grit, purpose and a love of people. He also explores the destructive relationships, offering his perspective, in devastating detail, on his final years of international cricket. Neither the changing room nor the boardroom is off limits in this no-holds-barred account.
The Defiant Optimist || Durreen Shahnaz
From growing up with constrained life chances, to working as the first Bangladeshi woman on Wall Street, to becoming a global leader in impact investing, Shahnaz takes us on a mesmerizing trek of innovation, compassion, and enterprise. We accompany her to villages in Bangladesh where she helps women entrepreneurs learn to proudly sign their names, and on visits to venture capitalists who walk past her to shake her male employees’ hands. We go to a garment factory where women labour for low wages, and to a town in India where microfinance offers women enough capital to run grocery stores and tailor shops. Along the way, the birth of her two daughters only fuels her relentless pursuit of a world where girls are valued. Finally, armed with financial backers and a plan, Shahnaz successfully launches the Women’s Livelihood Bond™ Series, the world’s first tradable financial product for investing in underserved women’s livelihoods.
In Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye, ‘Tiny’ Dhillon opens a hitherto-closed window, not only to his life but also to Kashmir. He recounts fascinating tales about the toughest challenges he encountered, from age three right up to those from his multiple tenures in Kashmir from 1988 to 2020, where it was his responsibility to maintain a balance between counter-terrorism operations on the one hand and to use military soft power on the other. Dhillon retraces his entire journey, from being a young boy to becoming the Commander of the Chinar Corps, with Kashmir as an inseparable part of this story.
Zikr In the light and Shade of Time || Muzaffar Ali
Muzaffar Ali’s autobiography is a peek into this wealth of experience-a close look at Ali, prince, poet, philosopher, film-maker, automobile aficionado and artist. Zikr is also a rich interior portrait of an artist, as Ali takes us behind the scenes of films like Anjuman and Gaman, speaking of the sensibilities that shaped them and the influences on his work. Above all, this is a book that resounds with a deep love for life.
Lata Mangeshkar A Life in Music || Yatindra Mishra
An ode to the majestic life of the late Lata Mangeshkar, Lata: A Life in Music celebrates art in its totality and tells the life story of India’s most loved vocal artists. The result of Yatindra Mishra’s decade-long dialogue with the great singer, it also explores the lesser-known aspects of the great artist, introducing the readers to Lata Mangeshkar as an intellectual and cultural exponent and providing a rare glimpse into the person behind the revered enigma.
COMING SOON
Heart Tantrums || Aisha Sarwari
In order to be able to survive, Aisha Sarwari was told, love and devoted acts of service will always light the way. These however, become the very reason of her complete unravelling.
In this large and messy voice of a memoir, Heart Tantrums artfully describes the scatter of catastrophic losses-the loss of her father in early adolescence; leaving behind her family home in East Africa; and trying to fit into a completely different culture in Lahore after marriage. In 2017, when Aisha first held her husband Yasser Latif Hamdani’s brain MRI against the light, she began to also lose the man she loved to a personality-altering brain tumour.
Welcome to the filmi world of the #BeAfilmyStoryWriter Contest winners!
We are thrilled to present you with three extraordinary tales that beautifully captured the essence of Filmi Stories by Kunal Basu. Get ready to be swept away by some amazing storytelling and cinematic flair showcased by our talented winners.
Lights, camera, action- let’s embark on this Filmi journey together.
Don’t forget the popcorn!
Filmi Stories || Kunal Basu
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Zenobia Merchant@zens2cents
All the roads were leading to a dead end. Shweta needed to change her approach, yet again!
Her eyes welled up when she thought of him. Maur Sharma, her father, was the most honest and disciplined cop.
Whilst investigating a case, his search landed him in a scuffle with some big names in the corporate world. He left for an undisclosed location on a lead and kissed her goodbye six months ago, to hear nothing from him.
Shweta an officer herself, secretly took over the reins of her father’s investigation with the aid of a trusted few and landed in Nagaland on a tip.
The state in itself was in mayhem and not a single soul knew or had chanced to see her father. She was about to give up when she heard the cries of a woman beating her chest. Her 8-year-old son was dead and also defiled.
When she assisted to help file a case, the woman asked her to leave, else she too would meet the same dreadful fate as the officer, who was helping the villagers to rescue children from trafficking and abuse.
The woman led her to the man’s grave.
Shweta finally found her father.
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Namita Das@dasnamitaa
The Search
Arya embarked on a journey to a troubled region, searching for her missing father. However, upon arrival, no one seemed to know who he was, or they evaded her questions with unease. Suspicion grew within her, wondering if there was a sinister secret they were concealing.
Undeterred, Arya ventured further, risking her safety to uncover the truth.
In a remote village, she encountered an elderly man who claimed to have knowledge of her father. What he revealed shook Arya to her core.
Her father, it turned out, was not the ordinary man she believed him to be. He had been entangled in a web of espionage, infiltrating a rebel group to expose their evil plans. The villagers, complicit in the cover-up, denied any knowledge of him to protect their safety. Unfortunately, he paid the ultimate price, being captured and executed by the very rebels he sought to thwart.
A whirlwind of disbelief and anger consumed Arya. The search for her father had not only cost her hope but also her purpose. Her life had been built on falsehoods, and the trust she once had shattered like glass.
Heartbroken and betrayed, she packed her belongings, vowing to abandon her dreams as a writer.
Boarding a plane, Arya left behind the troubled region that had shattered her heart. She vowed to forge a new path guided by authenticity and the strength to overcome adversity. The truth she sought had only brought devastation, leaving her questioning if she could ever trust again. Yet, within the depths of her despair, a flicker of resilience ignited.
As Arya stepped into an uncertain future, she carried the burden of her father’s absence, forever shaping her.
Determined to honour his memory, she would weave her own story that would transcend the shadows of her past, embracing the light of a newfound resolve.
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Ankita K. @bird_song07
The Silent Vanishing
With trembling hands and racing heart, Leher got off the rickety bus. The frost-veiled welcoming-board read:Manaspur.
Within ‘this’ bucolic town, the truth about her father’s vanishing lay hidden. She started scouring the labyrinthine alleys, encountering only oblivious faces and resounding denials.But she kept going.
Despite her father’s abusive nature, Leher sought closure.
Placing her father’s picture before a weather-beaten shopkeeper, she asked, “Have you seen this man? Or a white sedan, perhaps?” “Sorry, no. What happened?” the man replied.
“He’s my father,” she stuttered. ” can’t find him. He and my mother stayed in a nearby hotel. One night, he got in his car and vanished, leaving her alone. Nobody at the hotel even saw him leave.” The man expressed heartfelt sympathy.
As the day wore on, Leher questioned the remaining townsfolk but met with similar negation.Now it was time to update her mother.Reaching the bus stop, she phoned her.
“Mom, nobody saw him, or the car,” Leher conveyed, her trembling voice becoming steadier, “Please stop crying, Ma. It was self-defense. And he deserved it!” she reassured, “And trust me, if no one saw the car, no one saw you pushing it down the cliff.”
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Get your copy of Filmi Stories by Kunal Basu wherever books are sold.
In Play To Transform, author Dr. Avinash Jhangiani unveils profound insights, empowering professionals to ignite hope and optimism within themselves before sharing it with others. And leading with confidence, to create a happy, connected environment that fosters steady growth. So let’s discover the power of positive thinking and self-talk as we present these 21 affirmations that will transform you into an authentic, purpose-driven leader.
Ready to play? Let’s begin!
Play to Transform || Avinash Jhangiani
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Play Manifesto for Your Inner Child
Hope and optimism can be effective drivers of change and leaders must understand how to provide these antidotes, not to just others but first to us. To receive maximum benefits in uncertain times, read positive affirmations before sleep or early morning. These are the times when you brain is in a calm, relaxed and programmable state. Note that the secret of making this work is to believe and feel these affirmations intensely in your heart. Your thoughts and feelings have a profound effect on your behaviours.
Here is the play manifesto with twenty-one positive affirmations to keep your inner child alive:
1. I have the power to create positive change.
2. I have a clear vision and bring clarity to everyone at work.
3. I create a happy, healthy, connected environment at work.
4. I create spaces to nurture curiosity, self-expression and creativity without judgement.
5. I create a sense of safety and belonging at work.
6. I set a positive example for others.
7. I am a cheerful, trustworthy, approachable person.
8. I am confident and can handle any obstacle in front of me.
9. I show my vulnerability and manage my emotions very well.
10. I allow others to fail and help them learn from their mistakes.
11. I give high candour, constructive feedback.
12. I inspire others to stretch and reach their truest potential.
13. I empower others to greatness with my infinite enthusiasm.
14. I provide opportunities for growth.
15. I learn something new and useful every day.
16. I make work fun and rewarding for everyone.
17. I am a conscious leader who puts purpose into profits.
18. I am an authentic leader who nurtures diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace.
19. I am grateful to my team, family and friends who help me grow as a leader.
20. I am proud of myself and very happy about my accomplishments.
21. With every breath I take, I bring more playful charisma and magnetism into my life
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Get your copy of Play to Transform by Dr. Avinash Jhangiani wherever books are sold.
Let’s explore the flavorful world of Mrs. K.M Mathew, a culinary legend from Southern India whose passion for food, deeply rooted in her multicultural upbringing, led her to become a celebrated cookbook author and editor of the prestigious Vanitha Magazine.
Now seventeen years after her passing, her daughter, Thangam Mammem, shares the story of Mrs. K.M. Matthew’s humble beginnings and her steadfast commitment to sharing the art of cooking across the globe.
Read this exclusive excerpt to know more about the remarkable Mrs. K.M Mathew and catch a glimpse of her finest recipes.
Mrs K M Mathew’s Finest Recipes
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My mother cradled two newborns in her arms in 1955. One was her last child (myself) and the other was her first book. It was a cookbook in Malayalam, titled Pachaka Kala (The Art of Cooking). Amma went on to write 23 more cookbooks, five of which were in English, over the next forty years. She also wrote three travelogues and a book on hair care, and edited the women’s magazine Vanitha for twenty-five years. The book in your hands, Mrs K.M. Mathew’s Finest Recipes, has been published seventeen years after she left this world. She left me more than a thousand recipes which she had collected, discovered or created. Amma had written her first cookery column on doughnuts, two years before I was born. It was published in the Malayala Manorama newspaper on 30 May 1953 along with her recipe for Goan Prawn Curry. These appeared under the name Mrs Annamma Mathew, and she became fairly well-known after a column on Mutton Bafath. Her popularity multiplied after she started using the name Mrs K.M. Mathew. This lucky name change was her own idea and she hardly ever used the name Annamma anywhere again.
It was my grandfather, K.C. Mammen Mappillai, who had spotted her talent while he was visiting my parents in Byculla, Bombay, and asked her to write a column in his newspaper. Fortunately, Amma was familiar with the varied tastes of India. Her parents were from Kerala, but she was born and brought up in faraway Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, where her father was a doctor. He loved making chicken soup (he had made it even on the day he died, at the age of ninety-three) and her mother loved cooking Kerala’s Syrian Christian dishes. The neighbourhood was redolent with the scents of Tamil and Telugu food. Amma had always been partial to Tamil dishes, right from
childhood till long after her college days in Madurai. It was later that she developed a love for Kannadiga delicacies in Chikmagalur, where my parents lived in a coffee estate in the first few years of their marriage. Then they moved to Bombay, and this was where she learnt to cook a variety of local, north Indian and continental dishes.
Amma had another advantage—she spoke fluent English, a gift not so common among Indian women in those days. This helped her enter the kitchens of even the most elite hotels, where she would never shy away from asking for recipes or other cooking advice from the chefs. Amma did it with natural grace, whether she was in India or travelling to other countries, in her forties. She was inspired to share the art of cooking for the sheer enjoyment of delicious food. She did not even recommend any complex or elaborate recipes to her readers because, for her, simplicity and taste came before novelty. She even avoided using words like ‘foodie’ and ‘cuisine’. ‘Simple good
food’ was her motto.
She wrote her recipes early in the morning, after waking up at 3 a.m. No recipe made it to her column before she had tested it at least three times. My father always got the first chance to taste it and to give feedback. Amma made sure she bought all the ingredients herself and measured them precisely. In the early years, she would use cigarette tins as measuring cups and gradually she accumulated all the paraphernalia, including a mallet from abroad for tenderising the meat. When fair reviews of her books appeared in the press, she was ecstatic.
Food was sacred for Amma. She never wasted it. If there was anything left over, she would make a delicious new dish out of it. She always taught us to respect food and forbade shoptalk at the dinner table at our home in Roopkala, Kottayam, Kerala. All she wanted was for everyone to enjoy good food. Far from secretive, she took joy in sharing her recipes with everyone. In fact, sometimes she would send the recipe along with the food she would send for her friends and acquaintances and if they ever faced a problem cooking it, she would even send her trained cook to demonstrate the cooking procedure.
Whoever visited Amma, she always gave out a packet of crisp savouries for them to take home. Her wedding gift to her acquaintances was invariably a bundle of her cookbooks. Even today, many people in India and abroad tell me that Amma’s book Nadan Pachakarama was like the Bible to them when they had just started their married life and were learning to cook.
Even when she was in a wheelchair, in her twilight years, she remained engaged and active. When not cooking, she was often found reading books, appreciating art, singing songs, playing the violin, teaching music, raising funds for charity, guiding women’s organizations, or supervising work at Vanitha. As a mother, she practised tough love, with a heart that remained tender inside. This book carries the essence of her soul.
-Thangam Mammen
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Get your copy of Mrs. K.M. Mathew’sFinest Recipes wherever books are sold.
Get ready to clear some space on your bookshelves as we present you our newest releases for the month of August! From riveting political commentaries and self-help books that unlock your true potential to gripping tales of love and transformation and historical explorations, these remarkable reads are set to take over your library and will ignite your imagination and inspire your soul.
Strange Burdens: The Politics and Predicaments of Rahul Gandhi || Sugata Srinivasaraju
Strange Burdens is not a biography but a book of political commentary. It examines and analyses Rahul Gandhi’s ideas and leadership since he officially entered politics in March 2004. It journeys all the way to the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on 30 January 2023 and captures the dilemmas of his
disqualification a couple of months later.
Unlocked: The Power of You || Gezim Gashi
Unlocked: The Power of You is compelling self-help book will inspire you to pursue your biggest dreams, regardless of your background or upbringing. It illustrates that by unlocking our true, authentic selves, we can unleash our greatest potential in a world without limits, even in the aftermath of a pandemic.
Author Gezim Gashi recounts his extraordinary journey-from escaping the Kosovo genocide to becoming the first Albanian-Swede to launch a high school institute in the United States – Gezim lays out a path to personal success and fulfillment that is accessible to all, regardless of their background. With his mentorship, readers will be inspired to overcome obstacles and achieve their biggest goals.
A Walk Up The Hill || Madhav Gadgil
A Walk Up the Hill is an account of Madhav Gagil’s life walking up and down the country’s hills and dales, watching peacocks dance and elephants prance, living among fisherfolk on the west coast, horticulturists on Western Ghats, and the tribals of Manipur and Maharashtra, all the while being a part of a vibrant scientific community.
Data Science: A Beginner’s Guide || C. Raju
Data science is a perfect blend of 10 per cent maths, 20 per cent statistics, 30 per cent common sense and 40 per cent applied knowledge. While you can learn maths and statistics, you need to accumulate certain experience for common sense to kick in and apply what you have learnt.
This introductory book on data science builds upon an individual’s innate knowledge and arms you with the tools to use this interdisciplinary academic field in everyday scenarios. With straightforward real-world examples and applications, it takes you on a path that may seem daunting but is made simple through Professor Raju’s easy manner. It endows you with a holistic and flawless understanding of the fundamental principles required to build a solid foundation in data science.
Unlocking Unicorn Secrets captures the entrepreneurial journeys of some of India’s new-age founders and looks at the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. It covers themes such as developing an idea, building out the minimum viable product (MVP), finding a co-founder, setting up the founding team, raising funds and scaling the business, among others. Through primary research and a series of interviews conducted with the founders of these billion-dollar companies, the authors weave a narrative that is both accessible and informative.
In Pause, Rewind, Nawaz Modi Singhania writes about the role of fitness, nutrition and good mental health in ageing well. She shares techniques she’s developed over her years as a leading fitness consultant, including facial fitness exercises, muscle work, how to build the immune system and health-promoting foods.
Dhruva || | Gauranga Darshan Das
Discover practical answers to these questions within the pages of DHRUVA, an enthralling narrative penned by Gauranga Darshan Das, an esteemed author, educator and monk, hailing from the prestigious IISc.
Prince Dhruva’s awe-inspiring journey evokes a spectrum of emotions–love, heartbreak, revenge, passion, guilt and devotion. As you immerse yourself in this gripping tale, Gauranga Darshan artfully weaves his realizations as pearls of wisdom that are refreshingly simple yet remarkably effective.
The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao || Lindsay Pereira
The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao the story of Rameshwar Shinde and Ravinarayan Kumar, a young woman called Janaki, and the neighbours they live with, in the shadows of towers. It is a story of families torn apart by bigotry, an unmissable retelling of the epic Ramayana set at a time when blood mixed with the grime of Mumbai’s streets. A tale more pertinent than ever, in a country once again teetering on the edge.
Heart Tantrums || Aisha Sarwari
In this large and messy voice of a memoir, Heart Tantrums artfully describes the scatter of catastrophic losses-the loss of author’s father in early adolescence; leaving behind her family home in East Africa; and trying to fit into a completely different culture in Lahore after marriage. In 2017, when Aisha first held her husband Yasser Latif Hamdani’s brain MRI against the light, she began to also lose the man she loved to a personality-altering brain tumour.
1947-1957, India || Chandrachur Ghose
The first decade after India’s independence, 1947-1957, was probably the most crucial in the nation’s history. Opening a window to this period, this book weaves a story out of the complex ideas and events that have largely remained beneath the surface of public discourse. The transfer of power, the framing of the Constitution and the formation of the governance machinery; the clash of ideas and ideologies among parties and personalities; the beginning of the disintegration of the Congress and the consolidation of political forces in the opposition; Nehru’s grappling with existential problems at home and his quest for global peace; the interplay between democratic ideals and ruthless power play-all these factors impinged on each other and shaped the new republic in its formative decade.
Thought-provoking, argumentative and unputdownable, 1947-1957, India: The Birth of a Republicis a must-read for anyone interested in Indian political history.
World’s Best Girlfriend || Durjoy Datta
D and A meet under improbable circumstances in the most unlikely of places-a posh resort in the Andamans. While A is fighting hard to escape the shackles of a lower middle-class existence, D is aimless and unsure of what his future holds. Strangely, they are drawn to each other. Four years later, when they meet again, D’s world has crumbled around him. The burden of caring for his sick father and six-year-old sister has left him with little time for anything else. Yet, despite their diverging paths, D and A find themselves reconnecting in unexpected ways. Their mutual attraction deepens.
Till now, fate has been pushing them together, but what will happen when they decide to take matters into their own hands? Will life be as they’ve imagined, or will destiny take even that away from them?
Operation Payback || Aditi Mathur Kumar
Operation Payback is a thrilling novel about a Veer Nari who proves that she indeed is a yoddah and a hero. This is a story about bravery, about the true meaning of heroism and about making the most of this life even when you thought it has been unfair to you.
Beyond Fear || Ian Cardoza
The stories featured in Major General Ian Cardozo’s book Beyond Fear, stories that inform the reader that fear is not exceptional. It is common to all human beings. The question is: Do we face fear or run away from it? Through these thirteen stories, he reveals to the reader how military personnel conquer fear. He calls it ‘biting the bullet’.
The Book of Vows The Mahabharata Trilogy Volume 1 ||Amit Majmudar
The Book of Vows is the first part of a trilogy on the Mahabharata. Grounded in the original Sanskrit epic, Majmudar recreates the ancient epic for a contemporary audience. It is his finest work yet and is one of the most accessible, magical and unputdownable retellings of the Mahabharata. The Book of Vows will be followed by The Book of Discoveries and The Book of Killings.
Cold War 2.0 || Madhav Das Nalapat
Cold War 2.0 details the crosscurrents of Great Powers’ dynamics in the twenty-first century, and why it is important for a future-focused rather than a past-obsessed approach towards each other by the two biggest democracies on the planet, India and the US. Each needs to reinforce the other to jointly overcome the multi-dimensional challenge posed by the Communist Party of China to the global future. Just as in the case of Cold War 1.0, the democracies need to prevail in Cold War 2.0 as well.
Empire Building The Construction of British India: 1690–1860 || Rosie Llewellyn-Jones
From military engineers and cartography to imported raw metals and steam power, Llewellyn-Jones considers the social and environmental changes wrought by colonialism. This period was marked by a shift from formerly private, Indian-controlled functions, such as education, entertainment, trading and healing, to British public institutions such as universities, theatres, chambers of commerce and hospitals.
Stepping aside from ongoing colonialism debates, Building Empire is a fascinating account of India’s physical transformation during the Company period.
he Quest for Modern Assam : A History || Arupjyoti Saikia
Definitive, comprehensive and unputdownable, The Quest for Modern Assam explores the interconnected layers of political, environmental, economic and cultural processes that shaped the development of Assam since the 1940s. It offers an authoritative account that sets new standards in the writing of regional political history. Not to be missed by any one keen on Assam, India, Asia or world history in the twentieth century.
Mansions of the Moon || Shyam Selvadurai
Drawing on ancient records and historical sources, and weaving it with fiction and mythology, Shyam Selvadurai creates a vivid portrait of Yasodhara, a remarkable woman on a remarkable journey. Mansions of the Moon is an evocative, thought-provoking novel and a must-read for anyone interested in spirituality, mythology and the power of the human spirit.
One Among You || A S Panneerselvan, M K Stalin
One Among You, a translation of Volume 1 of Stalin’s Tamil autobiography, Ungalil Oruvan, is the story of the first twenty-three years of his life, from 1953 to 1976. These formative years were witness to Stalin’s school and college days, his early involvement with the DMK and his integral role in the party publication, Murasoli. But Stalin’s journey extends beyond politics. He also had a profound connection to the world of theatre and cinema, where his passion for art intersected with his pursuit of social change.
On the Edge 100 Years of Hindi Fiction on Same-Sex Desire || Ruth Vanita
On the Edge is a first-of-its-kind collection of short stories and extracts from novels centred on theme of same-sex desire, translated from the original Hindi. The sixteen beautiful and provocative stories featured here (published between 1927 and 2022) include classic works by Asha Sahay, Premchand, Ugra, Rajkamal Chaudhuri, Geetanjali Shree, Sara Rai and Rajendra Yadav, among others. An important anthology, On the Edge shifts the focus on stories and characters who have, for far too long, remained in the shadows and brings them (and us) into the light.
As we bid farewell to the legendary Ratan Tata, his legacy remains etched in the annals of business and philanthropy. Known for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to ethical practices, Tata’s influence extends far beyond the boardroom. In this tribute, we explore some of the most remarkable contributions and moments that defined his extraordinary life and career.
The Story of Tata || Peter Casey
In 1868, Jamsetji Tata, a visionary of his time, lit the flame that went on to become Tata and its group of companies. This business grew into an extraordinary one. One that some may even call ‘the greatest company in the world’. Over the decades, the business expanded and prospered under the leadership of the various keepers of the flame, such as Sir Dorabji Tata, J.R.D. Tata and Ratan Tata, to name a few. But one day, the headlines boldly declared that the chairman of the board of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, had been fired.
What went wrong?
In this exclusive and authorized book, insiders of the Tata businesses open up to Peter Casey for the first time to tell the story. From its humble beginnings as a mercantile company to its growth as a successful yet philanthropic organization to its recent brush with Mistry, this is a book that every business- minded individual must read.
Jamsetji Tata || Harish Bhat, R Gopalakrishnan
Jamsetji Tata pioneered modern Indian industry. He has been a key catalyst in the economic growth and development of the country.
From Empress Mills to the Iron and Steel Plant, from the establishment of Indian Institue of Science to the building of the Taj Mahal Hotel, Jamsetji’s vision made India stand tall. In this carefully researched account, R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat provide insights into the entrepreneurial principles of Jamsetji that helped create such a successful and enduring enterprise.
For the love of India: The Life & Times Of Jamsetji Tata||
In For the Love of India, R.M. Lala has drawn upon fresh material from the India Office Library in London and other archives, as also Jamsetji’s letters, to portray the man and his age. It is an absorbing account that makes clear how remarkable Jamsetji’s achievement truly was, and why, even now, one hundred years after his death, he seems like a man well ahead of the times.
The Creation of Wealth: The Tatas From The 19th To The 21st Century || R M Lala
The Creation of Wealth is R.M. Lala’s bestselling account of how the Tatas have been at the forefront in the making of the Indian nation-not just by their phenomenal achievements as industrialists and entrepreneurs but also by their significant contributions in areas like factory reforms, labour and social welfare, medical research, higher education, culture and arts, and rural development.
#TataStories: 40 Timeless Tales To Inspire You
A diamond twice as large as the famous Kohinoor pledged to survive a financial crisis; a meeting with a ‘relatively unknown young monk’ who later went on to be known as Swami Vivekananda; the fascinating story of the first-ever Indian team at the Olympics; the making of India’s first commercial airline and first indigenous car; how ‘OK TATA’ made its way to the backs of millions of trucks on Indian highways; a famous race that was both lost and won; and
many more.
#TataStories is a collection of littleknown tales of individuals, events and places from the Tata Group that have shaped the India we live in today.
The Tata Saga: Timeless Stories From India’s Largest Business Group
The Tata Saga is a collection of handpicked stories published on India’s most iconic business group. The anthology features snippets from the lives of various business leaders of the company: Ratan Tata, J.R.D. Tata, Jamsetji Tata, Xerxes Desai, Sumant Moolgaokar, F.C. Kohli, among others. There are tales of outstanding successes, crushing failures and extraordinary challenges that faced the Tata Group.
Tata log || Harish Bhat
From steel to beverages and from supercomputers to automobiles, TATA companies have broken new ground and set new standards of excellence over the past two decades. Tatalog presents eight riveting and hitherto untold stories about the strategic and operational challenges that TATA companies have faced, and the forward thinking and determination that have raised the brand to new heights.
Beyond The Last Blue Mountain: A Life of J.R.D Tata || R.M. Lala
An exhaustive and unforgettable portrait of India’s greatest and most respected industrialist. Written with J.R.D. Tata’s co-operation, this superb biography tells the J.R.D. story from his birth to 1993, the year in which he died in Switzerland. The book is divided into four parts: Part I deals with the early years, from J.R.D’s birth in France in 1904 to his accession to the chairmanship of Tatas, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, at the age of thirty-four; Part II looks at his forty-six years in Indian aviation (the lasting passion of J.R.D’s life) which led to the initiation of the Indian aviation industry and its development into one of India’s success stories; Part III illuminates his half-century-long stint as the outstanding personality of Indian industry; and Part IV unearths hitherto unknown details about the private man and the public figure, including glimpses of his long friendships with such people as Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and his association with celebrities in India and abroad.
The Tata Group || Dr. Shashank Shah
A deepdive into the Tata universe, The Tata Group brings forth hitherto lesser-known facts and insights. It also brings you face-to-face with the most intriguing business decisions and their makers. How did Tata Motors turn around 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?
The TCS Story and Beyond || S. Ramadorai
The TCS story is one of modern India’s great success stories. In this fascinating book, S. Ramadorai, one of the country’s most respected business leaders, recounts the steps to that extraordinary success, and outlines a vision for the future where the quality initiatives he undertook can be applied to a larger national framework.
he boy who wanted to fly: J.R.D Tata (Dreamer’s Series) || Lavanya Karthik
Before Jeh started India’s first airline and changed the way the nation travelled, he was a boy who dreamt of flying.
Talk of the town and how? Well, you’ve either watched Oppenheimer who you’re planning to, as you try to secure a seat in the fast-filling movie theatres and wait for the magic to unfold on the big screen. The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer has captivated audiences far and wide, leaving them intrigued and fascinated. And now, we’ve got something special for you—straight from the pages that birthed the epic, here’s a glimpse into the enthralling journey of Oppenheimer’s life.
Dive into this excerpt from American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer and witness his fascination with Sanskrit and the Bhagavad Gita, and how this passion for ancient wisdom shaped the mind of the brilliant scientist that reshaped history and forever changed the world.
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer || Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin
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“I am learning Sanskrit,” Robert wrote Frank. “enjoying it very much, and enjoying again the sweet luxury of being taught.” While most of his friends saw this new obsession as slightly odd, Harold Cherniss-who had introduced Oppie to Ryder- thought it made perfect sense. “He liked things that were difficult,” Cherniss said. “And since almost everything was easy for him, the things that really would attract his attention were essentially the difficult.” Besides, Oppie had a “taste for the mystical, the cryptic.”
With his facility for languages, it wasn’t long before Robert was reading the Bhagavad-Gita. “It is very easy and quite marvelous.” he wrote Frank. He told friends that this ancient Hindu text- “The Lord’s Song”-was “the most beautiful philosophical song existing in any known tongue.” Ryder gave him a pink-covered copy of the book which found its way onto the bookshelf closest to his desk. Oppie took to passing out copies of the Gita as gifts to his friends.
Robert was so enraptured by his Sanskrit studies that when, in the autumn of 1933, his father bought him yet another Chrysler, he named it the Garuda, after the giant bird god in Hindu mythology that ferries Vishnu across the sky. The Gita- which constitutes the heart of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata-is told in the form of a dialogue between the incarnate god Krishna and a human hero, Prince Arjuna. About to lead his troops into mortal combat, Arjuna refuses to engage in a war against friends and relatives. Lord Krishna replies, in essence, that Arjuna must fulfill his destinyas a warrior to fight and kill.
Ever since his emotional crisis of 1926, Robert had been trying to achieve some kind of inner equilibrium. Discipline and work had always been his guiding principles, but now he self-consciously elevated these traits to a philosophy of life. In the spring of 1932, Robert wrote his brother a long letter explaining why. The fact that discipline, he argued, ‘is good for the soul is more fundamental than any of the grounds given for its goodness. I believe that through discipline, though not through discipline alone. We can achieve serenity, and a certain small but precious measure of freedom from the accidents of incarnation . . . and that detachment which preserves the world which it renounces. I believe that through discipline we learn to preserve what is essential to our happiness in more and more adverse circumstances, and to abandon with simplicity what would else have seemed to us indispensable.” And only through discipline is it possible to see the world without the gross distortion of personal desire, and in seeing it so, accept more easily our earthly privation and its earthly horror.
Like many Western intellectuals enthralled with Eastern philosophies. Oppenheimer the scientist found solace in their mysticism. He knew, moreover, that he was not alone; he knew that some of the poets he admired most, like W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot, had themselves dipped into the Mahabharata. “Therefore.” he concluded in his letter to the twenty-year-old Frank, “I think that all things which evoke discipline: study, and our duties to men and to the commonwealth, and war, and personal hardship, and even the need for subsistence, ought to be greeted by us with profound gratitude; for only through them can we attain to the least detachment; and only so can we know peace.”
In his late twenties, Oppenheimer already seemed to be searching for an earthly detachment; he wished, in other words, to be engaged as a scientist with the physical world, and yet detached from it. He was not seeking to escape to a purely spiritual realm. He was not seeking religion. What he sought was peace of mind. The Gita seemed to provide precisely the right philosophy for an intellectual keenly attuned to the affairs of men and the pleasures of the senses.
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Get your copy of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin wherever books are sold.
Prepare to be amazed as you discover the world of our courageous Indian Armed Forces and learn about their fascinating facts and untold stories. Naam Namak Nishan: The Ultimate Indian Armed Forces Quiz Book promises to enlighten and evoke a sense of profound respect and appreciation for the indomitable spirit of our nation’s defenders.
So embrace the challenge and immerse yourself in this quiz to learn more about the valorous legacy!
Naam Namak Nishan: The Ultimate Indian Armed Forces Quiz Book|| Anurakshat Gupta, Arnabh Sengupta, Hitesh Mahato,
In the pages of Nowhere Man by Shivalik Bakshi, a profound and urgent story awaits. This is not just a book, it is a call to action, a heartfelt plea to uncover the truth and shed light on the story of Captain Kamal Bakshi who fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak War and went missing at the mere age of 25, after 4 days of intense fighting. His family received clues & evidence in the form of letters from Pakistan over the years indicating that he was alive. However, he was never retrieved.
Captain Kamal Bakshi’s story reminds us of the trials and tribulations he suffered, his courage, and his ultimate sacrifice in service of the nation and we must come together on a yielding quest for justice and give the Nowhere Man the respect he deserves.
Read this exclusive account unveiling the intricate timeline and clues gathered throughout the years that hinted at Captain Kamal Bakshi’s presence in Pakistan.
Nowhere Man || Shivalik Bakshi
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A Timeline of POW Negotiations and Sightings
16 December 1971 – Cease Fire Declared
26 December 1971 India Weighs Bengali Pleas to Try Pak Officials – New York Times Author’s Comments: India found itself between a rock and a hard place immediately after the war ended: on one hand, Bangladesh was demanding that it hand over Pakistani soldiers accused of war crimes. On the other hand, it did not want to anger Pakistan as there was a long list of items that needed to be negotiated with the Pakistanis, including the fate of Indian POWs in Pakistani custody.
9 January 1972
India and Pakistan Submit List of POWs- International Review of the Red Cross, February 1972 Author’s Comments:We now know that Pakistani authorities submitted an incomplete list of Indian POWs to the Red Cross. As for why they did it, the obvious answer was to use the Indian POWs as bargaining chips in case India handed over some Pakistani POWs to the Bangladeshis for war crimes trials.
18 March 1972 India Opens Way for Dacca Trials- New York Times Author’s Comments:Pakistani officials could have used this news as further justification for withholding names of Indian POWs from the list they handed to the Red Cross two months earlier.
30 March 1972
Bangladesh Will Try 1,100 Pakistanis- New York Times Author’s Comments: Now that we know for certain that Pakistani officials withheld names of some Indian POWs, A statement from Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto raises a troubling question: What exactly did he mean by ‘point of no return’? Was he referring to the return of Indian POWs whose names were withheld from the Red Cross?
14 June 1972 India to Deliver 150 POWs to Bangladesh to Face Trial- New York Times Author’s Comments:India made a statement a couple of weeks before Pakistani President Bhutto was to arrive in Simla to begin negotiation talks. It probably did so to increase pressure on Bhutto to come to a settlement. However, once again, Pakistani officials probably saw this as justification for holding back names of some Indian POWs.
29 July 1972 India Ratifies Pakistan Pact- New York Times Author’s Comments:Also called the Simla Agreement, this pact was a peace treaty between India and Pakistan, and set the framework around which further negotiations were to take place to resolve all open issues, including POW repatriation. In hindsight, this was another missed opportunity for India to ensure all its POWs were accounted for before signing this agreement.
29 November 1972 POWs to Be Freed Friday- New York Times Author’s Comments: This exchange was only for prisoners of the western front. Captain Kamal Bakshi should have been a part of this exchange.
31 January 1973
90,000 Prisoners- New York Times Author’s Comments: This is referring to the Pakistani prisoners of war captured in East Pakistan (now called Bangladesh)
7 April 1974 India Talks Hinge on POW Issue- New York Times Author’s Comments:This news, once again, shows that the fate of Pakistani POWs accused of war crimes was the central issue of postwar negotiations. And once again, Pakistani officials would have used this as justification for their decision to withhold names of some Indian POWs from the list they handed over to the Red Cross after the war.
10 April 1974 India, Bangladesh and Pakistan End Prisoner Dispute- – New York Times Author’s Comments:This is the moment the fate of the missing Indian POWs was sealed. Indian officials did not have any leverage for negotiating their release after this point.
1 May 1974 India Completes Return of Pakistani Prisoners- New York Times Author’s Comments:This was Pakistan’s opportunity to come clean. With all their POWs freed, they could have easily released the Indians they had held back. Unfortunately, they chose not to, as the following events make clear.
7 December 1974
First letter from Major Ashok Suri to his father, R.S. Suri Text on slip: ‘I am okay here’ Text on note: ‘Sahib, valaikumsalam. I cannot meet you in person. Your son is alive and he is in Pakistan. I could only bring this slip, which I am sending you. Now going back to Pak.
-M Abdul Hamid.’
Author’s Comments:At least one honourable Pakistani citizen named M. Abdul Hamid (likely an alias) believed that it was wrong for Pakistan to keep holding Indian POWs after India had returned all remaining Pakistani POWs earlier that year.
13 June 1975
Second letter from Major Ashok Suri to his father, R.S. Suri ‘Dear Daddy. Ashok touches thy feet to get a benediction. I am quite OK here. Please try to contact Indian Army or Govt of India about us. We are 20 officers here. Don’t worry about me. Pay my regards to everybody at home, especially mummy, grandfather. Indian Govt can contact Pakistan Govt for our freedom. Your loving son.
-A.Kumar Suri
Author’s Comments:Clear proof that at least twenty Indian military officers were being detained in Pakistan after India had released all Pakistani POWs. It is also interesting to note that the letter originated in Karachi, and not some city in the hinterland of Pakistan, where it would have been easier to keep the POWs hidden. Sometime between 1972 and 1974, Inspector General of the Border Security Force Ashwini Kumar had learnt from his contacts in Pakistan that some Indian POWs were being detained secretly, outside the purview of Red Cross officials, in prisons on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Why would Pakistani officials shift them from a remote location on the Afghan border to Karachi which lies on the Arabian Sea coast? Were they trying to ship the men out of the country by sea?
1976-77- At least three Indian POWs transferred by sea from Pakistan to Oman
12 April 1979– The Government of India releases a list of names of Indian military personnel still believed to be in Pakistani custody. Included in the list is Captain Kamal Bakshi.
1980 onwards- Several civilian prisoners repatriated to India mention meeting or seeing or hearing about Indian Army POWs in prisons across Pakistan.
5 July 1988- Mukhtiar Singh, a civilian prisoner repatriated to India on 5 July 1988, claims to have seen Captain Kamal Bakshi in prison in Pakistan.
23 September 2012- Television news report about the existence of an Indian POW in a prison in Oman. Sepoy Jaspal Singh told the carpenter that he and four other soldiers were imprisoned in Pakistan for five or six years before being transferred to Oman by sea. That means Jaspal and his companions were shipped to Oman in 1976 or 1977.
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Get your copy of Nowhere Man by Shivalik Bakshi wherever books are sold.
