Get ready to be inspired by the exciting journeys of Hersh Haladkar and Raghunath Mashelkar as we uncover the birth of the groundbreaking philosophy of ‘Exprovement’ and its extraordinary potential for personal growth and success. From a childhood fascination with dismantling toys and making surprising connections to profound classroom experiences, unveil the immense potential of drawing parallels that transform into extraordinary results.
Read these captivating stories that offer a glimpse into the author’s mind and gain valuable insights.
Exprovement || Hersh Haladker, RA Mashelkar
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When I was a child, I was in the habit of taking apart everything I could lay my hands on to examine what was inside.
More often than not, the object of my investigations was a new toy I had been given. So in general, I never really had a lot of toys to play with; just plenty of parts of toys. I distinctly remember a particular incident when I was about ten years old, and my parents—after much pestering and convincing—had finally bought me the expensive remote control toy car I had been eyeing for a while.
Much to their exasperation, this toy became the next victim of my investigations, and try as hard as I could, I simply could not put the toy back together again, once I realized how annoyed they were. Needless to say, the atmosphere at home was tense, and I couldn’t wait to escape to school the next day where (probably as a subconscious attempt to appease my parents) I paid extra attention in each and every class.
When I returned from school, I was excited to see a carpenter at home working on a remodelling project in the kitchen—a carpenter at home meant more tools for me to play with! It was my first introduction to a drill (the manual, not the motorized version) and of course, I had to experiment. While I was drilling a hole through every centimetre mark of my wooden ruler, wondering what to do with it once I had finished, I suddenly remembered the new gadget we had been taught about earlier that day in geometry class at school.
Like the teeth of gears suddenly falling into place perfectly, I was able, in a lightbulb moment, to see a connection between my broken toy car and the compass I had learnt about at school. I rushed to find the motor from my broken car, inserted the shaft of the motor into the ‘0 cm’ hole I had drilled and put it through a piece of paper. I switched on the motor, and my invention was able to automatically draw a circle. Next, I moved it to the ‘1 cm’ hole and drew another automated circle.
I was over the moon! I had just invented the next big thing—I had just automated the compass. That was my first-ever invention, and it drove me to continue the breaking, and in some cases, the making of things. It was only much later in life, on introspection, that I was able to identify my thought process as one of drawing parallels. I had been able to draw a parallel between something from my geometry class and something from my remote-controlled car to create, what was for a grade five student, a new and exponentially improved way of drawing a circle. I had created the electric compass, one of my first personal exprovements.
As I began my professional life, one of the questions born out of this thought process was:
What if parallels could be drawn between the seemingly unrelated to create unparalleled breakthroughs?’
—Hersh Haladkar
There are some ‘wow’ moments that change the course of one’s life. I had one such moment as a young boy in a school. Here is the story.
I was born in a poor family. I did my primary schooling in a municipal school until the seventh standard.
I then had to take admission in a secondary school. My mother could not gather the admission fee for a secondary school in time. I missed the admissions for the top schools in the area. I went to the school where most of the resource-poor children from our area went. But that poor school had rich teachers. One of them was my physics teacher, Mr Narahari Bhave. He did not believe in ‘chalk and talk’ but in seeing, experiencing and learning.
One day he wanted to show us how to find the focal length of a convex lens. He took us out into the sun. He held the lens in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. He moved the lens up and down, and when the brightest spot appeared on the piece of paper, he said the distance between the lens and the paper was the focal length. Then he waited for a few seconds and the paper burnt. When that happened, for some reason, he turned to me and said, ‘If you can focus your energies like this, you can burn anything, you can achieve anything’. This magical moment did two things for me. First, I said to myself, ‘Science is so powerful—I have to become a scientist.’
Second, it gave me the philosophy of my life—focus, and you can achieve great things.
But as I grew older, I saw a much greater meaning in that experiment. The sun’s rays are parallel and the property of parallel lines is that they never meet. The convex lens makes them converge and meet. That gave me the idea for what I termed as ‘convex lens leadership’, which makes people with divergent views and beliefs meet. Take national leadership, for instance. The nation gets divided on the basis of race, religion, language. A good national leader brings these diverse groups together. I used this analogy while leading research institutions.
The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) had different divisions, unconnected to each other, like parallel lines. As director of NCL, I provided convex lens leadership to create ‘One NCL’, ‘Team NCL’. I was director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a chain of forty laboratories, again unconnected to each other, like parallel lines. I provided convex lens leadership to create ‘One CSIR’, ‘Team CSIR’. In fact, the result of this convex lens leadership was so powerful that the CSIR transformation in the 1990s was ranked as being among the top ten achievements of Indian science and technology in the twentieth century.
While engaged in convex lens leadership, my own scientific research led me to explore trans-disciplinary frontiers and has continued to do so for almost four decades. In fact, I brought together several diverse disciplines in my research on stimuli-responsive polymers. When I was invited to give the Danckwerts Memorial oration in London in 1995, I spoke on the emerging paradigm of seamless or borderless engineering science, emphasizing the need to create engineers with borderless minds.
Later, I extended this parallel lines analogy to ideas from diverse domains, which appear completely unrelated, and therefore are like parallel lines. But a ‘convex lens mindset’ makes them converge. And sometimes the result is an astonishing 1+1=11, not just 1+1=2!
In this book, we have focused on the challenge of building a convex lens mindset, which is capable of bringing together the parallel, connecting the seemingly unconnectable. We show how such a convex lens mindset creates the magic of exprovement, going well beyond incremental improvement.
—Raghunath Mashelkar
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Want to know more? Get your copy of Exprovement today!
On this International Translation Day, explore the rich tapestry of Indian literature as we take you on an adventure through these must-read translations that cover the length and breadth of the country.
Immerse yourself in the vivid hues of regional literature as these translated works offer a glimpse into the soul of India, serving as gateway to diverse cultures, unexplored landscapes and untold stories. Together let’s embark on a literary odyssey as we unravel the power of Indian Languages brought to the centre stage in the universal language of English.
The Roof Beneath Their Feet || Geetanjali Shree, Rahul Soni
In The Roof Beneath their Feet, Chachcho and Lalna use their roofs to build a friendship that transcends time and memory. Suddenly one day, Lalna has to leave, to return only after Chachcho’s passing. Amidst rumors and gossip in the neighborhood, Chachcho’s nephew tries to piece together his memories of the two women, one of whom is his mother. The truth he is searching for could destroy him forever, but to not find out is no longer an option. A story of twists and turns, The Roof Beneath Their Feet, translated from the original Hindi by Rahul Soni, is easily one of the best contemporary novels you have read in a long time.
The Empty Space || Geetanjali Shree, Nivedita Menon
A bomb explodes in a university cafe, claiming the lives of nineteen students. The Empty Space begins with the identification of those nineteen dead. The mother who enters the cafe last to identify the nineteenth body brings home her dead eighteen-year-old son packed in a box, as well as the of the sole survivor e blast, a three-year-old boy who, by a strange quirk of fate, is found lying in a small empty space, alive and breathing. The Empty Space chronicles the memories of the boy gone, the story of the boy brought home, and the
cataclysmic crossing of life and death.
Black Soil || Ponneelan, Translated by J. Priyadarshini
Kannappan is posted to Perumalpuram as the new schoolteacher. The village lies in the black soil region of Tamil Nadu where the river Tamirabarani flows. He’s an outsider in this village with Veerayyan, a local farmer, as his only guide and friend.
Once settled in his role, Kannappan observes the everyday brutality faced by the farmers at the hands of the sadistic, all-powerful landlord-the Master. Child marriage is common in the village and so is the appalling practice of marrying young lads to older women who then serve as their father-in-law’s consort. Through his gentle yet probing conversations with the villagers, Kannappan tries his best to show the villagers a better way of life. The farmers who had begun protesting the excesses meted out to them by the upper-caste landlord soon find an ally in Kannappan. The schoolteacher’s sympathies for their cause bolster their waning spirits and replenishes their resolve to fight back.
Ponneelan’s first novel is a tour de force. Now translated for the first time, Black Soil lays bare the atrocities faced by the farmers and the human cost of building a better tomorrow.
The Nitopadesha || Nitin Pai
The Nitopadesha is a labyrinth of stories in the style of the Panchatantra and the Jataka tales, this is a book about good citizenship and citizen-craft that will speak to the modern reader. Covering aspects such as what citizenship means, the ethical dilemmas one faces as a citizen and how one can deal with social issues, Nitin Pai’s absorbing translation is an essential read for conscientious citizens of all ages.
Dattapaharam || V.J. James, Translated by Ministhy S.
Dattapaharam is a powerhouse of a novel by the critically acclaimed and bestselling Malayalam author V.J. James. A rumination on solitude, man’s connection with nature and the strings that attach us to this world, this is a surreal novel where the author’s imagination soars like an eagle and words flow like the untouched springs in a rainforest. At times a fable on the modern world, at times a search for identity amid a quest of discovery, and on the whole a moving tale that takes the reader deep into the forests to understand what really makes us human, Dattapaharam is a powerful novel for our anthropocentric age, written by one of the most exciting voices to emerge from the Indian subcontinent.
Fruits of the Barren Tree || Lekhnath Chhetri, Translated by Anurag Basnet
Darjeeling, late 1980s. The demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland has taken a violent turn. The Green Party is at war with the Red Party-and with the state’s security forces. Murder, loot, terror and arson beset the Himalayan foothills. Fruits of the Barren Tree is a story of that time, and of Relling, a small village near Darjeeling. In Relling there’s Basnet, the village shaman, and his wife; there’s Jhuppay, their son-incorrigible thief, truant and amateur drunk; and also Nimma, Jhuppay’s great love, whose only desire in life is that he take the path of virtue. There’s Chyaatar too, former army man, now a militia commander in the Green Party, who rules the village with an iron hand. Ever the miscreant, nothing Jhuppay does can win Nimma’s heart. But when the Red Party hires his loudspeaker for a meeting-the first innocent, honest job of his life-it sets Jhuppay, Nimma and Chyaatar on a murderous course that fate itself cannot derail.
My Poems Are Not for your Ad Campaign || Aruni Kashyap, Translated by Anuradha Sarma Pujari
In a recently liberated economy characterized by speed, the commodification of women’s bodies and consumerist culture, Bhashwati is an increasingly disillusioned misfit who has, ironically, just started working in an advertising firm. But her life changes one day when she finds out about the mysterious Mohua Roy, a former copywriter with the company, whose desk Bhashwati now uses. The company employees remain tight-lipped about Mohua, who had left abruptly for reasons unknown. On finding a poem written by Mohua, Bhashwati decides to search for her. This takes Bhashwati to Calcutta’s lanes, where she meets people who sacrificed immensely for the same values that she finds eroded in a developing India. Who is Mohua Roy? Why is there a net of silence around her very existence? Will Bhashwati find Mohua? Will she leave her job, just like Mohua?
Hriday Ek Bigyapan, first published in Assamese in 1997, was an instant bestseller, going into tens of reprints in the next two decades. By taking a close look at the newly globalized India of the 1990s from a feminist lens, it poses questions about modern urban life that few Indian novels have been able to-questions that are still relevant today. Aruni Kashyap’s seamless translation from the Assamese makes this book a must-read.
Oblivion and Other Stories || Gopinath Mohanty
Oblivion and Other Stories is an anthology of twenty short stories by Gopinath Mohanty, the doyen of Oriya (now Odia) literature. The stories, written across a half-century (1935-1988), sample his oeuvre of writings and the variety of his themes-from ‘Dã’ (mid-1930s) to ‘Oblivion’ (1951) to ‘The Upper Crust’ (1967) to ‘Lustre’ (1971) and ‘Festival Day’ (1985).
Originally written in Oriya by the Padma Bhushan awardee, these have now been translated for the first time into English and recreate the social life of mid-twentieth century India.
Tirukkural || Meena Kandasamy, Tiruvalluvar
Written by the poet Thiruvalluvar, the Kamattu-p-pal is the third part of the Tirukkural – one of the most important texts in Tamil literature. The most intimate section of this great work – it is also, historically, the part that has been most heavily censored. Although hundreds of male translations of the text have been published, it has also only ever been translated by a woman once before. Tirukkural is award-winning writer Meena Kandasamy’s luminous translation of the Kamattu-p-pal.
Fear and Other Stories || Dalpat Chauhan, Hemang Ashwinkumar
Fear and Other Stories is a reminder of the inherent dangers of the Dalit life, a life subjected to unimaginable violence and terror even in its most mundane moments. In this collection of short stories, veteran Gujarati writer Dalpat Chauhan narrates these lived experiences of exasperation and anger with startling vividity. His characters chronicle a deep history of resistance, interrogating historical, mythological and literary legends, foregrounding the perspectives of the disenfranchised.
Subversive Whispers || Devika J., Manasi
Manasi is a stalwart of Malayalam literature. With her unparalleled feminist writing and powerful voice, she has mastered the art of telling radical short stories. Through Subversive Whispers, a collection of some of her best
work, she continues to defy patriarchy, question Brahminical hegemony and push narratives that subtly yet fervently challenge the status quo. The book introduces readers to the irreverent ‘Sheelavathi’, which explores the Madonna-Whore complex in a uniquely local context, ‘Devi Mahathmyam’, which sheds light on the price that women pay for being goddesses in mere name and stories such as ‘Spelling Mistakes’, ‘Square Shapes’ and ‘The Walls’, all of which explore romantic love with a piercing realism.
Susanna’s Granthapura || Ajai P. Mangattu, Catherine Thankamma
First published in Malayalam in 2019, Susanna’s Granthapura is Ajai Mangattu’s uniquely crafted novel that celebrates the strong bonds that form between people who share a love of reading and of books.
Burning Roses in My Garden || Taslima Nasrin, Jesse Waters
‘Have I not, having kept a man for years, learnt that it’s/ like raising a snake?/ So many animals on this earth, why keep a man of all things?’ writes one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Taslima Nasrin, in her first-ever comprehensive collection of poetry translated from the original Bangla into English. The poems get to the heart of being the other in exile, justifying one’s place in a terrifying world. They praise the comfort and critique the cruelty of a loved one. In these are loneliness, sorrow, and at times, exaltation. Relying almost entirely upon the free verse form, these poems carry a diction which is at once both gentle and fierce, revealing the experiences of one woman while defining the existence of so many generations of women throughout time, and around the world.
Naulakhi Kothi || Ali Akbar Natiq, Naima Rashid
Ali Akbar Natiq’s epic saga, Naulakhi Kothi, is an insightful portrayal of the zeitgeist of the times. The sweeping narrative begins in the years leading up to Partition and goes on till the eighties.
Translated by Naima Rashid, it is one of the most important novels of the twenty-first century.
A Bird on My Windowsill || Manav Kaul
Known for writing silences and articulating dreams, in this book Manav sifts through the past, delves into the present and talks about all the creative impulses, writing, directing theatre and acting that have made him who he is. Through his poetry and prose, he creates vignettes of his life, a long-lost love, his interactions with people as he travels, his favourite authors and their writings, almost as if he’s trying to weave a world for the reader as well.
Beautifully symbolic, this book is a rich tapestry of thoughts and feelings, of todays and tomorrows, of being alone and seeking loneliness.
Sakina’s Kiss || Vivek Shanbhag/translated by Srinath Perur
Exquisitely translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur, Sakina’s Kiss is a delicate, precise meditation on the persistence of old biases—and a rattled masculinity—in India’s changing social and political landscape. Ingeniously crafted, Vivek Shanbhag interrogates the space between truth and perception in this unforgettable foray into the minefield of family life.
A House of Rain and Snow || Srijato (Maharghya Chakraborty tr)
In this entirely strange, magical and leisurely course of life swirling all around Pushkar, there is but one entity with whom he shares all his secrets. A milkwood tree, a chatim is privy to everything in his life. And so time moves on, leading him to eventually confront a truly secret equation of life—the change made possible by the transformative power of love.
A House of Rain and Snow is a testament to an era, a witness to an astounding journey of a young poet.
Triveni || Gulzar; Neha R. Krishna
A form Gulzar began experimenting with in the 1960s, Triveni comes close to several classical Japanese forms of poetry such as the Haiku, Senryu and Tanka. The closest Indian forms to Triveni are the doha and shayari. In this stunning translation by Neha R. Krishna, Triveni have been transcreated as tanka and are ladled with musicality, breaking away from the charm of rhyme and metre. This collection, too, is a confluence or sangam of forms and nothing short of a gift from one of India’s most beloved poets.
Varavara Rao || Ed. N. Venugopal and Meena Kandasamy
Varavara Rao: A Life in Poetry is the first-ever collection in English of poems by the Telugu poet, selected and translated from sixteen books that he has published. Having begun to write poetry in his early teens, Varavara Rao, now in his early eighties, continues to be a doyen of Telugu modern poets.
Feeling Kerala || J Devika
Feeling Kerala, a selection of some of the best and sharpest narratives from the region is now translated and curated for English readers to love and cherish.
While staying true to its literary form, these stories provide a tour into the heart and soul of contemporary Kerala and aim at getting past the twentieth-century characterizations of the state, say, as defined by communist egalitarian spirit or matrilineal families. After all, Kerala is unique in more ways than one, thanks to the heightened experience of migration and transnationalism, among other things.
One Among You || M.K. Stalin (Translator: A.S. Panneerselvan)
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 || 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.
Simsim || Geet Chaturvedi
Poignantly written by Geet Chaturvedi, a major Hindi writer, and beautifully translated by Anita Gopalan, Simsim is a struggle between memory, imagination, and reality- an exquisitely crafted book that fuses the voices of remarkable yet relatable characters to weave a tale of seeking happiness, fulfilling passion, and reconciling with loss. Simsim is charming, and wonderfully original.
Anthill || Vinoy Thomas
Anthill, a robust translation of the award-winning novel Puttu and with a cast of over 200 characters, tells the story of a people who have tried to shed the shackles of family, religion and other restraining institutions, but eventually also struggle to conform to the needs of a cultured society.
Written with disarming honesty and biting humour, Anthill is ultimately a story that questions the veneer of respectability people try to put up in their lives.
Lata Mangeshkar A Life in Music || Yatindra Mishra, translated by Ira Pandey
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.
Welcome to the world of Osho, a spiritual teacher whose wisdom and unconventional approach to life have inspired countless individuals on their spiritual journeys. Whether you are an avid follower or a curious seeker, these five must-read books by Osho offer practical guidance, and transformative perspectives that will deepen your understanding of spirituality and enrich your path to self-discovery.
So grab a comfortable spot, open your heart, and set off on a spiritual voyage guided by Osho and his profound teachings.
The Perfect Way | Osho
‘When there are no thoughts, it is then that we come to know the one hidden by our thoughts. When there are no clouds, the blue sky is revealed. My friends, there is a sky within you as well’ – Osho
In The Perfect Way, Osho answers fundamental questions about what meditation is and how we can begin and sustain it in our lives. He does this with precision, thoroughness, humour and compassion. Here is someone who knows, but who also knows how to convey what he knows. His genius in full flight, he points us as far as one can with words towards the inner world of the self, towards the zone of silence.
The Rebellious Spirit || Osho
The rebel is one who lives according to his own light, moves according to his own intelligence. He creates his path by walking on it’ Osho
We have all heard of rebels, those freelancers that don’t care about anyone else but themselves . . . But what if we were all to spend a little more time doing exactly that? It might just be that we can begin to respond to what is happening in the world with a heartfelt need to change ourselves.
In The Rebellious Spirit, Osho speaks to the spirit that lies hidden beneath our social conditioning, fanning a flame strong enough to burn through layers of rubbish, so that we can see with the crystal-clear gaze of an enlightened being. This is a book that will entice you, tickle your being with laughter, and give you the courage to be yourself in today’s world.
Yoga The Path To Liberation || Osho
According to Osho, life is nothing but an expression of silence. We come out of silence, but then lose our way. In order to experience this silence again and attain liberation, we need to rediscover the path back to our pure being. The key is simple: we must not identify with our bodies and minds, as all identification is outwards, and we are going on an inner journey. Osho emphasizes, as always, the importance of combining intelligence, awareness and humour on this journey.
Yoga The Science of Living || Osho
A compilation of Osho’s talks, Yoga: The Science of Living is not merely a commentary on Patanjali’s ancient treatise. It is enriched with insights from Osho’s own awakened consciousness and defies the traditional norms of spirituality. Osho punctuates the voyage of self-discovery with an irreverent sense of humour as he answers the questions from various people, keen to discover themselves with refreshing candour. Insightful and profound, this book is an invaluable guide for those looking for inner balance and peace.
And Now And Here || Osho
Most of us look for security in our relationships and in our choice of living and working conditions. Underlying this search for security is a deep, instinctive fear of death, which continually colours our lives and drives our focus outward, toward survival.
But we also have a longing to turn inward, to relax deeply within ourselves, and experience the sense of freedom and expansion this brings. With And Now And Here the reader can start an exploration of his or her inner world.
Osho debunks the myths and misunderstandings around death and invites us to experience our eternal inner space that is now and here.
As we’ve crossed the halfway mark of the year, it is the perfect time to reflect on our goals and prioritize self-care for a healthy lifestyle. And we’ve come to your rescue! This handpicked selection of health and wellness books will equip you with the knowledge and tools to optimize your well-being, allowing you to navigate the challenges and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead.
Check out these books to unlock a healthier, more fulfilling future for the remainder of 2023!
Small Wins Everyday|| Luke Coutinho
In Small Wins Every Day, Luke Coutinho presents a simple premise with powerful results, teaching you to rewire your brain for success. The hack? Break down your goals into small wins that you can achieve every day. Stacked over time, these contribute to significant lifestyle changes, good health and happiness.
Simple and bite-sized but packed with a punch, here are 100 wins to change your life.
Hacking Health || Mukesh Bansal
In Hacking Health, Mukesh Bansal takes on the mammoth task of demystifying the science, simplifying the research and tracing the story of our relationship with our body. Through a combination of personal experience and cutting-edge science, this is a book that draws from ancient wisdom and also debunks unscientific myths to help you make smart choices in pursuit of good health. From nutrition and fitness to sleep and immunity, weight management and mental health to ageing and longevity, this book delves into the breadth and depth of holistic health and helps you navigate the lines between science and pseudoscience.
7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body for Greater Well-Being
7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body for Greater Well-Being is the simple but practical guide you need to read to get that control back. Written by the most admired and respected Dr Hansaji Yogendra of The Yoga Institute, this step-by-step guide explains the importance of creating and maintaining balance in all aspects of your life.
In an anecdotal and friendly way, Dr Hansaji delineates the practices and the thought processes you need to develop and the changes you need to make to put life in perspective for you. Whether it is getting a
good night’s sleep or eating healthy or dealing with the office stress, she helps you sort out each aspect with her great insight.
Dr Mathai’s ABC to Health || Issac Mathai
Dr Mathai’s ABC to Good Health tells you why you must not postpone all those good habits of staying healthy and what could happen to you if you ignore your fitness quotient. It tells you why you must not press the panic button only when you fall sick but practise wellness every single day to build a solid immunity and stay away from the common cold, fever and many everyday ailments.
The book gives you simple tips to practise daily wellness by way of eating right, sleeping enough and staying positive at all times. It gives you the health benefits of practising wellness from A to Z, ranging from fruits and nuts to vegetables and even activities that can make you feel like a rock star every single morning when you wake up. It is wellness today and every single day.
25 Small Habits || Manoj Chenthamarakshan
We all know that our habits shape our lives, but when we try to incorporate a new habit into our lifestyle, we understand how difficult it can get. Most people fail to retain a new habit past the first week. This book doesn’t teach you how to develop habits; instead, it offers you a set of twenty-five small habits that take very little time and can be held on to without much effort.
25 Small Habits is designed to give you holistic growth in terms of self-development, community, career, relationship, and physical and mental health. You can choose the habits that you are able to fit into your daily schedule.
Energize Your Mind || Gaur Gopal Das
In Energize Your Mind, bestselling author and life coach Gaur Gopal Das decodes how the mind works. He combines his anecdotal style with analytical research to teach us how to discipline our mind for our greater well-being. Throughout this book, he provides interactive exercises, meditation techniques and worksheets to help us take charge of our mind.
This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to work towards a better, more fulfilling future for themselves.
Discover an extraordinary tale of resilience and injustice with Lost to the World by Shahbaz Taseer. In this gripping memoir, Taseer recounts his shocking encounters of being wrongfully accused by the FBI, enduring racial profiling, and the unimaginable ordeal of being held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years.
Dive into this powerful narrative and witness the author’s unwavering spirit that emerges in the face of adversity.
Lost To The World || Shahbaz Taseer
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In 2010, about a year before I was kidnapped, I took my wife on a long-planned trip to California. Overall, it was a wonderful, if slightly exhausting, trip.
The journey from California to Lahore is an especially long haul, almost twenty-four grueling hours in total flight time. We arrived at SFO airport and boarded our plane to New York. The flight was delayed and delayed further. We sat with our fellow passengers, restless and waiting for updates. I tried to settle in and catch some sleep.
FBI agents boarded the aircraft, arrested the two of us, and took us off the plane.
It’s hard to express just how humiliating it is to be led in handcuffs off a plane full of strangers, all of whom assume you are criminals, terrorists, or worse. I’ll always be grateful for one sympathetic young college kid who stood up and started making a video on his smartphone and telling the officers this was an injustice, that we were being racially profiled. He was right. There was no other explanation for it.
They pushed my wife and me into separate cars. I could see Maheen sitting in the back seat of her car, looking confused, outraged, and worried. I tried to mouth some words to her to reassure her, so she wouldn’t feel anxious. But the agents saw us trying to communicate, so they repositioned the cars so we could no longer see each other.
Meanwhile, the remaining passengers were being evacuated. The FBI agent informed us that someone had made an anonymous call about the flight, claiming a bomb threat. By now, a bomb disposal unit had arrived on the tarmac and was boarding the plane with dogs to search the cabin. As far as Maheen and I knew, there might well have been a bomb on board, a terrifying prospect. We also knew for sure that we weren’t responsible for it. Watching all this unfold, both Maheen and I had the same thoughts, in our separate vehicles. Apparently, everyone thinks we were going to blow up this plane. And now they have left us here, parked under the wing, while they search for a bomb. If there is a bomb on board, and it goes off, we’ll not only explode along with the plane, but we’ll forever be blamed for being the ones who planted it. They’d say, “We got the right people. They were guilty all along.”
Maheen and I sat on the tarmac for another hour or so, before the agents finally drove us to the terminal. Again, we were kept separate—I was led to one room while my wife was taken to another; we weren’t given a chance to speak. After sitting in the plane for hours, then on the tarmac, I was beyond embarrassed—I was outraged.
When I reached the small interrogation room, two agents greeted me and pulled the good-cop / bad-cop routine on me. It was like a scene out of Lethal Weapon. The bad cop barked, “Do you know why you’re here?”
“Not really. But I did see a bomb disposal unit.”
“You’re here because we suspect you tried to hijack and bomb that plane. And we’re checking your bags right now for bombs and ammunition.”
“The only thing inside my bag that’s even slightly suspicious is an iPad that I just bought. And it’s still in the plastic wrap. So, if you open it and find a bomb inside, that’s Apple’s fault, not mine.
I answered all of their questions honestly and forthrightly, but I didn’t react with anything like calm or poise. My anger at being singled out like this—at being hauled from our flight in handcuffs because someone thought a Pakistani man in a Lakers jersey and his wife wearing a beanie must obviously be a couple of terrorists—spilled over. Ever since 9/11, if you fly internationally on a Pakistani passport, you can expect undue attention. You will be pulled “randomly” from lines for extra security screening and be subjected to rigorous questioning by anyone whose job is guarding a border. Still, I’d always thought of myself as westernized, I fit right in. I was Shabby T!
I went to an American school. I listened to American music. I could recite whole Jay-Z albums from memory. My favorite junk food is McDonald’s. There’s nothing quite like twenty pieces of McNuggets.
None of this mattered to the agents questioning me or to the people who’d profiled us and made that call. To them, I was a Pakistani, and that meant a terrorist. We’d come for a relaxing vacation and now we were each stuck in a windowless room, defending ourselves against charges of terrorism.
At one point, frustrated, I may have pulled the “Do you know who I am?” card.
They did not know.
“My father is Salmaan Taseer. He’s the serving governor of Punjab province. Right now, Senator John Kerry is with my father distributing flood relief aid in Pakistan. Hillary Clinton has been to the governor’s house for tea.”
Lest I forget to mention, being the governor’s son, I was entitled to an official passport, known as the blue passport.
Slowly, I could see it dawn on both the good cop and the bad cop that they’d gotten it horribly wrong. It’s one thing to pull a random person off a commercial aircraft and label him a terrorist. It’s another when that person’s father is a high-serving official known to the U.S. secretary of state.
Their whole tone changed. They began damage control. They apologized for the mix-up. My wife and I were reunited; she was equally traumatized.
To compensate for their behavior, the agents picked up our suitcases and led us through an empty luggage hall toward the exit doors. On one level, I understood they were simply doing their jobs, protecting innocent people from real threats. I also accepted that this was a new reality. It evoked mixed feelings of not only anger and resentment but also sadness that the world, as we knew it, had descended into such a dark place where racial profiling had been legalized.
As we were leaving, an agent stopped us and said, “By the way, you guys might get these media people coming at you. Just ignore them. Let that go. Just go home safely!”
My friend Harris and his father met us outside the terminal. Harris’s dad was sympathetic, comforting us as he helped us into the car. Harris, meanwhile, was insisting that he knew a good lawyer if we wanted to sue. Then my phone rang.
It was my father calling, deeply concerned. “I just heard the news, are you okay?”
I was rattled and much shaken, but I didn’t convey that to my father, who always said I was the most stoic person he knew.
Despite all this, my bubble of privilege was more or less intact. I had my family, my home, my work, my life. I thought nothing could shake those fundamental truths.
I was wrong about that too. Even before I was kidnapped, life had one more unfortunate awakening for me
***
Get your copy of Lost to the World by Shahbaz Taseer from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon
Step into the gripping and mysterious realm of the Mistress of Bhatia House by Award-winning author Sujata Massey. This spellbinding novel will take you to a world where traditions collide with modernity, power dynamics simmer beneath the surface, and the allure of forbidden love threatens to disrupt what is left in the life of Solicitor Perveen Mistry.
Get ready to lose yourself in the powerful story-telling and richly drawn characters of The Mistress of Bhatia House as Perveen sets off on an investigation that takes her through the evocative streets of old Bombay in search of the truth.
The Mistress of Bhatia House || Sujata Massey
***
Perveen felt that getting past Mangala Bhatia had been like running the proverbial gauntlet. No matter what she’d said,
it seemed to peeve the woman. But she’d made it into a beautiful stone courtyard half-filled with ladies dressed in pastel-colored summer saris. Many were in shades of pink—quite pretty, but confusing as she started her search for Uma Bhatia.
And soon it would be too late to catch the hostess, as everyone would be sitting down for the presentation. Thin mattresses had been spread across the ground for seating, and in front of them stood short-footed wooden trays. Each tray held a banana-leaf platter, a copper tumbler for water, and a shockingly simple clay teacup. Western-style porcelain, silver, and furniture were in high use amongst Bombay society, so Perveen found this departure an unexpected and very charming setup.
Perveen scanned the courtyard. She’d never been in Ghatkopar before, and she guessed that many of the guests were local. The charitable hospital Uma Bhatia was founding would be built inside Bombay, so Perveen had expected to see some familiar faces. Yet the only woman she recognized was Lady Gwendolyn Hobson-Jones, the prickly mother of Perveen’s best friend, Alice.
Lady Hobson-Jones turned from chatting with one friend to the next, and her cool blue gaze swept the crowd. Perveen smiled and began walking toward her, but Lady Hobson-Jones did not return the greeting. Instead, the doyenne of British Bombay took the arm of the full-figured brunette next to her and motioned for a third woman—this one a slender blonde in her thirties—to step closer. Now all three ladies’ backs were toward Perveen.
Perveen stood still, wondering if Lady Hobson-Jones had snubbed her. Was this what the British called “cutting someone dead”?
Perveen could never admit to being fond of Alice’s mother, but they had always chatted and smiled their way through encounters. Irritation rising, Perveen walked in the opposite direction, resolved that she would complete the mission of locating Uma Bhatia.
Amid the numerous women wearing pinks that ranged from the palest blush to brilliant fuchsia, Perveen finally settled on someone who seemed likely to be the chair of the women’s hospital committee. She appeared to be in her midtwenties and wore an expensive-looking rose silk crepe floral sari. Hanging from her neck was a black-and-gold beaded wedding necklace with a floral pendant made up of many small diamonds.
Striving to appear casual, Perveen approached the woman and her social group, who were gathered around a tall woman in a blue-and-white flowered silk sari. This lady, who had a striking, strong-boned face, wore her hair tightly coiled in a bun. Instead of carrying a cloth purse, she’d nestled a large leather bag under her left arm.
“We must make our hospital welcoming to all,” the tall woman was saying in fluent Marathi, the language spoken by most people born and raised in Bombay and the surrounding countryside. “Even the hospital sentries could be women. Of course, we will have female nurses, but we need more women physicians. I’ll do my best to recruit, but I hope that you’ll encourage your daughters to enroll in medical college.”
The woman in pink glanced at the others, then spoke in a decorous tone. “Dr. Penkar, we admire you for receiving your advanced and useful education. But medical college is too expensive for most of us.”
Hearing the surname, Perveen realized the tall woman had to be Dr. Miriam Penkar, the city’s only Indian female obstetrician-gynecologist. It seemed quite a coup for the fledgling hospital to have her on board.
“The girls can study in India!” The doctor gave her a wide smile. “We are fortunate that the Lady Hardinge Medical College has opened in Delhi. One of our committee members at this gathering, Mrs. Serena Prescott, was even involved in their fundraising. She can help your daughters.”
Skeptical glances flickered between a few women, as if they didn’t believe that an Englishwoman would assist them—or that they could send a daughter as far away as Delhi.
“It’s a grand idea. But first, let’s get the hospital built. By the time the roof goes on, lady doctors may be plentiful.” Uma spoke pleasantly, turning from the crowd to take notice of Perveen. Switching to English, she said, “Good afternoon! Are you a new supporter?” She looked Perveen over, clearly noting the legal briefcase, a cousin to Dr. Penkar’s medical kit.
It was a relief to be invited into a group. Smiling warmly, Perveen answered, “My sister-in-law, Gulnaz Mistry, asked me to bring her best wishes. My name is Perveen Mistry.”
“The solicitor?” blurted Dr. Penkar. “I’ve heard tales of you.”
***
Intrigued to know more? Get your copy of The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon
Get ready to embark on a rainy-day adventure with our delightful July releases. Let the monsoon magic unfold as you dive into this collection of captivating reads for children of all ages.
Take a look!
Magic in Marble : Building the Taj with Attaullah and Saving the Taj with Aradya || Ulta-Pulta series, INTACH
SIDE A Magic in Marble: Building the Taj with Attaullah
Attaullah has to leave his playmates and the beautiful trees of Lahore behind as he makes the tiring journey to Akbarabad on a camel cart. His abbu, a master architect, has been summoned there to help build the most extraordinary monument ever-the Taj Mahal. The mausoleum will immortalize the memory of Jahan Panah Shah Jahan’s beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. And Attaullah wants to be a part of history as it’s being created. But how?
SIDE B Magic in Marble: Saving the Taj with Aradya
Aradya has read everything she could find on the greatest monument ever built-the Taj Mahal. So, when her papa, a conservationist, invites her to join him on his quick work trip to Agra, she feels like she’s the luckiest girl in the whole, wide world. Her papa’s team is working on a project that will help preserve the Taj’s beauty and ensure its survival for future generations. And Aradya wants to help. But how?
Travelling across two timelines in history, this is an ulta-pulta book about two children whose paths collide in a mysteriously magical way.
The Letter to Lahore (Songs of Freedom Series)|| Tanu Shree Singh
Sarchi, 1921
When Dak Chacha comes to visit, Luxmi feels only joy and excitement. But this time, there is something dark underfoot-Chacha is worried and there are policemen coming to search their house.
Luxmi learns that both Dak Chacha and her mother are involved-in their own small ways-in the struggle for liberation from the unjust laws and practices that the British regime forces on all of them. This makes her determined to be part of it too. Even if that means undertaking a risky mission which no one else is able to do . . .
Postcard from the Lushai Brigade (Songs of Freedom Series) || Hannah Lalhlanpuii
Aizawl, 1942
The world that the young boy at the heart of this story is growing up in is filled with magic and the simple joys of life with his brother Kima. Even the British presence in the Lushai Hills, so resented by some, does not affect him, except as a source of interesting and different things and people.
But as the Japanese prepare to invade their land, Kima joins up with the British Indian Army, and the days of simple joy are over . . .
The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.
Inni and Bobo Head to School || Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmu
Bobo is a special puppy that little Inni has adopted. Bobo likes to help Inni get ready for school. He always checks if she has packed her lunch and water bottle.
And guess what? Bobo gets to go to school with Inni on a special day called ‘Bring Your Pet to School Day’! It’s the best Wednesday ever! Inni can’t wait to show her friends how wonderful Bobo is.
This endearing story, the third book in the Inni & Bobo series, delves into the everlasting bond between humans and pets. It will not only encourage children to show empathy and kindness towards animals but also teach them to open their hearts and homes to those in need.
Kolam Kanna || Vibha Batra
The exciting Kolam Kondattam Kontest is right around the corner. And Bharathi can’t wait to participate and show off, er, showcase his creative skills. Encouraged by his friends, Tabassum and Alagu, he registers for the contest (with a ‘k’).Alas, the Residents’ Welfare Association, led by the fearsome Mrs Subramaniam, won’t hear of it. The contest is open only to the residents of Pravin’s Paradiso Apartments. And while Bharathi hangs out at the apartments all the time, he’s not exactly-technically-actually a resident.
Now it’s up to Bharathi to hatch an ingenious plan. Will he be able to get around the rules, get past the building bullies and get a shot at his dream?
Get ready to cozy up with a steaming cup of tea as the monsoon showers create the perfect atmosphere for literary indulgence. And what better way to spend rainy afternoons than with a captivating book in hand? Explore our newest July releases that promise to be your perfect indoor companions all month long.
Fire Bird || Perumal Murugan, Janani Kannan
Fire Bird is a masterfully crafted tale of one man’s search for the elusive concept of permanence. Muthu has his world turned upside down when his father divides the family land, leaving him with practically nothing and causing irreparable damage to his family’s bonds. Through the unscrupulous actions of his once-revered eldest brother, Muthu is forced to leave his once-perfect world behind and seek out a new life for himself, his wife and his children.
Shadows at Noon || Joya Chatterji
Shadows at Noon is an ambitious synthesis of decades of research and scholarship which explores the key strands of South Asian history in the twentieth century with clarity and authority. Unlike other narrative histories of the subcontinent that concentrate exclusively on politics, here food, leisure and the household are given equal importance to discussions of nationhood, the development of the state and patterns of migration. Its purpose is to make contemporary South Asia intelligible to readers who are fascinated by the subcontinent’s cultural vibrancy and diversity but are often perplexed by its social and political make-up. And it illuminates the many aspects that its people have in common rather than what divides them.
Echoes from Forgotten Mountains || Jamyang Norbu
Jamyang Norbu has taken the stories of ‘forgotten’ Tibetans–resistance fighters, secret agents, soldiers, peasants, merchants, even street beggars–and skillfully worked their myriad accounts into a single glorious ‘memory history’ of the Tibetan struggle. He uses recollections from his own childhood to ease the reader into an immersive understanding of the complexity of Tibet’s modern history: the Chinese invasion, the uprisings in Kham and Amdo, the formation of the Four Rivers Six Ranges Resistance Force, the March ’59 Lhasa Uprising, the CIA supported Air Operations, the Nyemo peasant Uprising of 68/69 and the Mustang Guerilla Force in northern Nepal, where Norbu later served.
A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness || Jai Chakrabarti
The stories in A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness capture men and women struggling with transformation and familial bonds; they traverse the intersections of countries and cultures to illuminate what it means to love in uncertain times; and they showcase the skill of a storyteller who dazzles with the breadth of his vision.
Caste as a Social Capital || Prof. R Vaidyanathan
Caste as Social Capital examines the workings of caste through the lens of business, economics and entrepreneurship. It interrogates the role caste plays in the economic sphere in terms of facilitating the nuts and bolts of business and entrepreneurship: finance, markets and workforce. Through this qualitative view of caste, an entirely new picture emerges, which forces one to view the age-old institution of caste in a new light.
Back To Bharat || Nagaraja Prakasam
Written in an engaging and anecdotal style, Back to Bharat is enriched with case studies from Nagaraja’s investment career. It consolidates many observations and insights from the experience he has as a professional, investor, and mentor for entrepreneurs across the country. It strongly expresses the belief that India’s strengths are its people, problems, and technology (PPT). As it draws on real-life examples of struggle and success, the book illuminates many questions that are most relevant to our present dilemma, both in terms of economic development as well as environmental threats that compel us to look at more sustainable alternatives to patterns of production and consumption.
Court on Trial || Aparna Chandra, Sital Kalantry, William H.J. Hubbard
The Indian Supreme Court was established nearly seventy-five years ago as a core part of India’s constitutional project. Does the Court live up to the ideals of justice imagined by the framers of the Indian Constitution? Critics of the Supreme Court point out that it takes too long to adjudicate cases, a select group of senior advocates exercise disproportionate influence on the outcome of cases, the Chief Justice of India strategically assigns cases with an eye to outcome, and the self-appointments process-known as the collegium-is just another ‘old boy’s network’. Building on nearly a decade of original empirical research, Court Trail examines these and other controversies plaguing the Supreme Court today. The authors provide an overview of the Supreme Court and its processes which are often shrouded in mystery, and present data-driven suggestions for improving the effectiveness and integrity of the Court.
Play to Transform || Avinash Jhangiani
Play to Transform is a book that challenges the traditional mindset of business leaders and encourages them to tap into their inner child to accelerate transformation with purpose. The book argues that we are all born creative geniuses with an innate ability to empathize deeply with others, but somewhere along the way, we have lost touch with these qualities. In the post-pandemic world, leaders need to be more empathetic and agile than ever before, and a conscious shift in mindset is required to achieve this.
Attitude || Adam Ashton and Adam Jones
Attitude:The Sh*t They Never Taught You will take you on a journey through takeaways from over a hundred of the world’s greatest thinkers, capturing lessons in personal development, career, business, personal finance, human nature, history and philosophy. Every lesson will be useful, and one might change your life. Remember, it is your attitude, not aptitude, that determines your altitude in life.
India Rising || R. Chidambaram, Suresh Gangotra
India Rising looks at the life of one of India’s foremost scientists, Dr R. Chidambaram, who served as principal scientific advisor (PSA) to the Government of India and as chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) from November 2001 to March 2018. As one of India’s most distinguished experimental physicists, Dr Chidambaram has made outstanding contributions to many aspects of basic science and nuclear technology. Ruminating about his interactions with the scientific community and the political leadership, Dr Chidambaram describes key events in India’s journey to self-reliance in nuclear energy. India Rising is not only a memoir of one of India’s eminent scientists, but also a fascinating account of India’s ascendance in the world of science and technology.
Hidden Links || Sangeeth Varghese, Zac Sangeeth
Many things with a disproportionate influence on our daily lives-including the philosophies that guide us, religions that we follow and social structures that we adhere to-are the result of some blind random baggage, rather than anything created with a specific intent. Hidden Linksinvestigates the disproportional effect of historically unconnected events-of colossal ones like the fall of empires, spread of pandemics, or nomadic migrations, as well as trivial ones like a personal vision, a changed narrative, or a petty squabble-and connects them to our modern lives-on how deeply they affect us in the most unthinkable ways.
Mrs K M Mathew’s Finest Recipes || K M Mathew
Original and easy-to-follow recipes from Kerala’s veteran cookbook author. Mrs. K.M. Mathew (1922–2003) was a true master of the craft of cooking. She was among the few who ushered in a shift from oral tellings of recipes to written instructions and before long, her
cookbooks started being gifted to newly married couples. Published in the year of the author’s hundredth birth anniversary, this new book, Mrs K.M.Mathews’s Finest Recipes from the author of the all-time bestseller Flavours of the Spice Coast will bring to a new generation of readers a definitive compilation of her all-time top recipes that have been enjoyed around the world. Mrs. K.M. Mathew pioneered cooking and authored twenty-seven cookbooks, introducing an entire generation to the culinary culture of Kerala. This new book will bring to a new generation of readers a definitive compilation of her top recipes that have been enjoyed around the world.
Goa, 1961 || Valmiki Faleiro
In Goa, 1961, former journalist Valmiki Faleiro covers a wide canvas in detail, including the entire story of Operation Vijay, the events that preceded it and those that followed. The diplomatic efforts, the arguments, the run-up, the build-up, the actual ops and their aftermath in Goa, within India and internationally-all of it is vividly related in this nuanced telling. Faleiro lucidly outlines the prevailing political atmosphere and its changing character, the part played by indigenous independence movements and freedom fighters leading to the liberation of Goa, and the impact of its consequent assimilation into India.
Extensively researched and extremely well-written, Goa, 1961 is a seminal book on an important subject and a must-read for anyone interested in Indian history.
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. Nowhere Man 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.
Susanna’s Granthapura || Ajai P. Mangattu, Catherine Thankamma
Why does the usually aloof and reticent Paul suddenly want to meet Ali after Susanna’s death? Why does the possibility of an unfinished manuscript by a long-forgotten writer fascinate Ali and Abhi to the extent that they undertake a journey to Marayoor, a town deep in the heart of Kerala to meet the unknown Susanna?
First published in Malayalam in 2019, Susanna’s Granthapura is Ajai Mangattu’s uniquely crafted novel that celebrates the strong bonds that form between people who share a love of reading and of books.
The Sea Elephants || Shastri Akella
Set in 1990s India,The Sea Elephants is an utterly immersive and spellbinding novel, both dark and beautiful, harrowing and triumphant. An ode to the redemptive joys of storytelling, Shastri Akella’s soulful debut is a celebration of hard-won love-of others and for ourselves.
The Roof Beneath their Feet by Geetanjali Shree is a captivating novel that intertwines the past and present, uncovering profound truths along the way. Shree beckons us to dive into themes of love, loss and friendship, the weight of unspoken emotions, and explore the layers beneath the book’s intriguing title.
Read this enthralling excerpt from The Roof Beneath their Feet to get a glimpse of the roofs Chachcho and Lalna walk upon.
The Roof Beneath Their feet || Geetanjali Shree
***
When the roof is beneath your feet, there’s the whole sky above. We have started walking—me and my memory of Chachcho.
The flesh of Chachcho’s arms hasn’t started turning into water yet, so we will have to walk stealthily, away from staring eyes, making our way through the darkness. Chachcho bumps into her own arm and frightens herself. Wherever the level of the roof changes, we have to go up or down a couple of steps. Or climb up a water tank and jump. Or leap from a ledge. Then Chachcho will have to gather her sari above her ankles.
Which she does. She looks around. In a faraway corner, servants have laid out their masters’ beds. The bright shadows of darkness. When Chachcho’s sari flutters in the breeze, she gathers it around her knees and easily climbs up the parapet. Then, as if walking a tightrope, she walks across and jumps down to the other side.
She, and I with her. We keep walking, far away. Over countless houses, leaping over their suffocating walls. At the end of the mohalla, I stop—one more step, and down! At that moment, I feel her behind me. How long must she have been following Chachcho and me to have come this far? I don’t want to, but I have to turn back, and my memory of Chachcho is left behind, as if it has jumped over.
On the roof, the evening lights have started coming on, as if it is their secret desire to stay up all night and gossip with the darkness. Lalna’s hair is red. Chachcho used to henna it for her with a brush. Lalna started greying earlier. But it was Chachcho who died first. I did not want some stranger to prepare Chachcho for the pyre. You can’t do it, son—the pundits, the elders, they all were adamant. It wasn’t the time for arguments, so I stayed silent. How could I make them understand that, just because she couldn’t say anything anymore, it didn’t mean that some stranger could see her body?
As she grew older, Chachcho covered up more and more of her body. A blouse cut like a kurti to cover her midriff. Long, loose sleeves, coming down to her fingers. The pallu covering her head, down to her forehead. Her face wrapped tight in her aanchal. Her feet covered in shoes or lost under her sari. Uncle’s death has broken her, the people sunning themselves on the roof said. That’s how devoted our women are.
No one thought that she might be covering up her ageing beauty, erasing her shrivelling body from her own sight. I’ll change the large mirror in your bathroom, it has become clouded and stained with water, I had said. Let it be, she had replied, its flaws hide mine. In my dumb heart, I see her reflection in the mirror, floating like a dream in the steam-filled bathroom.
Whenever I feel like crying, it’s as if something big and restless in my chest starts panting. Not one tear comes out. Chachcho . . . Chachcho . . . What can I do, besides saying your name? Chachcho, Chachcho . . . Memories rustling like dry leaves. Memories like a magic lantern, moving from here to there in a flash, turning upside down, inside out, playing tricks.
This isn’t right, I think. This memory, at least, must come soft and slow. This high-speed flashing and spinning doesn’t suit it. This memory is my grief. Grief is slow, is deep, is seeping in, drop by drop. I say to myself, I’m really sad, very sad, very, very sad. I’m stuck in my sadness, and it drags me along, to memories—old, useless, endless. I peep in from the skylight to where Chachcho’s room used to be, but I can’t make out much, except something just out of sight, some dream carefully folded and kept away.
It’s because of my sadness that I have started dreaming in broad daylight. A dream not of the future, but of the past. Again, that tired old man, and memories of the past, bloodying him. Even the happy moments from this world of memories give the old man more grief. Dreams that go backwards, not forward, can do nothing else. Like that heavenly beauty from childhood tales who you realized was actually a witch when you noticed that her feet were turned backwards. I return stealthily. To be alone. To remember Chachcho alone. How meaningless these things are. To remember someone dear, their death, a son crying for his mother—what is there to tell? I love Chachcho—what do these words mean? I turned away immediately after lighting her pyre, I had no wish to see the fire blaze.
Is that how easy separation is? Lay her down, touch her with a flame, turn away.
I came back home feeling utterly light and empty.
***
Get your copy of The Roof Beneath Their Feet by Geetanjali Shree from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon.
In The Perfect Way, Osho beckons us to embark on a transformative journey from darkness to light, from a meaningless existence to a life filled with purpose and bliss. Are you ready to accept Osho’s invitation and rediscover the radiant path that leads to a world of infinite possibilities?
Read this insightful excerpt from The Perfect Way to set about on a journey of self-discovery and better understand the power of meditation.
The Perfect Way || Osho
***
Invitation into Light
I see man engulfed in a deep darkness. He has become like a house where the lamp has gone out on a dark night. Something in him has been extinguished. But that which has been extinguished can be relit.
I see as well that man has lost all direction. He has become like a boat that has lost its way on the high seas. He has forgotten where he is to go and what he is to be. But the memory of what has been forgotten can be reawakened in him.
Hence, although there is darkness there is no reason for despair. In fact, the deeper the darkness the closer the dawn. I see a spiritual regeneration for the whole world on the horizon. A new man is about to be born and we are passing through the throes of his birth. But this regeneration needs the cooperation of each one of us. It is to come through us, hence we cannot remain mere spectators. We must give way for this rebirth within ourselves.
The approach of that new day, of that dawn, is possible only if each one of us fills himself with light. It is in our hands to turn that possibility into an actuality. We all are the bricks of that palace of tomorrow and we all are the rays of light out of which the future sun will be born. We are the creators, not just spectators. It is not only a creation of the future, it is a creation of the present itself, it is the creation of ourselves. It is through creating himself that man creates humanity. The individual is the unit of the whole and it is through him that both evolution and revolution can take place. You are that unit.
This is why I want to call you. I want to awaken you from your slumber. Don’t you see that your lives have become utterly meaningless and useless, totally boring? Life has lost all meaning and purpose. But this is natural. If there is no light in man’s heart there cannot be any meaning in his life. There cannot be any bliss in man’s life if there is no light in his inner being.
The fact that we find ourselves overburdened with meaninglessness today is not because life in itself is meaningless. Life is infinite meaningfulness, but we have forgotten the path that leads to that meaningfulness and fulfillment. We simply exist and have no contact with life. This is not living, it is just waiting for death. And how can waiting for death be anything but boring? How can it be bliss?
I have come here to tell you this very thing: there is a way to awaken from this bad dream that you have mistaken for life. The path has always been there. The path that leads from darkness to light is eternal. It is there for certain, but you have turned away from it. I want you to turn toward it. This path is dharma, religion. It is the means of rekindling the light in man; it gives direction to man’s drifting boat. Mahavira has said that religion is the only island of safety, the anchor, the destination and the refuge for those being swept away by the rapid current of the world with its old age and its death.
Do you have a thirst for the light that fills life with bliss? Do you have a longing for the truth that unites man with immortality? If so, I invite you into that light, into that bliss, into that deathlessness. Please accept my invitation. It is simply a matter of opening your eyes, and you inhabit a new world of light. You don’t have to do anything else, you only have to open your eyes. You just have to wake up and look.
Nothing in man can really be extinguished nor can he lose his direction, but if he keeps his eyes closed the darkness spreads everywhere and all sense of direction is lost. With closed eyes he is a beggar; with open eyes he is an emperor.
I am calling you to come out from your dream of being a beggar and wake up into your reality of being an emperor. I wish to transform your defeat into victory, I wish to transform your darkness into light, I wish to transform your death into deathlessness. Are you ready to embark upon this voyage with me?
***
Get your copy of The Perfect Way by Osho from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon.
