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Books for this sun-drenched March!

Posted on March 2, 2023April 5, 2023 by amisra

Spring is here and so are our favourite books for March that are perfect for a picnic amidst tulip and petunia covered gardens.

In Pursuit of Peace by Satinder Kumar Lambah

No relationship has ever been as complicated or as challenging to handle as India’s with Pakistan. Every Indian leader has faced a strategic challenge as a result of four wars, transnational terrorism, and Pakistan’s ongoing hostility and unrelenting campaign on the “Kashmir problem”. However, despite using different approaches, each has sought harmony in the interests of India’s development and security, with the same outcome.

The late Satinder Kumar Lambah’s unique position as a diplomat who worked in both Pakistan and other countries allows him to provide an insider’s account of the tumultuous history between India and Pakistan.

My Life in Design by Gauri Khan

Gauri Khan details her career as a designer in her coffee table book, My Life in Design, which includes only images of her and her family, including Shah Rukh, Aryan, Suhana, and AbRam. The book also includes never-before-seen photos of Mannat, her home in Mumbai, and the design procedures that went into them as well as other significant projects. Additionally, she offers advice to those seeking to enter her line of work as well as to laypeople interested in learning more about the intriguing and inspiring world of design.

Fear and Lovely by Anjana Appachana

Mallika is a painfully shy young woman growing up in the heart of a lively New Delhi colony. After suffering a trauma, Mallika loses three days of her memory and slowly spirals into a deep depression. She must find a way out of this abyss back to herself and those she loves. But she must also hide her mental illness from her community. In a narrative that unfolds elliptically through the perspectives of Mallika and her seven loves, we discover that everyone is hiding truths. As each gives voice to their own struggles, secrets and silences shatter.

The Scientific Sufi by Meher Wan

The most comprehensive biography of Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, the instigator of contemporary science in India, written in English is The Scientific Sufi. He was on the verge of receiving at least two Nobel Prizes, if not one, for his work on wireless communication and the discovery of the nervous system in plants, and many people think he was wrongfully denied these honours. This biography painstakingly reconstructs his life, times, work, legacy, youth, influences, and paints a close-up picture of the man who is credited with establishing modern science in India.

Purposeful by Sandeep K. Krishnan

Sandeep explains how you can discover your mission and become more engaged at work using up-to-date research from the fields of psychology, philosophy, management, and business as well as professional insights and more than two decades of experience in the field.

You will gain knowledge about creating your purpose action plan, ascent of the purpose pyramid, development of a “owning” mentality, comprehension and use of purpose accelerators, acquisition and use of skills that matter, stopping overthinking, and resilience building.

The Rebellious Spirit by Osho

In The Rebellious Spirit, Osho addresses the spirit that dwells beneath our societal conditioning and fans a flame powerful enough to burn through layers of debris, allowing us to see with the enlightened being’s crystal-clear vision. This is a novel that will captivate you, make you laugh out loud, and give you the confidence to live your authentic life in the modern world.

The Skincare Answer Book by Dr. Jaishree Sharad

It can be very difficult to know how to take care of your skin properly, particularly with all of the advice and knowledge available. The Skincare Answer Book, which is written in a Q&A style, explains some of the most frequently asked skincare questions to help you cut through the jargon. This book will arm you with all the knowledge you need to take care of your skin, from questions on skin types and skin routines to more specific topics like serums, acne, hyperpigmentation, sun allergies, hair loss, anti-aging, rosacea, layering of skin, and common skin conditions like eczemas and skin infections.

A Man from Motihari by Abdullah Khan

Aslam, a dapper aspiring writer who is healing from a failed relationship, and Jessica, a Los Angeles-based activist and actor in the adult entertainment business, accidentally cross paths and fall hopelessly in love. The story follows these two unlikely characters as they travel against the background of India’s growing right-wing political forces. It transports you to rural India to reveal George Orwell’s close relationship with Motihari, a tiny town in northern Bihar where Gandhi Ji conducted the first Satyagraha experiment.

The Miracle Makers by Bharat Sundaresan

This book aims to transport you to the battleground of this unimagined script by including anecdotes from on and off the field, including talks with coaches, players, and other show stars, as well as feedback from his colleague Gaurav Joshi. It claims to bring to life the most exceptional cricket tour, possibly going all the way back to when the sport was first invented.

Basu Chatterji by Anirudha Bhattacherjee

Basu Chatterji: And Middle-of-the-Road Cinema explores the making-of his movies through anecdotes. It situates Basu’s film and television work in the context of the times, including Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan’s rise to fame, the Emergency, the revival of Sarat Chandra’s tales, the advent of disco, and the decadent period of Hindi cinema in the 1980s. The book honours the achievements of one of Hindi cinema’s most underappreciated but effective filmmakers.

Bipin by Rachna Bisht Rawat

Bipin: The Man behind the Uniform is the story of the NDA cadet who was relegated in the third term for not being able to do a mandatory jump into the swimming pool; of the young Second Lieutenant who was tricked into losing his ID card at the Amritsar railway station by a 5/11 Gorkha Rifles officer posing as his sahayak; of the Major with a leg in plaster who was carried up to his company post on the Pakistan border because he insisted on joining his men for Dusshera celebrations under direct enemy observation; of the Army Chief who decided India would retaliate immediately and openly to every act of cross-border terrorism; of the Chief of Defence Staff who was happiest dancing the jhamre with his Gorkha troops.

Learn, Don’t Study by Pramath Raj Sinha

Pramath Raj Sinha has compiled the best and most useful advice for young people who are facing some of the most significant and difficult decisions of their professional lives in Learn, Don’t Study, relying on his experiences of over twenty-five years in the field of education.

Multibagger Stocks by Prasenjit Paul

This book provides readers with a straightforward yet efficient method for locating stocks that have the potential to produce amazing profits. The three most important stock market investing questions are addressed, cutting through the clutter and noise: when to invest (enter the market), how long to remain invested, and finally when to leave. The book dispels the misconception that multibagger companies lack solid fundamentals by explaining why only stocks with solid fundamentals can grow to be multibaggers.

How Business Storytelling Works by Sandeep Das

The most important talent you need to thrive professionally in today’s world of noise, competition, and significant technological disruption is business storytelling. Sandeep examines human development, behavioural psychology, and the film industry in this book to determine the fundamentals of good storytelling.

The Story of Tata by Peter Casey

Insiders from the Tata businesses first share their stories with Peter Casey in this exclusive and approved book. This is a book that every business-minded person should read, from its humble origins as a mercantile company to its development as a successful yet charitable organisation to its recent brush with Mistry. Insiders from the Tata businesses first share their stories with Peter Casey in this exclusive and approved book. This is a book that every business-minded person should read, from its humble origins as a mercantile company to its development as a successful yet charitable organisation to its recent brush with Mistry.

An “Unfiltered” Conversation with Saurabh Mukherjea!

Posted on February 22, 2023March 21, 2023 by amisra

Saurabh Mukherjea shares some of the key takeaways from his life and mentions how his co-authored book, Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach, can be a life-changer!

‘Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach’ is the book which chronicles our six-year partnership. We committed to be bold, to be real, and to openly share what happens behind the doors of the confidential coaching space. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first book ever written which looks at the coaching journey – in all its intricate detail – from both the perspective of the coach and the client.

As in professional sports, so in business life, the coach’s job is to push her client to learn new skills, build on existing strengths and become more self-aware of both his strengths and his stressors. In Unfiltered, Ana and I have given several case studies based on our personal experiences of how this process works. Our book will let you go as close as possible to being “in a coaching session” without the resources and emotional investment that typically come with a first-hand coaching experience.

In addition to sharing our journey and hard-won lessons, we also offer many practical tools and resources that can immediately be used by anyone interested in self-development. Readers will be able to understand how their formative years shape them – for better and for worse – in their professional lives and how they can harness their past for success going forward. Great leaders will be able to more confidently choose their coach and design a coaching journey that feels right and lets them be extraordinary.

Unfiltered || Ana Lueneburger, Saurabh Mukherjea

Seven years ago, when I turned forty, I felt that I had no more worlds to conquer. The business I had been hired to turnaround was now firmly in the black. At an individual level, for several years in a row I had been ranked the leading equity strategist in India. My previous two books on investing had become bestsellers. My family was thriving. In search of a new challenge, I requested the Board of my then-employer to let me run the firm as a whole rather than just the equities and investment management businesses (which I was already in charge of). That request of mine turned out to be a turning point in my life but not for any of the reasons I could have possibly foreseen.

My erstwhile employer hired one of the world’s leading search firms to assess whether I was fit for the Group CEO role. The verdict was that while I was a bright, hardworking individual with a credible leadership track record, I had some way to go before I could be given greater responsibilities. My shortcomings—as per this report—were a tendency to fly off the handle when dealing with people I didn’t like, a low emotional quotient (EQ) and a ‘moody and irritable’ nature. In addition, I was also ‘naturally suspicious’ of people. Their recommendation was that a world-class leadership coach should be hired to iron out my deficiencies. I was humbled.

Once the Board accepted the search firm’s recommendation, I was tasked with interviewing two highly credentialed executive coaches based in Europe. I chose Ana Lueneburger, a German national based out of London, on the mistaken assumption that she would be an easy-going coach who would not burden me with lots of homework. In retrospect, I can safely say that this was the best mistake I have made in my professional life!

The journey of introspection, learning and change that I then began with Ana six years ago has made a massive impact on my life and on the lives of my family and my colleagues, as laid out in detail in our book. Through a combination of tests and extensive discussions with my colleagues, friends and relatives, Ana – who is both a seasoned executive (with stints in Boston Consulting Group, Danone and INSEAD) and a trained psychotherapist – was quickly able to assess the root cause of my issues. Having done that spadework, she agreed with me on the goals that I wanted to achieve via her expert interventions.

The “Hacking Health” balanced diet!

Posted on February 22, 2023March 21, 2023 by amisra

Have you been putting off taking care of your diet and health because of the everyday grind? Mukesh Bansal tackles this monumental job, drawing from ancient wisdom while simultaneously debunking unscientific myths, he helps you make wise choices in pursuit of good health, using a mixture of personal experience and cutting-edge science, and brings you the ultimate balanced diet cheat code in his book, Hacking Health. Here’s an excerpt from the book.

A Code for A Balanced Diet

There is a lot of debate about what is a balanced diet and there have been numerous revisions to the ideal food pyramid, but if you can follow these simple guidelines, you will get all the nutrition that you need:

Ensure that you get the majority of your calories from plant-based sources like fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes and grains. While fruits and vegetables will provide high quality energy and essential micronutrients, nuts and seeds are packed with healthy fats and proteins.

As children, we were berated for not eating our green leafy vegetables, and for good reason. Greens, along with other brightly coloured vegetables like beets, carrots and pumpkins, are packed with all kinds of nutrients, digesting slowly to provide energy for a long time after meals.

Incorporate healthy fats that come from ghee, coconut oil, various nut and seed oils, as well as vegetable fat sources like avocado and olive oil. Avoid refined and processed fats such as vegetable oils, margarine and light butter spreads, as well as deep-fried foods, since the cooking process results in the generation of trans fats that can be carcinogenic.

Instead of relying only on wheat and rice, get your carbohydrates from diverse sources to make your meals multigrain. Rather than buying multigrain atta, whose ingredients you have no control over, choose grains such as jowar, bajra, makkai, buckwheat, brown rice, ragi, amaranth and quinoa, among several other options.

Pulses and legumes, including the dals or lentils so common in an Indian kitchen, as well as chickpeas, black-eyed peas and other beans, are nutrient-rich and a great source of both complex carbohydrates and proteins. Boiled or sprouted pulses are a great addition to any diet.

Avoid all kinds of processed foods and sugary drinks like the plague. These are just empty calories that offer no benefits. You might have a dessert or a sweetened drink to celebrate an occasion, but they cannot be part of your everyday diet.

Black coffee and all kinds of white and green teas are full of flavonoids and antioxidants. These also work as appetite suppressants and can be great for your mind. Given that they are stimulants, though, it might be a good idea to avoid coffee and tea after 4 p.m., especially if you have trouble falling asleep.

Local and seasonal foods should be a big part of your diet. Fruits and vegetables are at their nutritious best and full of flavour at the peak of season. One of the best ways to identify what is in season is to visit your local vendor who does not have a freezer or refrigerator, and to pick what seems to be available in abundance and inexpensive.

Spices are densely packed pockets of essential micronutrients and should be liberally used in your food.

Fermented food is a great way to improve the health of the gut. In India, these have been an integral part of our diet, from curd set at home to rice or cooked vegetables soaked overnight in water and pickles. Fermented drinks like kefir and kombucha are also great choices.

Just because you are eating healthy doesn’t mean you should be eating all the time. In fact, don’t be shy about skipping a meal every now and then, to give your gut a much needed break.

Get your copy of Hacking Health from Amazon.

Books to read on International Mother Language Day

Posted on February 21, 2023February 21, 2023 by amisra

This International Mother Language Day, we bring you our favourite reads to celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity. Scroll down to find the books that you would like to read next.

Hangwoman by K.R. Meera

The Grddha Mullick family takes great pride in their long history, which dates back to 400 B.C. The Grddha Mullicks play a key role as eyewitnesses to the significant events that have shaped the history of the subcontinent in these amazing stories of hangmen and hangings. The narrative of Chetna, the youngest member in the family, is transformed into an epic and twisted coming-of-age tale thanks to Meera’s amazing imagination. Will the passionate young lady be able to break free from her love? Will she be able to kill someone? Will she shine a brighter light on Grddha Mullick’s famous name? Or will she give in to the glamour of fame and the rush of having the ability to decide someone’s fate? As the drama sputters towards its unavoidable conclusion, the vile pleasures of voyeurism and the punishing ironies of violence are kept in agile balance.

Lajja by Taslima Nasrin

Lajja, a brutal indictment of religious fanaticism and man’s inhumanity to man, was outlawed in Bangladesh but quickly rose to fame elsewhere. The Dutta family, which consists of Sudhamoy and Kironmoyee, as well as their offspring Suranjan and Maya, has always resided in Bangladesh. Unlike the majority of their friends and family, they are not willing to leave their nation even though they are a part of a small, weak Hindu community. Sudhamoy has a naive optimism and idealism that he will not be let down by his homeland. On December 6, 1992, the Babri Mosque was destroyed. The incident is condemned by the entire world, but Bangladesh feels its immediate effects the most keenly as Muslim mobs start to hunt down and assault Hindus. The Duttas’ world starts to disintegrate as the nightmare comes at their door.

Chowringhee by Sankar

Penguin 35 Collectors Edition: Chowringhee — Chowringhee || Sankar

Best-selling Bengali author Sankar’s 1962 book Chowringhee, which is set in 1950s Calcutta, is written in Bengali. It focuses on the private lives of administrators, staff members, and visitors at the Shahjahan, one of Calcutta’s biggest hotels. The newest employee, Shankar, tells the tales of a number of individuals whose lives intersect in the hotel’s suites, restaurants, bar, and backrooms. Chowringhee is as much an eulogy as it is an homage to a city and its people thanks to its barely veiled accounts of the private lives of real-life celebrities and its sympathetic story that seamlessly weaves the past and the present.

One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan

Penguin 35 Collectors Edition: One Part Woman — One Part Woman || Perumal Murugan

Kali and Ponna’s relationship is tested by the Chariot Festival, which could end their suffering and humiliation, but also put their marriage to the ultimate test. One Part Woman evokes an intimate and unsettling portrait of marriage, love and sex.

Tejo Tungabhadra by Vasudhendra

Tejo Tungabhadra is a grand saga of love, ambition, greed, and a deep zest for life, set in the late 15th and early 16th century. The profoundly antisemitic society around Bella and her family, who are young Jewish refugees living in Lisbon on the banks of the Tejo River, poses daily threats to their lives and dignity. Her lover, Gabriel, travels to India with General Albuquerque’s fleet in search of riches and a bright future for the two of them. Meanwhile, the young pair Hampamma and Keshava are caught in the violent religious storm and the cruel rigmarole of tradition on the banks of the Tungabhadra in the Vijayanagara Empire. With all the thunder and gush of colliding rivers, the two tales come together in Goa. Tejo Tungabhadra, a grand saga of love, desire, greed, and a profound zest for life through the tossing waves of history, is set in the late 15th and early 16th century.

Lifting the Veil by Ismat Chughtai

Ismat Chughtai investigated female sexuality with unparalleled frankness and looked at the political and social mores of her time at a time when writing by and about women was uncommon and tentative. She completely changed the tone of Urdu fiction by writing about the society she was familiar with and introducing middle-class idiom into Urdu prose.

In Lifting the Veil, Ismat Chughtai’s fiction and nonfiction work are combined. The twenty-one pieces in this collection showcase Chughtai’s finest work, which is distinguished by her exquisite word choice, enthralling dialogue, wry humour, and her trademark irreverence, wit, and attention to detail.

The Princess and the Political Agent by Binodini

Penguin 35 Collectors Edition: The Princess and the Political Agent — The Princess and the Political Agent || Binodini

This is the love tale of Sanatombi and Lt. Col. Henry St. P. Maxwell, the British representative in the Tibeto-Burman kingdom of Manipur, which has now been translated into English by Binodini’s son, L. Somi Roy. A moving story of loyalty and betrayal, treachery, and bravery, it is set amid the Raj’s imperialist machinations, the grandeur of kings, warring princes, cunning queens, and obedient retainers. Binodini’s viewpoint, which revives front-page international headlines from the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891, glistens with wit, empathy, and beauty and vividly depicts the court and manners of a little-known country. She uncovers a forgotten era of the British Raj and its extraordinary past in the process.

Lata by Yatindra Mishra

Lata: A Life in Music is a celebration of art and the life of one of India’s most revered vocalists. It is a tribute to the marvellous life of the Late Lata Mangeshkar. The final result of Yatindra Mishra’s ten-year conversation with the legendary performer, it also uncovers the great artist’s lesser-known sides, introducing readers to Lata Mangeshkar as an intellectual and cultural exponent and offering a rare window into the person behind the adored legend.

Bookish treats for Valentine’s season

Posted on February 13, 2023February 14, 2023 by amisra

Nothing says ‘romantic’ quite like a book lover during Valentine’s season. We all agree that books never disappoint, always keep us company, and are always happy to be taken out and read again and again, right? So get cozy with a good book in this month of love with these sixteen page-turners!

Victory City by Salman Rushdie

From the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize-winning, worldwide popular novelist Salman Rushdie comes the magnificent tale of a woman who creates a whimsical empire only to be overtaken by it over the years. This chronicle of love, adventure, and myth is brilliantly designed as a retelling of an ancient epic, and it is a monument to the power of storytelling in and of itself.

Unsung by Arunoday Singh

Unsung, Arunoday Singh’s debut poetry collection, includes a selection of his most popular pieces as well as new poems in which he goes within and explores topics of love, grief, and yearning that ails the human heart. The poems are deceptively simple but cutting. They are separated into four sections that each examine a different theme, such as the self, the elements, breaking and healing, the search for divinity, and the brightness and darkness of the spirit.

When I Am With You by Durjoy Datta

Crazy, quirky and so utterly romantic, Durjoy Datta’s When I Am With You is the ultimate relationship roller coaster and is just the ideal book to cuddle up with on Valentine’s Day!

The Newlyweds by Mansi Choksi

Choksi illuminates three young couples who defy patriarchy-approved arranged marriages in the search of love through colourful, lyrical words, depicting the struggles, victories, and losses that await them. The Newlyweds is an engaging and touching book that tackles universal concerns such as what we are prepared to risk for love. Does finding it transform us if we’re lucky enough to find it? Is it for the better? Or is it for the worse?

It Was Always You by Sudeep Nagarkar

Karan and Shruti have a happy marriage. Till Karan’s ex reappears in his life one day. Karan soon finds himself becoming sentimental about matters of the heart and remembering his first romance fondly. Will he jeopardise his seemingly ideal marriage for his ex-girlfriend? Meanwhile, his closest friend Aditya is experiencing emotional trouble in his relationship with his wife Jasmine. Will both friends fight to keep their marriage afloat, or will they make a decision they will later come to regret?

Tejo Tungabhadra by Vasudhendra and Maithreyi Karnoor

Tejo Tungabhadra‘s story is about two rivers on opposite continents whose spirits are linked by history. Bella, a young Jewish refugee, and her family confront daily dangers to their lives and dignity from the strongly hostile society that surrounds them on the banks of the Tejo River in Lisbon. Gabriel, her lover, sails to India with General Albuquerque’s fleet in search of fortune and a secure future. Meanwhile, on the banks of the Tungabhadra in the Vijayanagara Empire, the young couple Hampamma and Keshava are caught in the eye of a storm of religious fury and the harsh rigmarole of custom. In Goa, the two storylines collide with all the thunder and flow of colliding rivers.

Tejo Tungabhadra is a vast narrative of love, ambition, avarice, and a deep enthusiasm for life over the tossing seas of history set in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

The Penguin Book of Indian Poets

Compiled by Jeet Thayil, The Penguin Book of Indian Poets is an anthology of Indian poetry in English. This two-decade-long project brings together writers from over the world, a plethora of voices-in dialogue, soliloquy, rhetoric, and play-to convey an enormous, all-encompassing vision of what it means to be an ‘Indian’ poet.

A Thousand Kisses Deep by Novoneel Chakraborty

A Thousand Kisses Deep, a literary romance thriller by Novoneel Chakraborty, is an emotional storm representing modern multifaceted relationships, lost love, life, and fate. A sequel to the popular book That Kiss In The Rain, this book is filled with thrills and suspense. This terrifying tale follows four protagonists, Haasil, Palki, Pallavi, and Swadha, as they seek life lessons and calm, only to learn that love has not done with any of them. If you appreciate reading romance and mystery thriller novels, this is a must-read full of unexpected twists.

Heart on the Edge by Novoneel Chakraborty

Shravan, Naishee Kamaraj’s younger brother, shares a special affinity with her. When he suddenly goes away one day, everyone assumes he went on his own will, but Naishee knew her brother better than anybody else. She suspects there has been wrongdoing. And her worst fears are realised when she obtains a used phone containing a video of her brother being held captive. She engages in some heinous acts in order to save her sibling. As time passes, Naishee realises she will emerge a completely different person at the end of it all.

Cross Your Heart, Take My Name by Novoneel Chakraborty

Cross Your Heart, Take My Name is a captivating story about urban loneliness, fickle relationships, and our need for company, depicted through the tortuous journey of two people caught up in their own emotional crisis, blurring the borders between crime and sin.

Our Impossible Love by Durjoy Datta

Aisha, a late bloomer, must learn what it means to be a woman and to be desired. Danish believes that time is running out for him and that he will end up like his overachieving, driven younger brother.
Danish, the bewildered idiot, is appointed as Aisha’s student counsellor, and her life takes an unusual turn. They must discover out love, life, friendship, and, most importantly, themselves. And it’s not turning out to be… easy? Our Impossible Love depicts life as it is and love as it should be.

Undying Affinity by Sara Naveed

Zarish, a twenty-two-year-old woman, has all she could ever want in life. She is wealthy, beautiful, and well-known. She and Haroon, her attractive childhood sweetheart, are inseparable until a new finance professor, Ahmar Muraad, joins their institution. Every lady at the campus has her sights set on him. He is appealing, personable, and intelligent. Zarish is charmed to his smooth personality as well. But would he ever show any interest in her? Zarish, caught in a web of passion, has no idea that one person may entirely shift her outlook on life. Undying Affinity will stick with you forever because it is filled with romance, drama, and sorrow.

Half Torn Hearts by Novoneel Chakraborty

Half Torn Hearts is a coming-of-age story about three-layered people dealing with their first loss, which reveals the demon that we all have but are afraid of confronting, and which ultimately becomes the cause of our own demise.

The Secrets We Keep by Sudeep Nagarkar

Rahul, an intelligence officer on a secret mission, falls in love with the major’s daughter, Akriti, and decides to hide her at his parents’ house. However, when Akriti goes missing, Rahul realizes she is someone familiar and is faced with the biggest shock of his life.

Till the Last Breath by Durjoy Datta

Will your heart skip a beat when death is so close? Two patients have been admitted to room 509. One is a bright nineteen-year-old medical student who is afflicted with an incurable, terminal sickness. Every extra breath she takes is a blessing. The other person is a twenty-five-year-old drug user whose organs are failing. He is eager to get rid of his body. He believes that the sooner the better.

Two reputable doctors, each suffering their own demons from the past, are doing everything they can to keep these two patients alive, even risking their medical licences. These final days in the hospital have an impact on the two patients, their doctors, and everyone else around them in ways they could never have predicted. Till the Last Breath is a truly moving narrative about what it means to be alive.

Eleven Ways to Love

This is a book of essays that shows us, with empathy, humour, and wisdom, that there is no such thing as love that dares not speak its name. It is pieced together with a dash of poetry and a whole lot of love, including a variety of voices and a cast of unexpected heroes and heroines.

From The Writer’s Desk: Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell

Posted on February 11, 2023February 11, 2023 by kgoba

The day we had all been waiting for finally arrived at our office some time ago. Our office doors swung open and in came the two women who created history by bringing to life, the first Hindi and South Asian language book to win the International Booker. We look at them like icons, but they walk in like friends, friends who’ve returned home after becoming legends. And so, we sit with them for a quick coffee, some afternoon sun, and the rush outside with all the other employees getting ready to get their books signed.

Manasi: How does it feel to have made history? What do you think this kind of international recognition will mean for Hindi literature and translation?

Geetanjali: I am not quite able to believe it, but I do know that something amazing has happened. It feels great to be the chosen one. I think this achievement just makes the larger world discover a language called Hindi and the vibrant literature that exists in Hindi and the languages around it. Hence, it is a very important moment;, there are tremendous possibilities for the world which hasn’t seen a lot of this kind of literature.

Daisy: It’s very exciting. Both of us have been working quietly for so many years, on our own. So, this is unexpected and very thrilling for us. We hope that the rest of the world will find out about all the amazing literature that comes out of South Asia. There has been translation all along, but I believe that Penguin has been bringing out a lot of translated literature since the early 1990s. Yet, it somehow never gets outside of the subcontinent. We hope that Tomb of Sand will help all these other books cross borders.

Avleen: Speaking of translations, they once said in a movie, ‘Poetry in translation is like taking a bath with a raincoat on’. But then translations also seem to be the only answers to build a world where we share our stories with each other. So, here you are trying to do the impossible. What are your thoughts on translation and what is the process like? Is it all bits daunting that we assume it to be?

Daisy: Yes, I think that’s a very negative way to look at translation. People keep asking me about the loss in translation, but I am much more interested in what we find! It is daunting but it is a very exciting experience for me! I love challenges and I love things that seem impossible to render in a language. A lot of people are even reading Ret Samadhi after reading Tomb of Sand, so, it’s taking people back to Hindi as well. So, translation for me is always about finding and discovering.

Avleen: Geetanjali, even you’ve mentioned in other interviews that the translation process often makes you look at your novel with a renewed lens. Was there ever a moment where it led to a change in your perspective or feeling regarding some aspect about the book?

Geetanjali: I don’t think it changed anything, but there was an enhancement of my perspective. A good translation brings out a lot of latent possibilities lying inside the work and that is an exciting discovery. But if it does something that changes a perspective, then it’s not a good translation. It should help in discovering something that’s there but may not be as visible or audible in the work.

Manasi: So, tell me (Geetanjali), how does writing begin for you? Is it the idea first or do you start writing and then the idea comes?

Geetanjali: Well, I don’t have a worked-out scheme. I think there’s a different trigger each time. It only happened once, when I knew I wanted to write about communalism. About Hindus and Muslims and how we seem to think that it is happening only among the uneducated in the old cities, when in fact, all of us have strange prejudices inside us no matter how liberal we consider ourselves to be. That’s the only time I had a theme in mind. Otherwise, the trigger can be anything for me! It can be an image or a wisp of a dialogue. It can be something very ordinary in daily life. And what I have discovered is that something that is ordinary is never only ordinary. It always gets linked to some very huge things. Something small sets me off and then keeps getting joined up with other things and the story keeps building, so it’s a very organic process.

Manasi: And in terms of the collaboration between the two of you, do you talk throughout the process of translation, or do you deliver a full draft to Geetanjali?

Daisy: I always do a rough and full first draft, trying not to talk to anybody at all. Even if I have a lot of questions and problems, I just write it all by hand and put notes. It’s like when you’re taking an exam, you don’t really know the answer to the first question but when you read the whole exam, you’ll find some of the answers at the end in the way the questions are asked. For example, why she’s using a particular word or why an image was used where? So, I go through the whole thing and after 2-3 drafts, I start asking her questions. LOTS of questions. And by the 5th or 6th draft, I send her the whole thing and she goes through it comprehensively and then there are more discussions. There are layers upon layers upon layers of conversations.

Geetanjali: And you know Daisy and I had not met during all of this. We just met a couple of days before the booker announcement. So, all of it was on email.

Daisy: And it’s funny because all of it was during the pandemic and it never even crossed our minds to use Zoom. People thought that we were Zooming but we never had a voice conversation!

Geetanjali: But the wonderful thing is that when we met, it didn’t feel like we were meeting for the first time. We immediately slipped into a very easy friendship.

Manasi: Because you must have such a deep level of intellectual trust ion each other for doing something so big!

Geetanjali: Yes, but we’re also very lucky! Because there was a risk. It could’ve gone any which way. And I always wonder if Daisy was very good at translation but didn’t have a sense of humour, she would’ve destroyed that book!

Manasi: So, tell me about the title? I know that one of the only things you guys had a disagreement on was the title. So, Ret Samadhi becomes Tomb of Sand. Tell us how you arrived upon it?

Geetanjali: Daisy was very wickedly supported by the publisher (laughs). I wanted the word samadhi to be in the title. And samadhi was already in the Oxford English Dictionary. And even if it wasn’t, I would’ve argued that words are constantly being taken into other languages, let samadhi go in the title. Let them learn a new word and concept. But I think Daisy and the publisher both felt, perhaps rightly so, that samadhi in the title might mislead people in bookstores to believe it is about spiritualism or yoga. They didn’t want to introduce prejudice. That argument made sense to me, but I was a bit concerned about the word ‘tomb’, because it is completely different from samadhi.

Daisy: But when I chose ‘tomb’, I was thinking about the Gandhi samadhi. Because that’s a tomb that’s not a mausoleum, but a resting place. It’s sort of giving him a Buddha-like feeling, that he’s still there somehow. But a part of the compromise is that I went all out in teaching the word ‘samadhi’ throughout the book. We have the definition right in the beginning and then I define it subtly within the text, and by the end I’m only using the word samadhi and not any of the translations of it. And I think we’re both very opinionated and confident in our opinions.

Geetanjali: But I think we also know how to be a little detached. After a point, she is the translator. She knows English, she knows what the book is.

Daisy: Yeah, I think people are always annoying Geetanjali with the question that why didn’t you write in eEnglish or why didn’t you translate your own book? And she says because Hindi is my mother tongue, why should I defend this? But if she was translating her books, she wouldn’t be writing books. That would cannibalize her work. And she doesn’t want to be a translator. And that’s part of what makes our relationship work. Because she doesn’t want to suddenly jump in and become the translator, she never wanted to be that. Our roles are clearclear, and we have a nice boundary between us.

Geetanjali: Yes, but it’s a boundary that works as a bridge, it doesn’t divide us.

As a bonus to our lovely readers, here’s a writing tip that Geetanjali Shree shared specially for you all:

Geetanjali: If you want to be a writer, you have to write.

Write, write, write.

Writing is about looking at the world, dialoguing with it, sharpening your observation, trying to notice things. So, just do that. Hone your sensitivities and look around, look inside you, think about things, be reflective, be quiet, and — write, write, write.

Peng-wins at the Golden Book Awards! ?

Posted on February 8, 2023February 9, 2023 by amisra

Penguin Random House created history this year with seven major victories at the Golden Book Awards! These wins serve as a testament to our commitment to promoting great stories and fostering a love of reading in people around the world. If you haven’t already, add these seven page-turners to your to-read list.

The Dolphin and the Shark by Namita Thapar

The Dolphin and the Shark is inspired on Namita Thapar’s experiences as a Shark Tank India judge, operating the India business of the pharmaceutical company Emcure, and establishing her own entrepreneurship institute. The book emphasises how today’s leaders must create a balance between being a shark (an aggressive leader) and a dolphin (empathetic leader).

Doglapan by Ashneer Grover

Ashneer becomes a household figure as a judge on the renowned TV show Shark Tank India, even as his life is turned upside down. Controversy, media exposure, and raucous social media conversation overwhelm, making it difficult to separate fact from fantasy. This is the uncensored narrative of Ashneer Grover, the beloved but misunderstood poster boy of Start-up India. This is storytelling at its best: honest, gut-wrenching in its honesty, and completely from the heart.

Energize Your Mind by Gaur Gopal Das

Gaur Gopal Das, renowned author and life coach, decodes the mind in this book. He uses anecdotes and analytical studies to educate us how to shape our minds for higher well-being. He gives engaging activities, meditation techniques, and worksheets throughout the book to help us take control of our minds.

Build, Don’t Talk by Raj Shamani

Our schools taught us how to run in the race, but not how to win. This book does what our schools couldn’t. To assist you in winning the race. Build, Don’t Talk by Raj Shamani is a must-read since it is packed with excellent tips gathered from his own journey as an entrepreneur and content developer.

Rahul Bajaj by Gita Piramal

Rahul Bajaj is a millionaire businessman, former member of Parliament, and the chairman emeritus of the Bajaj Group. This book tells the tale of India, not solely Rahul Bajaj. From the time Rahul Bajaj’s mother was imprisoned during the freedom movement to the prism of his eventful life, the author brings us through the country’s evolution.

The book is packed with tales, business lessons, and political asides based on unconstrained interviews. At its heart, it is a touching human narrative.

The Wisdom Bridge by Kamlesh D. Patel

Daaji outlines nine ideas in The Wisdom Bridge to help you, the reader, live a life that inspires your children and loved ones. These concepts are useful resources for parents, soon-to-be parents, grandparents, and carers who want to live satisfying and joyful lives. They will not only help you enrich your children’s lives and create responsible teenagers, but they will also prepare the way for an inspired life and strong family relationships.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

In Diper Överlöde, book 17 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley is finding out that the road to fame and glory comes with some hardships.

Greg has no idea what he’s getting himself into when he decides to join his brother Rodrick’s band, Löded Diper. But he soon discovers that late hours, unpaid gigs, band member feuds, and financial difficulties are all part of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Can Greg assist Löded Diper in becoming the legends they believe they are? Will spending too much time with Rodrick’s band be detrimental?

Penguin’s February Favourites!

Posted on February 1, 2023June 4, 2023 by amisra

Looking for a book to accompany your cup of hot coffee these cold days? Here are our February favourites that are absolute page-turners!

Victory City by Salman Rushdie

COMING SOON – from the magnificent mind of Booker Prize-winning, worldwide popular novelist Salman Rushdie comes the epic story of a woman who creates a mythical empire only to be destroyed by it over the years. This chronicle of love, adventure, and myth is brilliantly designed as a translation of a historic tale, and it is a monument to the magic of storytelling in and of itself.

Tirukkural by Meena Kandasamy and Tiruvalluvar

The Kamattu-p-pal, written by Thiruvalluvar, is the third portion of the Tirukkural, one of the most significant manuscripts in Tamil literature. The most intimate element of this wonderful work is also the one that has historically been most restricted.

Meena Kandasamy weaves a magical spell with her trademark wit, lyricism, and passionate insight: taking the reader on a journey through 250 kurals organized under separate headings – ‘The Pleasure of Sex,’ ‘Renouncing Shame,’ ‘The Delights of Sulking’ – the outcome is a brand new, crucial, and exhilarating translation that expresses meaningful messages about female sensuality, agency, and desire.

These Seats are Reserved by Abhinav Chandrachud

Reservation, often known as affirmative action, is a very contentious concept in India. While constitutionally mandated and supported by historians, political scientists, and social activists, many oppose it, seeing it as compromising ‘merit’ and going against the idea of equality of opportunity.

Abhinav analyzes the history and development of the reservation policy in These Seats Are Reserved. Having been thoroughly researched and expertly narrated, this volume is a captivating addition to any thinking person’s library.

The Laughter by Sonora Jha

Sonora Jha has developed a fascinating figure who is both in sync with and out of sync with our times, an intellectual man who inspires and then questions our sympathies. As the novel draws to a close, Jha invites us to reconsider events, revealing a depth of loneliness in unexpected places, the individuality of youth, and the looming menace of white rage in America.

The Laughter, an explosive and tense piece of fiction, is a fascinating depiction of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia that compels us to confront our preconceptions as readers and citizens.

The Best of Satyajit Ray by Satyajit Ray

The Best of Satyajit Ray (Boxset, Volume 1 & Volume 2) — The Best of Satyajit Ray || Satyajit Ray

From Ray’s enduring creation, professional detective Feluda, to the narratives of Professor Shonku; short stories; writings on filmmaking; and opinions on world and Indian cinema, among many others, this box set, The Best of Satyajit Ray, is not only a treat for Ray enthusiasts but also a collector’s edition.

Customer in the Boardroom by Rama Bijapurkar

Most Indian organisations’ business strategies are characterised by supply-side, tunnel vision of the market, and compulsively competitor-centered methods. Customer in the Boardroom emphasises the importance of firms incorporating customer centricity into their business strategy formulation process if they are to continue to expand profitably and protect their future.

Secrets of Divine Love Journal by A. Helwa

The Secrets of Divine Love Journal is based on the book Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam, which was published in 2008. Secrets of Divine Love Journal will help you establish a closer connection to Allah by uniting you with the heart of your faith in a more intimate and inspiring way through heart-centered thoughts, enlightening prompts, and thought-provoking questions.

From Darkness into Light by A. Helwa

From Darkness into Light is a deeply moving collection of poetry on forgiveness, guidance, timeless wisdom, prayer, self-love, faith, and the ultimate journey of the soul to healing, connection, and unity with the One. This book was intended for individuals who want to embark on a spiritual journey. For individuals in search of hope, connection, and a meaningful relationship with Allah.

Unfiltered by Saurabh Mukherjea

Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach, a pioneering book, for the first time opens the doors that ordinarily shield the confidential world of coaching sessions. The book’s candour assists readers in completely grasping the life-changing influence that coaching may have. As a leadership development book, the writers share the tales (both individual and mutual) of their five-year collaboration. The resulting narrative includes not only unique ideas that executives and entrepreneurs will find valuable for their own development, but also deep insights into how we may master the world by understanding ourselves.

The Perfect 10 by Yasmin Karachiwala

This book will show you that it only takes ten minutes a day to begin your health journey and you will be packed with fitness routines, movement ideas, and lifestyle modifications interspersed with stories of actual people’s adventures. Yasmin Karachiwala is on the move. Observe how your body and life changes.

7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body by Dr. Hansaji Yogendra

The simple yet practical guide 7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body for Greater Well-Being is what you need to read to regain control. This step-by-step book, written by The Yoga Institute’s most acclaimed and regarded Dr Hansaji Yogendra, emphasizes the necessity of achieving and maintaining balance in all parts of your life.

Life Switch by Madhuri Banerjee

Life Switch is a thrilling, emotional, dramatic, and erotic love story. Nandita, a staid housewife, switches lives with Annie, her doppelgänger. She swaps her phone, her house, her husband, and her mundane family life for Annie’s dazzling business life at an advertising agency. When secrets are revealed, their lives become brutally difficult.

Oblivion and Other Stories by Gopinath Mohnaty

Gopinath Mohanty’s anthology Oblivion and Other Stories contains twenty short stories. They portray the forgotten ones, the monotony of living on the outside of life—of the impoverished, tribals, and regular people—invisible amid the feudal environment of Orissa in the twentieth century.

Bad Liars by Vikrant Khanna

When the body of a well-known fund manager, Anant Kapoor, is discovered in his home, the police quickly suspect his wife of murder. She has no excuse, and she stands to benefit directly from his death. However, when the police dig deeper, they discover two other suspects who are equally likely to commit the crime. Who, and more importantly, why, killed Anant?

Dattapaharam by V.J. James

Dattapaharam, a novel by critically acclaimed and bestselling Malayalam author V.J. James, is a rumination on solitude, man’s connection with nature, and the strings that bind us to this world. It is a surreal novel in which the author’s imagination soars like an eagle and words flow like the untouched springs in a rainforest. Dattapaharam is a powerful novel for our anthropocentric age, written by one of the most exciting voices to emerge from the Indian subcontinent. It is at times a fable on the modern world, at times a search for identity amid a quest for discovery, and on the whole a moving tale that takes the reader deep into the forests to understand what truly makes us human.

Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye by K.J.S. Dhillon

Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye (Signed by the author) — Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye || K.J.S. Dhillon

Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye is an autobiographical, candid, and emotive account of an Army veteran’s life. It concentrates on the personal, professional, and, most significantly, family life of an Army soldier, and will not only provide insight into the challenges and tribulations he endured, but will also inspire a broad range of readers, particularly young defence aspirants.

Penguin At JLF 2023 ?

Posted on January 31, 2023January 31, 2023 by amisra

The Jaipur Literature Festival, also called the ‘greatest literary show on Earth’, is the Multiverse of Madness for every littérateur! Over one lakh people attended the 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival last week, which featured sessions by over 500 speakers and artists from around the globe. Here’s a recap of Penguin at JLF 2023!

Pic 1: Visitors pay homage to the festival with heartfelt messages Pic 2: #SPOTTED Namita Gokhale’s The Blind Matriarch finds it’s way to the streets of the Pink City

In the words of Festival Director, Namita Gokhale, “The Jaipur Literature Festival 2023 had an emphasis on translations and shared human narratives. Writers and translators broke beyond the boundaries of language and reached out across cultures and continents.

2023 was truly a vintage year with a stellar range of writers from India and across the world. The audiences were as ever deeply engaged and responsive. Five days of lucid dreaming with intellect and creative imagination at play.”

Pic 1: Children line up to have their copies signed by the iconic Sudha Murty. Pic 2: Bestselling author Durjoy Datta draws massive crowds during his opening session at JLF Day 1.

This year, Penguin presented India’s budding writers with an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime lifetime! The Perfect Pitch is a contest where writers get a chance to pitch their book to a jury of eminent people from the world of publishing.

Five shortlisted authors got to pitch their book to a distinguished panel at JLF with the winner being offered exclusive one-on-one mentorship, for a chance for them to hone their talent and polish their book. The mentors and jury included two editors from Penguin – Elizabeth Kuruvilla and Gurveen Chadha – author of Manjhi’s Mayhem, Tanuj Solanki, and Shreya Punj, also known as The Editor Recommends.

Our winner for the first edition of The Perfect Pitch was Subi Taba.

Pic 3: Meet the Perfect Pitch jury and finalists!

The icing on the cake for us was to see so many of our debut authors at the festival this year, and the cherry on top? Six of our books made it to the top fifteen bestsellers!

Penguin authors among the Top 15 Bestsellers at JLF 2023 ?

Energize Your Mind by Gaur Gopal Das

Gaur Gopal Das, renowned author and life coach, decodes the mind in this book. He uses anecdotes and analytical studies to educate us how to discipline our minds for higher well-being. He gives engaging activities, meditation techniques, and worksheets throughout the book to help us take control of our minds.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

Set in Colombo, 1990, Maali Almeida, a war photographer, gambler, and closet gay, has died in what appears to be a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in Beira Lake, and he has no idea who killed him. At a time when scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers, and hired thugs, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts who gather around him can attest. Even in the afterlife, Maali’s time is running short. He has seven moons to contact the man and woman he loves the most and lead them to a hidden stockpile of images that will rock Sri Lanka.

The Magic of the Lost Story by Sudha Murty

The Magic of the Lost Story, written in India’s favourite storyteller, Sudha Murty’s, distinctive style, captures the value of asking questions and keeping the answers alive. This story takes you on an unforgettable adventure as it follows the gorgeous Tungabhadra River, which is filled with delightful artworks and wondrous terrains.

The Last Heroes by P Sainath

The Last Heroes tells the stories of the footsoldiers who fought for Indian independence. The men, women, and children in this book include Adivasis, Dalits, OBCs, Brahmins, Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus. They are from all across the country, speak a variety of languages, and include atheists and believers, Leftists, Gandhians, and Ambedkarites.

The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee

In The Song of the Cell, Siddhartha Mukherjee narrates the tale of how scientists discovered cells, began to comprehend them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. He entices readers with writing that is vibrant, lucid, and intriguing, making complex science exciting. The Song of the Cell is a masterwork, told in six sections and filled with Mukherjee’s personal experience as a researcher, clinician, and voracious reader.

Life’s Amazing Secrets by Gaur Gopal Das

Gaur Gopal Das is one of the world’s most well-known and sought-after monks and life coaches, having taught millions of people. Life’s Amazing Secrets, his debut book, distils his life experiences and lessons into a light-hearted, thought-provoking book that will help you match yourself with the life you want to live.

Check out our must-read debut authors! ?

Hacking Health by Mukesh Bansal

Mukesh Bansal tackles the monumental challenge of deciphering science, summarizing research, and charting the journey of our relationship with our bodies in Hacking Health. This book draws from ancient wisdom while also debunking unscientific myths to help you make informed choices in pursuit of good health, using a blend of firsthand opinion and cutting-edge science. This book looks into the breadth and depth of holistic health and helps you traverse the lines between science and pseudoscience, from nutrition and exercise to relaxation and immunity, proper nutrition and mental health to ageing and lifespan.

Slow is Beautiful by Gunjan Ahlawat

Slow is Beautiful is the opportunity to go on an adventure filled with awareness and contemplation in the form of an exhilarating book. Through the eyes of the author, Ahlawat Gunjan, we get to perceive, evaluate, contemplate, and apply using artistic abilities developed through years of study to re-ignite a lost inclination. The book urges you to embrace a new aesthetic viewpoint by introducing you to form, colour, and composition. Every one of the sixty simple prompts in this book is an important step that is illustrated by vivid ink and watercolour drawings drawn from nature and created and carefully crafted by the artist himself to inspire readers to draw, erase, paint, experiment, create, and, most importantly, accept their mistakes.

Rethink Ageing by Nidhi Chawla & Reshmi Chakrobarty

Rethink Ageing is a montage of significant stories that demonstrate how the narrative of ageing in India is changing. They fight ageism, which is deeply ingrained in Indian culture, with rigid ideals of ‘acceptable’ behaviour. Why should our age prohibit us from pursuing the lives we desire? We live in an ageing community that is adjusting to nuclear families, distant children, and ambiguous social support. To adopt active ageing, the best form of preventative healthcare, urban Indians are negotiating health difficulties, loneliness, and changing social benchmarks. This book offers a comprehensive insight into comprehending ageing, its influence on society, and how to conquer certain ‘obstacles’. We are no longer defined and restricted to our biological age.

I Am Onir and I am Gay by Onir

I Am Onir and I Am Gay is a powerful autobiography on addressing and conquering obstacles. This visceral and brutally honest personal story of faith, love, and the pursuit of dreams, co-written with his sister Irene Dhar Malik, is a game changer.

All the Right People by Priyanka Khanna

Shaan Singh, a Delhi party girl by night and a senior politician’s obedient daughter by day, understands whatever role to play to get her way. She is feisty and highly brilliant, and she has her own political ambitions. How far would she go to keep her freedom if her parents drive her into marriage for strategic reasons? Or will she succumb?

All The Right People is a glittering, whip-smart, and extremely amusing book that takes you into the secret, privileged world of the most wealthy and powerful families in Bombay, Delhi, and London while telling a universal story. Of love, loss, family, friendship, and difficult decisions a nd of women reclaiming control of their lives.

Half Empress by Tripti Pandey

Tripti Pandey’s historical novel The Half Empress takes the reader to the regal hallways of nineteenth-century Jaipur and recounts the tale of a magnificent woman who has been deliberately erased from history. Raskapoor, the daughter of a Muslim mother and a Brahmin father, is best remembered today by the guides who often cite her as a celebrity prisoner at the famous Nahargarh Fort, upon whom the Maharaja violated all standards to give the title of ‘Half Empress’.

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Remembering Gandhi and other freedom fighters this Martyrs’ Day!

Posted on January 30, 2023January 31, 2023 by Kavya Wahi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lives on in the heart of every Indian. His contributions as a freedom fighter and political leader continue to inspire people from all over the world. This Martyrs’ Day, lets sift through these books and recall the sacrifices of Mahatma Gandhi and several other freedom fighters who risked their lives to safeguard our nation.

Gandhi’s Assassin by Dhirendra K. Jha

Gandhi’s Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India delves into Godse’s encounters with the people and organisations that shaped his worldview and gave him a feeling of purpose. The book recounts Godse’s gradual hardening of determination, as well as the tragic decisions and intrigue that eventually led to Mahatma Gandhi’s death in the turbulent aftermath of India’s independence in 1947.

Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye by Lt Gen KJS ‘Tiny’ Dhillon

Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye is an anecdotal, frank, and evocative account of an Army veteran’s life. It concentrates on the personal, professional, and, most significantly, family life of an Army soldier, and will not only provide insight into the challenges and tribulations he endured, but will also inspire a broad range of readers, particularly young defence aspirants.

Mahatma Gandhi by Raja Rao

Mahatma Gandhi’s life is the story of a hero. Raja Rao upends the literary biography genre with imaginative non-linear chronology, through dialogue and anecdote, locating the physical within the metaphysical, and with a book that is both retrospective and contemporary at the same time in Mahatma Gandhi: The Great Indian Way. Rao concentrates on Gandhi’s years in South Africa, the birthplace of nonviolent resistance, before moving on to the epic independence struggle in India, which won Gandhi worldwide acclaim during his lifetime.

Gandhi before India by Ramachandra Guha

Based on archival research in four continents, this book explores Gandhi’s experiments with dissident cults, his friendships and enmities, and his failures as a husband and father. Gandhi Before India tells the dramatic story of how he mobilized a cross-class and inter-religious coalition, pledged to non-violence in their battle against a racist regime.

Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover by Akshaya Mukul

Premchand, Phanishwarnath Renu, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand, and Josephine Miles are among the writers featured in Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover, as are Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, revolutionary Chandra Shekhar Azad, and actor Balraj Sahni. Its settings range from British prisons to an academically vigorous Allahabad and present-day Delhi, as well as monasteries in Europe. is ambitious and intellectual, but it’s also an achingly beautiful tempest of a read.

India’s Most Fearless Series by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh

India’s Most Fearless highlights fourteen true stories of extraordinary bravery and fearlessness, offering a glimpse into the kind of heroism demonstrated by our troops in impossibly terrible situations and under immense provocation. Its two highly anticipated sequels bring you fourteen and ten more stories, respectively, of great fearlessness, bringing you closer than ever to the personal bravery demonstrated by Indian military soldiers in the line of duty.

1971 by Rachna Bisht Rawat

1971: Charge of the Gorkhas and Other Stories, revisits the battlefields of the 1971 Indo-Pak war through the eyes of valiant soldiers from the army, navy, and air force who sacrificed their lives for a cause greater than themselves.

The Burning Chaffees by Balram Singh Mehta

India launched a decisive war against Pakistan in 1971. However, prior to all-out war, an even more critical tank engagement was fought on 21 November 1971 by the C Squadron 45 Cavalry, which wrecked Pakistani General A.A.K. Niazi’s preparations for triumph and set the foundation for the Pakistani Army’s ultimate destruction. Brigadier B.S. Mehta’s The Burning Chaffees is a gripping account of the decisive combat of November 21st.

The Good Boatman by Rajmohan Gandhi

In this book, Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and an acclaimed biographer and scholar, attempts to understand the phenomenon that was Gandhi. This he does by examining in detail dominant and varied themes of Gandhi’s life. His unsuccessful bid to keep India united, his attitude towards caste and untouchability; his relationship with those whose empire he challenged; his controversial experiments with chastity; his views on God, truth and non-violence; and his selection of heirs to lead a new-born nation.

The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi by Makarand R Paranjape

Paranjape’s meticulous study culminates in his reading of Gandhi’s last six months in Delhi where, from the very edge of the grave, he wrought what was perhaps his greatest miracle – the saving of Delhi and thus of India itself from the internecine bloodshed of Partition. Paranjape, taking a cue from the Mahatma himself, also shows us a way to expiate our guilt and to heal the wounds of an ancient civilization torn into two.

The Man Before the Mahatma by Charles DiSalvo

At the age of eighteen, a shy and timid Mohandas Gandhi leaves his home in Gujarat for a life on his own. At forty-five, a confident and fearless Gandhi, ready to boldly lead his country to freedom, returns to India. What transforms him? The law. The Man before the Mahatma is the first biography of Gandhi’s life in the law. Using materials hidden away in archival vaults and brought to light for the first time, The Man before the Mahatma puts the reader inside dramatic experiences that changed Gandhi’s life forever and have never been written about—until now.

Mahatma Gandhi and his Apostles by Ved Mehta

Ved Mehta’s book on Gandhi (1977) is one of the great portraits of the political leader. Travelling the world to talk to Gandhi’s family, friends and followers, drawing his daily life in exacting detail, Mehta gives us a nuanced and complex picture of the great man and brings him vividly alive.

My Dear Bapu by Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, or Rajaji, was famously described by Mahatma Gandhi as his ‘conscience keeper’. The eighty-odd largely unpublished letters presented here span the period from the run-up to Independence to its early years, providing deep insight into the struggles and endeavours of Indian public life.

The Living Gandhi by Tara Sethia

This inspiring volume presents unique insights from leading international scholars, activists, educators and thought leaders on the contemporary relevance of Gandhi’s ideas and actions. The essays here reveal that for Gandhi, legitimate coercion by the state in certain cases was compatible with ahimsa; a balance between spiritual and material values was essential for a true civilization; and swaraj anchored in self-discipline and self-restraint was imperative for sustainable ways of life.

Gandhi, The Years That Changed the World by Ramachandra Guha

Gandhi lived one of the great 20th- century lives. He inspired and enraged, challenged and delighted millions of men and women around the world. He lived almost entirely in the shadow of British Raj, which for much of his life seemed a permanent fact, but which he did more than anyone else to bring down. In a world defined by violence and warfare and by fascist and communist dictatorships, Gandhi was armed with nothing more than his arguments and example. While fighting for national freedom, he also attacked caste and gender hierarchies and fought-and died-for inter-religious harmony. This magnificent book tells the story of Gandhi’s life from the time he left South Africa to his participation in the Second Round Table Conference.

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My Life in Design by Gauri Khan

Fear and Lovely by Anjana Appachana

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Purposeful by Sandeep K. Krishnan

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Bipin by Rachna Bisht Rawat

Learn, Don’t Study by Pramath Raj Sinha

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The Newlyweds by Mansi Choksi

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Tejo Tungabhadra by Vasudhendra and Maithreyi Karnoor

The Penguin Book of Indian Poets

A Thousand Kisses Deep by Novoneel Chakraborty

Heart on the Edge by Novoneel Chakraborty

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Our Impossible Love by Durjoy Datta

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Till the Last Breath by Durjoy Datta

Eleven Ways to Love

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

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Secrets of Divine Love Journal by A. Helwa

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Life Switch by Madhuri Banerjee

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Bad Liars by Vikrant Khanna

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Penguin authors among the Top 15 Bestsellers at JLF 2023 ?

Energize Your Mind by Gaur Gopal Das

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

The Magic of the Lost Story by Sudha Murty

The Last Heroes by P Sainath

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Life’s Amazing Secrets by Gaur Gopal Das

Check out our must-read debut authors! ?

Hacking Health by Mukesh Bansal

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