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The Great Game in the Buddhist Himalayas is an attempt to provide several unknown insights into the India-China, India-Tibet and China-Tibet relationships. The book tries to take into consideration the overriding power of the conflicting cultural interests that are linked to the geopolitical interests of both China and India. At the same time, the book suggests how Buddhism could become a potential source for recultivating awareness towards an India–China congruity in the current context.

Read on to discover some interesting facts about the contentious India-China relationship:

1. It might seem a strange contradiction then that two ancient nations, India and China, bordering each other and sharing a spiritual destiny for thousands of years, have become bitter geopolitical rivals, especially in the Himalayas. Most tend to believe that the mutual mistrust has its genesis in colonial history when Indian troops fought for the British against the Chinese anti-colonial uprising (the Boxer Rebellion) between 1899 and 1901. The event, though unintended, was to underpin the course of the relationship between the two countries in modern times.

2. Tibet was never an issue of public importance in India even months after the March 1959 uprising in Lhasa. In fact, until 1958, there were hardly any serious differences between India and China, even though the need to sort out the discrepancies in boundary maps along with minor readjustments was felt by the two sides. Indian concerns related more to the difficulties faced by Indian traders in Tibet. The notes exchanged between the two countries in the early 1960s suggested that managing trading activities for India had become untenable because of the constant harassment faced by Indian traders.

3. Up until 1959, the border was not a serious issue even though there had been a few skirmishes arising out of discrepancies in maps, especially in the Aksai Chin and Barahoti areas. It was a time when the Chinese were consolidating their hold on Tibet. The controversy only erupted between September–November 1955 over Chinese troops preventing an Indian detachment from entering Damzan (south of the Niti Pass).

4. China sees a great advantage in employing Buddhism alongside its hard-power pursuits, especially to seek political and economic leverage in the context of China’s latest OBOR initiative in Asia. For quite a few years now, China has been conducting ‘Buddha relic diplomacy’ to improve ties and win important economic and infrastructure projects, such as in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Buddhism is among the list of weapons that the Chinese seem to have considered best suited to employ even in the Indian Himalayan belt.  The Indian Buddhist Himalayan complexity is fast changing and could be a source of considerable concern for India’s security. In part, this seems to be arising from an excessive Tibetan influence (‘Tibetanization’) in the Himalayas via a gradual taking over of Indian institutions by Tibetan lamas in the Buddhist Himalayas.

To know more about the complexities of the Indo- China relationship, grab your copy of The Great Game in the Buddhist Himalayas today!

The aura of the Indian Administrative Service has remained intact over the years. In this humorous, practical book, T.R. Raghunandan aims to deconstruct the structure of the bureaucracy and how it functions, for the understanding of the common person and replaces the anxiety that people feel when they step into a government office with a healthy dollop of irreverence.

Here are a few things you didn’t know about the Indian bureaucracy!

Although higher civil services were in theory open to women since Independence, the first women officers who joined the government (Chonira Belliappa Muthamma to the foreign service in 1948 and Anna George to the administrative service in 1951) were inducted with reluctance and with the caveat that they must leave if they ever married. At that time, patriarchal and misogynistic ideas about the unsuitability of women at higher official levels were widely prevalent among colleagues, bosses and members of the public.

The first woman to top the IAS list was Anuradha Majumdar in 1970, the year in which a record number of women became civil servants.

The government is stubbornly loyal to the paper file. Unless a government office is buried under paper, preferably with fetid odour, it does not look and feel like a government office.

The blunt fact of the matter is that the bureaucracy, and particularly the IAS, is inherently suspicious of and, therefore, resistant to changes that introduce imponderables into the way the officers’ careers progress.

In an earlier era, the idea that an IAS officer should be a generalist had the makings of a    It was considered bad form for an IAS officer to quote an educational degree in a particular subject to seek a posting in a related department; indeed, it was bad form for an officer to ever ask for a post.

There is no doubt that one of the significant reasons why India is progressing is because there are large numbers of honest bureaucrats, who go about their work diligently and honestly, but are constrained not to speak about the changes they have brought about, because they are trained to be self-effacing.

IAS officers are sticklers for detail. They need to find out quickly as to whether the individual opposite them are (a) senior or (b) junior to them and/or whether they are (c) direct recruits or (d) promotees into the service. The nub of the matter is to find out the status and seniority of the other. A miscalculation of seniority in that introductory meeting can result in the destruction of one’s confidential reports. It is prudent for the ambitious officer to err on the side of caution and address any object that looks senior to her, animate or inanimate, as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Bureaucracy But Were Afraid to Ask tells you all about the fast-tracked elite civil servant, who belongs to a group of generalist and specialized services selected through a competitive examination

In Khaki Files, Neeraj Kumar, a distinguished former Delhi Police Commissioner revisits many sensational police cases of his career -from investigation of one of the biggest lottery frauds in the country to foiled ISI attempt to kill Tarun Tejpal and Anirudh Behal of Tehalka-bringing to light numerous achievements of the country’s police force, otherwise largely reviled and ridiculed.

One of the high- profile cases Neeraj worked on, during his stint at CBI, was that of the deadly serial bombings in Mumbai on 12 March 1993 that claimed 279 lives, caused injuries to nearly 700 people and damage to property, both public and private, worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

Read an excerpt from his book to discover how this case was solved under Neeraj’s leadership!

I reached Hyderabad at around 8 p.m. I was to stay in the local police mess, but I drove straight from the airport to the office of the ACP, who was a prominent member of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in the Hyderabad Police. The real name of the ACP eludes me now, but I remember that he was popularly called Gabbar Singh. His colleagues, on account of his imposing height, build and rather villainous looks that belied his friendly disposition, had given him this moniker. It was a pleasure to meet him and exchange details of the work being done by our respective units, which led to an immediate kinship. Soon the ACP sent for his informant and in walked a short and frail man in his mid-thirties. He was unkempt and rather smelly. Gabbar Singh introduced me to him saying that I was the CBI officer sent from Delhi to follow up on the information he had. I tried my best to make the informant feel at ease and soon he began to talk freely with me in his typical Hyderabadi Hindi. His conversation with me, still etched in my memory, went something like this: ‘Sahib, apne kuch jaante jo tumko batana kya?’ (Shall I tell you something that may be useful to you), he asked. When I said he may, he asked me, ‘Kya aap AP Express ka bomb dhamaka case dekhte?’ (Are you looking into the AP Express blast case?) When I replied in the affirmative, he said, ‘Bombay me ek jagah hai Mominpura. Wahan ek doctor hai jiska naam apun ko nahee maloom. Par uska khairat ka ek hospital hai Mominpura mein. Woh mastermind hai, usko dhoondo, woh aap ko sab bata sakta hai.’ (There is a place in Mumbai called Mominpura where a Muslim doctor resides. He runs a charitable hospital but is the mastermind behind the blasts. Please look for him.)

The information was rather sketchy, but I had to make the most of it. The first logical step was to share it with my field officers in Mumbai. That would require the exchange of information in real time between Satish Jha—my able junior colleague and superintendent of police (SP) in Mumbai— and myself. Mobile telephony had not reached India as yet. To add to my woes, even the subscriber trunk dialling (STD) facility was not available on Gabbar Singh’s office phone. (In those days, official telephones, whether at home or at work, were provided with the STD facility only if they were for the use of very senior-ranking officers. I also remember that a common practice to avoid the misuse of the facility was to keep the telephone instrument locked or to protect its use by means of a code that was known only to the officers.)

So, I booked a trunk call (as inter-city calls were then called) and passed the information on to Satish. Five years my junior, Satish was a hands-on police officer known for his investigative and operational skills and had been with me on several sensitive missions. He quickly collected his team of handpicked officers and decided to rope in the Mumbai Police, which was just as well.

To get more inside glimpses of police missions, grab your copy of the book here!

The Annual Carnival is the most awaited event at Hastings. Mr. Cheeks, a dapper tap-dancing Chihuahua; Mr. Grey, a Persian cat with a flair to paint;  and Hopper, a nervous rabbit who loves to sing; could not be more excited to participate in the carnival. But soon they realise that in Hastings, everyone has been strictly categorised according to their type regarding their roles in the carnival.

The Incredible Adventures of Mr Cheeks by Tazmeen Amna, tells the journey of these three friends, fighting the odds together and realising some valuable lessons in the process. These lessons are sure to resonate with your little ones!

Here we list a few of these lessons:

1. Cheeks and Mr. Grey, warmly welcome Hopper, who is new to the village of Hastings and  is quite anxious in the new atmosphere. Hopper immediately feels comfortable in the company of these two friends  due to their inclusive nature. Inclusivity is an important vein in the book that runs throughout the scope of the story.

2. . Just like Hopper, who is new to Hastings, the book  showcases how easily one can adjust and become comfortable in a new environment despite their anxieties, if they approach new people with confidence and a pleasant attitude.

3. The book also teaches an important lesson about not being judgemental especially about one’s looks. One should value one’s friends for their personality and the qualities that they possess. This point is reinforced by the beautiful bond that Mr. Cheeks. Mr. Grey and Hopper share.

4. Despite Mr. Cheeks being a dog; Mr. Grey being a cat and Hopper, a rabbit; they all have varied interests that do not necessarily conform to the categories they belong to. Nevertheless, they courageously took all the obstacles in their stead and made a shining example of how one should always follow their heart.

5. The book shows the wonder of friendship. , Mr. Cheeks, Mr. Grey and Hopper,  are willing to go the distance to help out their friends in their hour of need.

The Incredible Adventures of Mr Cheeks is a must read for your child as it will help them learn these lessons subtly!

Pather Panchali, is rich in rural turns of speech, local vocabulary, and references to the agrarian life of southern riverine Bengal.

In translating Pather Panchali, the translator Rimi has thus focused on preserving as much of this ‘music and suggestiveness’ of the original text as possible, to offer readers as authentic an experience as possible of immersing themselves in the original novel.

Here is a little peek into the different characters existing in the world of Pather Panchali:

Indir Thakrun

Now an elderly widow, she was the daughter of a particularly prestigious Brahmin Family. Indir had been married young to a brahmin from the eastern districts. Despite being married to him for several years before she was widowed, Indir had only vague memories of him—she couldn’t even remember his face properly. One of their rare unions, however, had produced a little girl. Indir named her Bishweshwori; she died a few months after her own wedding.

Horihor

He was Indir’s cousin who had been taken in by her family when his parents passed away and had left Contentment in search of better prospects. Horihor had abruptly returned to Contentment and brought with him a pretty young wife, a girl he had married during his years away. The young couple settled into the old house, and within a year had their first child—a little girl they called Durga.

Shorbojoya

Shorbojoya was Horihor’s wife. She disliked Indir knowing that the later had taken advantage of Horihor’s mother’s kindness and permanently attached herself to a family that could barely afford to support its own. Her dislike of the older woman began to manifest itself in sharp words, and before long, shouting matches became a daily staple of the Roy household. The smallest matter could trigger Shorbojoya’s quick temper, and the closer poverty bit to the bone of her family, the harsher she became with Indir.

Durga

She was the daughter of Horihor and Shorbojoya. She was the only thread that held the women together. Indir lavished all her love on this ‘Khuki’, this little girl born of her beloved Horihor. Khuki’s childish lisp, her wobbly first steps, her constant curiosity about the simplest things— everything flooded Indir’s shrivelled old body with maternal ecstasy. It infuriated Shorbojoya to see Durga fall for Indir’s pathetic act every single time, and become closer to her ‘aunt’ than she was to her own mother!

Opu

The baby of the family, loved and coddled by all, young Awpurbo—or Opu, for short—spends his childhood immersed in pranks and games with his sister, unaware of the winds of change that will upturn his family’s life forever. Opu and his coming-of-age journey eventually become the focus of this novel, the pivot around which this epic tale spins.

Pather Panchali chronicles the glorious discoveries along the path of everyday life—from spots for secret picnics and the true flavour of desserts to the pleasure of fulfilled dreams and life’s sobering lessons embedded in disappointed hopes.

Celebrity nutritionist Pooja Makhija has, to date, transformed the bodies – and lives – of thousands of people by teaching them to believe in the power of food.

In N for Nourish Your Body and Food, she teaches children about the wonder and magic of food, and she finds that giving them the right tools at the right time helps them reap lifelong benefits. And even though she’s strict about her kids eating right, she is—by her own account— a fun person to live with.

‘N for Nourish is more than just a book. It is a journey to living your best life.’ writes Pooja.

Here are 8 things about this dynamic author’s life that you may not have known!

1. Pooja studied the relationship between body and food while doing her B.Sc in Dietetics. She holds a Master’s degree in the field of Food Science and Nutrition.

2. Her bestselling book on nutrition and weight loss, Eat Delete, released in 2012, has already been translated into Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi.

3. Pooja followed up the astounding success of her authorial debut Eat Delete : The Anti- Quick Fix Approach with Eat Delete Junior : Child Nutrition for Zero to Fifteen Years and Before You Give Up On You
4. Pooja gained recognition on TV as the star of The Pooja Makhija Show on the Food Food channel.
   

5. Pooja has consistently campaigned for healthy eating through her regular columns in the Times of India and DNA among other publications.

6. Her new weight loss and health portal, www.nourishgenie.com, delivers customized meal plans straight to the subscriber’s inbox and includes clients from all over the world.

7. Fit and famous Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor are some of her celebrated clients.

8. Pooja has two daughters, Ahaana and Amaira. She lives and works in Mumbai where she promotes health and wellbeing through her clinic, aptly named, Nourish. She is also working on raising awareness on nutrition by doing workshops all over the country in schools.

In her latest book N for Nourish, Pooja Makhija offers her young readers tools to shape their future as fit and healthy achievers. Her keen observations on how children succumb to the lure of unhealthy foods and what measures can they take to fortify their health makes this a must read for both parents and children.

‘Welcome to N for Nourish. This book is not just the ABC of nutrition but is also packed with OMG facts about how food can change your life. And it can.’

N for Nourish is India’s first children’s self help book on nutrition and is perfect for children ages 10+

Diwali is here! We know you have very happy and excited young ones around and so we’d love to recommend these timeless gifts from your favourite storytellers! From a scenic walk through our various places of worship to some more glimpses of Rama, there is a lot to choose from!

Take your pick:

The Serpent’s Revenge

How many names does Arjuna have? Why was Yama cursed? What lesson did a little mongoose teach Yudhisthira?

Award-winning author Sudha Murty reintroduces the fascinating world of India’s greatest epic through the extraordinary tales in this collection, each of which is sure to fill you with a sense of wonder and bewilderment.

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The Upside Down King

Did you know there was a time when bears spoke, the moon laughed and babies were found inside fish? Did you know Ravana’s half-brother was the god of wealth? Have you ever seen a man with a thousand arms?

The tales in this collection surround the two most popular avatars of Lord Vishnu-Rama and Krishna-and their lineage. Bestselling author Sudha Murty takes you on an arresting tour, all the while telling you of the days when demons and gods walked alongside humans, animals could talk and gods granted the most glorious boons to common people.

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Fun in Devlok Omnibus

Why is Indra an unhappy god? Why is the cow such a cool animal? Who is the demon of forgetfulness?

Master storyteller Devdutt Pattanaik answers these curious questions and reveals many more secrets of the world of gods and demons in this delightfully illustrated omnibus, featuring all six tales in the Fun in Devlok series. Jump right in. The gates of Devlok are open!

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The Puffin Book of Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Whose weapon of choice is a sugar-cane bow and a flower arrow? Who lives on Mount Meru? Whose superpower is knowledge?

From silly arguments to epic battles, from nasty monsters to divine divas, The Puffin Book of Hindu Gods and Goddesses juggles a range of tales and characters from Hindu mythology with colourful, zany illustrations to boot.

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The Puffin Ramayana

The popular classic in which good vanquishes evil, now in a pocket-friendly version!

The traditional ingredients are all there—drama and excitement, gods and princes, love and war, infinite stories within stories, monkeys who cross oceans and carry mountains, shape-changing demons and bizarre monsters—but described with freshness and vitality by Bulbul Sharma. This contemporary retelling, which answers questions and provides explanations, is the perfect first Ramayana for everyone!

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Amma, Take Me to Tirupathi

Come, explore the places where we worship!

Follow Amma and the boys to know all about the world-famous temple of Tirupati Balaji. Told through interesting stories with captivating illustrations, this new series introduces readers to the history of different faiths and their associated monuments.

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Two-Epics-In-One

The country’s favourite mythologist, Devdutt Pattanaik, empowers and entertains with a double bill of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata for a whole new generation of readers, in his easy, distinctive style.

This gorgeous flipbook, bringing together Pattanaik’s previously celebrated works, is both playful and informative! Flip the book and look at the epics in a brand new light.

We hope you enjoy these stories with your younger ones. Penguin wishes you a very happy Diwali!

India’s favourite mythologist, Devdutt Pattanaik, is back! Get a double dose of his masterpieces in a gorgeous flipbook to get another perspective into Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Here’s an excerpt from one half of the book – The Boys Who Fought – depicting the Pandavas as they prepare for one of their many heroic battles:

The Fifth Fight, as Warriors

The Kauravas were delighted at having located the Pandavas before the thirteenth year was over.

Unfortunately, their joy was short-lived. Bhishma said that the Kauravas’ calculation was faulty by a year. They had not considered the extra month that needs to be added to a year every three years. So technically, the Pandavas had actually been in exile for more than thirteen years.

Drupada sent a messenger to the Kauravas on behalf of his sons-in-law, demanding that they keep their end of the bargain and return Pandava territory to the Pandavas. The Kauravas refused.

Then the Kauravas sent Sanjay, Dhritarashtra’s charioteer, to tell the Pandavas not to return from their exile for the sake of peace. The Pandavas refused.

Then Krishna went to Hastinapur to reach a compromise. ‘Don’t give them everything. Just five villages,’ said Krishna. The Kauravas refused. Instead they insulted the Pandavas for behaving like beggars.

It was clear that there would be no compromise nor peace. War had to be declared; sides had to be picked.

Two-Epics-In-One is the perfect gift for the young ones to celebrate the spirit of this festive season!

Journalist Jigna Vora’s book, Behind Bars in Byculla, is a highly personal and powerful story of her unjust incarceration and years spent behind bars. Here’s what she has to say about prison:

Jail is not a rehabilitation centre, it’s a recruitment centre.

In prison, life is ruled by rules. One is deprived of basic freedom for survival. It’s secondary whether you have committed a crime or not, or whether you are male or female. Once you are sent to prison, life changes in each and every aspect.

Being woman makes it a bit more difficult because of various issues like hygienic conditions etc.

During my days of covering crime, I had covered many cases wherein women were accused and sent to jail. I had many stories relating to jail. Little did I know that someday I would become the story others write about.

In jail, there is no privilege being a woman. Do you ever think of human rights violations in prison?  Why does no one think of that and raise them? Perhaps because it is assumed by society that once jailed, the person is a criminal.

Once out from jail, society’s perception of the person changes. When society refuses to accept the person, he/she gets into vicious circles of crime. The inmates are not judgmental, and maybe because of this, the person tries to connect them once outside and form their own groups, getting into bigger crimes.

Behind Bars in Byculla is a story of survival and the complex power dynamics that exist within the walls of a prison. Find out Jigna Vora’s story, in her own words.

India is one of the largest economies in the world today and it has been predicted that it would become the third largest economy by 2030. Yet, an average Indian is worse off than his counterpart in other developing nations like Algeria, Indonesia, Mongolia and Morocco. The tethers of corruption and fragility have prevented it from becoming an Asian Tiger.

Author Dev Kar, a former senior economist at the International Monetary Fund, delves into the nooks and crannies of the Indian economy in a closely researched narrative in an attempt to chart out a path forward.

 

While a number of books have been written on India’s governance, this is the first to assess specific weaknesses in relation to other countries in the world. Assessments of governance and fragility are necessarily subjective in nature. Nevertheless, readers will find a clear picture of the country’s state of democracy and how it has evolved under successive governments. The central message is that good governance is fundamentally important. As I describe, even strongly governed advanced countries have paid a steep price for relaxing institutional oversight and overlooking corruption. Surely, then the risks arising out of a failure to govern are much higher for India. Yet, in the pursuit of high rates of economic growth, economists often lose sight of the need for inclusivity and sustainability. Together, these determine the quality of life of citizens, regardless of whether they are rich or poor. Truly, even the rich cannot insulate themselves from the fallout of poor governance. After the book went to press, signs have emerged of a sharp slowdown in economic growth. Policy measures such as tax cuts, liberalizing business regulations, increasing government expenditures and lowering interest rates may indeed counter the slowdown and avoid a crash. However, if underlying weaknesses in governance remain unaddressed, the slowdown can again emerge to derail growth. Tagore once said that when designing a chariot, we need to think not only of how fast it can go but also consider the depth of the ditches lying across its path. Without good governance, growth tends to occur in spurts and fails to improve the lives of the vast majority. A large part of the problem is that policymakers often avoid asking a basic question—whose growth are we talking about? Does growth further enrich the rich or are the benefits shared equitably by all? There is no denying that economic growth, over the past two decades, have lifted millions out of poverty. Yet, India has one of the world’s most unequal distributions of income. A main reason is that even though India achieved impressive rates of growth, entrenched corruption led to bad investment choices. Meanwhile, poorly educated and unhealthy workers could not take advantage of economic growth no matter how high they were. Thus, the benefits of growth accrued mainly to the top income brackets. In time, rising income inequality can align with other factors to undermine the sustainability of economic growth. You would think politicians would boost investments in health and education to preempt these forces. Not necessarily. Because the return on such investments takes a long time to mature, they remain unattractive to politicians fixated on short-term electoral cycles. The book deals with a wide range of such issues explained in a manner that can be appreciated by the general public. For instance, how do dirty politics nurture poor governance, corruption impact economic growth, black money drive income inequality, and weak institutions breed more corruption? Sometimes issues are explained through the lens of current events and personal experience while in other instances, I cite developments in the United States and other countries to contrast differences in governance. It took me a year and a half to write the book. In the process, I discovered an India I was unaware of. Perhaps, these discoveries would also surprise readers. Under the glare of evidence, my criticisms of the status quo may seem harsh but ultimately it was an abiding love for India that led me to write the book.

India: Still a Shackled Giant is a critical roadmap to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our country’s economical structures. Get your copy today!