Want to go from office zero to hero? These books have your back! Whether you’re looking for leadership shortcuts, incredible life stories, or just a laugh, we’ve got your path to workplace stardom covered. So, put on your reading glasses and get ready to boss it at the office!
Play to Transform || Avinash Jhangiani
Play to Transform is a book that challenges the traditional mindset of business leaders and encourages them to tap into their inner child to accelerate transformation with purpose. The book argues that we are all born creative geniuses with an innate ability to empathize deeply with others, but somewhere along the way, we have lost touch with these qualities. In the post-pandemic world, leaders need to be more empathetic and agile than ever before, and a conscious shift in mindset is required to achieve this.
Unlocked || Gezim Gashi
Gezim Gashi recounts his extraordinary journey-from escaping the Kosovo genocide to becoming the first Albanian-Swede to launch a high school institute in the United States – Gezim lays out a path to personal success and fulfillment that is accessible to all, regardless of their background. With his mentorship, readers will be inspired to overcome obstacles and achieve their biggest goals.
Unfiltered || Ana Lueneburger, Saurabh Mukherjea
A pioneering book, Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach, for the first time, opens the doors that normally shield the confidential world of coaching conversations. The book, through its candour, helps readers fully grasp the life-changing impact that coaching can have. Conceived as a leadership development book, the authors share the narratives (both individual and mutual) of their partnership over the course of five years. The resultant narrative provides not just unique insights that executives and entrepreneurs will find useful for their own development but also deep insights into how, by understanding ourselves, we move towards mastery over the world at large.
Leading from the Back || Ravi Kant, Harry Paul, Ross Reck
Are you looking for a leadership model that is uncomplicated, easy to use and produces amazing results? If so, then Leading from the Back is for you! In it you will find everything you need to become a superstar leader. You will learn how to earn respect from your team members and help them in achieving the impossible. No more learning about numerous principles and laws of leadership. Just a three-part model that has an amazing track record of proven success.
Leading from the Back is a distillation of the collective experience and wisdom of Ravi Kant (former CEO, vice chairman, Tata Motors), Harry Paul (co-author of the bestseller FISH! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results) and Ross Reck (co-author of The Win-Win Negotiator).
The Secret of Leadership || Iyer Prakash
Bestselling author Prakash Iyer uses simple but powerful anecdotes and parables from all over the world to demonstrate what makes for effective personal and professional leadership. Iyer draws lessons from sources as diverse as his driver, a mother giraffe, Abraham Lincoln and footballers in the United Kingdom. He shows how an instinct to lead can be acquired even while flipping burgers at a fast-food chain. All of these stories come together in an explosive cocktail to unleash your inner leader.
Catalyst || Chandramouli Venkatesan
A good job, hard work, IQ, EQ, good communication skills-these are all ingredients for a successful life. The presence of these elements alone, however, does not guarantee success. To convert them into long-term success, you need certain stimuli which precipitate or accelerate your growth. This robustly effective book identifies the various catalysts that you can cultivate and how you can leverage them to propel yourself in your work and life.
Accessible, engaging and easy to follow, and written by someone who has experienced all this in real life and not in theory, Catalyst will arm you with the right tools to succeed at your work place and get the most out of every moment, every day.
The Habit of Winning || Iyer Prakash
Do you feel like throwing in the towel, but want to be a great leader? Would you like to build an organization? Do you want your child to be the best she can be? If you answered yes to any of these questions, The Habit of Winning is the book for you. It is a book that will change the way you think, work and live, with stories about self-belief and perseverance, leadership and teamwork-stories that will ignite a new passion and a renewed sense of purpose in your mind.
We are thrilled to announce the longlisted works from Penguin Books for Tata Literature Live Book Awards 2023. These remarkable books, spanning a wide range of genres and themes, have captivated readers with their narratives that explore love, family, identity, history, science, and societal transformation. Join us in celebrating these exceptional authors and their stories that have earned them a place on the prestigious longlist.
Fear and Lovely || Anjana Appachana
Mallika is a painfully shy young woman growing up in the heart of a close-knit, sometimes stifling New Delhi colony. Though she is surrounded by love, her life is complicated by secrets that she, her mother and her aunt work hard to keep.
After suffering a trauma aged nineteen, 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 cares about. But she must also hide her mental illness from her community.
In a narrative that unfolds elliptically from the perspectives of Mallika and the seven people closest to her, the astonishing story of these characters’ lives emerges. For Mallika’s family, childhood friends and the two men she loves are also hiding truths. As each gives voice to contending with their own struggles, secrets and silences shatter.
Shurjo’s Clan || Iffat Nawaz
Spanning decades, from the forced migration of Bengalis to East Pakistan in 1947, through the 1971 liberation war, the wave of immigrants to the West in the 1980s, and a final return, Iffat Nawaz’s lyrical and evocative prose marks the arrival of a distinctive voice, one that unravels questions of grief, belonging, identity, and family with delightful imaginativeness and devastating insight. With its mesmerising balance between inexplicable otherworldliness and undeniable reality, this debut novel asks, above all, how we can honour the past without letting its wounds destroy us.
Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover || Akshaya Mukul
Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover features a formidable cast of characters: from writers like Premchand, Phanishwarnath Renu, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand and Josephine Miles to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, revolutionary Chandra Shekhar Azad and actor Balraj Sahni. And its landscapes stretch from British jails, an intellectually robust Allahabad and modern-day Delhi to monasteries in Europe, the homes of Agyeya’s friends in the Himalayas and universities in
the US. This book is a magnificent examination of Agyeya’s civilizational enterprise.
Ambitious and scholarly, Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover is also an unputdownable, whirlwind of a read.
The Song of the Cell || Siddhartha Mukherjee
From Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene, The Song of The Cell is the third book in this extraordinary writer’s exploration of what it means to be human-rich with Siddhartha Mukherjee’s revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and all the patients whose lives may be saved by their work.
In The Song of the Cell, Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. He seduces readers with writing so vivid, lucid, and suspenseful that complex science becomes thrilling. Told in six parts, laced with Mukherjee’s own experience as a researcher, doctor, and prolific reader, The Song of the Cell is both panoramic and intimate-a masterpiece.
Against all odds || S. ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, N. Dayasindhu, Krishnan Narayanan
Against All Odds: The IT Story of India is an insider’s account and an anecdote-rich history of Indian IT over the last six decades. It taps into the first-hand experiences of Kris Gopalakrishnan and fifty other stalwarts
who built and shaped the IT industry. This is a tale of persistence and resilience, of foresight, of planning and being ready when luck knocks on the door, of a spirit of adventure and, above all, of an abiding sense of faith in technology and the belief that it would do good for India. It is a tale of triumph, and the best is yet to come!
Forks in the Road || C. Rangarajan
In Forks in the Road, the veteran economist and policymaker provides a captivating account of his professional journey, starting with his purely accidental entry into the RBI in 1982. Rangarajan, regarded as one of the tallest figures in the history of India’s economic reforms, provides crucial insights into the role he played as part of the team which initiated far-reaching reforms in India’s economy in the early 1990s. The path-breaking reforms that he implemented during his tenure as governor of RBI included deregulation of interest rates, strengthening of the banking system by a gradual tightening of prudential norms, creation and nurturing of financial markets, giving them depth and vibrancy, shifting to market-determined exchange rates, making the rupee convertible on the current account and the cessation of automatic monetization of budget deficit.
Working To Restore || Esha Chhabra
Working to Restore examines revolutionary approaches in nine areas: agriculture, waste, supply chain, inclusivity for the collective good, women in the workforce, travel, health, energy, and finance. The companies profiled are solving global issues: promoting responsible production and consumption, creating equitable opportunities for all, encouraging climate action, and more. Chhabra highlights how their work moves beyond the greenwashed idea of ‘sustainability’ into a new era of regeneration and restoration.
Step into the colorful streets of Kodai, where a bright red cotton sari sets the scene for an intimate journey in Sakina’s Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag and translated by Srinath Perur. A casual conversation over tea unveils stories, secrets, and a budding connection between two souls.
Read this exclusive excerpt that beautifully captures the essence of human connection and the power of shared moments in an ever-changing world.
Sakina’s Kiss || Vivek Shanbhag
***
That evening we aimlessly roamed the streets of Kodai. Viji was wearing a bright red cotton sari with a green border. As we went up and down the inclines, I told her how, the year I joined work, I went to Mumbai for a week-long management course. A man named Tiwari was one of the speakers, and some of us had gathered around him in the tea-break after his lecture. When I learnt his talk had been based on a book called Another World, I asked him, stupidly, where the book was available. I don’t know what he thought, but he drew a copy of the book from his bag, placed it in my hands, said ‘good luck’ and left.
I started reading it that very evening. The other world of the book was the office, and it felt like every workplace problem described in it was taken from my own office. For someone like me, who came from a village, the office had become a place of silent dread. There were foreign clients to deal with, MBAs who held everything from the west as sacred. I felt suffocated without being able to say why. This book, and then others like it, helped me. With their pages as my wings, it felt like I could fly over everything that troubled me at work. As I immersed myself in book after book, I found that the things I read in them came back to me when I found myself in those situations. Not just that, I actually heard these parts in Tiwari’s voice. ‘You know,’ I said to Viji. ‘His voice is deep and serious, perfect for a guru.’
I explained to Viji that Tiwari had entered my life at a time when I was struggling even to talk to my colleagues. On the few occasions I worked up the courage to tell them I was feeling out of place, they looked at me kindly and brushed it off saying, ‘Don’t take these things so seriously.’ There was nothing in common between me and those who had grown up in the city. If they brought up the music of their youth and mentioned Metallica or Judas Priest, I would simply go quiet. ‘Oh, you poor thing!’ Viji said. ‘You didn’t know those bands They’re not bad. But then, why should you have heard of them…’
I felt a little uneasy that she knew about that kind of music. But I also noticed that Viji paid attention to the smallest details when I told her about my life and ended up taking my side. I was overcome with affection. I yearned to unburden all my secrets to her. When I sensed Viji was willing to let me into her world, I asked, ‘Which was your first book?’
‘It was called Talk to Me. It’s about having conversations with oneself. But it will take me a long time to tell my story. It begins in childhood.’
‘What’s the rush? You can go on all day and all night if you want. I am here to listen.’
When Viji started, we were standing below a tree at a roadside teashop, her face dappled by the evening sun. Her hair was in a loose bun, held in place by a large clip. Her brown lips and the marks left by long-ago acne stood out in this light. Her nose was enticingly rounded at its tip. And how sexy a slight overbite is! She only had to part her lips a fraction to look desirable. I watched mesmerized every time she took a sip of tea and her lips moved to meet the rim of the cup. The ardour of a new marriage magnifies everything. I saw her upper lip rest on the cup’s rim, test the tea’s temperature, and then advance with a gentle quiver to take a sip. Unable to help myself, I said, ‘Hand me your cup for a second.’
‘Why?’ she asked, puzzled.
‘I’ll tell you, give it to me.’
I placed my half-empty cup on the shop’s counter, took her cup in my right hand, turned it round to where her lips had touched the cup’s rim, took a lingering sip and said, ‘Ah! So good!’
She had caught on by now. She said, teasingly, ‘What are you doing?’
I rolled my eyes coyly, said, ‘Nothing at all,’ and handed her back the cup.
Viji plunged into her story with enthusiasm. ‘You won’t believe it,’ she said. ‘But I used to talk to my self all the time as a child.’ She told me how she used to come home from school at four in the afternoon and have the house to herself until her mother returned from work at five. During this hour she stood in front of her mother’s dressing table mirror and talked to herself, complete with gestures and expressions. She would make faces, roar with laughter, abuse classmates she did not get along with. ‘You know, one day I tried to imitate the dances I had seen in films. I even took my clothes off and tossed them here and there,’ she said, laughing.
***
Get your copy of Sakina’s Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag wherever books are sold.
October is here, and it brings a fresh wave of literary treasures for readers to discover. From thought-provoking biographies to captivating poetry collections, this month’s releases offer a diverse range of reading experiences. Join us as we explore the exciting world of our newest releases.
Doctor Steel || J.J. Irani
In the 1980s, the steel produced in India was not cost-effective, plagued by quality issues and unable to meet the standards required to take India a step ahead in its development goals.
Enter Jamshed Jiji Irani, fondly known as ‘Doc’ to all, whose efforts aimed at modernizing Tata Steel changed everything. Today, Tata Steel produces low-cost, high-quality metal of international standards. Under his leadership, Tata Steel ushered India into a new age of economic growth. But his story doesn’t end there. A leading industrialist, Irani was keenly involved in the 1990s economic liberalization that put India on the global map. He held positions on various Tata boards, and was part of the Confederation of Indian Industry and several other government-appointed committees. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and an honorary knighthood by the British government for his work.
The Art of Habits || Gauranga Das
As the final book in the three-volume series (after The Art of Resilience and The Art of Focus), The Art of Habits presents forty simple stories filled with deep revelations. What will enthral the readers is the engaging narration, the dynamics of the situations that manifest and the deep learnings from such episodes.
Anarchy or Chaos || Ole Birk Laursen
Driven by the urge for complete freedom from colonialism, authoritarianism, fascism and militarism, which are rooted in the idea and politics of the nation-state, Acharya fought for an international vision of socialism and freedom. During the tumultuous opening decades of the 1900s—marked by the globalization of radical inter-revolutionary struggles, world wars, the rise of communism and fascism, and the growth of colonial independence movements—Acharya allied himself with pacifists, anarchists, radical socialists and anti-colonial fighters in exile, championing a future free from any form of oppression, whether by colonial rulers or native masters. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, private correspondence and other primary sources, Laursen demonstrates that, among his contemporaries, Acharya’s turn to anarchism was unique and pioneering in the struggle for Indian independence.
Restless Lives || Harish Bhat
Restless Lives offers an oasis of quiet contemplation. In this beautiful poetry collection, author Harish Bhat contemplates various aspects that make up daily life. At times pleasing, at others disturbing, the lines within these pages promise to give pause, inspire and stir emotion.
This is Harish Bhat as you have never seen him before.
Fugitive of Empire || Joseph McQuade
A complex, controversial, and often contradictory figure, Bose has been described as a committed democrat, an authoritarian, an advocate of religious harmony, a Hindu chauvinist, an anti-communist, a political pragmatist, an idealist, a Japanese collaborator, an anti-racist, a cultural conservative, a Pan-Asianist, an Indian nationalist, and much more. Drawing on extensive archival research
from India, Japan, and the UK, this refreshing new biography brings to life the largely forgotten story of one of twentieth-century Asia’s most daring revolutionaries.
iParent || Neha J Hiranandani
Iparent decodes India’s app generation and elevates the discussion beyond ‘these kids and their phones!’ Based on research, candid conversations and personal reflection, this timely book is a witty meditation on parenting in a digital world. Hilarious and informative in equal measure, iParent empowers you to connect with the new generation and guide them to cyber-safety without being a helicopter parent. No judgement, no preaching.
Avatars of Brahma || Kaudinya Arpan, Pareekshit Dahal
In Avatars of Brahma, the authors, who run the popular website, Scientific Monk, delve into the lives of each avatar, their works and the philosophies presented by them. They explain how the avatars of Brahma help us understand the Indian thought process and India’s intellectual heritage, and give readers a view of the works of India’s greatest yogis from a twenty-first-century world view.
Heal your Gut, Mind and Emotions || Dimple Jangda
With the gut as a central axis of vigour, health coach Dimple Jangda has helped people all over the world recover from chronic diseases through a powerful combination of ancient Ayurvedic science, modern research and nutrition with a special emphasis on food chemistry.
In this comprehensive book, she shares the tools that shaped her life and advises on how you can use food to preserve your health and reverse diseases. She outlines a five-step process that will help you unlock the huge potentials of the gut and improve your gut–brain axis so it can share critical information with you on what the body truly needs.
Dimple’s goal is to empower people to use nutrition to prevent disease, and through this accessible, exhaustive book, shows you just how you can do that.
Doing Business in Uncertain Times || Ramesh Nair
Doing Business in Uncertain Times is a groundbreaking book which offers a comprehensive exploration of the complexities and challenges faced during economic downturns. It is divided into fifty thought-provoking chapters that present a unique and multifaceted perspective on downturns, providing instrumental guidance to entrepreneurs and business leaders through Nair’s extensive research and expertise,. Shining a spotlight on three key perspectives: business, clients and people, it will teach you to unlearn and relearn, shun past notions, push limits, develop new strengths and realize the potential that lies within you.
Poorna Swaraj || M. K. Gandhi, Dhananjay Rai
Time and again, Mahatma Gandhi’s life, work and philosophy have played pivotal roles in bringing positive change in society. Poorna Swaraj, through its reading of the Constructive Programme: Its Meaning and Place, opens a window to his vision of attaining real and complete independence or ‘swaraj’ for India. With his ideas on communal unity, prohibition, basic education, emancipation of women, advisasis’ concerns, farmers’ distress, removal of untouchability, demystification of leprosy, the role of khadi, charkha, village and small-scale industries, among others, Poorna Swaraj brings to light Gandhi’s road map for an egalitarian society.
The Nirvana Express || Mick Brown
From Edwin Arnold, whose epic poem about the life of the Buddha became a best-seller in Victorian Britain, to the occultist and magician Aleister Crowley; and from spiritual teachers Jiddu Krishnamurti, Meher Baba and Ramana Maharshi to the controversial guru Rajneesh, The Nirvana Express is an exhilarating, sometimes troubling journey through the West’s search for enlightenment.
Soul and Sword: https://penguin.co.in/book/soul-and-sword/
Soul and Sword || Hindol Sengupta
Hindol Sengupta is one of India’s most awarded and read historians. He is the winner of the Wilbur Award, the Valley of Words Award, the PSF Prize and the Kalinga Literary Award for his writing. He has been shortlisted for the Hayek Prize given by the Manhattan Institute in memory of the Nobel laureate economist F.A. Hayek. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and was trained in Indian history and international relations at the University of Oxford and the Geneva School of Diplomacy, and in business and finance at Columbia University. He is the author of ten previous books and lives in New Delhi.
Common Yet Uncommon || Sudha Murty
Written in Sudha Murty’s inimitable style, Common Yet Uncommon is a heartwarming picture of everyday life and the foibles and quirks of ordinary people. In the fourteen tales that make up the collection, Sudha Murty delves into memories of childhood, life in her hometown and the people she’s crossed paths with. These and the other characters who populate the pages of this book do not possess wealth or fame. They are unpolished and outspoken, transparent and magnanimous.
Their stories are tales of unvarnished humans, with faults and big hearts.
Black Money and Tax Havens || R Vaidyanathan
In Black Money and Tax Havens, R. Vaidyanathan provides the reader with a brief overview of black money-its generation, its estimates and how and why it is spirited away to tax havens. He also lays bare the danger that is posed to world financial well-being on account of the lack of political will to tackle these issues. A unique and timely work, this book packs in much information in an accessible manner.
Roman Stories || Jhumpa Lahiri
In ‘The Boundary’, one family vacations in the Roman countryside, though we see their lives through the eyes of the caretaker’s daughter, who nurses a wound from her family’s immigrant past. In ‘P’s Parties’, a Roman couple, now empty nesters, finds comfort and community with foreigners at their friend’s yearly birthday gathering-until the husband crosses a line.
And in ‘The Steps’, on a public staircase that connects two neighbourhoods and the residents who climb up and down it, we see Italy’s capital in all of its social and cultural variegations, filled with the tensions of a changing city: visibility and invisibility, random acts of aggression, the challenge of straddling worlds and cultures, and the meaning of home.
These are splendid, searching stories, written in Jhumpa Lahiri’s adopted language of Italian and seamlessly translated by the author and by Knopf editor Todd Portnowitz.
Another Sort of Freedom || Gurcharan Das
Another Sort of Freedom is a funny, moving and honest memoir of a man’s struggle to break free from expectations. Gurcharan Das was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, during World War II, when Hitler, Churchill and Hirohito were bashing everyone around. His mother noted in her diary, ‘This is a restless baby.’ By age two he had become ‘a difficult child’, and by three she was calling him a ‘troublemaker’. He discovered one day that he could run, and he has been running ever since.
Sakina’s Kiss || Vivek Shanbhag, Srinath Perur
Exquisitely translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur, Sakina’s Kiss is a delicate, precise meditation on the persistence of old biases—and a rattled masculinity—in India’s changing social and political landscape. Ingeniously crafted, Vivek Shanbhag interrogates the space between truth and perception in this unforgettable foray into the minefield of family life.
COMING SOON
Triveni || Gulzar
In Triveni are birds perched on branches, moonstruck musings, a house of straws, walking roses and unbridled desires of the heart. The poems are inhabited by lost lovers, unreturned books and bloodsucking rumours. A poetic form unique to Gulzar, Triveni is a confluence of three of India’s majestic rivers—the golden-hued Ganges, the deep green Yamuna and a third, the mythical one that lies beneath the former two, the Saraswati.
A form Gulzar began experimenting with in the 1960s, Triveni comes close to several classical Japanese forms of poetry such as the Haiku, Senryu and Tanka. The closest Indian forms to Triveni are the doha and shayari. In this stunning translation by Neha R. Krishna, Triveni have been transcreated as tanka and are ladled with musicality, breaking away from the charm of rhyme and metre. This collection, too, is a confluence or sangam of forms and nothing short of a gift from one of India’s most beloved poets.
Get ready for an epic October! Dive into stories of heroes, Greek gods, dreamers, and amazing adventures with animals. Plus, learn from the incredible A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. These new releases are a ticket to a world of imagination and fun for children of all ages – don’t miss out!
A Children’s History of India in 100 objects ||Devika Cariapa
Spanning the entirety of Indian history, from prehistoric to contemporary times, the 100 objects and artefacts chronicled in this book have shaped our present. Learn about the people who created these amazing objects, their way of life and culture, and how these objects influenced our world.
Embellished with vibrant illustrations, this engaging book will fire the imagination of readers and make them look at our incredible material remains in a new light while helping them understand our diverse pasts.
The Arthashashtra for Children || Deepa Agarwal
India’s gift to the world-Kautilya’s Arthashastra addresses almost every aspect of governance from the duties and objectives of the ruler to social welfare, financial management, town planning, law and justice and foreign affairs. Lost for centuries, it was miraculously rediscovered by Rudrapatna Shamasastry, a Sanskrit scholar, in 1905 CE.
This version, especially adapted for young readers, aims to acquaint them with a heritage work, while providing insights into the nitty gritty of running a country. Using examples from history as well as current geopolitics, it attempts to illustrate how Kautilya’s theories of governance remain as relevant as they were two thousand years ago.
Greek Gods, Mosters and Heroes || DEVDUTT PATTANAIK
Curated with fascinating bite-sized introductions-to well-known gods like Zeus and Poseidon, heroes like Heracles and Bellerophon, and monsters like Cyclops and Minotaur-it features over forty playful artworks of Greeks in Indian clothing along with dedicated colouring pages.
One-of-a-kind, Greek Gods, Monsters and Heroes is a must-have for every curious mythology enthusiast and budding artist!
Dreamers Box Set || Lavanya Karthik
Do you dream of changing the world?
Here are ten tales of some exceptional girls and boys who dared to dream the impossible, and their first steps towards greatness in diverse fields.
They are . . .
Mahasweta Devi
Satyajit Ray
J.R.D. Tata
Bachendri Pal
Janaki Ammal
Salim Ali
P. T. Usha
R. K. Laxman and R. K. Narayan
P.C. Sorcar
Teejan Bai
Illustrated in a style unique to each book, these are ten tales to inspire the Dreamer in you.
Uncontrollable || Varsha Seshan
Children forced out of their homes
Humans discarded as empty shells
A Machine that sucks out Power.
Secrets
More secrets
And still more secrets-
I must fight a government of evil,
destroy the Machine,
and . . . save my mother.
Me, twelve-year-old Rohini.
Ha. Really?
Animals in the House || Ruskin Bond
‘Grandfather and I saw eye to eye on the matter of pets, and whenever Grandmother decided it was time to get rid of a tame white rat or a squirrel, I would conceal them in a hole in the jackfruit tree.’
Instead of having brothers and sisters to grow up with in India, young Ruskin had several odd companions, including a monkey, a tortoise, a python and a Great Indian Hornbill. His grandfather was responsible for all this wildlife, and their home in Dehra became a centre of action and laughter as a variety of creatures were brought home—the furry, feathered, fierce and friendly—all under one roof.
Bursting with delightful illustrations, this chapter book features endearing characters and hilarious episodes, making it a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of Ruskin Bond!
A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 100 Anecdotes || Arthy Muthanna Singh, Mamta Nainy
A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 100 Anecdotes is one-of-a-kind book, with gorgeous illustrations, is a collectible edition that celebrates an extraordinary man who serves as a role model for all. Starting from his days growing up in the island town of Rameswaram, to working on India’s space programmes, to his years as the eleventh President of India and his life thereafter, the hundred anecdotes in the book have been chosen with utmost care to demonstrate the importance of hard work, commitment, courage, and innovative thinking that he stood for.
Step into the heart of the wild with Gargi Rawat in her latest book, Tiger Season. Join the suspenseful journey as the jeep navigates the wilderness, heartbeats racing, in search of the elusive tiger. Then, a breathtaking moment unfolds — Mallika, Chambalgarh’s iconic tigress, comes into view, embodying the essence of India’s majestic wildlife.
Read this excerpt to get a glimpse of the life of Tigress Mallika.
Tiger Season || Gargi Rawat
***
The jeep lunged forward to reposition itself and my breathing accentuated with the change in gears. Jaya too was desperately checking her camera settings as our guide and driver moved the jeep for a more panoramic view.
I felt on edge and the constant shift of the gearbox, the braking of pedals and the sound of an ageing chassis was adding to my stress. The monkeys continued their chattering and occasional hooting, but they had stopped the alarm call. The sambar had stopped calling as well. Maybe the tiger had settled down? Not a good sign as I couldn’t spot it!
The vines on the banyan tree to our left suddenly moved and I jerked my head around for a closer look. It was only a peacock dislocating a broken shoot that dropped on its way down to those grey thick roots.
Everything was silent again and my heart sank. Time was running out. We had been filming for three days in this vast expanse of green with not so much as a sighting of even a sliver of tiger stripes.
I looked back to see Jaya scowl at me, her mouth pursed forlornly. In any case, we would have to be out of the park soon, and our team of driver and guide were becoming restless.
‘We have to leave soon,’ said the driver, Lakhan Singh. ‘I don’t want to lose my driving permit.’
I wish you would, I thought to myself unkindly but did not say it aloud. I was irritated and stressed. It also wasn’t the best-kept jeep in the world, and he hadn’t done much to help us in our quest anyway.
‘Chalo then, let’s go,’ I said resignedly after another few minutes.
He switched on the engine and, with one final look around, the jeep took off on the dirt road. Lakhan Singh had to swerve round the almost 180-degree bend in the track, only to brake suddenly. We nearly fell and just about managed to steady ourselves.
I was on the verge of scolding Lakhan but was rendered speechless.
There she was!
It was Mallika, sitting languidly, sprawled across the breadth of the road, barely metres away from where we were positioned. We hadn’t seen her because of the curve in the road and the tall grass had blocked our view. I gripped Jaya’s arm, only to realize she was already
filming.
The most overwhelming sensation at that moment was the hush of stillness that had descended around us. Here was perhaps the most famous tiger in the world, the greatest ambassador of her species. I felt a swell of emotion rising but suppressed it as it reached my throat.
Lakhan Singh and Faiz, our guide, appeared even more excited than I was. Relieved perhaps. I had to hold Lakhan Singh’s shoulder to calm him down as he took photos with his phone. Then I carefully took out my own phone to get some pictures as well.
For a tigress of her age, Mallika looked in good form. Her coat had yellowed with the onset of summer, and apart from a missing canine, there was little that suggested she was seventeen years old, by no means young for a species that seldom survives beyond fourteen years in the wild.
No other predator in the wild had been filmed, photographed or documented for as long and as much as Mallika. By observing her, scientists and writers, filmmakers and photographers had learnt much about the behaviour of tigers in the wild.
She had brought up no less than twelve tigers to adulthood, and her progeny now inhabited different parts of the Chambalgarh jungle in Rajasthan. According to some, even farther afield.
It was with good reason that Mallika had found such fame; India retained almost 70 per cent of the world’s wild tiger population, and within the country, Chambalgarh was considered the most accessible tiger reserve of them all. And its most famous inhabitant was Mallika, the grand dame of the park.
Tourists and journalists had flushed her with titles, each according to their experience of her behaviour. Some called her ‘the lady of the mountain’, basing their name on her frequent sightings atop the most prominent hill of Chambalgarh.
Others referred to her as ‘bear slayer’, following on her determined onslaughts against the formidable sloth bears that grant tigers only a cursory respect. One story claimed that a sloth bear had killed one of her cubs, sparking her lifelong, deadly feud against them. A particular video of her wounding and then killing a large sloth bear after a prolonged encounter had even gone viral on YouTube.
She was a photographer’s delight. Over the years, magazines had carried various prize-winning photographs of her, on a hilltop, looking down on the vast expanse of the forest, swimming across the lake with three cubs and fiercely facing down a bear.
Right now, she remained sitting on the road, licking a paw and casually looking about her, with a constant flicking of her tail.
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Get your copy of Tiger Season by Gargi Rawat wherever books are sold.
Ever wondered how to whip up the essence of India’s diverse flavors in your own kitchen? Krish Ashok‘s The Illustrated Masala Lab has the answer! Dive into an inquisitive world where cooking algorithms meet urban ingredients, and unlock a symphony of irresistible tastes. Ready to revolutionize your cooking game? You might to test the special theory of Indian Cooking!
Read this excerpt to spice up your life, one recipe at a time!
The Illustrated Masala Lab || Krish Ashok
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Special Theory of Indian Cooking(Conditions Apply)
Let us first get the conditions out of the way. This generalized set of algorithms will not cover every single culinary tradition in India. It will, for the most part, restrict itself to urban, middle class India, the kinds of ingredients that are likely to be available and cooking techniques that are practical in a smallish apartment. So, no tandoors, no wood fire and no nomadic horseman-style dum cooking by burying meat and rice into the ground with coal embers.
The second condition is that culinary traditions in India not only vary across state and linguistic boundaries, but also by caste and community, which is why the examples here will largely be restricted to the kinds of dishes available in run-of-the-mill restaurants. So forgive me if I have missed out Cudappah cuisine while including Hyderabadi. The intent here is to arm you with a way of thinking that will help you make a specific dish from, say, Odisha with confidence. The algorithms themselves may not cover every single sub-cuisine in the country. If this chapter ignores your community and state’s cuisine, it’s not deliberate. The examples are for representative purposes only. You can instantiate a version of this for your cuisine rather easily.
The third and final caveat is that we shall keep aside that universe within a universe of starters, snacks and tiffin items, because trying to cram that in will be the equivalent of boiling the Indian Ocean. Instead, we shall stick to gravies, rice dishes, breads, chutneys/raitas and salads. These algorithms will give you a wide-enough repertoire to start with. The rest of the journey, as always, is up to you. Treat this like high-school science education. University is on you.
So, the special theory of Indian cooking starts with the all-important question: What do you want to cook? Depending on your answer, you can opt for the following paths:
1. The Indian gravy algorithm: This will present a generalized algorithm and metamodel for preparing vegetables, legumes, meat or eggs in a sauce-like gravy that is flavoured in a specific regional style, like Malabar, Punjabi or Bengali.
2. The rice dish algorithm: A generalized method for preparing steamed rice, flavoured rice, khichdi, pulao and rice for biryani. There are numerous other ways of cooking rice in the subcontinent, but these five are the most utilitarian.
3. The Indian bread algorithm: Standardized and consistent methods for preparing doughs for unleavened breads (chapatti and paratha), leavened breads (naan and kulcha) and non-gluten-based breads (bajra or jowar roti). We will stop at the dough stage because rolling and baking/tawa operations are better learnt by watching an experienced hand. You can’t learn it from a book.
4. The chutney and raita generator: A metamodel for generating your own chutney and raita recipes from whatever ingredients you have available.
5. The salad generator: A metamodel for generating your own salad recipes by hitting the right balance of greens, crunch, protein, acid and flavouring.
The second question to ask is: How do you want to make this dish?
1. I’d like to see what’s in my fridge and pantry and make the best of it.
2. It’s my wife’s birthday and she is from Panjim, so I am looking to make a dish that evokes a specific regional cuisine, say pork vindaloo.
Once you have the answer to this, you need to execute Step 0, which is prepping the ingredients, after all consistency and productivity require you to approach home cooking the way restaurants do it. Also, prepping is not just cleaning and chopping, it includes a whole range of activities from brining to marinating to steaming and sautéing, all of which will make you a better home cook. In fact, a lot of prep work is actually cooking for the most part.
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Intrigued to know more?
Get your copy of The Illustrated Masala Lab by Krish Ashok wherever books are sold.
India has twenty-two official languages and many dialects spoken across the country. As we gear up to commemorate International Translation Day on 30 September, we bring a selection of classics translated from Indian languages to English which promise to introduce readers to great writers who would be lost without their translators.
Celebrate the beauty of translation as we open the doors to diverse stories from Marathi, Sanskrit, Assamese, Bengali, and Hindi. While the books represented are a tiny representation of the classic works in these languages, we hope it gives you a flavour of the region and helps you appreciate our diversity.
Shyamchi Aai || Sane Guruji
Translated from Marathi by Shanta Gokhale
In the words of author Sathya Saran, ‘Shanta Gokhale’s translation carries within it what I believe is the spirit of the original. The prose runs softly like a smooth flowing river that, even as it meanders its way through tricky terrain, manages to avoid any hurdles.’
Narrated over the course of forty-two nights, Shyamchi Aai is a poignant story of Shyam and his Aai—a mother with an unbreakable spirit. This evergreen children’s classic is an account of a life of poverty, hard work, sacrifice and love.
Tales from the Kathasaritsagara || Somadeva
Adapted from Sanskrit by Rohini Chowdhury
Do you know the story of Phalabhuti, who narrowly escaped a grisly fate?
Or of the kind-hearted Jimutavahana, who was willing to give his life to save a snake from death?
Or of young Shringabhuja, who married a rakshasa’s daughter?
These are just some of the many tales that make up Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara, a classic work of Sanskrit literature that is full of memorable characters. Within the pages of this book, you will encounter demons and demi-gods, faithful guards and foolish villagers, golden swans, magic pots and even automatons made of wood!
Taniya || Arupa Patangia Kalita, Meenaxi Barkotoki
Translated from the Assamese by Meenaxi Barkotoki
From the pen of Sahitya Akademi-winning Arupa Patangia Kalita’s comes her only children’s novel to date — Tainya. A timeless classic in Assam, the book has been masterfully translated in English by veteran Assamese translator Meenaxi Borkotoki.
Told in a non-linear format, the book traces Taniya’s journey from the foothills of Bhutan to her final resting place. The antics of this Bhutanese cocker spaniel captured in Kalita’s unmatched storytelling style tugs at all the right heart strings making it quite impossible for you not to react as you read long. An endearing story, the novel is a must-read for pet lovers and readers of Indian literature in translation, alike.
Timeless Tales || Vijaydan Detha
Translated from Marwari by Vishes Kothari
Giving a new lease of life to Vijaydan Detha’s ‘Batan ri Phulwari’, Vishes’s is a hand-picked compilation of the much-loved Rajasthani folktales—a fourteen-volume collection written over a span of nearly fifty years.
Retold in Detha’s magical narrative style complete with imagery, this selection offers some of the oldest and most popular fables from the Thar Desert region. Discover tales of handsome rajkanwars, evil witches, exploitative thakars, miserly seths, clever insects, benevolent snakes and more.
Another Dozen Stories || Satyajit Ray, Majumdar Indrani
Translated from Bengali by Indrani Majumdar
A tribute to Ray’s immaculate literary genius, this collection of short stories brings alive the magical, bizarre, spooky and sometimes astonishing worlds created by Satyajit Ray.
Featuring an extraordinary bunch of characters, the book contains Ray’s original artworks that will leave you and the little ones asking for more!
A Winter’s Night || Premchand
Translated from Hindi by Rakshanda Jalil
The ten stories in this book are an ideal introduction to Premchand and his concerns and ideas that remain relevant to this day.
The world in the book is inhabited by people like Halku, forced to spend the bitterly cold winter night in the open, without a blanket; Kaki, the old invalid aunt, ill-treated by her own relatives; and Shankar, reduced to being a bonded labour for the sake of a handful of wheat. Premchand describes their plights with unflinching honesty. Yet all is not hopeless in this world. There is also little Hamid, who buys tongs for his old grandmother rather than toys for himself; Ladli, who saves her share of puris for her blind aunt; and Big Brother, trying in vain to remember the strange names of English kings and queens.
Are you tired of financial uncertainty? Dive into Abhijeet Kolapkar‘s groundbreaking book, Money Works where he demystifies the art of financial planning. With a checklist that lays out practical steps, this excerpt hints at the transformational journey from money worries to money mastery.
Money Works || Abhijeet Kolapkar
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What Experience Reveals
Most of us live simple and straightforward lives; 90 per cent of our lives follow a pattern—school, college, job, marriage, life after marriage and retirement. We try hard to plan our lives. For example, in our twenties, we plan to finish our studies, buy a home by age twenty-seven, a car by age twenty-nine, and so on.
Our dreams need to be converted into goals to bring them to life. Pre-planning and execution are essential to achieve these goals.Also, backing our dreams with financial planning is important.
Most of us realize the importance of financial planning only as we cross our forties; however if we had realized the need for it in our twenties, a lot of our issues of the present might never have surfaced.
‘We do plan our finances but that does not last long.’
‘Is financial planning really necessary?’
‘Financial planning is not as easy as it seems.’
We hear such statements about financial planning.
Financial planning is clearly not unnecessary, and it is actually neither difficult nor impossible. It is a simple and straightforward process. What is really needed is to do it with the right intention and make sure you are proceeding with diligence.
Checklist for Successful Financial Planning
1. Plan your finances as early as possible: Delaying financial planning is injurious to your long-term financial health. Don’t start financial planning when emergencies arise.
2. Stay away from an extravagant lifestyle: Never celebrate by taking loans. Remember this line.
3. Avoid overuse of credit cards: One should use a credit card only when it is absolutely necessary. Using it just to avail of offers should be avoided.
4. Avoid comparing your situation with others: Know your limits. Instead of looking at what others are buying, think about whether those items are necessary and affordable for you. Understand your situation before spending.
5. Prioritize savings over spending: Expensive cars, gadgets and lifestyle choices may make you look rich, but will not make you a rich person. Prioritize saving and investing your earnings.
6. Save at least 5–10 per cent of your earnings every month: The first step in financial planning is to save every month and invest it to provide for emergencies.
7. Avoid financial investments you don’t understand: It is best to stay away from the type of investments you have no clue about. In case you still want to go ahead, do so with the help of a financial adviser. Practise caution while investing.
8. Buying an insurance cover is a must: Insurance is not an investment but a productive tool to financially cover yourself or your family members in emergencies. That is why everyone should get health insurance, accident insurance and term insurance.
9. Invest for the long term: To get the benefit of compounding, invest a major portion of your savings in long-term options.
10. Regularly re-evaluate and review your financial strategies: You may have planned a robust financial strategy but failed to implement it or made a few wrong financial decisions. To understand this, you need to frequently review your financial strategies.
○ Re-evaluation: The goals based on which we decided on our investments in the past may change. For example, you may feel that saving money for your children’s higher education is more important than buying an expensive car, which was your earlier goal.
○ Review: We can re-prioritize our goals based on our current needs, after periodical reviews.
11. Discuss your strategy with your partner: Have a healthy discussion with your partner about your financial goals. Whether your partner is an earning member or not, you should consider their point of view as well.
12. Be ready for change: Life is full of surprises—be prepared, mentally and financially, to face any unexpected situations that may arise.
13. Read up on financial matters: You should regularly engage with financial newspapers, magazines, blogs and social media pages. Also, you should have books on the subject handy in your personal library.
14. Don’t be an emotional fool! Many a time we make decisions based on our emotions, which may lead to financial losses. Hence, you should stay away from overconfidence, lack of confidence, haste, work, anger, greed, lust, jealousy, etc., while making your financial decisions.
15. Self-confidence is essential: No one can play your part better than you. That is why you need to study the subject of finance in depth and make the right decisions to get the most out of your wealth.
With this checklist, you can start financial planning based on the goals you want to achieve
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Get your copy of Money Works by Abhijeet Kolapkar wherever books are sold.
Ever felt lost in the fitness maze? Say goodbye to the confusion as we dive into Yasmin Karachiwala‘s latest fitness book. The Perfect 10 isn’t just a read – it’s your roadmap to fitness happiness. Experience the magic of matching your exercise style with your fitness goals. From easygoing routines to intense challenges, there’s a workout made just for you.
The Perfect 10 || Yasmin Karachiwala
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Finding your fitness happiness is very important if you want to make a lifelong commitment to fitness because you cannot sustain something that doesn’t give you joy. Increasing the want factor is about identifying your exercise personality and customizing an active lifestyle for yourself. And while many people like the pushing, the shouting, the yelling, the looking into-the-mirror-and-pumping, not everyone does. As there are people, there are fitness personalities, and identifying yours could be key to you sticking to a routine and giving yourself something to look forward to.
Ready to discover your fitness persona? Take this exciting quiz and find your perfect fit!
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Get your copy of The Perfect 10 by Yasmin Karchiwala wherever books are sold.
