Shreevatsa Nevatia’s How to Travel Light is a candid take at his life after he was diagnosed as bipolar at twenty-three, and how he struggled for a decade, fighting a cycle of depression and euphoria.
Here are a few lines from the book which display this struggle:
Combat your inner anguish with this book.
Tag: Bulletin Board
Six Science(Ish) Facts from Movies That Will Surprise You
Covering movies from 28 Days Later to Ex Machina, Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks take the readers on a joyous ride through astrophysics, neuroscience, psychology, botany, artificial intelligence, evolution, and plenty more subjects that are invoked by your favourite movies.
Here are six facts that will blow your mind:
The Martian
Jurassic Park
Interstellar
Back to the Future
Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Fascinating, isn’t it?
Who is Chatur Chanakya and Why Should Children Meet Him? Radhakrishnan Pillai Answers
Radhakrishnan Pillai now writes for your young ones! Little Chanakya goes to school, standing up to bullies and maneuvering his way through tricky situations we all may have found ourselves in sometimes. But what inspired this journey? Let’s find out!
From Corporate Chanakya to Chatur Chanakya, what inspired this transition in writing for a different audience?
It was a new dimension for me. Even though the common connect between Corporate Chanakya and Chatur Chanakya is the same – Chanakya, it is very differently presented. Corporate Chanakya was meant as a management book especially for those who are in management and leadership positions. The audience was educated and already decision makers. While Chatur Chanakya was a different aspect. Reaching out to children who are 10 years old. The challenge was to make the profound knowledge of Chanakya from the Arthashastra, to be presented in a simple format. When the puffin team approached me with this concept to write for kids, it was a challenge. But I got inspired to try a new way of writing. And thanks – the book has really come out well. Much better than what was expected.
Is the character of young Chatur inspired by anyone from your life?
Yes and No. Chatur Chanakya is an imaginary character. Just like Superman, Batman and Chota Bheem. These characters are imaginary but have a message to give to kids. Through Chatur Chanakya we are going to bring out the best of wisdom of Chanakya (who lived nearly 2400 years ago) and his Kautilya’s Arthashastra. He was a leadership guru and a king maker. Chatur Chanakya will teach children how to think and become a leader. The other children in the book are inspired by real children. Arjun is the name of my son, who is the friend of Chatur Chanakya. Lakshmi is inspired by my daughter (her real name is Aanvikshiki). While Datta, Aditya and Milee are their friends. All of them become part of the book.
What is so special about Chatur and why should children befriend him?
Though a comic character. He is very real. Because he is a school going kid like any child of our generation. He has all the challenges that is faced by kids today. Be it bullying in schools, exam fever, being compared to other kids (even parents do that). So any one can associate with Chatur Chanakya. He is cute and nice. But he is also a fiend, philosopher and guide to his other classmates and friends. He is your friendly neighbour and ‘best friend’. He has got a choti on his head and a trick up his sleeve. You will love him. Not only children, but parents, grandparents and even teachers in schools will love Chatur Chanakya. He is what everyone wants in an ideal child – Intelligent and dynamic.
Tell us that one thing in Chatur Chanakya and the Himalayan Problem that one should look out for.
How to think out of the box. Chatur Chanakya faces a huge problem. Himalaya is a class mate of his, who is huge and bullies everyone. While Chatur Chanakya is not physically as strong Himalaya, he uses his intelligence to defeat Himalaya. So through this book we are giving a message to children, teachers and parents that – If you are mentally strong you can defeat any Himalayan (huge) problem.
Revisit school and relive all the memories with your little one in Radhakrishnan Pillai’s Chatur Chanakya and the Himalayan Problem!
5 Books You Must Read This Christmas
The joy of Christmas can be found anywhere, whether it be in presents or in the pages of your favourite book. To get yourself more immersed in the festive spirit, here is a list of five books that you should curl up with this Christmas.
A Christmas Carol
Who can forget the memorable characters Ebenzer Scrooge and Tiny Tim? This classic by Charles Dickens was originally conceived as a pamphlet against exploitative capitalism. This delightful story was credited with helping to revive interest among the Victorians in Christmas traditions. So, if you are looking to get closer to the Christmas spirit, this is the book for you.
The Night Before Christmas
Written in 1831 by Nikolai Gogol, The Night Before Christmas tells the story of a blacksmith called Vakula and his fight against the devil who has stolen the moon and is wreaking havoc on the inhabitants of his village. This uproarious tale is full of hope, fun, nostalgia and everything you need for an ideal Christmas eve read.
A Merry Christmas
The spirits of generosity and charity are synonymous with the Christmas spirit. In Merry Christmas, find yourself drenched with Louisa May Alcott’s familiar Yuletide benevolence of some dear characters like Marmee and her ‘little women’.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
Frank Baum in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus chronicles everything you need to know about Santa Claus, from his origins in an enchanted forest to his vocation of giving gifts and spreading joy to people in the world. So, if you ever wondered about the life of Father Christmas, this is the book for you!
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
No Christmas is ever complete without the Grinch of Who-ville. This tale about the effects of Christmas spirit is full of so much warmth that it will melt the coldest of the hearts. Just like Santa Claus, Grinch is one of the most recognizable figures associated with Christmas and his story is one of the must-reads this Christmas.
So what are you reading on Christmas?
5 Reads on Family to Gift Your Child Returning Home for Christmas!
If your young one is on their way back home for Christmas, here are a few super reads for them that are sure to feel like the long-pending hug from their dearest ones.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
A work of autobiography, My Family and Other Animals is a story of five years of the author’s crazy and colourful childhood spent with his family on a Greek island, spread over three villas and a lot of heart-warming memories.
A Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeild
The Vicarage family was living through the First World War, some of the most trying times known to mankind. The three girls in the house grow up to find themselves fitting into different roles in the family, except the youngest. A Vicarage Family is a moving, fictionalized work of autobiography where the little protagonist ultimately finds her true self.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
One of the most widely read and much-loved classics of all times, Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows is a story of finding family among friends. Wouldn’t you want your little one to spend a blissful Christmas with the best people by the riverside?
The Family from One End Street by Eve Garnett
This is your story, this is my story. This is the story of finding joy in the every day life of a family, like The Family from One End Street. An award-winning novel by Eve Garnett, the novel brings to life the beautiful little happinesses one finds in their every day lives, much like the Ruggles who live in the small town of Otwell.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney
What better way to end the Christmas extravaganza than with Wimpy Kid? Jeff Kinney’s latest in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway, is a riot of misadventures as the Heffleys escape the stress of ‘Christmas holidays’ by going to a resort. Little did they know that their relaxed getaway would soon turn into an unforgettable holiday nightmare!
Could homecoming on Christmas get any better than this?
5 Books that Will Help You Answer those Christmas Questions From Your Kids!
Who is Father Christmas? Is he the same person as Santa Claus? What was Christmas like many, many years ago? Why do only reindeers get to pull the sleigh?
When it’s Christmas around the corner, make sure your little one finds Christmas under the tree, and within the pages too!
Here is a list of 5 wonderful reads for your young one that will not only set the Christmas in their hearts, but help you find them the answers to those Christmas questions too!
The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher
A Christmasaurus? What is that? Sounds like a dinosaurus for Christmas…Maybe it is just that and much, much more! Tom Fletcher’s magical tale of elves singing, reindeers flying and tonnes of Christmas magic is just the right kind of friend for your little one this Christmas!
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
As the famous saying goes – If Christmas can’t be found in your heart, Christmas can’t be found under a tree. The powerful, moving story of Ebenezer Scrooge whose life changes forever on a Christmas Eve, has remained timeless through the ages. What better time to share it with your little one than Christmas itself?
The Puffin Book of Christmas Stories
It’s definitely THE essential read for your child on Christmas! A marvellous collection of Christmas tales from across eras, The Puffin Book of Christmas Stories tells traditional and real stories of Christmas, and spreads the Christmas cheer like no other!
Christmas with the Savages by Mary Clive
What was Christmas really like a hundred years ago? Did they celebrate it the way we do? Mary Clive’s amusing and delightful book answers those questions as her little eight-year-old protagonist, Evelyn, “survives” a Christmas of the kind we could never have imagined!
Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs
Why is Father Christmas also called Santa Claus? What does he do the rest of the year? Raymond Briggs’ award-winning book Father Christmas tells us the magical story we’ve always wanted to know!
Oh what a wonderful list of books to read, isn’t it? We’re sure your little one would not want to miss out on this magical treat!
Meet the Characters from ‘Bheem’
Jyotin Goel in Bheem has created a fascinating amalgamation of mythology and adventure in the modern setting. The plot of the book revolves around a deadly threat which has arisen from the ancient battlefields of Lanka and Kurukshetra. Ripping through the vortex of time, Bheem arrives in the twenty-first century to combat this crisis. But to make sure of his failure, a sworn enemy from the past-Ashvatthama-has also journeyed to the present.
Here are some of the characters from the riveting novel:
Don’t wait anymore, pick up Jyotin Goel’s Bheem now!
How Did the Don Become the Master Baker?
Raja Sen’s The Best Baker in the World opens up the world of cult (and sometimes controversial) films to children and their parents, as Sen’s tribute to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, comes visually alive with the stunning illustrations done by Vishal K. Bharadwaj. But what is the secret recipe that went into the making of this amazing, one-of-a-kind book?
Raja Sen and Vishal Bharadwaj spill the beans!
Where did the thought of adapting a cult-film into a book for children come from?
Raja: Great stories transcend boundaries. Children routinely read adaptations of classic novels and Shakespeare plays, and I strongly believe cinematic masterpieces are as fundamentally strong as those texts. I thought it would be fascinating to see if a mature, R-rated film can retain its narrative appeal without the ‘adult’ elements — the blood and violence and sex — and if we could still pay tribute to the iconic and memorable aspects of the original film. The characters, the moments, the drama, all of that still remains even if the stakes aren’t fundamentally tied to violence and war. The thing we must remember is that if told right, the popping of a water balloon can feel as momentous in a story as the assassination of a character.
Vishal: When Raja approached me to illustrate the project, two things were set in stone: that these would be ‘adult’ films i.e. ones that only they should watch, as opposed to all-ages classics or PG-13 level movies that a child might be exposed to with the right guidance; and second, that we wouldn’t do a shot-for-shot, beat-by-beat representation of the films. This transformative quality is what really intrigued me about the project.
Why a baker, and not any other profession, for your protagonist who happened to be the head of a mafia in the original?
Raja: More than anything, The Godfather is a film about family — a family business, if you will. It is also a specifically Italian family film, which means food features heavily. Thus I wanted to adapt it around a family business about food, and a bakery seemed both appropriate for the task and appropriately inviting for a children’s setting. As a bonus, my illustrator Vishal Bhardwaj loves cooking and photographing food, and I knew he’d draw mouthwatering pastry.
Vishal: Fairly early on I asked Raja if we could concentrate the setting of the book down to a single street or neighbourhood (the movie takes place across multiple countries and cities), since we were telling an intimate story of families. The term ‘godfather’ denotes a certain protector status, someone you turn to for guidance & comfort. So we thought of similar pillars of a community, the kind who would always be there for you and make you feel better. Also, since I have a penchant for food, a bakery, with all its warmth and the aromas of its fresh baked goods filling the neighbourhood, was the perfect fit.
How difficult was it to dress up The Godfather as a bird who’s a baker?
Vishal: The process took a couple of weeks to go from Brando to bird. Plenty of exploratory sketches, starting with straight renditions of Brando himself, then trying on different animal ‘skins.’ During the research phase I read that Brando thought of Don Corleone as an old bulldog, so he added in the now-famous jowly look to the character. A bulldog version of our Don was tried, but he didn’t vibe with our baker’s character. Finally, after hogs & lions and other beasts, he took the form of a bird, a wise owl. There was the right gentleness to him now, but when Raja saw me draw his wings as delicate arms that manipulated pastry, he asked me to change them to more formidable, warmly enveloping wings almost as huge as the rest of him, and the physical character was complete.
As far as actually dressing him, we moved away from the iconic tuxedo. He is a baker after all, so an apron was appropriate, and rolled up sleeves with a bowtie (he’s still dapper, not sloppy!). I put in a subtle nod to a contemporary chef I like, Mario Batali, who is known for wearing shorts and Crocs sandals under his apron. But because our Don is more old-school (and Raja, like myself, appreciates a good pun), did away with the Crocs and instead gave our big bird a pair of classic wing-tip brogues.
What are the other cinematic masterpieces being retold for children in this series?
Raja: We’re looking at taking on several mature, memorable films and recreating what made them special while setting them in an entirely different (and wholly innocent) world. Next up is a homage to Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, a highly explicit and wild film about addiction, and one of my favourite films of the 90s. Others on the list include some of the most quotable films of all time, as well as a particularly scandalous one by Stanley Kubrick.
Vishal: I hadn’t seen The Godfather before saying yes to The Best Baker in the World (as it came to be called. For a long time we referred to it as ‘Project Cannoli’). The running joke of-late has been that whatever we end up doing, if it’s a film I haven’t seen before taking the adaptation on, we must be on the right track! Raja has dropped some intriguing names into the hat, from sprawling epic classics to mind-bending modern gems. I’m excited to visually interpret any of these.
Fascinating, isn’t it? Do you still need any more convincing to pick up this marvellous book not just for your little one, but yourself too!
The Life Cycle of an Innovation
R. Gopalakrishnan has been a professional manager for forty-two years and is an expert on practical managerial experience. In his book A Biography of Innovations he defines thought as the ancestor of innovation. He further argues that the life cycle of an innovation is similar to that of a human being.
Here’s how he equates the life cycle of an idea to that of humans:
Fascinating, isn’t it?
Our #BooksNotBorders Bookshelf
Penguin Random House India’s superb collection of writers from the subcontinent focussing on Pakistan.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017
Nadia and Saeed are two ordinary young people attempting to do an extraordinary thing—to fall in love—in a world turned upside down. Civil war has come to the city that they call home. Before long they will need to leave their motherland behind—when the streets are no longer usable and the unknown is safer than the known. They will join the great outpouring of people fleeing a collapsing city, hoping against hope, looking for their place in the world . . .
Pakistan at the Crossroads: Domestic Dynamics and External Pressures edited by Christophe Jaffrelot
The book examines the state’s handling of internal threats, tensions between civilians and the military; strategies of political parties; police and law enforcement reform; trends in judicial activism; the rise of border conflicts; economic challenges; financial entanglements with foreign powers; and diplomatic relations with India, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and the United States.
Undying Affinity by Sara Naveed
Rich, beautiful and popular Zarish Munawwar finds herself entangled in a web of passion with her attractive new professor, Ahmar Muraad, in this delicious new novel by the Pakistani queen of romance. Packed with romance, drama and tragedy, Undying Affinity will stay in your heart forever.
Reporting Pakistan by Meena Menon
Reporting from Pakistan is considered one of the more difficult-if exciting-assignments in journalism, more so for an Indian. Despite the limitations, Meena Menon, the Hindu’s correspondent in Islamabad until May 2014, has produced a probing, incisive portrait of a conflicted society; it is both nuanced and wide ranging and tries to look not just at politics-but also at the human realities beneath.
The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam
Against a background of violence and fear, the protagonists of The Golden Legend try to find an island of calm in which their love can grow. In his characteristically luminous prose, Nadeem Aslam reflects Pakistan’s past and present in a single mirror—a story of corruption, resilience and the hope that only love and the human spirit can offer.
Lahore in the Time of the Raj by Ian Talbot and Tahir Kamran
Lahore during the Raj was a prosperous and cosmopolitan place, where many communities lived together and there was a constant flow of goods, people and ideas. Talbot and Kamran bring to life the 1930s and 1940s, a time of intense cultural and political creativity where writers and artists flourished; where F.C. College and Government College were celebrated centers of learning and there was great engagement between Lahore and the nascent Bollywood film industry, unfortunately ended by the traumas of Partition.
Snuffing Out the Moon by Osama Siddique
2084 bce: In the great city of Mohenjodaro, along the banks of the Indus, a young man named Prkaa becomes increasingly mistrustful of the growing authority of a cult of priests.
2084 ce: A scholar revisits the known history of the cataclysmic events that led to world domination by ruthless international water conglomerates.
Spanning across epochs and civilizations, the characters in this stunning novel investigate the legitimacy of religion and authority and chronicle the ascent of dissent. Snuffing Out the Moon is a dazzling debut that is at once a cry for freedom and a call for resistance.
Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy by Ayesha Siddiqa
Ayesha Siddiqa shows how the power of the military has transformed Pakistani society and where the armed forces have become an independent class. She examines this military economy and the consequences of merging the military and corporate sectors and analyses the internal and external dynamics of this gradual power-building and the impact that it is having on Pakistan’s political and economic development.
This House of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab
Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women: Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, her longing for designer labels and upmarket places so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. They meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect, their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together. Faiqa Mansab’s accomplished and dazzling debut novel explores the themes of love, betrayal and loss in the complex, changing world of today’s Pakistan.
The Last Vicereine by Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang
Set amid the turmoil of Partition, The Last Vicereine is the heartbreaking story Edwina Mountbatten, a rebel, rule-breaker, troubled soul and great beauty, and Jawahar, her friend, confidant and the only one to truly understand her for who she was. It is also the incredible tale of the birth of two nations, of love, grief, tragedy, inhumanity and the triumph of hope.
Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War by Myra Macdonald
This essential account by a former correspondent for Reuters and a South Asia specialist tracks the defining episodes in the relationship between India and Pakistan from 1998, from bitter conflict in the mountains to military confrontation in the plains, from the hijacking of an Indian airliner to the Mumbai attacks.
This Wide Night by Sarvat Hasin
In the quietly seething world of This Wide Night, The Virgins Suicides meets Little Women in Pakistan. Tracing the lives of the four beautiful Malik sisters, Maria, Ayesha, Leila and Beena in the 1970s, and moving from Karachi to London to the rain-drenched island of Manora, here is a compelling new novel from the subcontinent—and a powerful debut to watch.
Mr and Mrs Jinnah: The Marriage that Shook India by Sheela Reddy
Mohammad Ali Jinnah was forty years old, a successful barrister and a rising star in the nationalist movement when he fell in love with pretty, vivacious sixteen-year-old Ruttie Petit, the daughter of his good friend, the fabulously rich baronet, Sir Dinshaw Petit, a prominent Parsi mill owner. Despite her outraged father forbidding the match, they married when Ruttie turned eighteen and Bombay society, its riches and sophistication notwithstanding, was scandalized. A product of intensive and meticulous research in Delhi, Bombay and Karachi and based on first-person accounts and sources, Reddy brings to life the unforgettable love story of the solitary, misunderstood Jinnah and the lonely, wistful Ruttie.
Indus Divided: India, Pakistan and the River Basin Dispute by Daniel Haines
The Indus Waters Treaty is considered a key example of India–Pakistan cooperation, which had a critical influence on state-making in both countries. Indus Divided reveals the importance of the Indus Basin river system, and thus control over it, for Indian and Pakistani claims to sovereignty after South Asia’s partition in 1947, and examines the discord at local, national and international levels, arguing that we can only explain its significance and longevity in light of India and Pakistan’s state-building initiatives after independence.
Pakistan’s Nuclear Bomb: A Story of Defiance, Deterrence and Deviance by Hassan Abbas
This book provides a comprehensive account of the mysterious story of Pakistan’s attempt to develop nuclear weapons in the face of severe odds. Hassan Abbas profiles the politicians and scientists involved, and the role of China and Saudi Arabia in supporting Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure. Abbas also unravels the motivations behind the Pakistani nuclear physicist Dr A.Q. Khan’s involvement in nuclear proliferation in Iran, Libya and North Korea, drawing on extensive interviews.
Remembering Partition: Limited Edition
The dawn of India’s freedom was stained by the Partition and its accompanying violence, which rent the subcontinent. Seventy years later, the nations that came into being are still to fully overcome a persistent sense of anger and loss. The five iconic books in this collection look at the different faces of Partition, from the larger political and historical view to the very personal tales of hatred, grief, courage and friendship. Together, they commemorate one of the most defining moments of our history whose reverberations are felt to this day.
Ice-Candy-Man by Bapsi Sidhwa
Young Lenny Sethi enjoys a happy, privileged life in Lahore in the 1940s. Kept out of school because she suffers from polio, she spends her days with Ayah, her beautiful nanny, who attracts several admirers. But with the abduction of her beloved Ayah, Lenny’s world soon erupts in racial and religious violence. Widely hailed as one of the most powerful novels on the Partition, Ice-Candy-Man offers an intimate glimpse into a colossal upheaval through the eyes of a precocious child.
In Freedom’s Shade by Anis Kidwai
In Freedom’s Shade is Anis Kidwai’s moving personal memoir of the first two years of new India. With a rare frankness, sympathy and depth of insight, Kidwai tells the stories of the thousands who were driven away from their homes in Delhi and its neighbouring areas by eviction or abduction or the threat of forced religious conversion. Recounting the activities of the Shanti Dal and the recovery of abducted women, she reveals both the architecture of the violence during Partition as well as the efforts of ordinary citizens to bring to a close the cycle of reprisal and retribution. This searching book is a reminder that memory without truth is futile; only when it serves the objective of reconciliation does it achieve meaning and significance.
The Great Partition by Yasmin Khan
The Partition of India in 1947 was one of the most horrific events of decolonization in the twentieth century, bringing death, rape and plunder in its wake. In The Great Partition, Yasmin Khan exposes the widespread ignorance of what the Partition would entail in practice as well as the haste and recklessness with which it was completed. Drawing on fresh information from an array of sources and underscoring the catastrophic human cost involved, Khan provides an authoritative and accessible analysis of this cataclysmic event and its devastating legacy.
Jhootha Sach by Yashpal
Jhootha Sach is arguably the most outstanding piece of Hindi literature written about the Partition. Vividly evoking life in Lahore as it was before 1947, the novel abounds with a rich array of characters whose lives unfurl dramatically in the city’s crowded streets: Tara, who wants an education, and not marriage; Puri, whose ideology and principles often come in the way of his impoverished circumstances; Asad, who is ready to sacrifice his love for the sake of communal harmony. Their destinies are irrevocably altered on the eve of Independence when the ensuing carnage shatters the beauty and peace of the land, killing millions of Hindus and Muslims, and forcing others to leave their homes forever.
Spectacular in scope and deeply insightful in its depiction of human frailty and malice, Yashpal’s controversial novel is a politically charged, powerful tale of human suffering.
Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh
The fact is both sides killed. Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped.
It is the summer of 1947. But Partition does not mean much to the villagers of Mano Majra, a village on the border of India and Pakistan. Then, a local moneylender is murdered, and suspicion falls upon Juggut Singh, the village gangster who is in love with a Muslim girl. When a train arrives, carrying the bodies of dead Sikhs, the village is transformed into a battlefield and neither the magistrate nor the police is able to stem the rising tide of violence. Amidst conflicting loyalties, it is left to Juggut Singh to redeem himself and reclaim peace for his village.
So, which book are you going to pick?