In his book Believe, Suresh Raina takes us through the challenges he faced as a young cricketer. He was bullied in school and at cricket camps, but he always punched above his weight, overcoming every adversity life threw at him and never giving up. This is the story of the lessons he learnt and the friendships he built.
Peppered with invaluable insights – about the game and about life – that Raina acquired from senior colleagues like M.S. Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, among others, this book will make you believe in the power of hard work, love, luck, hope and camaraderie. It is a journey through the highs and lows in the cricketing career of a man who saw his world fall apart and yet became one of the most influential white-ball cricketers India has ever seen.
Enjoy this little excerpt that explores his relationship with the legend M.S. Dhoni.
~
Believe||Suresh Raina, Bharat Sundaresan
Mahi Bhai always makes fun of me for being clumsy. I’ve seen him talk about how if I am around in his room, I would end up dropping something or walking into something. ‘Tu rahega toh kuch na kuch hoga,’ he likes to say. Maybe there’s some truth there. I am just a very energetic person, and I am always up and about as you might have seen me on the field.
There’s another thing that he is amused by. He’ll talk about how I would saunter into his room, order a lot of food over room service and not even wait for it to arrive. I’ll tell you why I am always keen on ordering my own food. What happens with a lot of them is that they would order nothing but chicken and roti. I, on the other hand, am a vegetarian. Moreover, I never have maida, because back home, I was used to having rotis made of ragi atta. My eating habits are pretty desi, so I need a good number of vegetable dishes and can’t do without a dal.
So, Mahi would ask me to order my own food. But often, after ordering, I would remember that I had a gym session and end up not eating that food. But I made it a point to not waste it and would go back later for it, even if by then the food had gone cold.
Talking of room service always reminds me of the times Robin Uthappa and I would order food on Mahi Bhai’s tab. And of that time in Pakistan when Rahul Bhai was captain and said, ‘Boys, order whatever you want. It’s on me.’ We made him pay for that reckless statement.
It involved, me, Irfan, Robin and Mahi Bhai. It was Dhoni’s idea. He just called up room service and asked for a double of everything we had ordered. Two milkshakes, an extra biryani, two extra rotis, two more dals, two more sabzis. Rahul Bhai couldn’t stop laughing at us. He eventually admitted that he’d learnt his lesson and that he would never give us a free hand again with room service. We did end up finishing everything we’d ordered, though.
That’s the kind of fun Mahi Bhai and I would have at other people’s expense all the time. We are like partners in crime when it comes to pulling someone else’s leg. I’ve been at the receiving end too at times, when he decides to turn on me. We’ve had an interesting relationship over the years.
I have also gone through so much because of our friendship. Like the whole bias angle. People would say, ‘Oh, Raina gets picked because he is Dhoni’s friend.’ But people forget the contributions I have made for teams captained by him—India as well as CSK. That’s how you build trust in a player as captain.
For us, it was like how when you have a neighbour over at your place all the time. You can take liberties with that person, saying yeh toh ghar ki baat hai. I played so much of my career down the order, and he would say let some of the others play at the top. At times I would say, ‘Humein bhi upar khelna hai.’ But he would respond, ‘Nahi, tu at will chhakke marta hai . . .’ and say that the others, be it Rohit or Virat or Ajju (Ajinkya Rahane), were better off at the top of the order. I was more reliable in those situations. He knew my mindset. He knew what brought the best out of me. And I trusted him. It would hurt when people kept linking our friendship to my being part of the team. I don’t think the numbers lie. I’ve always earned my spot in the team, just like I earned Mahi Bhai’s trust and respect. I was there for him. He always made me feel special. Nobody can take away from that. And it doesn’t matter what people say . . .
We grew closer and closer, and even got to know a lot about each other’s personal lives and families. I went to his house and met his family. After meeting them, I realized why he is so sorted. Sakshi and he came to meet my parents soon after their wedding. A UP–Bihar cultural connection there as well.
There’s always a lot of talk about Mahi Bhai being Captain Cool. But I can tell you that is not his greatest strength as captain. He will never compromise on the game. That’s what I like about him the most. That’s what I think makes him such a legendary captain and a fantastic leader.
Yes, six months have passed since 2021 began. Under normal circumstances, a June mood-board would probably be filled with things like citrus fruit, travel plans, swimsuits, bright colours and pretty food. Much like Darwin theorised though, we evolve to take advantage of the resources we have. The one thing we’ve always got is our books. That is why our mood board for the month has taken a slightly more mellow and serene turn with iced coffee, a lounge chair, flowers, a beautifully organised bookshelf and most certainly enough time to sit and enjoy those things. Can you visualise it?
Enjoying the contents of a book is not the only experience we amass, but the whole adventure of reading, accompanied by associated sights, sounds, tactile feelings and memories of when and where we read, becomes something we can reminisce about. Be it old or new, books are forever… unless you have an overwhelming termite problem(they have an appetite for books just like we do), in which case, please do treat that as you stock up on these titles we’ve got for you through June.
~
Sach Kahun Toh||Neena Gupta
Sach Kahun Toh
In Sach Kahun Toh, actor Neena Gupta chronicles her extraordinary personal and professional journey-from her childhood days in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, through her time at the National School of Drama, to moving to Bombay in the 1980s and dealing with the struggles to find work. It details the big milestones in her life, her unconventional pregnancy and single parenthood, and a successful second innings in Bollywood. A candid, self-deprecating portrait of the person behind the persona, it talks about her life’s many choices, battling stereotypes, then and now, and how she may not be as unconventional as people think her to be.
Believe||Suresh Raina, Bharat Sundaresan
Believe
Believe, Sachin Tendulkar told him – and he took it to heart, getting the word etched on his arm as a tattoo.
In this book, Suresh Raina takes us through the challenges he faced as a young cricketer. He was bullied as a child, but he overcame every adversity life threw at him and never gave up. This is the story of the lessons he learnt and the friendships he built.
Peppered with invaluable insights – about the game and about life – that Raina acquired from senior colleagues, this book will make you believe in the power of hard work, love, luck, hope and camaraderie. It is a journey through the highs and lows in the career of a man who saw his world fall apart and yet became one of the most influential white-ball cricketers India has ever seen.
The Heartbeat of Trees||Peter Wohlleben
The Heartbeat of Trees
This book marks a powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground, where the colour green calms us and the forest sharpens our senses. In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of cell-phone addiction, climate change and urban life, many of us fear that we’ve lost our connection to nature. But Wohlleben is convinced that the age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, exploring the language of the forest, the consciousness of plants and the eroding boundary between flora and fauna.
A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees will help you see, feel, smell, hear and even taste the forest. Peter Wohlleben, renowned for his ability to write about trees in an engaging way, reveals a wondrous cosmos where humans are a part of nature, and where conservation and environmental activism is not just about saving trees-it’s about saving ourselves, too.
#Tatastories||Harish Bhat
#Tatastories
The Tatas have a legacy of nation-building over 150 years. Dancing across this long arc of time are thousands of beautiful, astonishing stories, many of which can inspire and provoke us, even move us to meaningful action in our own lives.
A diamond twice as large as the famous Kohinoor pledged to survive a financial crisis; a meeting with a ‘relatively unknown young monk’ who later went on to be known as Swami Vivekananda; the fascinating story of the first-ever Indian team at the Olympics; the making of India’s first commercial airline and first indigenous car; how ‘OK TATA’ made its way to the backs of millions of trucks on Indian highways; a famous race that was both lost and won; and
many more.
#TataStories is a collection of little-known tales of individuals, events and places from the Tata Group that have shaped the India we live in today.
Anti-Clock||V.J. James
Anti-Clock
Hendri, the coffin maker, has one goal in life: to see the dead body of his nemesis Satan Loppo being lowered into the coffin he has painstakingly carved. For it was Loppo who defiled his beloved Beatrice, and let loose his hellhound Hitler upon Hendri, giving him a permanent limp.
From inside his coffin shop, Hendri watches the world go by even as he prepares to deliver justice upon Loppo. He is confronted by the son of his best friend becoming enamoured with Loppo’s wealth, Loppo’s evil designs towards the hills of Aadi Nadu, and his own Christian guilt that regularly comes to haunt him. Until he meets Pundit, a 112-year-old watchmaker who was part of Bose’s Indian National Army and is building an ‘Anti-Clock‘, which can turn back time. When Loppo too hears of the Anti-Clock and desires to possess it, the inevitable battle becomes a reality.
This philosophical novel translated from Malayalam is a winner of multiple awards.
The Startup Wife||Tahmima Anam
The Startup Wife
Meet Asha Ray. Brilliant coder and possessor of a Pi tattoo, Asha is poised to revolutionize artificial intelligence when she is reunited with her high school crush, Cyrus Jones.
Cyrus inspires Asha to write a new algorithm. Before she knows it, she’s abandoned her PhD program, they’ve exchanged vows, and gone to work at an exclusive tech incubator called Utopia.
The platform creates a sensation, with millions of users seeking personalized rituals every day. Will Cyrus and Asha’s marriage survive the pressures of sudden fame, or will she become overshadowed by the man everyone is calling the new messiah?
In this gripping, blistering novel, award-winning author Tahmima Anam takes on faith and the future with a gimlet eye and a deft touch. Come for the radical vision of human connection, stay for the wickedly funny feminist look at start-up culture and modern partnership. Can technology-with all its limits and possibilities-disrupt love?
Right Between the Ears||Sandeep Dayal
Right Between the Ears
Right Between the Ears reveals the secrets that allow brands to open up hidden domains in our minds through powerful psychological triggers. The power of cognitive brands is not accidental; it is architected by applying recent scientific advances in fields as disparate as psychology, behavioural economics, social anthropology and cognitive neuroscience. These consilient techniques now allow us to peer into the soul of a brand as never before.
Marketers have created truly phenomenal brands in the past. However, until now, our understanding of brain science was not quite enough to explain why some brand campaigns become so iconic while others fizzle. This book provides a new lens with which we can deconstruct those successes and failures. It takes the reader on a rollicking ride through examples and stories of brands as timeless as De Beers, Mastercard, Allstate and Guinness, as well as modern-day wonders like Madison Reed, Allbirds and Warby Parker.
The book is called Right between the Ears because that is where the brain is. Psychologists sometimes say that everything about sex happens not where you think but right between your ears. Everything about brands, too, happens there. This book reveals all you need to know to build your own epic brands.
The Story of The Sikhs||Sarbpreet Singh
The Story of The Sikhs
The power of storytelling meets the colourful history of the Sikh faith in The Story of the Sikhs. In this book, author Sarbpreet Singh helps us reimagine the lives of the Sikh Gurus through a rich narrative that that intricately weaves in selections from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Dasam Granth and epic Braj poetry.
Starting from the birth of the first guru, Guru Nanak, the book charts the lives of the ten Gurus. Through carefully curated stories, the book does not just show the egalitarian ideals and compassionate worldview that have come to define the faith, but also sheds light on the historical context that defined the foundational principles which guided Sikhs during the era of each Guru.
Sarbpreet has deliberately approached this retelling as a storyteller rather than as a student of history in an attempt to make the work accessible and engaging. Immersive and expansive, The Story of the Sikhs is a tour de force that weaves a multi-dimensional tapestry of narrative and poetry.
Little America||Zain Said
Little America
Born in a Karachi slum, Sharif Barkati became obsessed with “American” ideas of love and freedom at a very young age. He began to dream of a public place in the city that did not follow the rules, where people would be free to say and do whatever they wanted under open skies, away from the conservative eyes of Pakistani society.
With the help of his friend Afzal – and TJ, an extremely wealthy Pakistani-American – Sharif was able to realize his dream in the form of a colossal compound on the Karachi coast, full of bars, cafes, clubs, and the people of Karachi strolling about, hand in hand.
They called it Little America.
Now in prison, Sharif tells the story of his life in a letter to his favourite novelist, hoping that he will turn it into a literary masterpiece. At once a rollicking journey around the mind of a man desperate to be free, an allegory of the neo-colonial endeavour, and an investigation of the desire to emulate the perceived superior while desperately trying to hold on to one’s own cultural identity, Little America asks the question: What, really, is freedom, and what can be sacrificed in its name?
A Map of Longings||Manan Kapoor
A Map of Longings
This first definitive biography of Agha Shahid Ali offers a rich portrait of the poet and the world he inhabited.
Shahid is widely regarded as one of the finest poets from the Indian subcontinent, and his works are read across the world, touching millions of lives. A pioneer of ghazal writing in English, he wrote extensively about loss, nostalgia and home. A witness to the conflict that ravaged his homeland Kashmir, a loss he lamented in his collection The Country without a Post Office, Shahid has today become a symbol of hope in a violent world.
In this biography, Manan Kapoor explores the concerns that shaped Shahid’s life and works, following in the footsteps of the ‘Beloved Witness’ from Kashmir to New Delhi and finally to the United States. He charts Shahid’s friendships with figures like Begum Akhtar and James Merrill and looks at the lives the poet touched with his compassion and love. He also traces the complex evolution of Shahid’s evocative verses, which mapped various cultures and geographies, and mourned injustice and loss, both personal and political. Drawing on various unpublished materials and in-depth interviews with Shahid’s family, friends, students and acquaintances, Kapoor narrates the riveting story of a major literary voice and presents Shahid’s poetic vision, revealing not just what he wrote but also how he taught the world to live.
Green Humour for a Greying Planet||Rohan Chakravarty
Green Humour for a Greying Planet
Green Humour for A Greying Planet is a curation of gag cartoons and comic strips based exclusively on wildlife and nature, perhaps the first of its kind. At a time when global warming, wildlife crimes and man-animal conflicts are at their worst, ‘Green Humour’ is sure to provide its readers some much needed comic relief. A comprehensive and satirical take on various aspects of the natural world and the threats to its conservation, this book will appeal to both the scientifically inclined readers as well as the general readers.
How to Get Glass Skin||Anupriya Goel
How to Get Glass Skin
Glass skin is not just limited to Koreans. Each one of us can get flawless, dewy skin. However, this dream skin cannot be achieved overnight. How to Get Glass Skin will take you through all the steps to be followed in your morning-to-night routine of double cleansing, toning, moisturizing, application of serum, SPF application, facial oils and masking, according to your skin type and skin condition.
Dr Anupriya Goel, renowned skin specialist and medical director of the Berkowits chain of clinics, gives you an insight into the right kind of nutrition and supplements you should be taking, along with an understanding of the active ingredients that you must know of before investing in a product. This, and the latest advancements in skincare.
So what are you waiting for? Let your skin become glass-like and get addicted to the glow.
Looking Inward||Swami Purnachaitanya
Looking Inward
The world as we know it in 2021 is worse than anything we have seen so far. Global warming, a pandemic, misinformation spreading like wildfires, fake news, riots, changing social structures and lifestyles-the ramifications of these events affect our health, relationships, productivity and, most importantly, have a lasting impact on our inner peace. It is in times like these that we feel stressed, acutely anxious and even depressed. And it is now more than ever that we need to look inward for strength, focus, happiness and resilience.
In Looking Inward, Swami Purnachaitanya helps you on your journey towards identifying the source of your anxiety, stress and restlessness, and provides you with the tools required to address and transcend them, using meditation to soothe distracted thoughts and refocusing your energy to being fully present in the moment. Every chapter includes enlightening stories, precious insights, and a ten-minute exercise that will take you one step closer to mastering your mind and building your own meditation practice.
Today, meditation is not a luxury, it is a necessity. This book helps you acknowledge the changing world while strengthening your inner energy reserves to better cope with it.
Ayurveda||Dr G.G. Gangadharan
Ayurveda
This book is not a defence of Ayurveda. A sound, scientific framework of healthcare that has saved countless lives over 5000 years does not need defenders. It needs champions, and to be given wings. In a world that needs Ayurveda more than ever, Dr G.G. Gangadharan, who has been researching both the theory and the practice for the past thirty-five years, shows in his book the logic behind the science. He points out that our bodies are intelligent systems designed to keep most diseases at bay, but we must pay more attention to the signals they give us. Doing so comes with the implicit promise of true restoration. It is a promise to restore your bod and mind to its initial healthy state. Ayurveda has so much to offer; its simple application can transform daily life. In this book, you will find the secret to greater happiness through balance and long-lasting health-the idea that healthcare must address the individual as a whole and not just the disease.
Fighter Cock||Sidharth Singh
Fighter Cock
Shikargarh, central India. An untamed wilderness ruled by a dissolute raja with a passion for sex, drugs and cockfighting. The raja’s Karianath fighter cocks are the undisputed champions of the area – but their reign is challenged by the new Aseel fighters imported by Teja, his bastard son, who also schemes to usurp his position.
Into this world arrives Sheru, a brooding stranger hired to work for the raja. As Sheru negotiates this wild land, he finds himself getting pulled into a deadly vortex of events that threaten to derail his destiny. But Sheru is a dangerous man with a dark past, and when he unleashes his fury, all hell breaks loose.
The Bombay Prince||Sujata Massey
The Bombay Prince
November 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India is arriving in Bombay to begin a four-month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college.
Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident. Feeling guilty for failing to have helped Freny in life, Perveen steps forward to assist Freny’s family in the fraught dealings of the coroner’s inquest. When Freny’s death appears suspicious, Perveen knows she can’t rest until she sees justice done. But Bombay is erupting: as armed British secret service marches the streets, rioters attack anyone with perceived British connections and desperate shopkeepers destroy their own wares so they will not be targets of racial violence. Can Perveen help a suffering family when her own is in danger?
Rising Like a Storm||Tanaz Bhathena
Rising Like a Storm
With King Lohar dead and a usurper queen in power, Gul and Cavas face a new tyrannical government that is bent on killing them both. Their roles in King Lohar’s death have not gone unnoticed, and the new queen is out for blood. What she doesn’t know is that Gul and Cavas have a connection that runs deeper than romance, and together, they just might have the strength and magic to end her for good.
Then a grave mistake ends with Cavas taken prisoner by the government. Gul must train an army of warriors alone. With alliances shifting and the thirst for vengeance growing, the fate of Ambar seems ever more uncertain. It will take every ounce of strength, love, and sacrifice for Gul and Cavas to reach their final goal and build a more just world than they’ve ever known.
1971||Ian Cardozo
1971
An under-strength Gorkha battalion undertakes the Indian Army’s first heliborne operation deep behind enemy lines, defeating a Pakistani force twenty times its strength. Fighters of the Indian Air force target the Government House in Dhaka in a daring air raid, forcing the Pakistani government in Dhaka to capitulate and surrender. Four battle casualties become close friends at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune in the war’s aftermath.
In this collection of true stories, decorated war veteran Major General Ian Cardozo recounts what really happened during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, piecing together every story in vivid detail through interviews with survivors and their families. The book also seeks to commemorate the lives of those who were killed and wounded in this war, which took place fifty years ago.
From the tragic tale of the INS Khukri and its courageous captain, who went down with his ship, to how a battalion of the Gorkhas launched what we accept as the last khukri attack in modern military history, these stories reveal what went on in the minds of those who led their men into battle-on land, at sea and in the air.
Avatar Meher Baba||Ruzbeh N. Bharucha
Avatar Meher Baba
Known as one of the Perfect Masters, Avatar Meher Baba touched millions of lives and passed away in 1969. Since then, his followers, who were blessed to have had been under his direct care, feel his presence strongly, even until date, and live their lives in complete devotion to him.
Now, after more than fifty years after his passing, one of the most read and loved spiritual writers, Ruzbeh N. Bharucha, pieces together what it was to have experienced Baba in person-to have been blessed by him. Through interviews with his followers, Bharucha recreates the life and times of Baba, his deep connection with his Mandali, his miracles, his methods and his teachings.
Such is the power of their words that Baba comes alive to readers like he had never been gone. It is a rare collection for those who would like to know more about what it was like to be with the Avatar himself.
‘May’ is a word filled with promises and possibilities. It is also a word that conveys blessings and best wishes. These are emotions the entire human race has been expressing and feeling toward one another constantly through this difficult period that has spanned over a year. A homograph to this word that is so laden with potential and compassion, is the month we have now stepped into. May ‘may’ have a lot to offer you in terms of comfort and relief, but what we certainly have to offer you this month is an array of our latest releases. May they bring a little light, love, laughter, knowledge and hope into your lives.
Hisila||Hisila Yami
Hisila
In this fascinating book, Hisila Yami traces her journey from being a young Nepali student of architecture in Delhi in the early eighties to becoming a Maoist revolutionary engaging in guerrilla warfare in Nepal. Yami was one of two women leaders who were a part of the politburo of the Communist Party of Nepal, which led the revolutionary People’s War.
This lucidly written political memoir may talk about gaining political awareness, joining protests, being imprisoned, participating in the People’s War, and later her experiences as the first lady and a minister. But, at the same time, it’s also a narrative that offers glimpses of her personal life. She candidly writes about falling in love and marrying a fellow politician, Baburam Bhattarai, who went on to become the prime minister of Nepal. From how she balanced her political life with motherhood to what it meant to be a woman in the communist party that launched a civil war, Yami narrates an unforgettable account of a remarkable life.
Three Rays||Satyajit Ray
Three Rays
Satyajit Ray (1921-1992), through his life, philosophy and works offered a unique aesthetic sensibility, which took our cinema, art and literature to a new height. Ray, an ace designer, music composer, illustrator and a gifted writer, gave us the iconic Feluda and Professor Shonku, loved and revered by millions of readers.
Celebrating his centenary birth anniversary, Three Rays: Stories from Satyajit Ray, the first book in ‘The Penguin Ray Library’ series, opens a window to his brilliance. With more than forty previously unpublished stories, autobiographical writings and illustrations by Ray, this volume opens a window to the Master’s creative genius.
Secrets of Devine Love||A.Helwa
Secrets of Divine Love
Secrets of Divine Love draws upon the spiritual secrets of the Qu’ran, mystical poetry and stories from the world’s greatest prophets and spiritual masters to help you reignite your faith, overcome your doubts and deepen your connection with God. Practical exercises and guided meditations will help you develop the tools and awareness to overcome the inner critic that prevents you from experiencing God’s all-encompassing love.
Through the principles and practices of Islam, you will learn how to unlock your spiritual potential and your divine purpose. This insightful book uses a rational yet heart-based approach towards the Qu’ran that enlightens and inspires towards a deeper intimacy with God.
Believe||Suresh Raina, Bharat Sundaresan
Believe
Believe, Sachin Tendulkar told him – and he took it to heart, getting the word etched on his arm as a tattoo.
In this book, Suresh Raina takes us through the challenges he faced as a young cricketer. He was bullied as a child, but he overcame every adversity life threw at him and never gave up. This is the story of the lessons he learnt and the friendships he built.
Peppered with invaluable insights – about the game and about life – that Raina acquired from senior colleagues, this book will make you believe in the power of hard work, love, luck, hope and camaraderie. It is a journey through the highs and lows in the career of a man who saw his world fall apart and yet became one of the most influential white-ball cricketers India has ever seen.
Languages of Truth||Salman Rushdie
Languages of Truth
Salman Rushdie is celebrated as a storyteller of the highest order, illuminating truths about our society and culture through his gorgeous prose. In his latest collection of nonfiction, he brings together insightful essays and speeches that focus on his relationship with the written word and reinforce him as one of the most original thinkers of our time.
Gathering pieces written from 2003 to 2020, Languages of Truth chronicles Rushdie’s intellectual engagement with a period of momentous cultural shifts. He delves into the nature of storytelling as a human need in what emerges as a love letter to literature. Rushdie explores what the work of authors from Shakespeare and Cervantes to Samuel Beckett, Eudora Welty, and Toni Morrison mean to him. He delves deep into the nature of ‘truth’, revels in the vibrant malleability of language, the creative lines that join art and life, and looks anew at migration, multiculturalism and censorship.
Enlivened by Rushdie’s signature wit,Languages of Truth offers his piercingly analytical views on the evolution of literature and culture as he takes us on a tour of his own exuberant imagination.
Nehru, Tibet and China||Avtar Singh Bhasin
Nehru, Tibet and China
On 1 October 1949, the People’s Republic of China came into being. Power moved from the hands of the nationalist Kuomintang government to the Communist Party of China headed by Mao Tse Tung. All of a sudden, it was not only a new China that India had to deal with but also a Tibet which was under increasing pressure.
Clearly, newly independent India, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at its helm, was navigating choppy waters. Its relations with China deteriorated, eventually leading to the Indo-China war in 1962. Today, more than six decades after the war, we are still face border disputes with China that seem to routinely grab headlines. It leads one to question what exactly went on during the emergence of a new China and why have we repeatedly failed to arrive at a solution?
Based on meticulous archival research, this book analyses the events from 1949 to the Indo-China war in 1962 and its aftermath to uncover answers to these burning questions.
A Childhood in Tibet||Thérèse Obrecht Hodler
A Childhood in Tibet
Tendöl Namling turned 60 in 2019. She was born at the time the Dalai Lama fled from Lhasa and the uprising of his people by the Chinese People’s Army was brutally suppressed. She lived 22 years under Chinese rule. As daughter of a high government official, she underwent the ordeal of ‘re-education’ with full force. All she had from these years are painful memories and crumpled photographs of her with friends and cousins in Lhasa, smiling as if nothing happened. When Tendöl turned 10 her brother was arrested and her mother sentenced to ten years in prison. Tendöl was sent to work in road construction for several years, following which she was allowed to start an apprenticeship as motor mechanic. Thanks to the efforts of her family in exile, Tendöl was able to leave Tibet in 1982. After twenty years of hardship she landed in prosperous Switzerland. She struggled to start her life all over again, but never gave up.
In Tendöl’s words, ‘this little book is dedicated to all the Tibetans who continue to rebel against the Chinese occupation’.
The Light of Asia||Jairam Ramesh
The Light of Asia
‘The Light of Asia’is an epic poem by Sir Edwin Arnold that was first published in 1879. It quickly became a huge sensation and has continued to resonate powerfully across the world over the last century and a half. Weaving together literary, cultural, political and social history, Jairam Ramesh uncovers and narrates the fascinating story of this deeply consequential and compelling poem that has shaped our thinking of an ancient sage and his teachings. He brings into this unusual narrative the life of the multi-faceted poet himself who, among other things, was steeped in Sanskrit literature.
Sir Edwin Arnold’s English rendering of the Bhagavad Gita was one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourites. He was also in many ways the man who may have shaped Bodh Gaya as we know it today.
China Room||Sunjeev Sahota
China Room
A multigenerational novel of love, oppression, trauma and the pursuit of freedom, inspired in part by the author’s own family history, China Room twines together the stories of a woman and a man separated by more than half a century but united by blood.
Mehar, a young bride in the rural Punjab of 1929, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. She and her sisters-in-law, married to three brothers in a single ceremony, spend their days working in the family’s ‘china room’, separated from the men. When Mehar develops a theory as to which of them is hers, a passion is ignited that puts more than one life at risk.
Spiralling around Mehar’s story is that of a young man who, in 1999, travels from England to a deserted farm, its ‘china room’ locked and barred. In enforced flight from the traumas of his adolescence-his experiences of addiction, racism and estrangement from the culture of his birth-he spends a summer in painful contemplation and recovery, before finally finding the strength to return home.
Amader Shantiniketan||Shivani, Ira Pande
Amader Shantiniketan
Padma Shri and late Hindi author Shivani’s memoirs of studying at the experimental school set up by Rabindranath Tagore, the Ashram, this charming memoir is a loving homage to a grand institution and its legendary gurus. Written from the perspective of a child, it retains the freshness and innocence of an age when experimental education was not merely a trendy movement. Shivani’s vivid pictures of the Ashram and portraits of her teachers and fellow students remain as alive as they seemed when she first wrote this memoir nearly fifty years ago.
Along with the moving tributes she wrote when some of her beloved contemporaries passed away, this slim memoir is a sort of diptych that captures the spirit of the Ashram and the liveliness of its inmates, many of whom went on to become iconic. Shivani’s recall of her time there takes the reader into an enchanted garden that remains as inspirational to her as it was when she went there a lifetime ago.
The Spirit of Enquiry||T.M. Krishna
The Spirit of Enquiry
As a vocalist in the Karnatik tradition, T.M. Krishna eludes standard analyses. Uncommon in his rendition of music and his interpretation of it, Krishna is at once strong and subtle, manifestly traditional and stunningly innovative. His work is spread across the whole spectrum of music and culture, politics and the social sphere; he is at once philosophical, aesthetic and sociopolitical. He asks important questions about how art is made, performed and disseminated. Unabashedly given to rethinking classical paradigms, he addresses crucial issues of caste, class and gender with nuance and openness.
T.M. Krishna’s key writings have been put together for the first time in this extraordinary collection. The Spirit of Enquiry: Dissent as an Art Form draws from his rich body of work, thematically divided into five key sections: art and artistes; the nation state; the theatre of secularism; savage inequalities; and in memoriam. This collection reflects the critical and cultural engagement of one of our finest thinkers, public intellectuals and practitioners of art.
