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Salil Tripathi brings together the narrative skill of a novelist and the analytical tools of a political journalist to give us the story of a nation that is absorbing, haunting and illuminating.' Kamila Shamsie, author of A God in Every Stone. Between March and December 1971, the Pakistani army committed atrocities on an unprecedented scale in the country's eastern wing. Pakistani troops and their collaborators were responsible for countless deaths and cases of rape. Clearly, religion alone wasn't enough to keep Pakistan's two halves united. From that brutal violence, Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation, but the wounds have continued to fester. The gruesome assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's charismatic first prime minister and most of his family, the coups and counter-coups which followed, accompanied by long years of military rule were individually and collectively responsible for the country's inability to come to grips with the legacy of the Liberation War Four decades later, as Bangladesh tries to bring some accountability and closure to its blood-soaked past through controversial tribunals prosecuting war crimes, Salil Tripathi travels the length and breadth of the country probing the country's trauma through interviews with hundreds of Bangladeshis. His book offers the reader an unforgettable portrait of a nation whose political history since Independence has been marked more by tragedy than triumph

All of Us in Our Own Lives is the story of an encounter between strangers who shape each others' lives in fateful ways. Ava Berriden, a Canadian lawyer, quits her corporate law firm in Toronto, leaves her passionless marriage and moves to Nepal, from where she was adopted as a baby. In Kathmandu, she struggles to launch a new career in international aid and to forge a connection with the country of her birth.Ava's work brings her into contact with Indira Sharma, a leading gender expert in Kathmandu. It also takes her to a small village where bright young Sapana Karki dreams of progress for herself, her community and her country. Sapana's world-weary half-brother Gyanu, who works in Dubai, is back to settle his sister's future after their father's death. Each person is on a journey of his or her own. These journeys intersect with a chance meeting between Ava and Gyanu. In the aftermath, her decisions alter the lives of the others. The novel delves into the cynical, monied world of international aid, and reflects on recent events in Nepal, including the devastating earthquake of 2015 and the subsequent drafting of a new constitution. It is ultimately a story about human interconnectedness and the unexpected ways in which strangers come to relate to one another.

A small, sparsely populated kingdom at the eastern end of the Himalayas, Bhutan is often described as one of the most isolated countries on earth. In this unprecedented portrait an informed and insightful mix of political history and travel writing Omair Ahmad shows that the opposite, in fact, is true. Located at the intersection of several political, cultural and religious currents, Bhutan has been a part of, and been shaped by, some of the most transformative events in Asian and world history.Beginning with Padmasambhavas epic work to establish Buddhism in the Himalayas, The Kingdom at the Centre of the World tells the story of Bhutans emergence as an independent Buddhist nation in the seventeenth century under the Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who turned his back on Tibet; the exploits of Jigme Namgyal the Black Regent who united Bhutan and fought the armies of British India to a standstill; and the remarkable Wangchuk monarchs, who have ruled Bhutan since the beginning of the twentieth century.Alongside, the book also examines events around Bhutan that have affected it profoundly: the rise and fall of Tibet and the Mongol and British empires; the spread of Nepali-origin people across South Asia; Sikkims dramatic loss of sovereignty; and the conflicting territorial ambitions of India and China.Most fascinating of all, the book argues that it is in Bhutan more, perhaps, than in any other nation that alternative modes of governance and progress are being tested in an increasingly homogenized world. As it chooses Gross National Happiness (GNH) over Gross National Product (GNP), grapples with a complicated refugee crisis, experiments with a guided democracy and tries to retain its cultural heritage while it opens up to the world, Bhutan could have important lessons for us all

In June 2001, the king of Nepal and almost his entire family were massacred. Unrest, simmering over the previous decade, boiled over and pushed the nation into free fall. In 2005, the dead kings brother reinstated monarchy, crushing any hope that parliamentary democracy would flourish in Nepal. A period fraught with uncertainty and intense turmoil ensued: the Maoists waged a bloody Peoples War; the monarchy mounted a bloodier counter-insurgency effort; political parties bickered and fought endlessly; and the citizens bore the brunt of it all. Wide-ranging in scope the book spans the beginning of the monarchy, through the early democratic movements, to the present Forget Kathmandu is many things: history, memoir, reportage, travelogue, analysis. But, above all, it is an unflinching, clear-sighted attempt to make sense of the bad politics that plagued and continues to plague the country. It remains as worryingly relevant to present-day Nepal as it was when first published in 2005.

In Accidental India: A History of the Nation's Passage through Crisis and Change, noted journalist-analyst, Shankkar Aiyar, examines India's ascent through the paradigm of seven game changers: the economic liberalization of 1991, the Green Revolution of the sixties, the nationalization of banks in 1969, Operation Flood in the seventies, the mid-day meal scheme of 1982, the software revolution of the nineties, and the passing of the Right to Information Act in 2005. He argues that these turning points in the country's history were not the result of foresight or careful planning but were rather the accidental consequences of major crises that had to be resolved at any cost

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What does the Biblical story of Nathan and David say about effective communication skills? How do you identify the Raja Bhoj, the Gangu Teli and the Shekchilli in your office? What is the corporate equivalent of an Ashwamedha yajna? Drawing from sources as diverse as the Mahabharata and the Bible, the Vikram-Betal stories, the Iliad and the Odyssey, Islamic tenets, the tales of rishis and kings, and fables from around the world, Devdutt Pattanaik, India's leading mythologist, provides a fascinating account of what leadership entails. How to choose the right leader, effectively communicate with a boss, maintain the right balance between discipline and leniency? In these and other workplace situations, Pattanaik shows what leaders of today can learn about the art of leadership from stories written thousands of years ago, things no management course can teach. Leader: 50 Insights from Mythology uses myths and legends to arrive at wisdom that is both time-worn and refreshingly new, on what makes a good leader.

A riveting account of the new young India cricket team, its stars and where this team could take the country in the game that defines the world's most populous democracy.

Award-winning author Cyrus Mistry's first collection of short stories is dark, mysterious and inhabited by characters that walk a thin line between fantasy and reality. A serendipitous discovery on the floor of a local bus transforms the melancholic life of Percy, who meets a ghost in the washroom of a public library, a new mother struggling with depression and the urge to end her newborn's life opens the door to a stranger, stalked by mysterious men, Jacintha believes her enemies are out to eliminate her because she knows too much, on New Year's Eve, an aged couple clashes, replaying an annual ritual that shrouds the unacknowledged secret buried between them twenty-three years ago, two childhood friends, now co-workers at an advertising agency, indulge in a never-ending display of one-upmanship, false camaraderie and intense, unspoken resentment, Bokha tries to counter the powerful black magic of his wicked old mother in order to shield his helpless lover, and Mahendroo, full of himself, is consumed by his obsessive search for an elusive species of Passiflora. Original and disturbing, Passion Flower is another triumph from one of the country's most gifted storytellers.

Chanakyas New Manifesto: To Resolve theCrisis within India Acclaimed author Pavan K. Varmas new book analyzes themultiple challenges facing the country today and proposes clear andunambiguous solutions to them. Chanakya (c. 270-380 BCE) was classical Indias greatestthinkerand teacher. Through his unparalleled ability to deviseresult-oriented military, political, and administrative strategy,heoverthrew one king, crowned another and paved the way for theestablishment of Indias first great empire. His seminal work, theArthashashtra, arguably the worlds first comprehensive treatiseonstate craft and governance, was written approximately twothousand years before Machiavellis The Prince. What would Chanakya do if confronted with the various crisesthat beset contemporary India? Using this question as the startingpoint for his new book, celebrated writer and thinker Pavan K.Varmahas drawn up a practical and detailed plan, modelled on theArthashashtra, to bring about reform and change in five key areasthat require urgent attention-governance, democracy,corruption,security, and the building of an inclusive society.Whether it is laying the foundation for an independent andeffective Lokpal, ordecriminalizing politics and successfullyweeding out the corrupt,the solutions he proposes are substantive,well within the constitutional framework, and can make all thedifference between intent and action. Chanakyas New Manifesto is both a call to action as well as adeeply insightful account of the challenges facing thecountrytoday. It is a book that should be attentively read byeverybodywith a stake in Indias future. About Author: Pavan K. Varma Pavan K. Varma studied history at St Stephens College, Delhi,andtook a degree in law from Delhi University. He has been presssecretary to the president of India, official spokesman of theForeign Office, director general of the Indian Council for CulturalRelations, and Indias ambassador to Bhutan.

In 1930, the American historian and philosopher Will Durant wrote that Britain's 'conscious and deliberate bleeding of India... [was the] greatest crime in all history'. He was not the only one to denounce the rapacity and cruelty of British rule, and his assessment was not exaggerated. Almost thirty-five million Indians died because of acts of commission and omission by the British-in famines, epidemics, communal riots and wholesale slaughter like the reprisal killings after the 1857 War of Independence and the Amritsar massacre of 1919. Besides the deaths of Indians, British rule impoverished India in a manner that beggars belief. When the East India Company took control of the country, in the chaos that ensued after the collapse of the Mughal empire, India's share of world GDP was 23 per cent. When the British left it was just above 3 per cent.The British empire in India began with the East India Company, incorporated in 1600, by royal charter of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I, to trade in silk, spices and other profitable Indian commodities. Within a century and a half, the Company had become a power to reckon with in India. In 1757, under the command of Robert Clive, Company forces defeated the ruling Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal at Plassey, through a combination of superior artillery and even more superior chicanery. A few years later, the young and weakened Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II, was browbeaten into issuing an edict that replaced his own revenue officials with the Company's representatives. Over the next several decades, the East India Company, backed by the British government, extended its control over most of India, ruling with a combination of extortion, double-dealing, and outright corruption backed by violence and superior force. This state of affairs continued until 1857, when large numbers of the Company's Indian soldiers spearheaded the first major rebellion against colonial rule. After the rebels were defeated, the British Crown took over power and ruled the country ostensibly more benignly until 1947, when India won independence.In this explosive book, bestselling author Shashi Tharoor reveals with acuity, impeccable research, and trademark wit, just how disastrous British rule was for India. Besides examining the many ways in which the colonizers exploited India, ranging from the drain of national resources to Britain, the destruction of the Indian textile, steel-making and shipping industries, and the negative transformation of agriculture, he demolishes the arguments of Western and Indian apologists for Empire on the supposed benefits of British rule, including democracy and political freedom, the rule of law, and the railways. The few unarguable benefits-the English language, tea, and cricket-were never actually intended for the benefit of the colonized but introduced to serve the interests of the colonizers. Brilliantly narrated and passionately argued, An Era of Darkness will serve to correct many misconceptions about one of the most contested periods of Indian history.

This has been a time of unprecedented change in the country. The transformation of India's politics, economy, foreign policy, media, civil rights, governance and a myriad other aspects of our society and government has been swift and disruptive, sometimes brutally so. Narendra Modi, the nation's new Prime Minister, and his Bharatiya Janata Party, dominate the political scene, as the Congress once did, and are attempting to change the way we work, think, pray and conduct ourselves as citizens of the planet's most populous democracy. There are signs that the nation is moving in directions that will benefit its people-the economy has begun to revive, its foreign policy appears to be purposefully pursuing a visible place in the world, polls show that a significant percentage of the nation's youth are optimistic about the future; at the same time, there are serious concerns about the rise of majoritarianism and religious fundamentalism (often, this is one and the same thing), a disquieting intolerance of free speech, dissent and religious freedom; moreover, there appears to be no end to corruption, hate speech, criminals in politics, terrorism, violence against women, bureaucratic lethargy, governmental incompetence, endemic poverty, environmental degradation, and a host of other problems that India has been struggling to overcome for decades. What does the future hold? Is the promise of good times a mere illusion? Have we forgotten the democratic, humane, secular and liberal values that our founding fathers endowed us with? Are high-speed trains and missions to Mars eclipsing the vital need to achieve universal literacy, eradicate poverty, and provide food, shelter and health-care for all? Shashi Tharoor, one of our most distinguished and insightful writers, attempts to answer these and other important questions and demystify the complex issues that have been thrown up by the ongoing transformation of the nation. After chronicling India's transformation over the years in several previous books, he brings his insights into Indian society, economics and politics up to date in wide-ranging short essays that extend the narrative right up to the present time. Lucid, brilliantly argued, balanced and illuminating, India Shastra is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand today's India

On Hinduism contains a list of related essays that aim to explore the various concerns that are connected to Hinduism. These matters are as relevant today as they were in the olden times of the Vedas. The book raises many longstanding questions such as what changes have come in the Hindu beliefs concerning death, rebirth and Karma over so many years? In what way can a remorseful Hindu gain salvation? What do animals like dogs and cows mean to Hinduism? Why do are Hindus have conflicting ideas of Ahimsa?The book also gives readers an understanding of how and under what conditions a religion that embraces a plethora of cultures and races also promotes intolerance on so many levels. The book culminates with a string of autobiographical essays by the author.On Hinduism is a convincing study of one of the greatest faiths in the world. The book gives readers a better grip on the ancient and multifaceted religion that is Hinduism.

Rupi birthed her eldest son squatting in the middle of a paddy field, shin-deep in mud and slush. Soon after, Gurubari, her rival in love, gave her an illness that was like the alakjari vine which engulfs the tallest, greenest trees of the forest and sucks their hearts out. Now Rupi, once the strongest woman in her village, lives out her days on a cot in the backyard, and her life dissolves into incomprehensible ruin around her. The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey is the story of the Baskeys the patriarch Somai; his alcoholic, irrepressible daughter Putki; Khorda, Putki s devout, upright husband, and their sons Sido and Doso; and Sido s wife Rupi. Equally, the novel is about Kadamdihi, the Santhal village in Jharkhand in which the Baskeys live. For it is in full view of the village that the various large and small dramas of the Baskeys s lives play out, even as the village cheers them on, finds fault with them, prays for them and, most of all, enjoys the spectacle they provide. An astonishingly assured and original debut, The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey brings to vivid life a village, its people, and the gods good and bad who influence them. Through their intersecting lives, it explores the age-old notions of good and evil and the murky ways in which the heart and the mind work.

M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916-2004), who was popularly known as MS, was one of India's greatest classical musicians. Born into a humble devadasi home, her talent and dedication to her art made her one of India's most critically acclaimed classical singers. She was the first Indian musician to receive the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, in addition to numerous other awards. Jawaharlal Nehru called her 'a Queen of Music' and Sarojini Naidu dubbed her 'the Nightingale of India'. Her fellow musicians were no less generous in their praise. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan said she was Suswaralakshmi (the Goddess of the Perfect Note) while Kishori Amonkar said she was Aathuvansur or music's 'Eighth Note' (there are only seven notes that are basic to all musical forms). MS's genius had principally to do with her exquisite voice, her extraordinary range and her unequalled command of all the material she worked with, whether it was Carnatic music, Hindustani music or devotional music such as bhajans.In this, the definitive biography of the musician (previously published as MS: A Life in Music), award-winning biographer T. J. S. George traces her journey from her beginnings as a singer in Madurai, through her breakthrough performance at the prestigious Madras Music Academy in 1932, to her carving out a place for herself as a cultural icon. Besides exploring MS's genius, the author describes the musical and social milieu that she was part of, and the various barriers she was instrumental in breaking in the course of her journey to superstardom. He covers her stint as an actress and looks at how her career was helped by various mentors and sponsors, including C. Rajagopalachari, India's last governor general. He pays particular attention to the role of her husband, T. Sadavisam, in the creation and burnishing of MS's reputation. He examines the various controversies that surrounded her origins, and also underlines her essential humility and generosity. Told with a music connoisseur's passion and understanding, M. S. Subbulakshmi: The Definitive Biography is an enthralling portrait of a musical legend.

During the chaos of partition in 1947, something dreadful happened in the city of Jalandhar in Punjab. As a result of this, Salman Rashid's family fled Jalandhar for Pakistan, the newly created country across the border. They were among the nearly two million people uprooted from their homes in the greatest transmigration in history. Besides those who fled, other members of the family became part of a grimmer statistic: They featured among the more than one million unfortunate souls who paid with their lives for the division of India and creation of Pakistan. After living in the shadow of his family's tragedy for decades, in 2008, Rashid made the journey back to his ancestral village to uncover the truth. A time of madness tells the story of what he discovered with great poignancy and grace. It is a tale of unspeakable brutality but it is also a testament to the uniquely human traits of forgiveness, redemption and the resilience of the human spirit.

A wildly original and humorous account of growing up as an Indian woman. Unladylike is a memoir that spans four decades of the author's life. From stories about a childhood spent wishing she could change everything about her life (including her parents), to her chronically delayed puberty, and the self-esteem issues that accompany a flat chest, Vaz doesn't pull any punches. She takes us through her college years, where under the vigilance of Catholic nuns she grappled with a major decision-to have or not have pre-marital sex as well as the discovery that the female body is capable of some very strange sounds at very inappropriate times. Out of respect for various ex-boyfriends, she will dwell on just one man-her wheat-eating, milk-drinking Jat husband. From their extra-long courtship (that he didn't tell his mother about), to their wedding day and beyond, there are lessons for every girl who has ever thought 'one day I'd like to be married'. The lesson is: 'Don't say you weren't warned

Arun Ferreira is from the East Indian community, the original Mumbaikars, whose villages became the localities of a sprawling metropolis. He graduated from the prestigious St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and has been an activist since his student days.Ferreira is also a cartoonist whose drawings on social and political issues have appeared in various publications, as well as in student and worker magazines. Since his release in 2012, he continues to actively engage with issues of political prisoners, prison reforms and democratic rights. He is presently pursuing a degree in law and researching the history of the democratic rights movement in Mumbai

Poignant, witty, melancholic and intense, this is the best of four decades of prose from one of India's masters of the written word. The worst thing about being a human being is being a human being. 'I wish I was bird', as the railway clerk in Nissim Ezekiel's poem says. But if I were, the worst thing about being a bird would be being a bird. Welcome to the world of Adil Jussawalla, poet, columnist, critic. The essays and entertainments collected in this volume take in everything from language to poetry, from ethics to model aero planes, from death and addiction to travel and alienation. In these pages, you will meet poets, novelists, construction labourers, gamblers and, most startlingly, Jussawalla himself as a boy who lost himself at the movies as the acned adolescent on a ship watching a storm at sea as the flaneur of South Mumbai. Poignant, witty, melancholic and intense, this is the best of four decades of prose from one of India's masters of the written word.

Tales of Fosterganj by Ruskin Bond is a fiction that opens window to a remote and quaint village Fosterganj, located around the hills of Mussoorie.The story traces the journey of a writer from Delhi, who lands up in Fosterganj by chance. Though initially annoyed by the place and the people, he decides to stick there because of the interesting viewpoint he gets from his bathroom. Being a writer, he tries to isolate himself but his constant encounters with the natives makes him realise that each

The time: The transition years between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. The space: The fertile delta of the Cauvery. The backdrop: The early stirrings of a freedom struggle against British colonialism in South India.Nothing can disturb the serenity of Tiruvaiyaru, South India, until Panju, a brilliant boy from an orthodox family, decides to join the revolutionary freedom movement. His actions affect not only him, but those he holds close-his sister Janaki who, breaking age-old tradit

In this eclectic and deeply personal collection, India's grand old man of letters brings together precepts, prayers and practical advice by prophets, poets and philosophers, and his favourite passages from the seminal texts of the world's major faiths. The Bible and the Granth Sahib speak to us from these pages, as do the Quran and the Vedas. The songs of mystics and saints like Kabir, Rumi and Teresa of Ávila mix with the verse of poets like Ghalib, Tagore and Keats. In the final section, Khus