Sunday, May 30, 2004



Rulers of the kingdom of music
Music Makers: Living Legends of Indian Classical Music
by Ashok Roy.
Rupa & Co. Pages 333, Rs 995.

I
n
the beginning was Nada, the first sound, from where all music came. It was by far the best introduction music could ever have. After that, there have only been attempts. He who made Nada also made magicians who could spread this ether. Adman Ashok Roy brings back the magical face of Indian classical music and Aditya Rishi comments on how he has succeeded in this.

A sleuth’s African safari
Vikramdeep Johal
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith.
Abacus, London. Pages 250. £ 2.99.

F
or
several decades, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple has been occupying pride of place as the lone woman in the private detectives’ hall of fame. Now arrives the No. 2 lady detective, who runs the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in, of all places, Botswana.

When cancer lost and hope won
Vijay Tankha

Smiles and Tears: A Salute to Cancer
by Anup Kumar.
Rupa & Co. Pages 272. Rs 295

L
ast
year, Anup Kumar published his best-selling Joy of Cancer which recorded his sudden diagnosis of and successful fight with an advanced cancer condition. Readers of that moving account will be glad to know that Anup is alive and well and has been caught by another kind of bug: the writing bug.

Human rights and the rhetoric of injustice
Shelley Walia

The Umbrella of US Power: The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the Contradictions of US Policy
by Noam Chomsky.
Seven Stories Press, New York. Pages 78. $ 6.95.

U
niversal
Declaration of Human Rights theoretically fits in well with America’s longstanding democratic institutions. As Noam Chomsky argues, “It has long been as good a model as one can find of a sociopolitical order in which basic rights are upheld. And it is commonly lauded, at home and abroad, as the leader in the struggle for human rights, democracy, freedom and justice.”

Guns and losses
Jaswant Singh

Kashmir: The Untold Story
by Humra Quraishi. Penguin Books. Page 204. Rs 250.

K
ASHMIR has been a problem between India and Pakistan from the time India became independent and Pakistan was born as an independent country. The decades after the 1971 War have been marked by militancy in Kashmir sponsored and promoted by Pakistan. This has added a new dimension to the problem which has evoked armed reaction within Kashmir by the security forces of India. The Army has often found itself in the unenviable position of fighting not an enemy but shooting at citizens of its own country in the name of helping the maintenance of law and order.

The cutting edge of law
T
he
idea of death by execution holds morbid fascination. The issues that it raises have excited the imagination of writers and filmmakers alike. While Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s film Nizhalkkuthu (Shadow Kill) addresses the question of sin and redemption through the story of a guilt-ridden hangman, the memoirs of France’s former chief executioner reveal a man who thought of his job as an essential public service.

Sinful secrets
At Heaven’s Gates
by Sunil Gangopadhyay. Translated by Sanchayita Chatterjee. Rupa. Pages 155. Rs 195.

T
he
book is the English translation of the Bengali novel Shorger Niche Manush by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It has been translated by Sanchayita Chatterjee. Gangopadhyay has written intriguing stories like The Death Trap and Yubok Yubotira, both of which have been translated into English. The present novel has been well handled by Chatterjee whose impeccable translation ensures that the essence of the original is not lost in any way in the translation.

Punjabi review
Fascinating lives
Shalini Rawat

Kis Kis Taranh de Sikandar
by Gurbachan. Lokgeet Parkashan. Pages 256. Rs 150.
“T
here
are some who don’t know how to be important. They act normal even when they become important. Their characters are hidden in the nobility of their silence…”, writes the author. The nobility of its silence is what is so touching about the book. Not that books of regional literature arrive with rave reviews, news about fat advances or worldwide book–reading sessions. The peripherals are entirely unnecessary. Everyone knows no one reads regional literature.

HOME