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off the
shelF
How carnal desire
put England on top
V. N. Datta
Stories from the Raj: Sahibs. Memsahibs and Others.
by Pran Nevile. Indialog Publications,
New Delhi. Pages 186. Rs 250.
WHEN this book came into my hands, my eyes fell on
its black and white pictorial cover showing two sprightly and curious
looking women, one blazing with jewellery, and the other half-clad at
the top. I thought for a moment that the author must be British, who has
recaptured the adventures and amorous exploits of his forefathers in the
early years of the British rule in India.
tribute
Czeslaw
Milosz: Lest we forget
Shastri Ramachandaran
HE
was a poet, a witness, ever in exile. And exile is a recurring theme in
his vast repertoire of works-poetry, novels and essays-that abound in
the autobiographical. Till his passage into eternal exile, on August 14
at the age of 93, Czeslaw Milosz, the Lithuanian-Polish writer, was both
conscience and witness to a tumultuous century where he survived the
horrors of both Nazism and Stalinism.
Gem
of a work
Chitleen K. Sethi
The Mughal Peacock Throne
edited by K.R.N. Swamy and Meera Ravi. A
Writers Workshop Greybird Book, Kolkata. Pages
126. Rs 200.
Tourists
visiting the Taj Mahal have been shortchanged. What they get to see is
not the most expensive creation of Mughal India. Something that cost
twice as much and seven years to make is now only available in sketches
and miniature paintings in the archives of our museums.
EXCERPT
Sounds of spirituality
Vasudev Murthy
AFTER my daughter’s teasing through the dazzling Raag
Chandrakauns, and then the incredibly moving Charukesi, I recovered my
sense of balance for a while. But I lost myself in thought again. The
reality of existence has been forced on me, I thought. It was senseless
to simply withdraw from this gift of life.
Meatless
pulp
Is New York Burning?
Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Full Circle. Pages 307. Rs 195
COME
September, and since 9/11 New York goes into a hysterical frenzy,
haunted by apprehensions of whether ‘evil’ would choose to strike
again. Since even many literate Americans believe in the Francis
Fukuyama-scripted ‘End of History’, they cannot be persuaded that
history does not repeat itself in an identical way, although there might
be similarities between two cycles in history.
Childhood
on the road
Aditi Garg
Voices From The Street
by Lori McFadyen. Hope India Pages 201. Rs 395.
WESTERN
media often portrays India as a country which has little more to it than
potholed roads, semi-clad sadhus and hungry children. Street children
have aroused much interest from various quarters but little has actually
been done to understand their plight and give back to them their
carefree childhood.
A fresh look at the ghazal
Parveen Kumar ‘Ashk’ has introduced a totally new
school of lyrical concepts in the Urdu ghazal. His language,
imagery, words, treatment, symbols and diction is definitely as never
before in the Urdu ghazal. Its amazing to know that he never had
any formal training in Urdu.
hindi
review
Unusual
gift
Saroj Sharma
Munshi
Prem Chand’s famous stories, while entertaining, depict life in all
its brutal reality. These are touching stories about the life of
peasants and about the multiple and varied role of women. He has the
unique ability of capturing life in its raw form.
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