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Images that click
Roopinder Singh
The Golden Temple: A Gift to
Humanity
by Vijay N. Shankaran and Ranvir Bhatnagar.
Photographs by S. Paul and Dheeraj Paul.
Ranvir Bhatnager Publications, Gurgaon. Pages 176. Rs 2,895.
This
coffee-table book is lavishly produced, and has pictures by two of the
best photographers in India—S. Paul, a former Chief Photographer of Indian
Express, and his son, Dheeraj.
Tongue
in check
Belu Jain-Maheshwari
Gendered Space: Anthology of
Stories edited by Jehanara Wasi and Alka Tyagi.
Shristi Publishers, New Delhi. Pages 219. Rs 195.
The
book is a compilation of short stories translated in English from major
Indian languages. The stories provide a glimpse into Indian women’s
experiences and life. Literature can be a vital record of what human
beings undergo and imbibe what they feel.
Understanding
race
Jayanti Roy
Biology as Politics
by Somnath Zutshi. Seagull Books, Calcutta. Pages 81. Rs 100.
The
book is a published version of author’s discourse to The Seagull
Foundation for the Arts on the inauguration of an exhibition.
Fables
& fairytales
Debutant
Indo-British author Rana Dasgupta says his book "Tokyo
Cancelled" delves into the age-old art of verbal story-telling,
increasingly lost in a modern world where most people are 'listeners'
but rarely able to tell their own tales.
Know your man, the Jane Austen way
Jane
Austen might not be the one today's women look up to for advice on
dating, but if writer Lauren Henderson is to be believed, she is better
than Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City fame.
just
out
Out of
this world
Humra Quraishi takes a peek at Khushwant Singh’s recently released
Death at my Doorstep
The
latest book from Khushwant Singh has obituaries of many a who’s who,
including his own. Highlighting death and his views on death, the
chapters focus on well-known figures like Z.A. Bhutto, Sanjay Gandhi,
Tikka Khan, Mounbatten, MO Mathai, Rajni Patel, Gurcharan Singh Tohra,
Dhiren Bhagat, Mulk Raj Anand, Balwant Gargi, Nirad Babu, Protima Bedi,
Chetan Anand, Nargis, Amrita Shergil, P.C. Lal, Dharma Kumar, Yogi
Bhajan, Manzur Qadir and GS Fraser.
fiction
Worth
the money
Gayatri Rajwade
Q AND A
by Vikas Swarup. Doubleday. Price. 395. Pages 302.
It’s
an enthusiastic debut worth devouring. The author seems to have taken
inspiration from the fantastical, unreal plots of Hindi films that
captivate and enthral millions.
EXCERPTS
Same people, another republic
In this incisive and provocative collection of essays, Development and Nationhood: Essays in the Political Economy of South Asia
(OUP, Rs 650), Meghnad Desai charts India’s politico-economic evolution by juxtaposing it with the condition from the stable Nehruvian era to when “far from becoming a republic of citizens, India has become an archipelago of communities.”
There
are considerable strains that the (Indian) polity is under. These
strains have meant that political, as well as daily life in India is
becoming volatile, violent, and precarious.
Prize and prejudice
It
was the narrative of an old Cuban fisherman’s struggle against nature
that finally persuaded the Swedish Academy that Ernest Hemingway wasn’t
too rich or famous to be honored with a Nobel Prize.
Poor diagnosis
Meeta Rajivlochan
No Place to Go: Stories of Hope and Despair from India’s Ailing Health Sector
by Subhadra Menon, Penguin, Price Rs 250. Pages. 192
Becoming
a doctor is one of the most difficult tasks in contemporary times.
Becoming a competent doctor is even more difficult.
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