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The
culture of fascism
Rumina Sethi
On Communalism and
Globalization: Offensives of the Far Right.
by Aijaz Ahmad. Three Essays Collective, Delhi. Pages 117. Rs 150.
The
three essays by Aijaz Ahmad collected in this book were written in the
course of eight years and focus on communal violence and contemporary
imperialism. The overall focus of the book is the sheer overlap of Hindu
fascism and neo-imperialism in contemporary India, which is not
incidental, but deliberate.
Dubious
yet witty confessions
Deepika Gurdev
Tales from a Broad: An
Unreliable Memoir
by Fran Lebowitz. Bantam. Pages 345. Singapore $28.
When
you pick up a book with a telling subtitle that reads ‘An Unreliable
Memoir’, you should pretty much have an idea what you are headed for.
Pinjar:
a novel ahead of its times
Nirupama Dutt
One
of the first voices portraying the pain of Partition was that of Punjabi
poet and fiction writer Amrita Pritam. And for a long time the only
feminine voice viewing Partition from a woman’s perspective.
Chroniclers of the women’s stories of Partition like Urvashi Butalia,
Ritu Menon and Kamla Bhasin were to enter the area nearly four decades
later.
First
song of triumph
Siddharth
Dhanvant Shanghvi’s debut novel The Last Song of Dusk has been
awarded Italy’s most coveted Grinzane Cavour Prize 2005 for Young New
Authors. A love story set in the
1920s’ India, 26-year-old Shanghvi’s novel is a savvy take on sexual
desire, karma, and the healing power of music.
A
supercop on human rights
Kirpal Singh Grewal
Human Rights and Security
Forces
by Dr Mohinder Singh Malik. The Bright Law House,
Pages 566. Rs 750.
Dr
M.S. Malik, Director General of Police, Haryana, was in 2003 conferred
the degree of Ph.D on the subject covered in the book by Panjab
University. Prior to his selection in the IPS, he had served in the Army
and had actively taken part in counter-insurgency operations in Mizoram
in the late 1960s, followed by participation in the 1971 war in the
Jessore and Khulna sectors in erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
Fiction
Noor’s
odyssey retold
Humra Qurashi
The Tiger Claw
by Shauna Singh Baldwin. Penguin. Pages 570. Rs 450
It
is not just the central character in Shauna Singh Baldwin’s latest
novel - The Tiger Claw - that has an Indian connection but Shauna
herself also has a strong Indian association. Hailing from a well-known
Sikh family, she at present lives in Milwaukee, USA.
Anti-traditional
view
M. L. Raina
Indian Culture: A Sociological
Study
by D. P. Mukerji
Rupa and Co., Delhi. Pages 220. Rs 295.
Before
the present-day cultural materialists arrived on the scene, the late
Mulk Raj Anand would often define culture as "the poetry of
civilization" grounded in a material base. D. P. Mukerji, the
veteran Lucknow University sociologist of pre-Independence years,
provides ample support for this claim in this timely reprint of an
influential book first published in 1948.
Not
quite Train to Pakistan
Jaswant Singh
Bajira
by Kuldeep Bhatnagar. Unistar Books, Chandigarh.
Pages 141. Rs 250.
Any
mention of militancy in Punjab, and you conjure up a picture of
bloodshed, killing of innocent bus passengers, bomb blasts at busy
places, encounters, some real, some fake, dead militants and policemen.
Then you are thankful to God that the phase is over. Such human
tragedies have always given rise to literature relating to different
aspects of the event.
Signs
and signatures
The
Maker of Modern Novel
Darshan Singh Maini
HENRY
JAMES, the great American novelist who finally settled in England, was
even in his life-time considered a genius. His complex techniques and
the use of constitutive metaphors to echo the themes of his
novels and tales left even his admirers baffled. But even then, he
remained largely unread by the American and British readers and critics.
Taming
bullies
Aradhika Sekhon
Dealing with Bullying in
Schools
by Mona O’ Moore and Stephen James Minton. Paul Chapman Publishing. £19.99.
Pages 111.
This
is an effective manual for ‘teachers, parents and other
professionals’. The book focuses on ways and methods to create a safe
environment in schools — an environment that protects students against
violence and bullying.
Bob
Dylan’s memoir
Rock legend Bob Dylan has
been nominated along with literary giants Philip Roth and Adrienne Rich
for the National Book Critics Circle awards.
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