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Through a looking glass
Rubinder Gill
Alive and Well in
Pakistan
by Ethan Casey.
Penguin Books. Pages 269. Rs 275
Veteran
reporter Ethan Casey’s Alive and Well in Pakistan is a
delightfully penetrating read. Casey brings forth a world of warmth and
contradiction, which is truly well and alive. Kashmir, India and
Pakistan are an antithesis of the stylised and artificial suburban
America, from which the writer wants to be as far away as possible.
Adventure
lovers’ delight
Usha Bande
Hindu Shrines of the Western
Himalayas
by Dr Ashok Jerath. Association for Litterateur, Folklorists and Artists
(ALFA), Jammu. Pages 25l. Student edition Rs 700, library edition Rs
950.
The
Himalayas, the abode of Gods, are like a deity in the Hindu
pantheon. A pathway to heaven, these sublime mountains hold a unique
place in the collective unconscious of Indians—as Devatma Himalaya,
Giri-Raj Himalaya and the other manifestation of the Divine Being.
In
search of self
Shalini Rawat
Shakuntala: The Play of Memory
by Namita Gokhale. Penguin Viking. Pages 208. Rs 300.
A
good book, like a parcel from
grandma, has something for everybody—the more we find ourselves
mirrored in the book, the better we grade it. Part picaresque, part myth
and part fiction, against a backdrop of two religious
philosophies—Buddhism and Hinduism—punctuated by the travels of a
lusty Greek, this novel all but promises the moon.
Discourse
on civil society
Amarinder Sandhu
On Civil Society: Issues and
Perspectives
ed. N. Jayaram. Sage Publications, New Delhi. Pages 325. Rs 380.
This
volume is an attempt to
sociologically view civil society from an Indian perspective with
social, political and economic dimensions. Civil society has received
great attention since re-emergence in the eighties. The
book is seventh and final in the series ‘Themes in Indian
Sociology’.
Reign
of rhythm
Reed Johnson
Shrieking
and brandishing a 6-inch knife like a woman in need of a good
exorcist, Elizabeth Neira is every guy’s worst castration nightmare.
She’s also a rising young Chilean poet who wields words like sharp,
lethal objects.
India-China
ties redefined
D. S. Cheema
China-India Economic
Engagement: Building Mutual Confidence
by Swaran Singh. Published by the French Research Institute in India.
Pages 205. Price not stated.
China
and India have come to be recognised by the West as the Asian
giants who have the potential to become the economic powerhouses and
rank among the first four economies of the world. This forecast
underlines the fact that China and India are the two largest and the
fastest growing economies on globe, representing one third of the
humanity, with centuries old civilisation, unique history and similar
objectives.
Handbook
for scribes
Amar Chandel
Essentials of Practical
Journalism
by Vir Bala Aggarwal. Concept Publishing, New Delhi. Pages 539. Rs 180.
Journalism
in India has seen exponential growth, particularly after the
advent of TV channels, but still the working of the profession is not
known to those outside the domain. Those intending to join it are a
little confused about the structure and its intricacies. This book
strives to answer their queries in a simple and straightforward manner.
Crimebytes
& reality
Jyoti Singh
Sikandar Chowk Park
by Neelam Saran Gour Penguin Rs 295
The
book focuses on the issue of crime. The story is set in India.
Sidhanta, a journalist who covers a bomb blast that rips through
Sikander Chowk Park in Allahabad, killing 57 people and injuring 115
seriously, relates the story. The cliched vocabulary of the reportage of
the blast in the media is shrewdly brought to the reader’s notice.
Their
Permanent son
Priyanka Singh
My Temporary Son
by Timeri N. Murari. Penguin. Pages 231. Rs 250.
Not
everyone has it in him to adopt a child and treat the child as
one would one’s own. But people capable of such love do exist and make
up for a miniscule fraction of the world. Tim Murari’s personal
experiences bring these peripheral people in focus.
Readable
tales of valour
Ramandeep Singh
Band of Soldiers: A year on the
road with Shivaji
by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay translated by Sreejata Guha. Puffin Books.
Pages 179. Rs 199.
A
fictional account originally written in Bengali, Band of Soldiers,
by Saradindu Bandyopadhay, a renowned writer of crime fiction, ghost
stories, historical romances and children’s fiction, is set in Maratha
India of the mid- 17th century.
Short Takes
When verse gets better
Randeep Wadehra
-
The Circle of Love
by Debashish Chatterjee
Rupa. Pages: ix + 126. Price: Rs. 95/-
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First Fire
by Archana Sahni
Yeti, Calicut. Pages: 93. Price: Rs. 100/-.
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As a Fountain in a
Garden
by Kamla K. Kapur Tarang/Hemkunt,
N. Delhi. Pages: 62. Price: Rs. 100/-
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