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Those
bad bosses
Deepika Gurdev
The Devil Wears Prada
by Lauren Weisberger. Anchor Books
Pages 432. $8.
Last night I woke up with a
start. In my nightmare, there was a certain Miranda Priestly screaming
‘Ahn-dre-ah’. Never mind that I’m not Ahn-dre-ah — small
mercies, as they say.
Love
in the time of terrorism
Harsh Desai
The Good Life
by Jay McInerney
Alfred A Knopf. Pages 353. $25
Jay McInerney, the man who
wrote so vividly about Bolivian marching powder (a form of cocaine so
powerful that you feel that troops are marching in your head), is back
with yet another book. He described the party scene and life in New York
where people live as if there is no tomorrow.
The
genesis of khayal
Rachna Singh
The Lost World of Hindustani Music
by Kumar Prasad Mukherji. Penguin Books. Pages 354. Rs 395.
Music has often been described
as ibadat or prayer by devotees of this art. Riyaz
(practice with devotion) and talim (learning from a guru) were
important parts of this musical tradition, whose flashes can still be
seen in the Harivallabh Sammelan every December in Jalandhar. However,
in today’s world of quick-fix Indian Idol, this tradition has become
pass`E9.
The
man, the mission
Kanwalpreet
Passarola Rising
by Azhar Abidi. Penguin Viking. Pages 244. Rs 350.
The history of aviation has
fascinated generations. The first attempts at flying with balloon or
crude gliders have been a matter of curiosity. Though we have succeeded
in crossing the sound barrier, yet the past continues to intrigue.
End
is near indeed
Priyanka Singh
The Revenge of Gaia
by James Lovelock. Penguin. Pages 177. £ 11.99
Our future is like that of
passengers on a small pleasure boat sailing quietly above the Niagara
Falls, not knowing that the engines are about to fail.
Signs
& signatures
Critic
as moral visionary
Darshan Singh Maini
AS a rule, critics are seldom
taken into account when the theme is the work of a great novelist, poet
or essayist. They are considered secondary to the proceedings. However,
now and then, a critic becomes a lawgiver, and a creative writer in his
own right.
Shelley’s
India link
Even though famous for his
Ode To the West Wind, (If winter comes`85can spring be far behind),
Percy Byshe Shelley has an Indian connection too.
Date
with ghosts of history
It was indeed a heady
cocktail: myths, history and memories blended to create a memorable
evening celebrating historian Shahid Amin’s fine book on the Chauri-Chaura
incident that forced Mahatma Gandhi to suspend the non-cooperation
movement against the British rule.
King’s
"dream" auctioned
More than 10,000 books and
manuscripts from the estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., many in the
handwriting of the crusader for justice and non-violence, were put under
the hammer last month.
Books
received
SHORT TAKES
Great stories
from pastmasters
Randeep Wadehra
The Illustrated Premchand selected short stories
translated by David Rubin OUP. Pages: vi+90. Rs. 195
Children’s Tagore
edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri
OUP. Pages: viii+121. Rs. 105
The Second Oxford India
Illustrated Corbett
Pages: viii+197. Rs 295
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