Polity and the nation
Himmat Singh Gill
India’s Politics by Bimal Jalan. Penguin/Viking. Pages 244. Rs 350.
A former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has turned attention to the state of politics and governance in the country, tabulating "what I have learnt about India’s politics from inside Parliament". Going beyond the ground reality that much of India’s politics is also all about what goes on outside Parliament, with unnecessary summation of views at each step, and the fact that he has done many a stint with the sarkar in many a capacity and knows babudom well, this is not an earth-shaking expose or a refreshing view of the Indian polity.

Inheritance of things melodious
Sridhar K Chari
Voices Within Carnatic Music
Passing on an inheritance
Bombay Jayashree, T.M. Krishna with Mythili Chandrashekar
Matrka, Chennai. Pages 178. Rs 1900.
Two leading exponents of Carnatic music have come together to give rasikas an enchanting journey through the times and contributions of seven doyens of the art form. This rich, well-conceputalised coffee table book, with its wonderful black and white photographs and an easy-going text, lingers in the mind, and the next piece of music you listen to will not quite be the same after it.

In quest for the self
Mohit Goswami
An Open Window, by Sri Madhava Ashish. Penguin. Pages 134. Rs 200
Almost everybody has dreams, but not many recall them, leave apart giving a thought to what they actually mean. This book offers a rare insight into the search of the inner self through the language of dreams. Indeed, dream interpretation is not a field that is pursued much, but if delved deep into, provides answers to many questions that have baffled psychologists the world over. Dreams can be a guide to the soul, lying deep within, an entirely separate entity from the ego.

Curiosity satisfied
Amarinder Sandhu
Discovered Questions by Yash Pal and Rahul Pal. NCERT, New Delhi. Pages 142. Rs 65.
Learning is a life-long process which begins at birth and ends with death. When the child enters the formal institution of education, he puts forward many`A0questions`A0to his teacher or parents: Why do we have earthquakes? Why do cats eat mice and why do mice relish cheese? A patient teacher may answer a few of these questions.

Birdman’s flight
Jayanti Roy
The Illustrated Salim Ali, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Pages 28. Rs 225.
The autobiography of the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan Salim Ali, the internationally acclaimed ornithologist of Indian subcontinent, titled The Fall of a Sparrow was originally published in 1985. Now, Oxford University Press has come up with its abridged version, The Illustrated Salim Ali, as one of its illustrated collection series for young readers. The other titles in this series are on Tagore, Premchand and Corbett.

Trying times
Kanwalpreet
City of Fear, by Robin David. Penguin Books. Pages 256. Rs 275.
There are incidents in our lives that change our attitude towards life and people. Such events rankle our conscience and force us to ask questions which we would not have otherwise. City of Fear is one such novel that narrates two incidents in Robin David’s life. They jolt the author from his reverie. He wakes up to face certain realities and does his best to ignore them but is caught in a vortex of emotions. He becomes a victim of circumstances.

Ramana’s spiritual quest
Rekha Jhanji
Ramana Maharishi: The sage of Arunachala
by Arvind Sharma, Penguin Books. Pages 215. Rs.295.
This is a very comprehensive biography of one of the great sages of modern India. It gives a detailed exposition of the chronological sequence of the important incidents of the life of Ramana Maharshi, his extraordinary spiritual journey and his spiritual message. The author is Birks Professor of Comparative Religion in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University in Canada.

The lost honour of tv journalists
Richard Flanagan’s new novel launches a stinging attack on the powers that foster and prosecute the so-called "war on terror", writes John Tague
The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan is a very angry book. The Australian writer has turned his back on the playfully sophisticated structure of his last work, the excellent Gould’s Book of Fish, and taken a jaundiced look at contemporary society. He doesn’t like what he sees.."

Creative pause at 80
Whether Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez likes it or not, he will have plenty of jubilees coming his way this year.

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