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Siddhartha's
story
Aradhika Sharma
Buddha: A Story of
Enlightenment
by Deepak Chopra. Harper Collins. Pages 278. Rs 395.
A fictionalised account of the life of a great saint from the pen of one
of the New-Age gurus — an exciting proposition. Why fiction? Because
Deepak Chopra believes: "Fiction is a much better way for telling
the truth than fact`85. We know the historical story, so I wanted to
look at what Buddha was struggling with inside, his inner demons, his
own shadows. In a sense this is everyone’s struggle. In order to find
your own awakening you have to confront your dark side."
Virtual
state
Roopinder Singh
Beyond Identity
by Preminder Singh Sandhawalia. Singh Brothers, Amritsar.
Pages 336. Rs 450.
The very core of what we are is our
identity. What then is Beyond Identity? Here the author, using
fiction as a vehicle, courageously explores issues that arouse
passions and indeed, are used to justify violence against fellow beings
who do not share the same version of identity as a particular group.
General
accounts of war
Lt Gen Baljit Singh (retd)
By and large, Generals are almost always reticent to recount the battles
they fought and the wars they directed. However, when once in a while a
General is persuaded to, his uttrances are often smeared in controversy.
Some Generals do chronicle the wars
they had waged. Nevertheless, victorious Generals would be least suited
to write dispassionately because of their deep involvement from
conception to the conclusion of the battle or war concerned.
One
boy's fight for freedom
Kanchan Mehta
Iqbal Masih’s Story
By Andrew Crofts
Vitasta, Pages 224, Rs 245
The heart rending story reflects the plight of children in entire South
Asia and how insensitive and inhuman we have become as adults....
Iqbal’s story is not just about Pakistan but about every country where
people out of greed or ignorance show demonic tendencies, says Swami
Agnivesh, the chairperson of Bonded Labour Liberation Front, in the
Foreword. Spreading awareness about constitutional provisions for
children in India, he calls for an end to the exploitation of children
on the grounds of race, class, caste, sex and religious beliefs.
The
rise & fall of a state
Ramesh Kandula
Hyderabad, The Social Context of Industrialisation 1875 to 1948
by C V Subba Rao. Orient
Longman. Pages 218 Rs 650.
The charming city of Hyderabad under the Nizam’s rule evokes powerful
romantic images but efforts to explore its economic and industrial
development have been few and far between. C V Subba Rao’s Hyderabad,
The Social Context of Industrialisation is one such attempt,
which is far from being "an arid account," as the author
feared.
Vast
and varied treasures of nature
Randeep Wadehra
Tigerland and other unintended
destinations
by Eric Dinerstein
Universities Press, Hyderabad.
Pages 279. Rs 375
Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the
remaining wilderness be destroyed`85 For it can be a means of reassuring
ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of
hope." This warning from conservationist Wallace Stegner is timely
considering the fact that 78 million acres of forest land and 50,000
species of life forms are destroyed annually.
Back
of the book
Part Of The Pattern
Memoirs of a Wife at
Westminster
by Edna Healey
Headline Review. Pages 304. £3.25
Edna Healey has been married to Denis Healey for over 60 years and has
seen parliamentary life from the inside, both in power and opposition.
An accomplished historian and film-maker, Edna forged her own career as
a writer, lecturer and broadcaster while her husband rose to become
Chancellor of the Exchequer. Edna travelled with him, meeting many of
the world’s leaders; she has known all the Labour prime ministers from
Attlee to Blair and writes about them with great insight and candour.
Lost for words
by Lorelei Mathias
Pages 311. £11.99
The blood of flowers
by Anita Amirrezvani
Pages 377. £11.99
How
not to say what you mean
People on the heavier side are no longer ‘fat’ but ‘generously
proportioned’ and those in extra-martial affairs are actually
‘emotionally close’, according to a new dictionary of euphemisms
that has come up with new entries compiled over a span of 30 years.
Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or less offensive
expression.
E-venture
A small initiative from Goa targets publishers. Using the power of
cyberspace, a young duo is working to network publishers and information
related to them.
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