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Jungle tales of yore
Himmat Singh Gill
In the Grip of the Jungles
by George Hogan Knowles.
Natraj Publishers.
Pages 320. Rs 495.
IN
these days, when seeing a real thick jungle in most parts of the country
is becoming a rarity, the jungle tales and actual experiences of George
Hogan Knowles hunting for ‘big game’ in the Himalayan and
sub-Himalayan tracts of India in the early 20th century come as a
welcome gust of fresh alpine air in today’s heavily polluted
environment.
Journey along a wandering river
Harbans Singh
Empires of the Indus — The Story of a River
by Alice Albinia.
John Murray.
Pages 366. Rs 550.
ALICE
Albinia’s Empires of the Indus is not just a story of a river;
it is not even an adventure book that follows a river up stream and in
the process discovers various lands, people, their beliefs and customs.
Collapse of an era
Kanwalpreet
Soviet Collapse — How and Why
by Prem Singh.
Unistar.
Pages 346. Rs 495.
IT’s
been more than 15 years that the Soviet Union disintegrated into 15
republics, yet its history and its disintegration continue to draw the
attention of researchers worldwide.
Biographical
sketch of a mystic
Harbir K. Singh
Thakur — A Life of Sri
Ramakrishna
by Rajiv Mehrotra.
Penguin Books India.
Pages 178. Rs 250.
THIS
biographical account is a tribute to the great mystic Sri Ramakrishna
who inspired people from diverse backgrounds and told them that
"with sincerity and earnestness, one can realise God through all
religions".
‘My novels came in a flood’
Kewal Anand reconstructs an interview from the letters of Mulk Raj Anand to Saros Cowasjee, Professor Emeritus at the University of Regina in Canada
YOU
have written more novels than your two undisputed rivals, R. K. Narayan
and Raja Rao together. Which one do you consider to be you best work?
I have no right to say which my
best work is. Some books come off, not because they are really good, but
because they confirm the familiar feelings of the group of critics who
are swayed by partisan emotions.
The balancing act
It requires the artistry of a ballerina to balance literature and politics. And Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer seems to do it without straining herself,
writes Srinivas Parsa
SHE
has a poise that stems from having faced difficult situations over a
lifetime. Unflappable, understanding, under-stated in rhetoric and
aesthetic — that is Nadine Gordimer, 83 — the South African writer
who lived through the tyrannical racial order of minority white
Europeans.
Kunwar Narain — a poet of conscience
S. D. Sharma
WISDOM,
rationality and intellectualism are the traits of a born genius, Kunwar
Narain, the peerless poet who takes his profession as a calling.
Reigning over the Hindi literary firmament, he is revered as an
omniscient person, sage or a visionary who has been representing the
cultural ethos of the people, rather the whole human race, for the last
six decades.
Castro’s
new book
CUBA
presented a new book by Fidel Castro, who has not appeared in public
since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006. Authorities,
however claim that he spent more than 400 hours working on the
manuscript. La Paz en Colombia, or Peace in Colombia,
explores Cuba’s role in attempts to end Colombia’s civil war, which
has raged for more than four decades.
back of the book
Diaspora and Belief — Globalisation, Religion and Identity
in Postcolonial Asia
by John Clammer.
Shipra.
Pages 250. Rs 695.
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