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Suppressed histories
Rumina Sethi
Speaking for Myself: An Anthology of Asian Women’s Writing
Eds Sukrita Paul Kumar and Malashri Lal.
Penguin.
Pages 557. Rs 650.
THE
purpose behind this anthology of Asian women’s writing is laudable:
to "encourage the academic world to make space for the inclusion
of writing from Asia and provide an opportunity to think about
cultural affinities and crossovers".
K. L.
Zakir: The
pride of Urdu
Syed Nooruzzaman
THE
other day an invitation card from the Ghalib Institute, New Delhi, had
it that a special programme would be organised on June 12 to
felicitate the doyen of Urdu literature Kashmiri Lal Zakir on the
occasion of his 90th birthday (it actually fell on April 7).
A beautiful place of
contradictions
Aditi Garg
Kerala, Kerala: Quite
Contrary
Ed. Shinie Antony.
Rupa and Co.
Pages 255. Rs 195.
IN
this age, when nothing, absolutely nothing, sells without marketing
and catch phrases, places also have slogans brandishing their USP.
Though few can compete with the all-encapsulating ‘God’s Own
Country’. Whether or not the place can match up to its name is a
very individual perception.
Life and times of a
babu
Laxmi Kant Verma
No, Minister: Memoirs of a
Civil Servant
by Mahesh Prasad.
Macmillan.
Pages 286. Rs 295.
THE
job of a civil servant is considered to be very respectable, but it
involves many challenges and responsibilities. The book No,
Minister by Mahesh Prasad, a retired civil servant, comprises
author’s personal observations on bureaucracy, politics and life in
general.
Journey
of love & despair
Parbina Rashid
Fidali’s Way
By George Mastras.
Scribner.
Page: 388. $ 26.
Dominique
Lapierre’s City of Joy, a blockbuster that touched millions
of hearts all over the world, celebrates its 20th
anniversary. Vikas Swarup’s Q & A, the book which put
India once again on the world map (if not directly, indirectly through
its screen adaptation Slumdog Millionaire) is still reeling
under the Oscar fever.
Stubborn
battle for autonomy
Kanchan Mehta
When the Waters Wail
by Darshan Dhir.
Unistar.
Pages 271. Rs 395.
Carrying
poignant title, sombre synopsis, melancholic, plaintive tone, the
narrative delineates agonies of the diasporic woman protagonist Navjot,
whose gritty, stubborn battle to sustain her autonomy is recurrently
thrashed by the "hissing darkness" of tragedies and trials.
PUNJABI REVIEW
Punjabi
poetry going mystic
Sidhu Damdami
Devi
by Sarod Sudip. Ravi Sahit Parkashan,
Amritsar. Pages 88. Rs 100.
WITH
Sarod Sudip’s Devi, Punjabi poetry seems returning to
mysticism—the rootstock of Punjabi ethos—after a long gap.
urdu
book review
Ghazal
reinvented
Amar Nath Wadehra
Dooa Zameen
by Parveen Kumar Ashk.
Unitech Publications.
Pages 136. Rs 160.
Poetry
is considered the sanf-e-nazuk (a delicate, alluring maiden) of
Urdu literature whereas Ghazal is considered Urdu poetry’s sanf-e-nazuk.
back of the book
Footprints of history
Gurdial Singh’s Parsa: A Semiotic Outlook
by Harjit Singh Dhaliwal.
Unistar.
Pages112. Rs 295.
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