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Words of wisdom
Humra Quraishi
Sufism — The Heart of Islam
By Sadia Dehlvi. Harper Collins.
Pages 384. Rs 695.
IN
these years of unrest and turmoil, one yearns for a way out. Call it
an escape, or a means to find solace. And the verse of Sufis carries
that balm. A simple reading of their words throws negativity out and
calms a troubled mind.
Doom
of imperialism
J. S. Grewal
The Last Thousand Days of the
British Empire
By Peter Clarke.
Penguin, London.
Pages xxvii + 560. Rs 750.
OLD
diaries can prompt new insights, says Peter Clarke. His book reflects
perspectives of a score of diaries kept by some of the most important
individuals connected with the events related to the three major
developments treated in the book: Anglo-American relations during the
World War II, independence of the Indian subcontinent and creation of
a Zionist state in Palestine.
An
elegy of intellectual life
Harbans Singh
Mumbai De-Intellectualised:
Rise and Decline
of a Culture of Thinking
By Aroon Tikekar.
Promilla & Co. Pages 206. Rs 225.
TODAY,
the financial capital of India might be on the threshold of a new and
prosperous era, but there are many who lament the absence of
intellectual vigour that had given the multi-cultured city a
pre-eminent role in the history of modern India.
Tale
of greed and falsehood
Ramesh Luthra
Farewell Red Mansion
By Sharat Kumar.
Stellar. Pages 301. Rs 295.
Versatile
writer Sharat Kumar’s Farewell Red Mansion is
an English translation of his Hindi original, Lal Kothi Alvida.
This engaging and thought-provoking novel has already won distinction
of being telecast as a primetime serial on Doordarshan. Later, it was
made into a full-length feature film, Duvidha.
Redesigning
society
Sunita Pathania
Proselytisation in India: The
Process of Hinduisation in Tribal Societies
Eds Dharmendra Kumar and
Yemuna Sunny.
Aakar, New Delhi. Pages 268. Rs 550.
Fascinating Hindutva: Saffron Politics and Dalit Mobilisation
By Badri Narayan.
Sage. Pages 195. Rs 295.
THE
recent general elections have seemingly given a jolt to the juggernaut
of Hindutva which had been slowly gaining strength and enhancing its
constituency in India since the 1980s. Communalism has expanded at an
alarming speed spreading into hitherto unchartered territory of
society encompassing even the tribal and marginalised communities.
Journey
to centre of universe
Martin Fletcher
Beware Invisible Cows
By Andy Martin
Simon & Schuster.
Pages 305. £12.99.
Perhaps
as a surfer you are more in touch than most with the scale of nature.
Waves the size of houses can crush you to a pulp or send you gliding
into that zonal nirvana of oneness with the higher powers which is the
object of all that paddling around watching and waiting.
Two
faces of a city
The story of Hyderabad, the
centre of nawabi culture in the south, is the story of change that
many cities of the country are experiencing today. Fatima
Chowdhury writes about an evocative book on the city
IN
the heart of old Hyderabad City, the Charminar, surrounded by four
intricately carved minarets, has stood majestically for more than 400
years, silently witnessing the passage of time. In complete contrast,
the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport near Shamshabad is about 22
km from Hyderabad City and just about a few months old.
SHORT
TAKES
Understanding
terrorism
Randeep Wadehra
Terrorism: A Global Challenge
By Yuvacharya Dr Lokesh and Dr Anil Dutta Mishra.
Regal Publications.
Pages: xii+289. Rs 980.
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