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Interpreting
Hinduism
Reviewed by Ashok Vohra
The Hindus: An Alternative
History
By Wendy Doniger.
Penguin/Viking.
Pages xv + 782. Rs 999.
HINDUISM
has been an enigma for those who are not Hindus. Historically, the
practitioners of the religion neither called themselves ‘Hindus’,
nor called the religion practiced by them ‘Hinduism’. To identify
and individuate their religion from other religions, when the need
arose to do so, they named it ‘Santana Dharma’—perennial or
eternal dharma.
The
hunter and the hunted
Reviewed by Uttam Sengupta
To the Elephant Graveyard
By Tarquin Hall.
Penguin Books.
Pages 260. Rs 299.
THE
title arguably is the least attractive part of this delightful,
little paperback. First published in the UK eight years ago,
re-published by Penguin Books in India this year, the book provides a
racy account of the chase for a rogue elephant in Assam.
Creative
journey of an artist
Reviewed by A. S. Reddy
M. F. Husain: Untitled
Narration by Pervaiz Alam.
Jiya Prakashan. Rs 495.
THIS
e-book combines the pleasure of reading with the ease of storytelling.
Aided by animation, sound and music, you can read the book on your
computer or television screen. But this is not all that M.F.
Husian:Untitled, produced by Kamna Prasad’s Jiya Prakashan,
does.
Epitome
of beauty
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra
Rani Padmini: The Heroine of
Chittor
By B.K. Karkra.
Rupa & Co.
Pages 252. Rs 95.
ONE
of the problems with India’s history has been the lack of authentic,
written contemporary records, especially for the time span covering
the events from the ancient to vast chunks of medieval times. Whatever
records are available have been written by foreign writers—be they
visitors, pilgrims or companions of alien invaders.
Crusade
against injustice
Reviewed by Vijay Mohan
Army: Process Vs Practice
By Brig A. N. Suryanarayanan (retd).
Manas Publications, New Delhi.
Pages 347. Rs 695.
THE
Indian military judicial system has, time and again, raised a debate
in the Service and legal fraternity over its ability to remain fair,
transparent and impartial and the need to shed its archaic bent and
continuously evolve to meet the requirements of changing times.
Passage
to peace
Reviewed by Ashok Yadav
Human Rights and Peace
Ed. Ujjwal Kumar Singh
Sage.
Pages 345. Rs 420
PEACE
has always been regarded as one of the five eternal human values, the
others being truth, righteous conduct, love and non-violence, which
usher in human excellence on all five levels of human personality —
physical, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual.
Ancient
silk route revisited
Madhusree Chatterjee
AROUND
2,000 years ago, a loop of the ancient silk route, called the southern
Silk Road, linked the Yunnan province of China to the north-eastern
parts of India, says travel writer Sunita Dwivedi in her forthcoming
book. Titled In Quest of Buddha: A Journey on the Silk Road and
to be published by Rupa & Co, it chronicles Dwivedi’s journeys
along the route in China, Central Asia and India.
urdu
book review
Habib’s
enduring poetry
The well-crafted verse of
Aslam Habib stirs up a whole range of emotions, writes Amar
Nath Wadehra
Daagh Daagh
By Dr Aslam Habib
Educational Publishing House.
Pages 104. Price Rs 100.
Haram ke saath Shivalon ki aarzoo ki
hai
Nayee seher kay ujaalon ki aarzoo ki hai
Kahan kay maang liye tujh se do jahaan humney
Ilahi chaar nivaalon ki aarzoo ki hai
Uthaa de pardaa kay in bekaraar nazron nay
Teri nazar kay sawaalon ki aarzoo ki hai
Goodness
of graphics
Comic
books are as valuable as any other form of literature to be a part of
children's education, says an expert from the University of Illinois.
Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at
Illinois, insists that looking down upon graphic novels as being inept
at benefiting children is a mistake.
Off
the Shelf
Balti Britain
By Ziauddin Sardar.
Granta.
Pages 392. £9.99.
The Way Things Look to Me
By Roopa Farooki.
Pan.
Pages 338. £7.99.
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