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OFf
the shelf
The
magnificent Sikh kingdom
Reviewed by V. N. Datta
The Last Sunset: The Rise and
Fall of the Lahore Durbar
By Amarinder Singh.
Roli Books. Pages XIX + 347. Rs 695.
IT
is indeed a fascinating theme for a practising historian to study and
write on the rise and fall of a kingdom. The subject of "fallen
greatness" has an immense imaginative appeal, and strikes
instinctively a pliant chord with the reader.
Tribute
to ‘Queen of Hills’
Reviewed by Puneetinder
Kaur Sidhu
Whispering Deodars: Writings from Shimla Hills
Ed. Minakshi Chaudhry.
Rupa.
Pages 255. Rs 295.
SHIMLA
has long been at the forefront of India’s colonial history, largely
credited to its beautiful landscape and cool environs. A small town
rich with events, architecture and memories, Shimla still hasn’t
lost its enviable charm.
Feminist
perspectives
Reviewed by Neel Kamal Puri
The Story Retold: Selected
Stories
By Alka Saraogi. Trans. Vandana R. Singh
Penguin Books.
Pages 168. Rs 199.
ALKA
Saraogi’s The Tale Retold (originally in Hindi) is as much
about the tale which is waiting to be told as it is about the story
grappling with its own narrative structure. The cleverly innovative
structure can become an integral part of a story, an additive to its
essential flavour.
Spooky
tale
Reviewed by Ravia Gupta
Maria’s Room
By Shreekumar Varma.
HarperCollins.
Pages 324. Rs 299.
THERE
are voices asking him where he is going. There are those that ask him
to leave Goa. There are voices that laugh in his face and others that
sob uncontrollably. Once, in the dark of a powerless dusk, he sits in
candlelight, trying to get on with his story. He hears a soft voice
full of mischief: "Come, let’s dance. Let’s rush out of the
window and dance!"
Of
life and nature
Reviewed by Ramesh Luthra
The Dreaming House
by Tanya Mendonsa.
HarperCollins.
Pages 136. Rs 299.
THIS
anthology is a beautiful bouquet of poems in alluring hues and
shades. It displays a mind that is quite mature, spiritually inclined
and extremely in love with the soil, rivers, sounds of birds and
colours of flowers. Rightly can the collection be termed as "a
journey both spiritual and geographical".
SHORT TAKES
Of snarls, suspense and separatism
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra
Tsunami on Roads: Wake up India
by Dr Sanjay Kulshrestha.
Conscious Citizens.
Pages 207. Rs 250.
Making of Maruti
A new book, The Maruti Story, tells the tale of India's original people's car
It
has dominated the Indian passenger car market for over two decades as
the original people's automobile in India. Now, the person who has
been at the helm of this iconic project shares how Maruti 800 arrived,
braving all roadblocks.
Tête-à-tête
Going places
Nonika Singh
CHAL
Buleya hun othe chaleeye, jithe hovan anhe, no koi saadi jaat pachaane,
na koi saanu manne (Roughly
translated, it means let us move to a new place where no one knows us
or salutes our mettle). It is this philosophical wisdom of Sufi saint
Bulle Shah that prompted eminent artist Prem Singh to find new
moorings 10 years ago.
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