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Architectural
marvels
Reviewed by Upinder Singh
The Torana in Indian and
Southeast Asian Architecture
By Parul Pandya Dhar.
D.K. Printworld.
Pages 317, including 360 photographs and 57 line drawings. Rs 4,200.
PERHAPS
no country in the world equals India in the richness of its cultural
traditions and in the general ignorance and neglect of those
traditions. Art history is something that a handful of art historians
do, but it is high time that ordinary people became aware of the
marvels and intricacies of Indian art.
Whirlwind
of life
Reviewed by Aditi Garg
Untwine the Wind
By Renée Ranchan.
Konark Publishers.
Pages 110. Rs 750.
POETRY
is an art straight from the heart. One can figure out the plot of a
story in the head but to write in verse, you have to feel the emotions
in your heart. It is no wonder then that it packs such a potent punch.
Engaging
tension
Reviewed by Nonika Singh
Serious Men
By Manu Jospeh.
HarperCollins.
Pages 326. Rs 499.
A
sci-fi thriller is certainly
not an Indian writer’s cup of tea. And to be fair, Manu Jospeh’s Serious
Men isn’t one either. Nevertheless, he has not only placed his
novel in the background of scientific research but also woven it in a
fashion that it does not merely remain a fictional account of travails
of science alone.
Contributions
of a humanist
Reviewed by Kanchan Mehta
The Lasting Legacies of Mulk
Raj Anand
Ed. Md. Rijwan Khan.
Atlantic.
Pages 189. Rs 495.
MULK
Raj Anand was an illustrious writer with a mission—to
foreground the tragic plight of the poor and the marginalised to evoke
compassion for them, as we know it. And this book, an anthology of
illuminating and scholarly pieces, sharpens our understanding of Anand
the man and his various works of literature and art.
Clash
of cultures
Reviewed by Charandeep Singh
Dancing with Kali
By Lalita Das.
Niyogi Books.
Pages 300. Rs 295.
THE
novel is a sociological analysis of a conservative yet high status
Hindu family. Told in flashback, the story portrays clash of cultures.
Set in North Goa, which is culturally different from South Goa, the
intertwining of the basic storyline with Hindu philosophy has been
handed deftly by Lalita Das.
Silicon
saga
Chetna Keer Banerjee
Author Usha K.R. makes
India’s Silicon Valley the backdrop of her new novel, Monkey-man
CITY-centric
works of fiction are few and far between. Usha K. R’s Monkey-man
is one such book that uses Bengaluru as the backdrop but goes beyond
its IT image to bring alive worlds lost within the folds of the fast
and furious metropolis.
Tête-à-tête
Stretching
creative limits
Nonika Singh
IT's
near impossible to slot Navtej Johar, India’s leading Sikh dancer
and choreographer. He has been trained in Bharatnatyam at Rukmini Devi
Arundale’s Kalashetra and with Leela Samson at the Shriram Bhartiya
Kala Kendra, New Delhi.
SHORT TAKES
Communists and corporates
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra
Left Politics in Bengal
by Monobina Gupta
Orient Blackswan.
Pages xvi+272. Price not mentioned.
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