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OFf
the shelf
New
light on Ghadar
Reviewed by V. N. Datta
Besieged: Voices from Delhi
1857
Compiled and translated by Mahmood Farooqui.
Penguin/Viking.
Pages XXVII + 458. Rs 699.
A
general tendency among the present-day historians persists in claiming
too much for their achievements, however ill-deserved they may be. The
writer of this study, Mahmood Farooqui, however, differs from the
tribe of such self-righteous advertisers.
Exploring
emotions
Reviewed by Shalini Rawat
Chandigarh Chapbook:
Poetry-2010 — Selected Poems
Ed. Manju Jaidka.
Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi.
Pages 77. Rs 175.
ELEVEN
poets of the city contribute to this slim volume to give you a
sneak-peek into the versescape of Chandigarh. These include well-known
names on the symposium circuit like Nirupama Dutt, Kailash Ahluwalia
and some lesser-known ones exploring their emotions in verse.
Towards
humane policing
Reviewed by Rajbir Deswal
Human in Khaki
By Ashok Kumar.
Sheriden Book Company.
Pages 202. Rs 140.
WHEN
a policeman talks about human rights, it is generally perceived as if
Satan is quoting verses from the Bible—only for the sake of
sermonising and sounding good for a makeover. But if a cop’s
initiatives are deliverable in all earnestness and bring relief, to
not the victim himself but to the society at large, for a bigger
reassurance, then he has to be believed for his good demeanour and
forthrightness.
A
Himalayan rivalry explored
Reviewed by Parshotam Mehra
Super Power?: The Amazing
Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise
By Raghav Bahl.
Penguin Allan Lane.
Pages xxx + 242. Rs 699.
A
recent issue of the
London-based Economist (August 21-27) carried on its front page
the inscription "Contest of the Century: China and India"
and highlighted what it calls "A Himalayan Rivalry".
Beijing, the weekly heavily underlines, has now become Pakistan’s
"biggest supplier of military hardware" while US
think-tanker’s "axis of democracies" seeks to balance
Islamabad itself.
Silent
sufferers
Reviewed by Harbir K. Singh
Broken Nest and Other Stories
By Rabindranath Tagore.
Trans. Sharmistha Mohanty.
Tranquebar.
Pages 129. Rs 200.
BROKEN
Nest and Other Stories is a selection of Tagore’s remarkable
stories. All these stories bring out the complexities of relationships
of women in the traditional Bengali milieu, who are suffering from
neglect by their husband or about the orphan who is abandoned or a
girl robbed of her childhood.
Urdu
Book Review
Articulating
avian aspirations
Reviewed by Amar Nath
Wadehra
Parindon ka Aalami Mushaira
by B. D. Kalia “Humdum” Haryana Waqf Board
Pages: 159. Price not mentioned
Aasman aur bhi uththta hai
to uthth janey do
Hamney bhi kuvvat-e-parvaaz badha lee ‘Humdum’
(Let the sky soar higher, I
too have increased my capability to fly accordingly)
INDIAN
literature has a long tradition of creating bird characters that
think, talk and act like human beings, and have become household
names. There is Garuda in our ancient scriptures and mythology, Jatayu
in Ramayana and Shuka in various Sanskrit texts, including the
ones pertaining to astrology.
Beyond
borders
With Butt and Bhatti, a
tale of love, Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif escapes his nation’s
grim realities
IT's
not always easy to do so, but Pakistani journalist-writer Mohammed
Hanif of the A Case of Exploding Mangoes fame has turned his
mind off from the grim truths confronting his country with a love
story that touches on terror and trauma.
Back
of the book
Conspiracy,
chronicles and classrooms
The Eye of the Predator:
The Night they Killed Baitullah
by Abhishar Sharma
Hachette.
Pages 376. Rs 250.
-
Anna and the Black
Knight
By Fynn Harper Collins.
Pages 310. Rs 250.
-
The Magician’s
Apprentice
By Trudi Canavan Orbit.
Pages 702. Rs 395.
-
The Quest for
Nothing
By Anurag Anand Srishti.
Pages 190. Rs 100.
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