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Going beyond
Goa
Shalini Rawat
Reflected in Water: Writings on Goa
Ed. Jerry Pinto. Penguin Books.
Pages 295. Rs 395.
There
is something to be said
about the 21st century. We all come from somewhere else, belong
somewhere else. Yet never own up. But as Ganesh baba’s words, who
professes to be a hip yogi from Goa, console you, "It’s alright
to be a stranger". This book, too, is not about, or for the Goans
alone. It is for all of us who move in strange lands and are visitors
(or even strangers?) to the land they are supposed to belong to.
Poetic
voice of the Valley
Rahman
Rahi, the Kashmiri poet, who
received the Jnanpith award for his collection Siyah Roode Jaren Manz
(1997) and other works, talks about his life and poetry in an
exclusive interview to Ehsan Fazili at
his Vecharnag residence on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Victim’s
tale of destiny
Deepika Gurdev
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid. Hamish Hamilton. Pages 184.
The
story begins at a cafe table
in Lahore. Here Changez, a Pakistani, narrates the tale that has led to
his fateful meeting with an American stranger. The strains of unease are
apparent as Changez starts talking about his life, which was in every
sense of the term, an immigrant’s dream of America.
Turbulence
documented
Ranjit Powar
The Sikhs and Transfer of Power
(1942-1947)
by Dr Kirpal Singh. Punjabi University, Patiala. Pages 174. Rs 180.
A prominent
historian, Dr. Kirpal Singh, is a former professor and head, Department
of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala. He has sought
to capture the ominous and turbulent course of events as they unfolded
in the immediate period before the British left and the tragic aftermath
of a plan put together in callous and chaotic haste.
Unsung
heroes
Jyoti Singh
What Happened In 1971: The
Sinking of INS Khukri
Survivors’ Stories
by Maj-Gen Ian Cardozo.
Roli Books. Pages 197. Rs 350.
The
man in the street knows very
little about the armed forces and their contribution to the national
security. When questioned some vaguely remember that a warship was lost
in 1971; few remember that the name of the warship was INS Khukhri and
its captain was Captain Mahendranath Mulla.
Cryptically
coherent
Randeep Wadehra
Lost Torn Forlorn
by Arun Dhadwal & Belma Bojic. Author House. Pages 88.
When
the protagonists struggle to
reconcile memories of their past with present realities, a skein of
verbiage grips the mind. Its sad, exasperating strands tighten around
thought-processes, forcing a desperate bid for a way out of an
asphyxiating experience.
Judas:
Not such a bad guy after all
Jeffrey
Archer launched his new
book, The Gospel According to Judas, in Rome recently. Peter
Stanford looks at how Archer isn’t the first to be
intrigued by Judas.
The
end of Life
Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
Life
defined a certain style of
journalism, and also defined an era: whether it was through searing
black and white images of grief and destruction—in the closing stages
of World War II, in Korea, or in Vietnam — or whether it was through
iconic portraiture of the most fetishised figures of the time.
Back
of the book
Can India grow without Bharat
by Shankar Acharya.
Academic Foundation
Pages 187. Rs 395
Can
India grow without Bharat?
Can we reap the "demographic dividend" of a young population?
How should we revive industrial employment? Is the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act affordable? Why have reforms sputtered despite
the "dream team"?
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