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THIS, over 240-ft-high, elaborately decorated with Koranic inscriptions and carvings, marble mausoleum is famed as Shahjahan’s monument of love for Arjumand Banu Begum, more famous as Mumtaz Mahal. More than 20,000 labourers were employed to complete it in 20 years. A lot has already been said and written about this magnificent tomb’s aura and beauty as well as the legend of love that has added to its mystique. So Grewal, while factoring in all the myths, mysteries and fables, goes about systematically collecting historical tidbits about Mughals since the time of Babur to understand how their love for a lavish lifestyle spawned a culture that gave birth to the Taj. You will also get a glimpse of Agra’s Mauryan past. Moreover, she focuses on the contemporary situation by touching the Waqf Board controversy and highlighting environmental, sociological and other issues that not only affect the monument and its vicinity but also the city of Agra itself. In a way this book delineates the rise and fall of the Taj with a timely warning. The book-cover shows Tajmahal upside-down, is there a message in it?
THE first day of Kaya’s entry into the JNU campus is presaged with muddy water splashed by a speeding auto-rickshaw. Thence begins a reel of snapshots – deliberately ill-clad jholawalas, earnestly trying to put on intellectual airs, in their chappals, and Bengali girls in flowery kurtas flaunting jute bags that sport the legend, Mazumdar Saree Bhandar, Gariyahat, Kolkata in Bangla, uninteresting hunks and interesting ordinary lookers.
My honeymoon with a
pinch of salt THIS is one of those self-improvement publications that one buys but does not read, or reads but is wise enough not to apply the given advice to his or her personal situation. In fact our lives are so complex, and individual problems so unique, that there cannot be standardised formulae for resolving these. One has to use innate commonsense and prudence for the purpose. However, if you are addicted to this sort of stuff, the choice is yours.
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In the shadow of the Taj
Sumthing of a mocktale
Fun and intrigue, love and bindaas
lifestyle form the staple of this novel, which is the latest in the
series of chick-lit inspired by the phenomenal success of Chetan
Bhagat’s Five Point Someone. True, the latter was not exactly
a chick-lit but more a campus-lit, but Das has attempted to span the
two genres. Not bad for a leisurely read lolling in the wintry Sunday
sun with a hot cuppa by your side.