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A woman’s world
Aradhika Sharma
The Story of a Widow
by Musharraf Ali Farooqi.
Picador.
Pages 249. Rs 495.
Musharraf
Ali Farooqi has a story to tell, characters to explore and a plot to
take forward, and he does it with both ease and style, carrying his
eager reader with him. Apparently, a simple story, The Story of a
Widow, is in fact, a tale of the coming of age of a 50-year-old
widow, Mona.
Poet
of romance and rebellion
Rajbir Deswal
RISING
from the parapets of a mansion, I see a pale moon. Like the mulla’s
robe and the Baniya’s ledger book, like the poor-man’s youth and
the widow’s charm—It’s all useless. What to do, O my saddened
heart, tormented heart.
Sagas
of unsung heroes
Nonika Singh
HISTORY,
we all know, is replete with unsung heroes. "But should they
remain unsung?" questions eminent Punjabi playwright Dr Atamjit.
So taking upon himself the onerous task of bringing these unsung
heroes to light, he penned a play Mungu Comrade on the life and
struggle of a Sikh Kenyan freedom fighter, Makhan Singh.
Unending
journey
Amarinder Sandhu
Where Nothing Happens
by Padmanabh Vijai Pillai.
Seagull Books.
Pages 176. Rs 495.
Pillai’s
Where Nothing Happens is a book that is difficult to club into
any particular genre. This is a spiritual-philosophical autobiography
where the author undertakes an intense journey into the field of self-realisation.
Inside
power-hungry army
Sukhpreet Singh Giani
Pakistan’s Military and its
Strategy
by Shalini Chawla.
Knowledge World, New Delhi.
Pages 295. Rs 720.
BOTH
India and Pakistan have common roots of civilisation, culture and
history. Pakistan started off its history from a far better position
getting West Punjab, which was known as the granary of undivided
India. Pakistan’s per capita income had stayed higher than that of
the Indians for nearly four decades after Independence.
Studying
a great warrior
R.L. Singal
The Regime of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh: Historians’ Observations
by Madanjit Kaur.
Unistar.
Pages 223. Rs 395.
With
his policy and deeds, Maharaja Ranjit Singh brought peace, prosperity,
communal harmony and stability to the land of the five rivers. People
here had long suffered at the hands of marauding tribal chieftains and
alien invaders from the North West Frontier, whose only objective was
plunder and mayhem. The Punjab was fortunate in having a ruler whose
sole aim was people’s welfare.
Jane Austen’s mystery suitor
A new
book tracing the life of legendary author Jane Austen has allegedly
identified the mystery suitor who broke the novelist’s heart and
sparked a rift with her sister — Dr Samuel Blackall. Austen’s
romantic novels have always fired speculations about her private
passions.
SHORT TAKES
Epic in new light
Randeep Wadehra
The Mahabharata Re-Imagined
by Trisha Das.
Rupa.
Pages 115. Rs 95.
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