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Unholy matrimony
Reviewed by Nonika Singh
Dowry: Bridging the Gap
between Theory and Practice
Eds Tamsin Bradley, Emma Tomalin and Mangala Subramaniam.
Women Unlimited.
Pages 245. Rs 350.
OVER
the years, women’s position and status may have changed, yet dowry
has not only remained but also become even more pernicious. From a
layman’s point of view, we all are familiar with the concept of
dowry that despite being outlawed in 1961 continues to be an
inextricable part of the Indian marriage system.
Terror
on tiptoe
Reviewed by Amreeta Sen
The Septembers of Shiraz
By Dalia Sofer.
Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Pages 338. $24.95.
YOU
are sitting in your office and suddenly two armed men come in and say
that you are under arrest. You are blindfolded and taken away to
prison incongruously on the back of a motorcycle. Who knows when you
will see your family again? Who knows when you will see yourself
again? Prison changes equations; torture changes lives.
The
cutting edge
Reviewed by Shoma A. Chatterji
Cinema and Censorship – The
Politics Of Control In India
By Someswar Bhowmik.
Orient BlackSwan Pvt Ltd.
Pages 381.
"Censorship,
legal and extra-legal, is a serious inroad on the freedom of
expression. Censorship is highly subjective and essentially mindless.
The main motivation for censorship is intolerance. Conventional wisdom
and official ideology cannot be allowed to be questioned and
criticised and must be suppressed. The portrayal of historical events
that depict a government or certain persons or groups in an
unfavourable light cannot be tolerated and should, therefore, be
suppressed by recourse to censorship."
Grooming
future military leaders
Reviewed by Vijay Mohan
Military Leadership for
Tomorrow
Ed. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh (retd).
K.W. Publishers & Center for Air Power Studies, New Delhi.
Pages 210. Rs 720.
MILITARY
leadership is characterised by the art and craft of committing
available human and material resources against known and often unknown
adversaries in a rapidly changing politico-military environment to
achieve a desired task in the pursuit of larger national interests.
Delightful
commentary
Reviewed by Krishnan Srinivasan
A Time of Transition: Rajiv
Gandhi to the 21st Century
By Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Penguin/Viking.
Pages 373. Rs 599.
THIS
book is a compilation of articles published by the author from 1996 to
2005, when he held no formal governmental office. It has an
introduction longer than any of the articles in praise of his
political mentor Rajiv Gandhi to whom the book is dedicated.
Many
faces of truth
Ben Yagoda in conversation
with Belinda Goldsmith on the key factor
behind the power and popularity of memoirs
IN
his memoir, Andre Agassi
has admitted to using crystal meth. Irish hurling star Donal Og Cusack
came out in his recent autobiography. Sarah Palin’s autobiography
became a best-seller before its release.
Another
Obama story
James Pomfret
US
President Barack Obama’s
half-brother made a rare appearance recently in southern China, his
home for seven years, to launch a novel he says draws on his painful
childhood under an abusive father.
Following
the light
Humra Quraishi
A
meningitis attack had
left Ved Mehta visually impaired at the age of four, yet this setback
has not come in the way of his writing. This 75-year-old writer has
written 26 books, along with numerous short and long stories.
Technology
is stalking your bookcase
Ylan Q. Mui
IT
has already taken over your photo albums and emptied your film
canisters. It overwhelmed your music collection and flooded Goodwill
with CD towers. It cancelled your newspaper subscription.
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