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Leaf from history
Reviewed by J. S. Grewal
The Makers of Modern Punjab
By Kirpal Singh and Prithipal Singh Kapur.
Singh Brothers, Amritsar.
Pages xvi + 174. Rs 225.
IN
a recent international seminar on "History and Memory"
organised by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla, two
basic points emerged very forcefully: one, that memory plays an
important part in our responses to social situations and two, that
oral evidence is a valuable source of history.
Glimpse
into a bygone era
Reviewed by Belu Maheshwari
The Begum’s Secret
By A. K. Srikumar.
Penguin. Pages 253. Rs 299.
SET
in the late 18th-century Awadh, this work of historical fiction gives
the reader a glimpse of an era gone by. The backdrop is Lucknow, the
capital of Awadh, a town full of contradictions, hunger and opulence,
a Nawab who is liberal and generous with his awam but a bad
administrator, intelligent but manipulative begums, discovery of a new
culinary preparation which is celebrated as Dum Pukhat even today, but
a culture on the wane.
A
life lived fully
Reviewed by Aditi Garg
Johnny Gone Down
By Karan Bajaj.
HarperCollins.
Pages 308. Rs 99.
WHAT
is happiness? Many will say success, others may say it is having all
you want materialistically and yet others may count in the well-being
and affection of loved ones. All things that constitute a secured,
guarded and confirmed idea of happiness or a path to it.
Tales
of simple folks
Reviewed by Parbina Rashid
Legends of the Lepchas: Folk
Tales from Sikkim
By Yishey Doma.
Westland.
Pages 137. Rs 200.
WHEN
the creator becomes "Mother Creator" and social custom
requires a perspective groom to present all sorts of gifts to a
girl’s family to win her hand in marriage, you know you have reached
the North-East.
Engaging
travelogue
Sumit Ahlawat
Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast
By Samanth Subramanian.
Penguin Books.
Pages 184. Rs 250.
INDIA’s
5,700-km-long coastline is one of its most prominent features, the one
that gives India its shape on the world map, influences its climate,
and has set the terms of its trade, culture and course of its history,
and yet, despite all this, little has been written on all these
themes, especially if one compares it to the vast amount of literature
produced on the great Himalayas, its rivers and inland plains.
General-ly
speaking
Chetna Keer Banerjee
Former Army officer-turned-writer Sajita Nair offers insights into
gender, generals and garrisons
DebutantE
novelist Sajita Nair, who after herself serving in the Army has penned
a portrait of military life, seen from the eyes of two women officers
in She’s a Jolly Good Fellow, tells about the book,
battalions and things beyond:
How has your book been
received by both men and women in the Forces? Any gender comments it
has elicited?
What’s
in a phrase!
S. Raghunath
WHEN
the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) slapped a
show-cause notice on Indian Premier League (IPL) Chairman Lalit Modi
and followed it up with a dismissal order, an incensed Modi charged it
with "adding insult to injury".
Back of the book
Pleasures, pilferers and a princess
The Pleasure Seekers
By Tishani Doshi.
Penguin. Rs 499.
-
The Thing about
Thugs
By Tabish Khair.
HarperCollins. Rs 299.
-
The Crimson Throne
By Sudhir Kakar.
Penguin. Rs 450.
-
Lost Princess of
Coorg
By C.P. Belliappa.
Rupa & Co. Rs 295.
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