Tossed, diced and examined
Reviewed by Roopinder Singh
Indian Mass Media and the Politics of Change
Eds Somnath Batabyal, Angad Chowdhry, Meenu Gaur and Matti Pohjonen
Routledge.
Pages 230. Rs 795.
ONCE upon a time, not so long ago, there was a world in which the All-India Radio (AIR) was the only Indian radio service for entertainment. You adventurously tuned into Ceylon to listen to "Binaka Geet Mala", and for news, which took you beyond government handouts, you tried the BBC.

Journey through countless Indias
Reviewed by Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu
India: A Traveller’s Literary Companion
Edited by Chandrahas Choudhury.
HarperCollins.
Pages 235. Rs 399.
ACCORDING to conventional wisdom, books (even as you write them) have a tendency to take on a life of their own. A shape of their own; an agenda of their own. Anthologies are no different. To start with, a brilliant, albeit somewhat obvious, idea takes root.

Champion of women’s cause
Reviewed by Kanchan Mehta
An Inspirational Journey: Pratibha Devisingh Patil
By Rasika Chaube and Dr Chhaya Mahajan.
S. Chand Publishing.
Pages 313. Rs 640.
PRATIBHA Devisingh Patil has been President since 2007. She made history by being the first woman to hold the office. Earlier, she had been an MLA, Minister, president of the Maharashtra Congress Committee, Leader of Opposition, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and the first woman Governor of Rajasthan.

Understanding cultures
Reviewed by Aditi Garg
Literature of Small Cultures: An Assertion of Difference
Eds Dharminder Singh Ubha and Deepinderjeet Randhawa.
Zohra Printers, Patiala.
Pages 164. Price not mentioned.
CULTURE consists of ideologies and customs that we associate with any set of people. It defines what they stand for, how we recognise them and how we react to them. It is the identity of a person. Culture of no group can develop in isolation; it is affected by and in turn affects cultures around it.

Guide to school life
Reviewed by Balwinder Kaur
Motivating School Kids
By Mukhopadhyay Suvasish.
Viva Books.
Pages 145. Rs 125.
BEING a student is one of the most challenging periods of our lives, often conjuring up bittersweet memories. Parents and teachers many a time find themselves at a loss, wondering how to best guide and facilitate children during this tumultuous time.

Reformist revisited
Humra Quraishi
Dr Prem Chowdhry is a well-known author and social scientist. She has edited a recently published book on her father, Hardwari Lal’s writings, Understanding Politics And Society – Hardwari Lal (Manak publications). Excerpts from an interview:

Versatility with veena
S. D. Sharma
Padmashri Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who has lent music to the recent 7 Khoon Maaf, talks of classical music and the Mohan Veena in times of Munni badnam and more…
VERY few Indian music maestros have elicited equal admiration in India and abroad the way legendary Mohan Veena maestro Padmashri Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt has.

Midlife matters
Inspirational book talks about midlife change
DR Shashi Tharoor, former Union Minister of State for External Affairs and UN Diplomat, launched an inspirational book on midlife career choices, titled My Life My Choice, authored by K Rajeshwari, professor, Chennai Business School, in New Delhi recently.

Back of the book

• Night in Bombay
  By Louis Bromfield.
  Penguin.
  Pages 366. Rs 399.
  

• A Chance Meeting
  By Romaan Shaikh.
  Frog Books.
  Pages 107. Rs 95.
  

• Kisses from Hell
  By Kristin Cast and Alyson Noel.
  HarperCollins.
  Pages 262. Rs 250.
  

• Fall of Giants
  By Ken Follett.
  PanMacmillan.
  Pages 850. Rs 350.