Troubled times
A grim story of a ‘class enemy’ that stands out as a tremendously moving and important document
Memories of Life in Lhasa under Chinese Rule
By Tubten Khetsun. Trans. Matthew Akester.
Penguin Books.
Pages xx + 318. Rs 450. 
Reviewed by Parshotam Mehra
FEW accounts of life in Lhasa under Maoist rule (ca. 1959-79) are as moving as the one these pages proffer. Tubten Khetsun (TK for short) was arrested while defending the Dalai Lama’s summer palace, the Norbulingka, on the morrow of the Tibetan ruler’s escape from Lhasa in March 1959.

Ethereal beauty
I Want To Live: The Story of Madhubala
By Khatija Akbar.
Hay House Publishers.
Pages 261. Rs 399.
Reviewed by Rachna Singh
THE movie Mahal, with its black and white ambience and the ghostly strains of "ayega anewala", was my introduction to Madhubala’s ethereal and enchanting beauty. Even as a child given to watching the fast-paced films of the 1970s, I was completely mesmerised by this unutterably beautiful actress of Indian films.

New & noteworthy
Flavours from Valley
Kashmiri Cuisine through the Ages 
By Sarla Razdan.
Roli Books. Pages 143.
The book covers a gamut of recipes from the Valley, some famous, others less known. We give here a recipe, excerpted from the book, which you can try at home:

Short Takes
Professional touch wanted
Delayed Monsoon 
by Chitralekha Paul
Cedar Books. Pages: 232. Rs. 150

Assassination of God and Other Stories
By Lt. Col. I.J.S. Cheema (retd)
Abhishek Publications.
Pages 223. Rs 250.

I Belong to You
By Dr. J. S. Anand.
Jnanada Prakashan.
Pages xvi+136. Rs 400.
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra

Frontiers of folk
S. D. Sharma
Having been the global ambassador of Punjabi music, Surinder Kaur’s legacy needs to be kept alive and recognised much more, say artistes ahead of her death anniversary on June 14
GOD, nature and man must have forged an alliance for creating the charisma called Surinder Kaur, the gifted artiste who continues to rule the hearts of Punjabi music lovers the world over even after her demise on June 14, 2006, in the US. Hailed as the Nightingale of Punjabi Melody, Surinder Kaur, along with her sisters Parksah Kaur and Narinder Kaur, had pioneered a trend in Punjabi gayaki by bringing those folk, ritualistic and rustic romantic songs into the mainstream which were hitherto confined to household gatherings.

Tête-à-tête
Grammarian of art
Nonika Singh
He is not the easiest man to gauge. Try pinning him down and the response to queries goes off tangent. Jatin Das, one of India’s celebrated artists whose works have been part of the 2nd Biennale, Cuba, Havana, Asian Biennale, Bangladesh, 1985. Tokyo Biennale, the 15th International Art Show, Japan, et, and whose paintings sell at astronomically high sums may not be a copywriter’s delight.

Money never dies
Adam Sherwin
Their creators are long gone, but that hasn’t prevented the publication of a new James Bond book and a new Jason Bourne book — on the same day
DO you expect me to talk? No, Mr Bond, I expect you to revitalise the high street book trade by winning a deadly publishing battle with your greatest espionage rival. James Bond and Jason Bourne go head-to-head with the launch of new novels that extend the narrative of the famous spies, who have long outlived their literary creators.

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