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Insider’s
view
Trinity: A Portrait.
Eds. Edward Stourton and John Lonsdale.
Third Millennium Publishing, London.
Pages 272. £45.
Reviewed by Rumina Sethi
WHEN
still miles from Cambridge, one begins to breathe an air that seems
different and one intuitively begins conjuring up images of Gothic
cloisters, punting and May Balls, understanding the magic of the
ancient town of learning and tradition, of history and culture, where
great men like Milton, Newton, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron
breathed the same air.
A
fight for survival
Sunshine: My Encounter
with Cancer
By Minakshi Chaudhry.
Rupa.
Pages 200. Rs 195.
Reviewed by Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu
OnE
has known Minakshi Chaudhry as a passionate trekker and
prolific travel writer, authoring book about the hitherto unexplored
regions of Himachal Pradesh. She followed that up by becoming a
collector of stories (in a manner of speaking), churning out many an
anthology about Shimla, its lovers and its resident spooks, all in a
quick succession.
Vulnerable
souls
From Street to Hope
By Neela Dabir and
Naina Athale.
Sage.
Pages 294. Rs 750.
Reviewed by Ambika Sharma
WITH
300 million children across the world living on the streets, which is
approximately the population of the United States, the world seems to
be heading for a serious, urgent and rapidly growing socio-educational
challenge. It is also a matter of concern that 40 per cent of these
children are homeless and the remaining 60 per cent work on the
streets to eke out a living for their families.
Reflections
on Haryanvi society
Political Economy of
Production and Reproduction: Caste, Custom and Community in North
India
By Prem Chowdhry.
Oxford.
Pages 434. Rs 895.
Reviewed by Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal
HarYANA
was the largest supplier of draught animals to neighbouring
states and other parts of India during British rule. It was a
fodder-supplying state and a major recruiting area for the British
Indian Army, particularly after the First World War. Most of the
existing capital was then going into usuries, mortgages and land
purchases, mostly for renting out purposes.
Tête-à-tête
From Naagin
to nritya
Nonika Singh
A
diva will always be a diva.
Age may have touched yesteryear celluloid queen Vyjayanthimala
Bali’s skin but certainly not her spirit. So, at 75, she is still
the queen of all that she surveys. With
unconcealed pride she goes down the memory lane recalling her sterling
performances in movies like Naagin, Madhumati, and of course
the blockbuster Sangam, the first techni-colour movie with two
intervals. Then there was the Jewel Thief that earned her the
sobriquet of Twinkle Toes.
In
step with the times
S. D. Sharma
Kathak maestro Jayant Kastuar
talks about his journey as a performer and the contemporary scenario
Since
time immemorial, the Indian classical dancing has been regarded as the
supreme realm of art, as it embodies a harmonious blend of all forms
like music, poetry, acting,dance, painting and now yoga as well,"
says Jayant Kastuar, acclaimed Kathak dancer of international eminence
and at present secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi of India.
Translating
Thakazhi
Arifa Akbar
Noted
Indian-English novelist Anita Nair has said that she found it tough to
understand the local dialect used in Chemmeen, the magnum opus
of Jnanpith winning Malayalam writer Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai,
while translating it into English.
Speaking
of superpowers
AFTER
a hiatus of two years, politician-writer Shashi Tharoor is back to
writing a book. And this time, it's about India's place in the new
balanced world. Addressing a
discourse, 'The New Superpowers,' chaired by Anita Anand of BBC at the
Alchemist Hay Festival in Kerala, Tharoor said the book would look at
India's place in the world, not just in terms of foreign policy, but
how India would function in the future.
Global
interest for SAS book
Sam Marsden
A
monumental book on the
origins of the SAS, which weighs more than 28lb and costs up to £2,500,
has attracted orders from ex-special forces personnel around the
world. The 600-page SAS War
Diary 1941-45 collects rare and previously secret documents
detailing how the regiment was born out of fighting against Italian
and German forces in the deserts of North Africa during the Second
World War.
Short Takes
Diverse narratives
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra
Love Across the Salt Desert
by Keki N. Daruwala
Ravi Dayal & Penguin.
Pages: xi+230. Rs 299.
-
Whispers of the
Heart
by Sirjan.
Zohra Publications.
Pages 55. Rs 150.
-
Health, Wealth and
Spiritualism
by R.C. Aggarwal.
Book Palace.
Pages 267. Rs 195.
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