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Breaking shackles of the
past
Reviewed by M. Rajivlochan
Pakistan: Beyond the ‘crisis
state’
Ed Maleeha Lodhi. Rupa,
Pages 391. Rs 495.
Whither? This has been a
major question for the nation states of South Asia. Associated with it
is the feeling that the leaders of South Asia have failed their
respective nations and people. India grappled with these issues for 50
years before it embarked on the economic upswing of the 1990s and the
noughties. Then the people began to ignore their government except for
heaping ignominy on it.
Effort to unravel the knot
that is Kashmir
Reviewed by Manisha Gangahar
A Tangled Web: Jammu &
Kashmir
Ed by Ira Pande Harper Collins, Pages 284, Rs 699.
Words matter. They matter
even more when they are about ordinary people, and still more when these
people are suffering and have been suffering for a long time. A
Tangled Web puts together quite a few essays on the troubled state
of Jammu and Kashmir — and not just Kashmir, the Valley. Ira Pande, in
her editorial, insists that the book is not yet another one that might
spoil the broth.
The Alena effect changes
Naggar to art hub
Alena Adamkova has
transformed the cultural life of Naggar by setting up the Helena Roerich
Arts School and College. Her local brood
of budding artists and musicians have made the sleepy town buzz with
activity
Surekha Kadapa-Bose
AS the hills come alive
with the sound of music — specifically, the Hindustani classical Raaga
Bhopali being rendered by a couple of talented, young village girls, the
beat of the tabla and the strains of the harmonium change to the softer
notes of Raaga Yaman. The group easily slips into a bhajan. Around
90-odd children join in and the entire open-air theatre is awash with
melody.
Search for Mister Right
Reviewed by Amarinder Sandhu
What did I ever see in
him?
By Amrita Sharma. Penguin. Pages 191. Rs
150.
THE first thing that will
attract the reader to the book is the title What did I ever
see in him? Termed as a modern woman’s guide to
having the perfect love life, the book offers a peep into the upheavals
of a modern relationship. Most young women grow up on a healthy diet of
Mills and Boon and Barbara Cartlands, waiting for their knight in the
shining armour to come and sweep them off their feet.
Holding up a mirror to social evil
Reviewed by Kanwalpreet
When Faith Turned Red
By Sharad Pagare. Rupa. Pages 300. Rs 295.
Sharad Pagare seems to be
inspired by his surroundings to pen his thoughts. The theme of this
novel is based on the gross injustice prevalent in society, which
perhaps moved him to focus the people’s attention on the factors that
either make society a better place to live in or a place where a few
exploit others for petty interests. This novel is inspired by a news
report about the pitiable condition of devadasis in south
Karnataka.
Tete-a-tete
Magic of the silent act
Mime artist Niranjan
Goswami describes how in Bharata Muni’s Natyashastra the finer
aspects of role-playing were discussed under mudras (gesture with
hands). The ancient treatise has it all when it comes to understanding
the art of mime
Nonika Singh
Silence speaks louder than
words.... For you and me this maxim might be just a hyperbole. But for
mime maestro Niranjan Goswami, Padmashri, it’s the ultimate truth that
has been translated into a complete art form. And he has been wedded to
this art form for over four decades.
A Daughters’ Paradise
Reviewed by Deepti
When the Time is Right
By Buddhadeva Bose Translated by Arunava
Sinha Penguin. Pages 543. Rs
450.
CAN daughters ever promise
their fathers, "I won’t go anywhere, I’ll live with
you`85"? But that’s the promise that Swati makes to her father
Rajen Babu and breaks it as all daughters have to do when they grow up.
The novel is a family saga based upon the bonding of Rajen Mitra with
his five daughters and his curious, estranged relations with his son
Bijon.
Short Takes
Dalai Lama, values and reinvention
Randeep Wadehra
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