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Human face of
emperors
Reviewed by Harbans Singh
Empire of the Moghul: The
Tainted Throne
By Alex Rutherford. Headline Review. Pages 438. Rs 599
First
came William Dalrymple, then Alex Rutherford. While the former
used primary sources, not considered important by stiff-necked
historians, to bring to life civil and common society, Alex
Rutherford, the pseudonym of Diana and Michael Preston, has
brilliantly interpreted the character and motivations of emperors from
the Mughal dynasty.
Capturing
resonance of rain
Pooja Dadwal
The literary legends across
centuries have, time and again, tried to string together various moods
associated with rain. Prose and verse on the monsoon straddles
multi-hued emotions and sensations
Spring Rain by Matsuo Basho
(Haiku)
Spring rain
leaking through the roof
dripping from the wasps’ nest.
There
is something that has to be said for the ambrosial pleasure
derived out of watching raindrops fall in an eclectic pattern all
around you. The tangible sensuality and the magical reality of the
moment predispose a sense of romanticism in even the most unpoetic of
people. Since time immemorial rains have evoked a myriad emotions in
all and sundry. Be it a soft pitter-patter, a constant drizzle or a
deluge, rain in all its avatars has inspired the imaginative and the
not-so-imaginative among us to pen down our deepest feelings without a
further thought.
Happiness
is a small town in East India
Reviewed by Kunal Dutta
Mrs Ali’s Road to Happiness
By Farahad Zama. Abacus. £8.99
Even
before his novel starts, the author makes a confession. Mrs
Ali’s Road to Happiness, he says, is dedicated "to London
where my head lives, and Vizag where my heart abides". Thus
explains Farahad Zama’s personal tussle between Britain — where he
works as an IT director in an investment bank — and India’s sleepy
town of Vizag; his birthplace and, clearly, the space he mentally
inhabits at every other waking hour.
tete-a-tete
Beyond
gender and angst
Nonika Singh
On
the surface a gentle theatre person, Bharti Sharma may not be a
copywriter’s delight. But as she opens up, she reveals many layers
of her persona. An actor, director and a documentary filmmaker, she
has no hesitation in stating things as they are. Bharti, who was in
Chandigarh recently for Women Directors’ Theatre Festival with her
play "Episode in the Life of an Author", doesn’t quite
endorse the concept of an exclusive women’s theatre festival. She
says, "Why put women in a different category? Even if they do
have their own perspective, their works can’t be clubbed in a
slot."
Revealed:
Harry Potter is the Antichrist
The boy magician is being
portrayed as the Devil in disguise in Alan Moore’s latest graphic
novel
Reviewed by Paul Bignell
League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen: Century 2009
By Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.
Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics. $9.95.
He
is a hero to millions of children the world over; fighting
against the forces of evil in one of the most successful book series
ever written. So fans of Harry Potter might throw down their plastic
wands in disgust when a new graphic novel is published this week
parodying the "boy who lived" as the Antichrist. Century
2009, written by the celebrated graphic novelist Alan Moore, is
poised to cause controversy over its parody of JK Rowling’s
best-loved creation. Legions of Potter fans are also likely to be
incensed by the book’s suggestion that Potter has been sent up as
the Devil.
Money
is freedom & choice is dignity
Reviewed by Kudrat Kahlon
The Blue Sweater
By Jacqueline Novogratz. Harper Collins. Pages 314. Rs 399
It
is said that change is not possible unless we feel the
suffering of another as our own. With the poetic eloquence of a well-travelled
writer and a cinematographic vividness, Jacqueline Novogratz makes the
daunting work of a social worker sound inviting. Whether describing
the industrious streets of Nairobi or the scenic streets of Lamu, her
keen sense of detail partial to colour and the spirits of the people,
one visualises her accounts with ease. Her inquisitiveness and
ever-ready eagerness makes her affable not only to the reader but also
to the people she comes across.
Tale
of mistrust, hostility and contempt
Reviewed by John Rentoul
The Burden of Power:
Countdown to Iraq
By Alastair Campbell.
Random House. £25.
AS
happens with many long-running series, the latest instalment is the
author’s darkest work yet. War is approaching; and when it happens,
it goes wrong almost immediately. That much we knew from the trailer
— Alastair Campbell’s heavily edited single-volume diaries,
published five years ago. This volume of the complete diaries, taking
the story from 9/11 to Campbell’s resignation from government in
August 2003, completes the psychological thriller.
short
takes
Of
savagery, relationships and drug addiction
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra
I am an executioner By Rajesh
Parameswaran
Bloomsbury/Penguin. Pages 260. Rs 499
The
title story of this collection of strange and savage love tales
is set in a fictional country where the protagonist works as
executioner in a jail. It explores the mindscape of a petty government
servant, who is trying to eke a living out of a rather odious job even
as he yearns for a normal family life. His struggle to win over the
affections of his wife gives the story tragic-comic twists.
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