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Excavation of a
neglected period
Reviewed by Belu Maheshwari
Early Medieval India: A
Reader
Ed Upinder Singh.
Oxford University Press.
Pages 354. Rs 750
History is a vital part of any
nation, community or individual’s being and a link which provides
rootedness to the present. The way history is understood by most
people has to be challenged and modified. It can be questioned and
theories and concepts can be open to debate and new formulations.
There have been major achievements in the past half century of
historical investigation. These include a rigorous analysis of
political processes, agrarian relations, social stratification and the
formation of regional cultures.
Of Arabian knights
Superman Is an Arab
By Joumana Haddad.
Westbourne Press. £8.99
Joumana Haddad, a Lebanese
poet and journalist, has written a bold and often very funny polemic
on patriarchy in the Arab world. The macho species, Haddad argues, see
themselves as "Supermen", and Arab men, in particular, find
it hard to reveal their vulnerabilities or share their anxieties with
women.
Desperation, love, power and politics
Reviewed by Balwinder Kaur
Delhi Stopover
By Tulika Mehrotra.
Penguin Metro Reads.
Pages 393. Rs 250.
Making it in Los Angeles is far from easy but struggling actress Lila is on her fifth agent and is still waiting for her big break or any break. But what actually breaks is her relationship with her significant other,
Armaan. Now at her own breaking point, she flees to her cousin’s home in Delhi for two months of peace and quiet. But a favour for a friend lands her squarely in the limelight. Her rest and relaxation is interrupted by opportunity's knocking. Her first sashay down the ramp earns her a plum contract with a premier modelling agency. But all that glitters is not gold.
Riveting tales of trailblazers
Reviewed by Abhishek
Joshi
Making News, Breaking News, Her Own Way
Ed. Latika Padgaonkar & Shubha Singh. Tranquebar. Pages 321. Rs
250
Making News, Breaking News,
Her Own Way is a compilation of insightful thoughts and
experiences of some of the most outstanding women journalists of our
times. Their work won them the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding
Women Mediapersons, dedicated to Chameli Devi Jain, a simple housewife
who joined the freedom struggle in Delhi. The stories range from the
days of Prabha Dutt and Usha Rai to those like Tavleen Singh, Barkha
Dutt and Madhu Kishwar. The book also pays tribute to pioneering
photojournalist Homai Vyarawalla, whose camera has frozen many moments
of historic change.
Zeroing in on the
Northeast
Reviewed by Arun Gaur
Highway 39: Journeys through a Fractured
Land
by Sudeep Chakravarti. Fourth Estate. Pages xxviii+388. Rs 450
The book delineates the
sufferings of the people of the Northeast because of the
"political arrogance and ineptitude." This area is far away
from New Delhi. Further, it cannot supply more than a few members to
the Lok Sabha. These two factors have contributed to its gross neglect
by Indian policy makers.
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