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Reality is fiction for
this writer
Reviewed by Nirupama Dutt
Gurdial Singh: A Reader
Edited and compiled by Rana Nayar.
Sahitya Akademi. Pages 483. Rs 350
THE first Dalit hero in
Punjabi fiction stepped out of the pages of Gurdial Singh's first
novel Marhi da Diva (translated into English as The Last
Flicker) in the 1960s and walked straight into the hearts of the
people although there was nothing heroic about him. Poverty,
exploitation, betrayal, unrequited love and addiction to opium go into
the making of Jagseer. The protagonist is at the centre of a changing
way of life in which old values are replaced by new greed.
A
profile in grit and gumption
Reviewed by Harbans
Singh
Self Portrait of a Hero: The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu
Introduction by Herman Wouk. Natraj. Pages 306. Rs 595
LONG
before one finishes reading the letters, their author emerges as a
very passionate patriot, gifted not only with the lucidity of
expression but also the intensity of a troubled soul. Jonathan
Netanyahu was the leader of the Israeli commando force that raided the
Entebbe airport in Uganda to rescue over 106 Israeli hostages from the
clutches of terrorists supported by the army of Uganda’s Idi Amin,
in 1976.
Artists
come alive in these pen portraits
Reviewed by Jayanti
Roy
Your History Gets in The Way of My Memory. Essays on Indian
Artists
By Geeti Sen. Harper Collins. Pages 155. Rs 999
Geeti
Sen is an established author of books on Indian art. In this
book, her personal experiences of acquaintance with several then
obscure but now well-known artists is collated. She claims that having
seen these artists from close quarters has provided her with insights
into their personality and a deeper understanding of their process of
creation of art.
The
mystique of Rahul
Reviewed by Jayanti
Roy K V Prasad
Decoding Rahul Gandhi
By Aarthi Ramachandran. Tranquebar Press. Pages 280. Rs 350
FOR
a person born into the most prominent Indian political family, Rahul
Gandhi remains a mystery, at least for those who are outside his
charmed circle of friends and advisors. It is over eight years since
this scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family took a plunge in national
politics and yet not much is known of what is his vision for the
country, avoided as he has studiously, to articulate his opinion on a
vast majority of issues, domestic and international.
Cost
of development
Reviewed by Jayanti
Roy Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal
Displacement and Rehabilitation: Solutions for the Future
Ed. Nihar Ranjan Mishra and Kamal K. Misra. Jointly published by
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal and Gyan Publishing
House. Pages 457. Rs 900
THE
book is based on the outcome of an international conference at the
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, NIT, Rourkela in
November 2010. It lists the impact of development-induced
displacement. The 22 papers in
the book are divided in two parts, namely issues on displacement and
livelihood (13 papers) and rehabilitation policy and implementation
issues with people's responses (nine papers).
Comedy’s
serious side
Beyond A Joke
By Bruce Dessau Arrow Books
£ 8.99
bruce
Dessau, comedy critic for the past 20 years and a regular on
the Edinburgh Comedy Award panel, brings to bear his knowledge and
expertise in this witty, readable study of what makes stand-up
comedians tick. Dessau takes a historical perspective, stretching from
Joseph Grimaldi to Russell Brand, and reveals a constant pattern of
excess - excessive sexual appetites, drug and alcohol consumption,
narcissism and self-obsession - inextricably linked to the drive to
make roomfuls of strangers laugh.
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