Tuticorin: Adventures in Tamil Nadu’s Crime Capital

SNIFFING for stories in newspapers, V Sudarshan brings another tale from recent history. Coming close on the heels of his last book, ‘Dead End’, is ‘Tuticorin’, which takes a look at small-town policing in the days before cell phones and the Internet. Anoop Jaiswal, a young police officer with scarcely any knowledge of Tamil, was in charge of the district in the 1980s. The book chronicles his story as he found himself in the middle of a massacre, encountering murderers, kidnappers, thieves, sex workers, illicit liquor sellers and rapacious moneylenders.

FROM Vasudhendra, the bestselling author in Kannada, comes a story of people living on the sides of two rivers on different continents — Tejo in Lisbon and Tungabhadra in the then Vijayanagara empire. Their stories converge in Goa with all the thunder and gush of rivers. Set in the late 15th and early 16th century, it is a saga of love, ambition, greed, and a deep zest for life through the tossing waves of history. Winner of the 2019 Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Book Prize, ‘Tejo Tungabhadra’ has been translated into English by Maithreyi Karnoor.

A NEWLYWED couple’s dream house slowly turns into their worst nightmare. Malevolent spirits prey on the living, naïve youngsters are lured into the world of tantriks and black magic, and even simple games turn out to be dangerous. Anita Krishan’s last book was ‘Ghosts of the Silent Hills’. As she delved deep into the supernatural, she felt further drawn to explore the subject. ‘Ghosts in the Dark Silence’ promises to petrify even the bravest of the brave. Some stories are gruesome and bizarre, others softly creep up on you and pull you in.

THIS book helps you navigate your career with greater awareness, better preparation and by identifying the core traits one needs to adopt to make oneself ‘earthquake-proof’. The job market in the post-pandemic world is a different place. Experts say technology will lead the way, virtual working will rise and the workforce will look for flexibility. But how does one adapt to the changing world? ‘Outskill’ provides a set of skills needed to stay relevant in this new world. The author interviewed 45 industry leaders to understand their challenges, motivations and vision.

WE are often told that a restless mind is the root cause of all troubles, and a calm mind will liberate. But how does one reach that state? Author Vasudev Murthy suggests following Patanjali’s yoga sutras. Patanjali brought together and organised the entire philosophy of yoga into a systematic structure that could be studied, assimilated and acted upon. The author interprets Patanjali’s wisdom and deep insights, simplifying the complex Sanskrit sutras in layman’s terms.