Reviews & Musings

Introduction ISBN: 978-93-84067-26-7 Genre: Non-Fiction/Politics Publishers: Aleph Book Company Price:  Rs.399/-  ( I got the book for review from the publisher ) Human civilization has lasted for approximately fifty centuries despite being continually under threat because of its inclination towards fear and violence. Today, however, ‘the future of civilization seems bleak’, as Romila Thapar writes in her foreword. Why is this so? Is it because our present time is barbaric? Is the twenty-first century another Dark Age? In this new book, eminent philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo talks about this new crisis in civilization that has given rise to fundamentalist movements and authoritarian leaders like Donald Trump. He shows us that civilization is all about the relationship of human beings to one another. When that relationship breaks down and we begin to distrust each other, when we are no longer inclusive or accepting of our differences, then society, which today is more plur

Introduction ISBN: 978-1781326220 Genre: Sci-fi Publishers: SilverWood Books Ltd Price:  Rs.192/-  ( I got the book for review from b00k r3vi3w ) Step into a high-tech vision of the future with author of Quantum Confessions and Fluence Stephen Oram. Featuring health-monitoring mirrors, tele-empathic romances and limb-repossessing bailiffs, Eating Robots explores the collision of utopian dreams and twisted realities in a world where humanity and technology are becoming ever more intertwined. Sometimes funny, often unsettling, and always with a word of warning, these thirty sci-fi shorts will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Behind the Book Source: Goodreads.com

On a usual tropical evening in Mumbai I had the pleasure of being at CSMVS where Anil Dharker and Amit Chaudhuri were in conversation over the latter’s new release, Friend of my Youth. With an ethereal sunset at the Arabian Sea adorning its beige textured cover; this book is a short and crisp novella revolving around friendship and childhood memories in the city of dreams – Mumbai. 

Introduction ISBN: 978-812-914-5710 Genre: Non-Fiction/Politics Publishers: Rupa Publications Price:  Rs.195/-  ( I got the book for review from the publisher ) Set in the once-fabled land of Kashmir, Behold, I Shine moves beyond male voices and focuses, instead, on what the struggle means for the Valley’s women and children—those whose husbands remain untraceable; whose mothers are half-widows; those who have confronted the wrath of ‘Ikhwanis’, or the scrutiny of men in uniform, and what it means to stand up to it all. This book also brings to focus the resilience of the Valley’s women and children—of activists like Parveena Ahangar and Anjum Zamrud Habib, who, after debilitating losses, start human rights organizations; of ordinary homemakers like Munawara who have taken on the judiciary; and of a young generation of thinkers like Uzma Falak and Essar Batool who foreground the interaction of gender, politics and religion, and won’t let Kashmir forget. Stitching togeth

Introduction ISBN: 978-817-599-4256 Genre: Fiction/ Suspense / Murder Mystery Publishers: Fingerprint Publishing Price:  Rs.250/-  ( I got the book for review from the publisher ) Two corpses . . . a woman lying dead on her bed, a man hanging from the ceiling fan. A suicide note cum murder confession. And a name . . . Shaunak Sodhi. When the case comes their way, Senior Inspector Saralkar has just been diagnosed with hypertension and PSI Motkar is busy with rehearsals of an amateur play. What appears at first to be a commonplace crime by a debt-ridden, cuckolded husband, who has killed his unfaithful wife and then hung himself, soon begins to unfold as a baffling mystery. As clues point to a seven-year-old unsolved murder in Bangalore and other leads emerge closer home, Saralkar and Motkar find themselves investigating shady secrets, bitter grudges, fishy land deals, carnal desires, the dead woman Anushka Doshi’s sinister obsession with past life regression and her

Introduction ISBN: 978-8175-9943-31 Genre: Non-Fiction Publishers: Finger Print Publishing Price:  Rs.250/-  ( I got the book for review from the publisher ) Who are we? What is our life meant for? What happens to us after death? Demystifying Reincarnation explores questions of our identity and destiny scientifically, historically and philosophically. Scientifically, pioneering researchers have documented fascinating cases of: Children who recollect past lives, giving details that they had no normal way of knowing. People who, despite being medically unconscious, were conscious of their vicinity and beyond. Historically, the principle of reincarnation has enjoyed acceptance in most parts of the globe throughout the ages—a list of its advocates looks like an intellectual who’s who of world history. Philosophically, reincarnation is the bedrock of a profound world view that reflects our intuitive sense of justice, our innate need for hope and our universal longing for

Introduction ISBN:  978-93-86021-07-6 Genre: Fiction Publishers: Aleph Price:  Rs.399/-  ( I got the book for review from the publisher ) On a camel’s back hill beyond Agra stands a Redstone citadel altogether different from the white marble Taj Mahal. Fatehpur Sikri is the capital Akbar built to honour the saint who foretold the birth of his first son. In the inner court of the king’s palace is a broad stone terrace with a chequered pattern that resembles a game board. Here, accounts say, Akbar played a kind of chess using human pieces from his harem of three hundred. Costumed in various guises, his women would have presented lively masques upon this stage.Zelaldinus mounts such a pageant, glittering and fantastical, where past and present, nobles and commoners, history and fiction rub shoulders. Its variety of verse and prose forms evoke the carnival spirit of a masque. Underlying the depiction of a rich and varied court life at Sikri are reflections on kingship, a medit

With a lot of pride I present my latest work as an editor. Working on this book was an amazing experience. I say this not because I have edited it but because I have read the author's previous works and have admired her sensitivity in dealing with the chaos of life. She brings along a fresh perspective to things that are beyond one's imagination and that is what makes reading her work enjoyable. Strongly recommended to people who enjoy fiction in it's truest form - heartwarming, life changing and one that leaves you thinking.   Amazon | Goodreads