Reviews & Musings

Namrata reviews Arundhathi Subramaniam’s Women Who Wear Themselves (Speaking Tiger, 2021) and observes how this book is a beautiful reminder of the fact that not every journey is meant to be taken physically.  ISBN ‏ : ‎ 978-9390477463  Publisher ‏ : ‎ Speaking Tiger  Release date: 14th June 2021  Price: INR 499/-  The journey of a woman as per the societal norms consists of birth-marriage-children-death. Anything and everything beyond these four milestones are considered to be path-breaking (literally and otherwise too!) We are in the 21st century and we still raise eyebrows for women who choose a career, decide not to get married or have children or make any such independent choices that define their lives strongly. Now imagine women choosing the path of spirituality amidst this. Award-winning author and poet Arundhathi Subramaniam’s latest book Women Who Wear Only Themselves is about four such women who chose spirituality as their true calling and walked on...

  “Like all great stories, COVID-19 is a tragedy, a love story gone seriously wrong.”   Sometime in November 2019, China reported the first suspected case of the novel Coronavirus. On 31 December 2019, an epidemiological alert was issued. A year later, today, the whole world is grappling with this deadly virus, in some form or other. While some countries are currently facing the second or the third wave or fresh cases being registered, some are discovering the long-term effects of the virus. Approximately 1.5 million people have died in this pandemic globally.  Surgeons Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan write together as “Kalpish Ratna.” They have previously written a book on the Zika Virus (2017). Bringing together their experiences and expertise in the medical field, they analyze the deadly pandemic which has brought the whole world to a standstill. Read the full review on The Friday Times .

About the Author The Book of Indian Kings comprises stories and essays about some of the greatest rulers and statesmen in the history of India. Beginning with an essay on one of the country’s iconic rulers, the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, by our greatest living historian, Romila Thapar, this volume brings together some of the finest writers of our time on a glittering array of monarchs, including Salman Rushdie on Emperor Akbar, Khushwant Singh on Maharaja Ranjit Singh, William Dalrymple on Bahadur Shah Zafar, Rajmohan Gandhi on Tipu Sultan, Jadunath Sarkar on Chhatrapati Shivaji, and Manu S. Pillai on Krishnadeva Raya.  Source: Amazon.in The Emergence of Empire: Mauryan India by Romila Thapar The First Hindu Empire by Abraham Eraly Raja Raja Chozhar by Kalki Krishnadeva Raya by Manu S. Pillai The Shelter of the World by Salman Rushdie Shivaji and His Times by Jadunath Sarkar Tipu Sultan by Rajmohan Gandhi The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the ...

Source: Goodreads.com Kashmir, a place that has been called heaven on earth, has been bleeding since decades now and sadly there is not much respite to its plight. While my heart goes out to all the Kashmiris who have faced the brutalities time and again, my mind is throbbing with questions as I try to delve deeper and understand the what, how and why. Written by Ashok Dhar, who was born and brought up in Kashmir, this book promises to be give you a first hand insight into the Kashmir issue.   *-*-* Stories of the trauma and betrayal faced by Kashmiris have been told, the events retraced and analysis offered. And yet, one of the most long-standing disputes in India’s post-Independence history remains unsettled. If it were up to Lal Ded, a Sufi poet, she would offer the most difficult solution so far—to look within. Kashmir As I See It, a personal journey interspersed with geopolitical analysis, is not only about the state but also about the voice that yearns to be...

Source: Amazon.in Not many moons ago, when Siri was launched, I remember the craze it had managed to generate among people. It could save you from suicide, help you do things and be your companion. Today times have changed, and Siri has of course only improved with time. We now have Alexa along with many other such 'techie companions ' as my friend calls them.  “ First we thought the PC was a calculator. Then we found out how to turn numbers into letters with ASCII — and we thought it was a typewriter. Then we discovered graphics, and we thought it was a television. With the World Wide Web, we've realized it's a brochure .” ― Douglas Adams

Source: Feminism in India

Behind the Book:  Source: Amazon.in A renowned architect and artist on how public architecture in our cities has lost contact with the lives of the common people. Behind the seemingly ordinary life of a practicing architect lies a whole host of non-professional impulses that give shape to buildings. Stories of Storeys: Art, Architecture and the City is about these impulses and conditions—social, literate, personal and political—which are expressed, but often ignored in architecture. Bhatia looks at the ordinary, physical, visible and tactile involvement of our urban environment and the way it affects, communicates with, or influences us. An all-inclusive sociology of architecture, the book draws on the social life of some of architecture’s role players, people whose peculiar demands on design have come to characterize the building environment of our times, and times that are characterized by this progressive isolation of architecture from the society of common people...

From the Blurb:  Source: Goodreads.com At lunchtime on 27 April 1959, the handsome naval commander Kawas Nanavati was told by his English wife Sylvia that she was having an affair with their flamboyant businessman-playboy friend, Prem Ahuja. Later that evening, armed with a revolver, Nanavati stormed Ahuja’s bedroom and shut the door behind him. Three gunshots were heard going off inside. Ahuja was dead. Ahuja’s murder set in motion an extraordinary public frenzy – thousands descended on the streets of Bombay chanting in favour of the hero Nanavati and the jury, swept off their feet by the dazzling naval officer in the dock, returned a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict. This trial was the death knell of the jury system in India.  It hurtled a judiciary keen on preserving justice into confrontation with an executive bending to the will of hysterical crowds and tabloids and Nanavati’s powerful friends in the establishment. In this laboriously researched book – part thriller...

Introduction Copyright (C) Privy Trifles ISBN:978-9386228918 Genre:  Non-Fiction/ History Publishers: Juggernaut Price: Rs. 599/- (I got the book for review from the publisher)

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN:978-0670091171 Genre:  Non-Fiction Publishers: Penguin Viking Price: Rs. 499/- (I got the book for review from Vivek Tejuja )

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN:978-9353023942 Genre:  Non-Fiction Publishers: Harper Collins India Price: Rs. 599/- (I got the book for review from the publisher)

Introduction ISBN:978-9352808267 Genre:  Non-Fiction Publishers: SAGE Publications Price: Rs. 395/- (I got the book for review from the author)

Introduction ISBN:978-93-8622-882-6 Genre:  Non-Fiction Publishers: Juggernaut Price: Rs. 499/- (I got the book for review from the publisher)

Today in this segment we have with us Mr. Anurag Anand , the author of the recently released " To Hell and Back " by Readomania Books. If you have been living under the rock till now and have not heard about him there here's a brief intro about him. Anurag Anand is a prolific author, a corporate professional and a devout family man, who finds himself shuttling between Pennsylvania, where his family is settled and Gurugram. Two of his works the Legend of Amrapali and the Quest for Nothing have made it to the final shortlist in the past editions of the Crossword Book Awards. His other books are Love on 3 Wheels, Where the Rainbow Ends, Birth of the Bastard Prince, of Tattoos and Taboos. and Reality Bites.

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN :    978-9387779396 Genre:  Non-Fiction/Religion Publishers: Fingerprint! Publishing Price:  Rs. 299/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN :    978-9386021946 Genre:  Non-Fiction Publishers: Aleph Book Company Price:  Rs. 599/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Amazon.in ISBN :    978-9386021120 Genre:  Non-Fiction Publishers: Aleph Book Company Price:  Rs. 699/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Source: Goodreads.com ISBN :    978-938-679-7186 Genre:  Non-Fiction/ Sports Publishers: Simon & Schuster India Price:  Rs. 699/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Picture (C) Privy Trifles ISBN :    978-8129151353 Genre:  Non-Fiction/ Bollywood Publishers: Rupa Publications Price:  Rs. 295/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN :   978-93-8777-903-7 Genre:  Non-Fiction / Classics Publishers: Fingerprint Publishing Price:  Rs. 199/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )