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Ramayana: A Comparative Study of Ramakathas
The story of Rama has been a part of our lives for ever and will probably continue to be so…. But most of us are unaware that the story has as many variations as there are versions. In the author’s own words Valmiki’s Ramayana has taken several ‘incarnations’ due to the efforts of many great writers who wanted to bring the story to their own people in their own language. In his book, Professor AA Manavalan, an eminent scholar in the field of comparative literature, has painstakingly made an intensive and analytical study of the Rama story in 48 languages including the folk tradition. Professor Manavalan’s main focus is on how the receiving language’s rendering could make a greater impact than the original in the popular imagination of the people. Ramayana - A Comparative Study of Ramakathas, an English rendition of Ramakaathaiyum Ramayanangalum, presented by CT Indra and Prema Jagannathan, captures the thematic purpose of Prof AA Manavalan’s Tamil original and creates a forum ‘to discuss whether Ramayana is an ethical text or an ideological text’.
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Mahishaa: A Love Story
Everyone knows the epic story of the Devi killing Mahishaasura. Mahishaa’s fault was that he was not prepared to fit into a conformist box. So, this cannot be a classic Good vs Evil tale. In the middle of the city, there was a dilapidated Kaali temple. Its condition was so because both the devotees and the priests were alien to love, although this was supposed to be the primary concept in places of worship. It was at such a time that a devotee decided to return the temple to its traditional practices of worship. This is accomplished in a pact with Kaali by the devotee becoming Mahishaasuramardini’s Mahishaa. What happens next is a marvellous cascade, flowing from the pen of poet Lakshmi Bayi.
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Inspiring Thoughts
Students and readers looking for inspiration and encouragement will find this book very helpful. The Inspiring Thoughts has been written by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The book was first published in 2007, and since then has been very popular amongst readers of all ages. Most readers find this book very thought-provoking as it urges them to dream for a better tomorrow. It helps in boosting the morale and also in improving the decision-making ability of the reader. The book subtly pushes the reader to think out of the box, and of the welfare of the society and world, and not of personal gains. The author encourages the reader to think of the betterment of the nation by taking the right steps in the present. Kalam had a strong belief that it is the children of a country who are responsible for shaping its future. In this book, too, he tries his best, through his writings and quotations, to motivate the young readers to believe in the nation, and take charge to build a glorious future for one and all. The book can also be read by those who have failed and faced rejection in life. The personal quotations make an interesting read for anybody, and the simple language touches the chords at many levels. The book has probing questions that make the reader question his purpose in this world. The simple language and honest writing manages to hold the attention of the reader. The book has been published by Rajpaland Sons in 2007. About the author: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam from 2002 to 2007 served as the 11th President of India. Greatly admired all over India, he was a scientist by profession, who played a leading role in developing the country's missile program. From humble roots in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Dr Kalam in an inspirational autobiography 'The Wings of Fire' traces the rise and the mark he made in life.
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Too Late
A breath-taking psychological suspense about obsession and dangerous love. The definitive edition of Too Late from the TikTok phenomenon and #1 bestselling author of Verity. Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it's meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother's care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her - one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day. When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan's surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way. No one except Carter. Together Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it's too late . . .
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To Build A Fire And Other Stories
Jack London was a master storyteller, and in this collection of his most beloved tales, he weaves together a tapestry of adventure, courage and the indomitable human spirit. From the frozen tundra of the Yukon to the sun-baked plains of the American West, London’s characters face danger, hardship and the unforgiving forces of nature. Whether you are looking for action, adventure or a deep exploration of the human psyche, this collection of Jack London’s greatest stories has something for everyone. With its rich language, vivid imagery and unforgettable characters, it is a must-read for anyone who loves great literature and the thrill of an extraordinary story.
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The Gold Collection
The ten stories in The Gold Collection are among the finest ever written by India’s most beloved writer, Ruskin Bond. Some of them, including masterpieces like ‘The Blue Umbrella’, ‘Angry River’, and ‘Panther’s Moon’, were written early in the writer’s career, while others, such as ‘Rhododendrons in the Mist’ and ‘Miracle at Happy Bazaar’, are more recent. All of them remain as golden as they were when they first emerged from the master’s imagination. A collection that will be treasured by all those who love Ruskin Bond’s fiction.
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Great American Short Stories
Featuring a wide range of genres, this hand-picked collection of short stories includes distinguished writers of the American short-story canon. The compilation begins with ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe, traversing through Hawthorne's ‘Young Goodman Brown,’ Melville's ‘Bartleby,’ Gilman's ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’ Fitzgerald's ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair,’ and other stories to conclude at Chesnutt's ‘The Goophered Grapevine’. Brilliant for classroom use, this book of tales will be loved by fiction readers everywhere.
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My Illegitimate Son
Relationships are achingly complex, even more so when it’s a father and his accidental love child. Two strangers meet serendipitously. One is an irrepressible, mischievous brat and the other a brooding platitudinous bore. Their contrasting individual paths that portend a star-crossed disaster suddenly find a shared future. Fate brings them under the same roof, and soon, the insolent child’s wild, roller-coaster, mind-numbing life takes centre stage in a moody family’s wacky, dysfunctional abode. What follows is a fantastical journey, and that is putting it mildly. Enter an unexpected visitor, and soon their lives are completely disarranged. The vicissitudes of life are on full display as the father-son duo confront a new reality. The family struggles to grapple with the new power dynamic as circumstances start spiralling beyond everyone’s control, with grievous consequences. In this exceptional slice-of-life book, Sanjay Jha tells us a heart-rending account of love and loss, happiness and grief, regret and redemption. ‘Grief, once it checks in, is a permanent guest’, says the tiny protagonist. Is atonement and forgiveness at all possible, or is it just a desperate human urge for finding inner peace? Is time, eventually, the only true healer? Can we really move on? In My Illegitimate Son, Sanjay Jha narrates a stirringly poignant story, which has both riotous laughter and abundant sorrow, that might just find an echo with your own.
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Droupadi Murmu: From Tribal Hinterlands to Raisina
‘Johar!’ began President Droupadi Murmu’s first presidential address. That word, a tribal greeting, marked a milestone in the history of the nation and a new direction in its politics. Droupadi Murmu: From Tribal Hinterlands to Raisina Hills encapsulates the journey of a tribal girl who defied all odds to grow up into an institution signifying resilience, determination and grit. Charting a path less travelled, Murmu carved out many firsts, right from stepping out of the nondescript village Uparbeda in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha to becoming the First Citizen of India. Through interviews and detailed analysis, journalist Kasturi Ray tracks Murmu’s life, following her through school and college, from being a teacher to social worker, councillor to minister, from taking charge as the governor of Jharkhand to becoming the president—a tale of incredible resilience and dedication to service. She narrates how Murmu was able to overcome personal tragedy and return to her commitment to helping the people and giving a voice to the downtrodden and underserved. In the seventy-fifth year of Independence, when the nation celebrated Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, she was chosen to lead the country, raising the hopes of millions of the downtrodden, tribals and women. The book traces her footprints in the sands of time as a fighter, believer and winner and narrates an inspiring journey.
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The Future In The Past
The Future in the Past brings together essays by Romila Thapar on issues and ideas that have preoccupied her throughout her career. These are subjects that surfaced frequently in discussions over the last six decades as they do even more so at present. Among them are the use and misuse of history, the myths surrounding the coming of the Aryans, religious fundamentalism in the study of society, the overt and the insidious attempts by right-wing elements to pervert Indian culture, variants of the Ramayana, the importance of museums, why dissent is important to democracy, the role of the public intellectual, and much more. Central to the arguments in these essays (versions of which first appeared in Seminar magazine) is an analysis of how the past permeates the present and influences the future.
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Great By Choice
Intends to ask: Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not? This title enumerates the principles for building a truly great enterprise in unpredictable, tumultuous, and fast-moving times.
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Successful Interviewing And Recruitment
Plenty of managers know how to interview but few can interview well. Successful Interviewing and Recruitment teaches you how to structure the interview, spot exceptional candidates and hire only the best who will add value to your business. Guiding you towards questions to ask as well as questions not to ask, you will learn how to challenge candidates while treating them fairly, so that the best candidates will want to work for you.
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Spies In The Himalayas
In the towering mountains of northern India, a chilling chapter was written in the history of international espionage. After the Chinese detonated their first nuclear test in 1964, America and India, which had just fought a border war with its northern neighbour, were both concerned. The CIA knew it needed more information on China's growing nuclear capability but had few ways of peeking behind the ""Bamboo Curtain"". Because of the extreme remoteness of Chinese testing grounds, conventional surveillance in this pre-satellite era was next to impossible. The solution to this intelligence dilemma was a joint American-Indian effort to plant a nuclear-powered sensing device on a high Himalayan peak in order to listen into China and monitor its missile launches. It was not a job that could be carried out by career spies, requiring instead the special skills possessed only by accomplished mountaineers. For this mission, cloaks and daggers were to be replaced by crampons and ice axes. This text chronicles the details of these death-defying expeditions sanctioned by US and Indian intelligence, telling the story of clandestine climbs and hair-raising exploits. Led by Indian mountaineer Mohan S. Kohli, conqueror of Everest, the mission was beset by hazardous climbs, weather delays, aborted attempts and even missing radioactive materials that may or may not still pose a contamination threat to Indian rivers. Kept under wraps for over a decade, these operations came to light in 1978 and have been long rumoured among mountaineers. ""Spies in the Himalayas"" provides an inside look at a CIA mission from participants who weren't agency employees, drawing on diaries from several of the climbers to offer impressions not usually recorded in covert operations. A host of photographs and maps puts readers on the slopes as the team attempts repeatedly to plant the sensor on a Himalayan summit.
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Second Chance Christmas
Christmas wishes can come true
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Dynasties-The Danforths
Tested by scandal. Sustained by passion. Tina Alexander wanted her wealthy playboy neighbour gone–he was too much of a distraction. But Reid Danforth, one of Savannah's most eligible bachelors, had other plans for the curvy beauty! But passion had a price. If word spread, their scandalous affair would ruin both their reputations. • U.S. Navy SEAL Zack Sheridan is not accustomed to baby-sitting sharp-tongued, wealthy young women like Kimberly Danforth. But a month of having to shadow Kimberly's every move means Zack is soon having trouble reconciling his duty with a sudden burning desire… • Three years ago, Jake Danforth spent a steamy, sheet-twisting night with Larissa Nielsen. He'd never forgotten her–even though Larissa had left him before the morning light. But Larissa has kept a secret from Jake, one is about to come face to face with…
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12 Days Of Passion
On the first night of Christmas… Vanessa Harrison's holiday spirit goes from humdrum to armed and dangerous when she is an eyewitness to a crime. Spirited away to a Caribbean hideout for her safety, she isn't prepared for her instant attraction to gorgeous, take-no-prisoners FBI agent Kendrick Boudreaux. Soon her vow to never trust another man melts in the heat of Kendrick's sizzling embrace… · Everything schoolteacher Morgan Hill loves is in her hometown of Temptation, Virginia―her twins, her students and the charming community centre where she’s staging their holiday play. But now the building’s new owner, Grayson Taylor, is putting sexy visions into Morgan’s head, making the young widow long for a future even Santa couldn’t deliver… · Getting married means Prince Andres of Petras can erase his past―albeit pleasurable―sins. But his prospective bride Princess Zara has spent years hiding her untouched heart. Her convenient husband-to-be soon works his playboy charms and awakens a sensual longing that’s impossible to resist. But once Zara's given him her hand and her body, it won't be long before he has her heart…
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Snowflakes And Seduction
A Christmas affair Sam Henry never got over the loss of his wife and son, and he's shut himself off from happiness, love...and the holidays. But Joy Curran and her sweet daughter bring laughter into his life and living with his new maid ignites a passion he can't ignore. After one glorious night in Joy's arms, will this beauty be the Christmas miracle that changes the beast forever? * Tall, dark and incredibly handsome, Nixon Gaines has a reputation for mixing business with pleasure. Especially with someone as captivating and intelligent as Jade Chandler. Jade is determined to stop the self-made millionaire from stealing her family's company...but his mind-blowing kisses test her resolve. Can the beautiful executive risk opening her heart for the holidays? * When millionaire Chaz Monroe goes undercover at the ad agency he bought, he has to figure out why his star employee, Kim McKinley, won't work on the crucial Christmas campaign. He'll go to any lengths to get answers from the beautiful go-getter-if he has to kiss them out of her, so be it. Will he unlock her secrets just in time for a Christmas she'll never forget?
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A Christmas Night With Consequences
When chauffeur Keira Ryan accidentally drives her car into a snowdrift, she and her devastatingly attractive passenger must find a hotel…only to discover they’ll be sharing a bed! Luckily, billionaire Matteo Valenti takes it upon himself to show Keira just how to make the most of a bad situation—with the most sizzling experience of her life, that leads to one unexpected surprise! · Italian tycoon Vito Zaffari is waiting out the festive season at a snow-covered English cottage while a family scandal fades from the press. He’s determined to shut out the world, until a beautiful bombshell dressed as Santa literally crashes into his Christmas! Innocent Holly Cleaver sneaks under Vito's defenses until he can’t imagine Christmas, or forever, without her…
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Virgin River - Tis The Season
Christmas magic in Virgin River 'Tis the season for family, friendship and a perfect holiday romance...
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The Pursuits Of Lord Kit Cavanaugh
Bold and clever, THE CAVANAUGHS are unlike any other family in early Victorian England. #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens continues to explore the enthralling world of these dynamic siblings in the eagerly anticipated second volume in her captivating series. A Gentleman of Means One of the most eligible bachelors in London, Lord Christopher “Kit” Cavanaugh has discovered his true path and it doesn’t include the expected society marriage. Kit is all business and has chosen the bustling port of Bristol to launch his passion–Cavanaugh Yachts. A Woman of Character Miss Sylvia Buckleberry’s passion is her school for impoverished children. When a new business venture forces the school out of its building, she must act quickly. But confronting Kit Cavanaugh is a daunting task made even more difficult by their first and only previous meeting, when, believing she’d never see him again, she’d treated him dismissively. Still, Sylvia is determined to be persuasive. An Unstoppable Duo But it quickly becomes clear there are others who want the school-and Cavanaugh Yachts-closed. Working side by side, Kit and Sylvia fight to secure her school and to expose the blackguard trying to sabotage his business. Yet an even more dastardly villain lurks, one who threatens the future both discover they now hold dear
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Boulder
Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman comes to know and love Samsa, a woman who gives her the nickname "Boulder." When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik and the couple decides to move there together, Samsa decides that she wants to have a child. She is already forty and can't bear to let the opportunity pass her by. Boulder is less enthused, but doesn't know how to say no—and so finds herself dragged along on a journey that feels as thankless as it is alien. With motherhood changing Samsa into a stranger, Boulder must decide where her priorities lie, and whether her yearning for freedom can truly trump her yearning for love. Once again, Eva Baltasar demonstrates her preeminence as a chronicler of queer voices navigating a hostile world—and in prose as brittle and beautiful as an ancient saga.
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The Twilight World
1944: Lubang Island, the Philippines. With Japanese troops about to withdraw, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was given orders by his superior officer: Hold the island until the Imperial army's return. You are to defend its territory by guerrilla tactics, at all costs. So began Onoda's long campaign. Soon weeks turned into months, months into years, and years into decades - until eventually time itself seemed to melt away. All the while Onoda continued to fight his fictitious war, at once surreal and tragic, at first with other soldiers, and then, finally, alone, a character in a novel of his own making. . . 'An enthralling novel that explores the nature of time and warfare with great mastery' Mail on Sunday 'Herzog. . .brilliantly blends fact and fiction in this fever dream of a novel' Daily Mail 'A literary jewel set to sparkle against the backdrop of his monumental career in cinema'
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Shiva
Revel in the tales of the most enigmatic deity in Hinduism. This book is a hoard of the knowledge of the God of gods, who teaches about humanity, love, and companionship. He is the embodiment of the ultimate principles of creation, destruction, and transformation! Hanuman Chalisa is one of his best sellers. More titles by Shubha Vilas: Hanuman Chalisa, Mystical Tales for a Magical Life: 11 Unheard Fantastic Vedic Stories Explore the world of the ancient Hindu god Shiva! Gain a deeper understanding on the workings of the universe! Explore the secrets of Hindu mythology What is true karma and dharma? Bask in the timeless wisdom of Shiva A must have book for mythology love and spiritual seekers