-
The Collected Speeches of Somnath Chatterjee
Best known as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2008, Somnath Chatterjee has had a distinguished career, carving a niche for himself as an eloquent speaker and an effective legislator. He has contributed richly to the deliberations of the Lok Sabha since 1971 by participating in the debates on important issues, including the importance of parliamentary democracy in India. A champion of the causes of the working classes and deprived people, he effectively articulated their issues in the highest centres of power. His debating skills, clear understanding of national and international issues, command over the language and the wit and humor with which he presented his viewpoints ensure that he was heard with rapt attention. His speeches reveal a lawyer’s mastery over the rules and regulations governing the conduct of businesses, institutions and governments. The Collected Speeches of Somnath Chatterjee brings together his most powerful speeches during his tenure as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, from 2004 to 2008. Arranged thematically to cover both his stirring pleas for parliamentary democracy and political reform, and his incisive analyses of the economy and India’s role in the world, it is a necessary adjunct to any student of India’s democracy.
-
Safe Harbour
n her fifty-ninth bestselling novel, Danielle Steel tells an unforgettable story of survival...of how two people who lost everything find hope...and of the extraordinary acts of faith and courage that bring —and keep— families together... On a windswept summer day, as the fog rolls across the San Francisco coastline, a solitary figure walks down the beach, a dog at her side. At eleven, Pip Mackenzie's young life has already been touched by tragedy; nine months before, a terrible accident plunged her mother into inconsolable grief. But on this chilly July afternoon, Pip meets someone who fills her sad gray world with color and light. And in her innocence and in his kindness, a spark will be kindled, lives will be changed, and a journey of hope will begin. From the moment the curly-haired girl walks up to his easel on the sand, Matt Bowles senses something magical about her. Pip reminds him of his own daughter at that age, before a bitter divorce tore his family apart and swept his children halfway across the world. With her own mother, Ophélie, retreating deeper into her grief, Pip spends her summer at the shore the way lonely children do: watching the glittering waters and rushing clouds, daydreaming and remembering how things used to be. That is, until she meets artist Matt Bowles, who offers to teach the girl to draw—and can't help but notice her beautiful, lonely mother. At first, Ophélie is thrown off balance by her daughter's new companion—until she realizes how much joy he is bringing into their lives, despite the sadness she sees in his eyes. As their newfound friend works his subtle magic, mother and daughter slowly begin to heal, to laugh again, to rediscover what they have lost. When summer ends, and Ophélie and Pip must leave the beach for the city, the season of healing continues. Gathering her newfound strength, Ophélie begins a volunteer job at a city outreach program, where she works with the homeless, and can no longer ignore the blessings in her own life. But as soul-sharing phone calls and autumn beach getaways deepen Ophélie and Matt's friendship, fate strikes another blow. Out of the blue, Matt must confront unfinished business from his past. Days later, Ophélie is struck by a stunning betrayal by someone she trusts. And as these events reverberate in two already wounded hearts, something extraordinary happens. Out of the darkness that has shadowed them both comes an unexpected gift of hope. With grace and compassion, Danielle Steel explores the fragile bonds between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, family members and lifelong friends. Her haunting, impassioned novel takes us across the complex landscape of loss—to the blessings that arise from even the darkest tragedies. At once a story of triumph and a moving elegy to those who suffer and survive, Safe Harbour is perhaps her most powerful and life-affirming novel to date.
-
Guardians of the Key
A stunning novel of intrigue, conspiracy and murder, set in London and Italy in 1805
-
Balasaraswati: Her Art And Life
his is the first complete biography of T.Balasaraswati (1918- 1984), a dancer and musician from southern India who became recognized worldwide as one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century. In India she was a legend in her own time, acclaimed before she was thirty years old as the preeminent dancer of traditional bharatanatyam. Balasaraswati was a passionate revolutionary, an entirely modern artist whose impact was proclaimed by some of the most prominent figures in contemporary dance in India and the West. Her art and life defined the heart of a tradition. Her story offers an extraordinary view of the matrilineal devadasi community and traditional artistic practice from which modern South Indian dance styles have emerged.This deeply engaging biography draws together Balasaraswati`s personal account of her life and her reflections on the process of making dance and music. It includes the commentary of family members and dozens of contemporaries from throughout her fifty-year career, revealing hereditary artistic values and conventions that have virtually disappeared in modern India. The book is generously illustrated with rare historical photos and a duotone gallery of distinguished photographers’ images of Balasaraswati’s dancing.
-
The Chakh Le India: Cookbook
Aditya Bal grew up in a family which ran a hotel in idyllic Aditya Bal was born in New Delhi in 1976. He did Kashmir, watching his maternal grandmother rustle up his schooling in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and delicious meals and bake most passionately. After an later went to college at Delhi University. One of Indias extremely successful modeling career spanning 8 years bestknown models of his time, he also tried his luck in and a short stint in Bollywood, Aditya decided to head Bollywood but soon after packed his bags for Goa where to Goa to pursue what he did best: cooking. A chance he cooked and honed his culinary skills at 3 restaurants. meeting with NDTV Good Times gave his culinary skills a new direction and today he is one of the most celebrated anchor-chefs on Chakh Le India, the most popular food show on the channel. Adityas wanderlust for local and most celebrated cuisines from across India took him to the bustling towns of Punjab, the cultural hub of Bengal, Goahis most favourite food destination and several others. The result was Amritsari Paneer Bhurji, Kosha Mangsho, Goan Prawn and Mango Ambotik, Malabari Prawn curry and Moru Sambhar, amongst many other mouthwatering creations! A foodies delight, the recipes in this book, spanning meat, chicken, fish & seafood, and vegetarian dishes as well as an array of snacks and sweets are not only simple to try but alsopromise a complete and delectable feast celebrating what is wonderfully Indian.
-
Hello Bastar: The Untold Story Of India’s Maoist M
With an afterword by jailed Maoist ideologue Kobad Ghandy Praise for Hello, Bastar "Rahul Pandita had done something unusual - He had studied the Maoist movement at ground level for more than a decade, growing ever more interested in the way it functioned, travelling through the remoter jungles of Central India for weeks on end and spending time with the tribal people." -- PATRICK FRENCH, British writer and historian. With direct access to the top Maoist leadership, Rahul Pandita provides an authoritative account of how a handful of men and women, who believed in the idea of revolution, entered Bastar in Central India in 1980 and created a powerful movement that New Delhi now terms as India’s biggest internal security threat. It traces the circumstances due to which the Maoist movement entrenched itself in about 10 states of India, carrying out deadly attacks against the Indian establishment in the name of the poor and the marginalised. It offers rare insight into the lives of Maoist guerillas and also of the Adivasi tribals living in the Red zone. Based on extensive on-ground reportage and exhaustive interviews with Maoist leaders including their supreme commander Ganapathi, Kobad Ghandy and others who are jailed or have been killed in police encounters, this book is a combination of firsthand storytelling and intrepid analysis. Hello, Bastar is the story of: How the idea of creating a guerilla base in Bastar came up What the rebels who entered Dandakaranya had to deal with The Jagtial movement that created the ground for the Maoist movement The first squad member who died for revolution How Maoists and their guerilla squads function Their goals, recruitment, party structure and funding Their ‘urban agenda’ for cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai Their relationship with people and peoples’ move- ments Maoist supremo Ganapathi and other top leaders Anuradha Ghandy’s journey from Bombay to Bastar
-
Love, Life & All That Jazz...
This bestselling debut is a coming of age story about lives of four young twenty somethings - Sameer, Tania, Vikram and Tanveer, best friends from college in Bombay, and it starts by exploring their lives and their choices after they pass out of college. It’s about where they go from here, the changes they see in themselves and in other people in their lives and the direction their lives take. The decisions they make on love, family and career affects their relationships and shapes their personality over the years. It’s a slice of life, roller coaster ride through the life you’ve probably lived and can relate to ...
-
Making News, Breaking\nNews, Her Own Way
Making News, Breaking News, Her Own Way is about the lives and work of some of the most outstanding women journalists of our time who redefined and gave a whole new meaning to what constitutes news, in terms of values and themes. The groundbreaking work done by these journalists won them the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Media person, and like Chameli Devi Jain, a simple housewife who joined the freedom struggle in Delhi, they too exemplify values of independence, courage and dedication. From across the north, south, east and west of India, in different languages, these intrepid women have exposed corruption, child labour and caste massacres, uncovered financial scams, fought against atrocities committed against women, championed human rights and celebrated when their stories have been catalysts for change. In today’s age of tweets and instant information, the early women journalists filed their reports, if lucky typed on an Olivetti typewriter, but most times from a post office, used as a conduit to get reports to the desk. They have come a long way, from the time the profession was a stronghold of men, when they were relegated to covering flower shows and beauty pageants, to the present day, when no area is forbidden territory, be it the Kargil war, terrorist attacks in Kashmir, insurgency in the North-east, art, environmental concerns, consumer rights, and everything else in between. The stories range from the days of Prabha Dutt and Usha Rai, torchbearers for a whole generation of women journalists, to those like Tavleen Singh, Barkha Dutt and Madhu Kishwar, who are in the forefront of the media today. This book also pays tribute to India’s first photographer Homai Vyarawalla, who captured a whole era of great historical change with her lens.
-
Tamasha In Bandargaon
In the fictional suburb of Bandargaon, tucked away in Bombay, there's never a quit moment. Dreams erupt, hopes shatter, in the heaving Sunrise Apartments, by a rickety tea-cart-Jinias Chai Hause, inside a seedy Jaanam Desi, and by the dilapidated Purana Qila. Chagan, the dashing hero, who shines like a film-star, spends hours wooing a beauteous Shalini. Shalini, ever fickle, oscillates between him and a pining Vinayak. Vinayak, in turn, tries desperately to win the favour of Shalini's mother, Lakshmibai. Elsewhere, the local politician, Sajjanpur, tries winning an impossible election; Miranda, a sullen mortician, seeks answers from an ailing priest; and Sultan, the irascible grocer contents with an overfriend dog. Reminiscent of R.K. Narayan's Malgudi Days, Tamasha in Bandargaon, with its interlinked stories, with its effortless dialogue and wry humour, is at once enriching and entertaining. In the young debut writer's imaginary world, there's sound, fury and the distant glimmer of hope.
-
Chicken Soup For The Indian Single's Soul
Each year, more and more people are single — either by choice or by circumstance. This book celebrates the joys and challenges of living life on one’s own terms, and like its Chicken Soup predecessors, is a source of inspiration, laughter and wisdom. The 101 stories in this book touch every level of thought and feeling a person striking out on his or her own goes through. With each story about experiences with being single, single-again, or widowed, this col- lection’s view of an individual life is heartwarming, hopeful, even self-congratulatory. Chicken Soup for the Indian Single’s Soul will show readers that they’re never alone as long as they believe in themselves. And that the journey of life is about simply finding yourself and being happy with who you are.
-
Murder in The Hindu Kush: George Hayward and the G
The British explorer George Hayward was one of the most mysterious and intriguing of all the travellers, spies, soldiers and charlatans who played the Great Game, the cold war fought amongst the deserts and mountains in the wild space between the advancing frontiers of the British Raj and the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century. In this new biography, Murder in the Hindu Kush, by journalist and travel writer Tim Hannigan, Haywards strange story is told in full for the first time. On a bright July morning in 1870 the British explorer George Hayward was brutally murdered high in the Hindu Kush. Who was he, what had brought him to this wild spot, and why was he killed? Told in full for the first time, this is the gripping tale of Haywards journey from a Yorkshire childhood to a place at the forefront of the Great Game between the British Raj and the Russian Empire, and of how, driven by an insane desire, he crossed the Western Himalayas, tangled with despotic chieftains and ended up on the wrong side of both the Raj and the mighty Maharaja of Kashmir. It is also the tale of the conspiracies and controversies that surrounded his death, while the authors own travels in Haywards footsteps bring the story up to date, and reveal how the echoes of the Great Game still reverberate across Central Asia in the twentyfirst century.
-
Tamarind City: Where Modern India Began
‘While in other big cities tradition stays mothballed in trunks, taken out only during festivals and weddings, tradition here is worn round the year.’ This is just one of the author’s many keen observations of Chennai. With mordant wit, this biography of a city spares neither half of its split-personality: from moody, magical Madras to bursting-at-the-seams, tech-savvy Chennai. And, a minute into the book, the reader knows they are inseparable-and Bishwanath Ghosh refuses to take sides. And yet, he tells us, while Chennai is usually known as conservative and orthodox, almost every modern institution in India-from the army to the judiciary, from medicine to engineering-traces its roots to Madras’s Fort St George, which was built when Delhi had only just become the capital of the Mughal Empire, and Calcutta and Bombay weren’t even born. Today, the city once again figures prominently on the global map as ‘India’s Detroit’, a manufacturing giant, and a hub of medical tourism. There have been sweeping changes since pre-Independent India, but even as Chennai embraces change, its people hold its age-old customs and traditions close to their heart. ‘This is what makes Chennai unique,’ says Ghosh, ‘the marriage of tradition and technology’. Bishwanath Ghosh wears a reporter’s cap and explores the city he has made his home, delving into its past, roaming its historic sites and neighbourhoods, and meeting a wide variety of people-from a top vocalist to a top sexologist, from a yoga teacher to a hip transsexual, from a yesteryear film star to his own eighty-five-year-old neighbour, from the ghosts of Clive, Wellesley, Hastings and Yale to those of Periyar and MGR, two people who redefined the political skyline of Tamil Nadu. What emerges is an evocative portrait of this unique city, drawn without reservation-sometimes with humour, sometimes with irony-but always with love.
-
The Newsroom Mafia
When Supercop, Donald Fernandez declares an all-out war against the invincible Don, Narayan Swamy, he fights back with a formidable Mafia — a private army of armed thugs and a motley gang of corrupt police officers, backed by powerful politicians. What follows is a battle of raw power, sleaze, wits and dirty tactics by both the law breakers and the law enforcers blurring boundaries between good and evil. To save his skin, the Don fires his most lethal weapon, The Newsroom Mafia. In this novel, veteran-journalist-turned-novelist, Oswald Pereira provides an insider’s view of the growing culture of planted news and reveals the fine line between fact and fiction in the newsroom. A racy, compelling crime thriller, The Newsroom Mafia captures the unholy alliance between the fourth estate, the underworld and the Government.
-
Inventive Indians: 23 Great Stories Of Change
nventive Indians was a long while in the making . The stories were collected over six of the eight years that Civil Society, the monthly magazine, has been in circulation. The stories are about serious issues and complex situations. The leaders who are portrayed are invariably an intricate blend of passion and pragmatism. But the style of writing is simple and engaging because we want everyone to tune in. It can be said that we aren’t critical enough and perhaps at times too effusive. The reason is that these stories are so fascinating that reporters and editors get sucked in. It is a willing surrender. Inventive Indians is a tribute to the kind of change individuals can bring against difficult odds. It presents a side of India that doesn’t get reported because of the jumble of priorities that propel big media. Civil Society has shown that it is possible to change the rules.
-
Bombay Duck is a Fish
When Neki Brar moves to Mumbai to make it as a film-maker in Bollywood, little does she suspect that she will find herself standing on the terrace of her building, a bottle of wine and her diary in hand, plotting how best to jump. A small town girl, Neki has one ambition: to live in Mumbai and make it big as a film-maker. As she comes closer to her dream, she is also faced with a new reality. The make-believe sets of Bollywood, the cramped existence with her three roommates and the battle for power on the sets of her debut film as an assistant director force her to understand the ground rules here — if you don’t learn the art of survival, the train back home is your only option. Falling in love with the second lead actor, the charming Ranvir Khanna, further complicates her life, along with the realisation that she seems to have a unique ability to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and in the middle of every disaster that happens on the film sets. Battling political games, rivalry, love, betrayal and burning egos of film stars, she discovers the beauty of her own ambition and the ugliness of true love. The stakes are high. The dreams are big. The pressure is tremendous. If unfulfilled dreams keep you alive, can broken dreams push you to end it all?
-
Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul: Celebrating Brot
Siblings are the perfect introduction to the big, bad - but mostly good! - world waiting to teach you a lesson or two. Loving, but not as indulgent as parents, quick to grab an opportunity to teach you your place in the family echelon, quicker to beg you for unearned favours and, at the end of it all, your first shelter in a storm. There is no other relationship quite like it. Rivalry, camaraderie, jealousy, love and support ... you can find all these in the bond that young people who have been brought up together share. Honouring this unique relationship is Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul: Celebrating Brothers & Sisters, filled with heartfelt stories. Whether it’s the big brother who bullies you, or the annoying younger sis who makes off with your newest clothes, you are as certain of your importance to them as they are major figures in your life. For it’s your sibling who influences you most in the growing-up years: teaching you to face up to the schoolyard terror; providing wise (and usually unasked for) counsel at the beginning of your first crush - and picking you up from the ruins of a break-up; even refusing to reveal your confidences to parents or friends. Whether you share a special connection with someone through genetics or the heart, it’s great to have a companion for life.
-
Hot Tea Across India
On Rishad Saam Mehta’s journeys — and as a travel writer and all-round road-trip junkie, he’s been on many — there’s a particular thing he noticed. There’s not a highway, road or dirt track in India where you can’t find a cup of chai whenever you want it. And with those cuppas come encounters and incidents that make travelling in India a fascinating adventure. In this riveting book, which includes stories of honey- and saffron-infused tea shared with a shepherd in Kashmir, and a strong brew that revives the author after almost getting lynched by an irate mob in Kerala, Rishad takes you across the length and breadth of India, from Manali to Munnar, from the Rann of Kutch to Khajuraho, with a wonderful combination of wit, sensitivity and insight.
-
Shades of Life: Sublime Joy Is In Living
Fifteenyearold Aditya was like any other teenager busy in school, horsing around with a brother at home, pushing things around in the kitchen to try out daring recipes of his own, cheering lustily at games of cricket and, generally, being boisterous. His parents had begun to wonder whether hed ever take life seriously. Would he toughen up to withstand the pressures of the outside world? In the winter of 1996, life suddenly got more serious than anyone had wanted. One day, his mother, Vasundhara, took him to see a doctor for a headache that refused to go away despite overthecounter pain relievers. The ensuing prognosis revealed that Adityas kidneys were headed towards complete failure. In this heartwrenching account, Vasundhara Ramanujan shares more than that worst nightmare of all a child being afflicted with a lifethreatening condition she relates a story of instinctive courage. She narrates how her family, instead of letting their circumstances devastate them, summoned every emotional and psychological resource to provide a young boy, and themselves, with hope. In their quest for the best cures available, they were guided by many wellwishers, one of them being Dr Mohammad Akmal, who lent his medical expertise to authenticate the treatments outlined in the book. The ultimate purpose of Shades of Life is to prepare others to meet such exigencies of renal failure, and to help them find a lifesaving solution.
-
The Clockwork Man
Karl Gruber, a world-famous builder of automated clocks, has reached the pinnacle of his art in Ernst a man constructed entirely of clockwork. Educated and raised in the Gruber household to be a gentle, caring soul, Ernst begins to discover a profound love for his masters daughter, Giselle. Just as their relationship becomes intimate, however, tragedy strikes and the family falls apart. Abandoned, knowing no other life but the one he has led, Ernst allows himself to wind down in a kind of suicide. Over one hundred years later, he awakens in a strange new land, the world hes known long gone. Along with his mentor and guide, a well-meaning if slightly unstable homeless man, Ernst attempts to piece together the events that brought him to his new home and to let go of the century-old tragedy that still haunts him.
-
Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul: Teens Talk Relat
You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.' Teenagers are really tornados on two legs. And can you blame them? Neither cute kid nor cool adult, confused by the dramatic changes in their bodies and its needs, angry with authority, resentful of family interference in their brave new life, secretly longing for guidance, and at the same time resistant to unasked-for advice, what's a guy, or a gal, to do? Wait it out, says Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul: Teens Talk Relationship. Adolescence doesn't last forever. Enjoy the thrilling new loves and lives you change with other such 'tortured' souls, and discover you're actually in a very special place. Laugh and cry with these stories by other teens so like yourself, study how they – and you – confront those life-changing moments. Until suddenly, one day, you're all grown-up, and discover being an adult isn't such a bad thing after all. It's getting there that seems to take so long.