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The Armour of Light
The grand master of gripping fiction is back. International No.1 bestseller Ken Follett returns to Kingsbridge with an epic tale of revolution and a cast of unforgettable characters. Revolution is in the air 1792. A tyrannical government is determined to make England a mighty commercial empire. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte begins his rise to power, and with dissent rife, France’s neighbours are on high alert. Kingsbridge is on the edge Unprecedented industrial change sweeps the land, making the lives of the workers in Kingbridge’s prosperous cloth mills a misery. Rampant modernization and dangerous new machinery are rendering jobs obsolete and tearing families apart. Tyranny is on the horizon Now, as international conflict nears, a story of a small group of Kingsbridge people - including spinner Sal Clitheroe, weaver David Shoveller and Kit, Sal’s inventive and headstrong son - will come to define the struggle of a generation as they seek enlightenment and fight for a future free from oppression. . . Taking the reader straight into the heart of history with the fifth novel in the ground-breaking Kingsbridge series, The Armour of Light is master storyteller Ken Follett’s most ambitious novel to date.
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Traitors Gate
4 hours to stop the crime of the century The race against time is about to begin… THE TOWER OF LONDON… Impenetrable. Well protected. Secure. Home to the most valuable jewels on earth. But once a year, the Metropolitan Police must execute the most secret operation in their armoury when they transport the Crown Jewels across London. SCOTLAND YARD… For four years, Chief Superindendent William Warwick – together with his second-in-command Inspector Ross Hogan – has been in charge of the operation. And for four years it’s run like clockwork. THE HEIST… But this year, everything is about to change. Because master criminal Miles Faulkner has set his heart on pulling off the most outrageous theft in history – and with a man on the inside, the odds are in his favour.
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Saturday Stories
From the bestselling author of Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish and Follow Every Rainbow, comes a set of sparkling stories that explores the full gamut of human emotions, vulnerabilities and truths, and captures the distinct spirit of our times. Deceptively simple in their telling, and occasionally laced with dark humour, the short glimpses of life in Rashmi Bansal's first foray into fiction will take readers by surprise, and by turns inspire, move and entertain them.
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The Great Indian Conspiracy
Saffron terrorism. Is it a fact? Or, is this a myth? After all, do we know enough? The shocking blasts of Malegaon and Samjhauta were projected as 'saffron terrorism'. A new theory, terrorist attacks were tainted as such till, a few years later, Kasab's confession offered solid proof of Pakistan's role in the 26/11 attacks. Though the police had concluded a Pakistani hand for the earlier blasts, it was saffron terrorism which prevented the perpetrators of these attacks from being brought to justice. As a theory, saffron terrorism is not just hurting Hindus sentiments but is also an obstacle to fight real terrorism sponsored by Pakistan and Islamic states. The term was coined by the erstwhile UPA government to garner minority votes and manipulate the vote bank. After all, why were the Malegaon-accused SIMI activists let off? Why did certain politicians declare not to oppose their bail? What was truly behind Aseemanand's confession? The reliability of these confessions was questionable given the police brutality that the National Investigative Agency exposed. Journalist Praveen Tiwari explores saffron terrorism and reveals through exclusive interviews of senior National Investigative Agency officials, undercover agents and politicians how vote bank politics can compromise ethics and national security. Should the real masterminds behind the blasts be allowed to go scot-free? Should the manipulators of the Samjhauta Express bombings not be held accountable? Should we not investigate those who had exonerated Pakistan of its guilt? An extensive research on communal politics, the book offers indisputable evidence of the 'saffron terrorism' theory as the Great Indian Conspiracy.
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Srilaaji
The untamed, incandescent and battle-ready Srilaa grows up in her wealthy Marwari family’s palatial house in Calcutta. After suffering her first heartbreak at the hands of a potential suitor, she is married and packed off to Bombay to live with her new husband. There she experiences womanhood and confronts her sexual curiosities, misgivings and desires, but continues to hope daringly and love fearlessly—refusing to live her life by the unrealistic standards society often sets on unconventional women. The young and vivacious Srilaa slowly but assuredly becomes the inimitable Srilaaji! And each time life starts crumbling around her, she manages to pick herself up. And from the ashes of an uncertain life, a phoenix rises. Told with Shobhaa De’s matchless blend of candour, humour and seductive earthiness, Srilaaji captures the soul of an indomitable spirit . A book that simmers and erupts at will, and presents us with one of the most unforgettable protagonists in years - the utterly delicious Srilaaji.
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The Shortest History Of China
**‘A fascinating, enormously dynamic portrait of a superpower. Essential reading’ JULIA LOVELL ‘A fast-paced and witty survey of China’s past ... Iconoclastic, informative and more attentive to female figures than comparable works’ JEFFREY WASSERSTROM ‘Succinct, lucid and with a keen eye for detail, this slim book is an indispensable primer on China’ LOUISA LIM** **A PACY HISTORY OF CHINA THAT CAN BE READ IN AN AFTERNOON, BUT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR PERSPECTIVE FOR A LIFETIME. ** From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has inf luenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years. Chinese history is sprawling and gloriously messy. It is full of heroes who are also villains, prosperous ages and violent rebellions, cultural vibrancy and censorious impulses, loyalists, dissidents and wits. The story of women in China, from the earliest warriors to twentieth century suffragettes, is rarely told. And historical spectres of corruption and disunity, which have brought down many a mighty ruling house, continue to haunt the People’s Republic today. Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanisation, a propaganda state or an aggressive superpower seeking world domination. Linda Jaivin distils a vast history into a short, readable account that tells you what you need to know, from China’s philosophical origins to its political system, to the COVID-19 pandemic and where the PRC is likely to lead the world.
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Rishi Intelligence
Ravi Singh Choudhary has a natural gift for explaining things in a simple and crisp manner. A gift that is of crucial importance in bringing out the wisdom of Hindu Rishis. This wisdom has layers of space (geography) and time (antiquity). To separate this wisdom from wasteful speculations is not an easy task. Ravi has been successful in this endeavor because of his close connection with nature and his success in keeping himself away from the snobbery of puerile and clueless discussion of academia. Grab this book. Read it and re-read it. Apply it in your area of profession. Experience the effects first-hand. Nilesh Nilkanth Oak- Author, Speaker, Researcher, TEDx speaker, UAA-ICT Distinguished Alumnus, Who's Who in American Universities & Colleges, Scientific dating of Indian epics In our quest for Vishwaguru, it is insufficient to merely recount tales of being pioneers in numerous fields. Mere antiquity of our civilization does not automatically confer greatness upon it. True greatness should be rooted in fundamental principles, robust frameworks, progressive means of knowledge, and the quality of our institutions. Can we embark on cutting-edge research in Vedic science, resuming where we left off? It is time to shift our focus from lamenting the burning of books at Nalanda for a mere three months, and instead, channel our efforts towards preserving the remaining one crore manuscripts, not merely as relics of the past, but as living and vibrant subjects.
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The Ultimate Family Business Survival Guide
‘Brilliant and insightful ... A must-read for everyone engaged in a family business in twenty-first century India’ Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Steel Ltd‘The Ultimate Family Business Survival Guide lucidly captures the informal yet important communications within a business family, the stakes of the family in the business and the rich resources basket that the family is for the business and each member’ – Nupur Pavan Bang, Associate Director, Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise, Indian School of Business‘A fantastic book’ Samish Dalal, Associate Professor, S P Jain School of Global Management‘A thought-provoking book' Pramodita Sharma, Schlesinger-Grossman Chair of Family Business, University of Vermont Grossman School of Business‘A must-read’ SheThePeople.TVInvigorate your family business with this easy-to-use survival guide!Family businesses are vital to the health of a nation’s economy, but distresses such as economic downturns and the Covid-19 pandemic can put them at grave existential risk.Drawing from her dynamic experience working with her family-owned company MPIL Steel Structures Ltd, Priyanka Gupta Zielinski presents a unique manual to help family businesses thrive, even in times of crisis. Central to it is a survival toolkit – featuring a metaphorical multipurpose hat, a flashlight, a superhero cape, a Swiss Army knife and a parachute – which prepares business owners to face any challenge head on. The book also reveals how the improvisational style of family enterprises can be leveraged better for sustainability, while identifying in their close-knit structure and community-driven approach avenues for meaningful social change.Replete with anecdotes and effective strategies – with an occasional Haryanvi idiom thrown into the mix – The Ultimate Family Business Survival Guide is a must-read for family business and MSME owners everywhere.
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Black Chin White Chin
Chin Govender, the favoured son of Cato Manor, returns home to his estranged family in the late 1940s, after too many years away, bringing with him an astounding tale that spans the physical and political landscape of South Africa and chronicles his exploits from penniless wine steward in East London to successful hotelier in CapeTown's District Six. The story of Chin's family is blended into the rich cultural tapestry of Indian life and the intricacies of close families and communities that from the backdrop of this complex tale. An evocative portrait of five generations of descendants of former indentured Indian labourers and their struggle to build an identity in an emerging South Africa, Black Chin, White Chin is a spectacular tour de force.
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The Indians: Histories of a Civilization
The Indians is one of the most ambitious projects yet undertaken to map the origins, evolution, and present-day reality of India's civilization and people. Written by over one hundred of South Asia's foremost scholars and domain experts, the essays in the book cover a period of some 12,000 years-from the last Ice Age to the twenty-first century. The book is divided into seven sections. The first part looks at the evolution of humans in South Asia through the lens of the early 'Indian' population, their migrations, and the climate. The second part focuses on the emergence of different civilizations in the region through the domestication of plants and animals and other factors and how these civilizations eventually begin to decline. The third part discusses the languages and philosophies that defined ancient India-Buddhism, Jainism, Sanskrit, Indo-Iranian languages, and Pali literature, among others. The fourth part is a detailed study of society and culture in various geographical regions--the North, South, Northeast, the Deccan, East, and West India. The fifth part looks at the advent of colonialism and its impact on the country's economy, social fabric, and knowledge systems. The sixth part looks at Adivasi movements, Ambedkarite politics, Gandhian resistance, and other events that would come to form the bedrock of the independent republic. And, finally, the seventh part looks at contemporary India--the workings of the Constitution and urbanism, liberalization, and other aspects of the modern Indian experience. Taken together, the essays in the book provide remarkable insights into Indian history and society.
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How Prime Ministers Decide
India’s prime ministers have taken decisions that changed the course of the country’s history. This book by Neerja Chowdhury, an award-winning journalist and political commentator, goes beyond the news headlines to provide an eye-opening account of how some of the most important political decisions in independent India were taken. The author analyses the operating styles of the country’s prime ministers through the prism of six decisions of historic significance. These are as follows: the strategy that Indira Gandhi devised to return to power in 1980, after her humiliating defeat post the Emergency in 1977; the errors of judgment that led Rajiv Gandhi to undo the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Shah Bano case; V. P. Singh’s implementation of the Mandal Commission Report to save his government which forever changed the face of contemporary politics; P. V. Narasimha Rao’s masterful indecision that resulted in the demolition of the Babri Masjid; the rapidly changing political scenarios that turned the avowed pacifist Atal Bihari Vajpayee into a nuclear hawk who greenlighted the testing of nuclear devices; and the mild and professorial Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as one of the country’s weakest prime ministers, who defied interest groups and foes within the political establishment to seal a historic nuclear deal with the United States—and upgraded the bilateral relationship to a new level. Based on hundreds of interviews that the author conducted with prime ministers, key figures in the political establishment, bureaucrats, aides, policymakers, and even fixers—the book provides remarkable insights that have been gleaned over forty years of high-level reporting on the national political scene. How Prime Ministers Decide is an unparalleled book about modern Indian politics which will change the way we view how prime ministers govern the country.
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Before Your Memory Fades
The third novel from the author of the phenomenon &i>Before the Coffee Gets Cold&/i>: tales from a little cafe in Hakodate, Cafe Donna Donna, where customers may travel back in time if they obey the rules. For fans of &i>The Guest Cat&/i> and &i>If Cats Disappeared from the World.&/i>
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Before The Coffee Gets Cold-Tales from the Cafe
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time . . .From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold comes Tales from the Cafe, a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula's time-travelling offer.Among some faces that will be familiar to readers of Toshikazu Kawaguchi's previous novel, we will be introduced to:The man who goes back to see his best friend who died 22 years agoThe son who was unable to attend his own mother’s funeralThe man who travelled to see the girl who he could not marryThe old detective who never gave his wife that gift . . .This beautiful, simple tale tells the story of people who must face up to their past, in order to move on with their lives. Kawaguchi once again invites the reader to ask themselves: what would you change if you could travel back in time?
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Before the Coffee Gets Cold
What would you change if you could go back in time?In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café?s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory
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The Healing Power Of Mind
The true nature of our minds is enlightened and peaceful, as the depth of the ocean is calm and clear. But when we mentally grasp and emotionally cling to our wants and worries with all our energy, we lose our own enlightened freedom and healing power, only to gain stress and exhaustion, suffering and overexcitement, like the turbulent waves rolling on the surface of the ocean. Our minds possess the power to heal pain and stress, and to blossom into peace and joy, by loosening the clinging attitudes that Buddhists call " grasping at self.&Quot; if we apply the Mind's healing power, we can heal not only our mental and emotional afflictions, but physical problems also. This book is an invitation to awaken the healing power of mind through inspiring images and sounds, mindful movements, positive perceptions, soothing feelings, trusting confidence, and the realisation of openness. The healing principle on which these exercises are based is the universal nature and omnipresent power envisioned in Mahayana Buddhism. Yet for healing, we don't have to be believers in any particular faith. We can heal body and mind simply by being what we truly are, and by allowing our own natural healing qualities to manifest: a peaceful and open mind, a loving and positive attitude, and warm, joyful energy in a state of balance and harmony.
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Pannalal Ghosh
Pt. Pannalal Ghosh was a revolutionary and renowned flautist in 1950s. This book, in ENGLISH, is a documentation/compilation of rare archival photographs, documents of his flutes and belongings and provides information about his musical contribution. He was the one who experimented on the Flute instrument for its rendition in Hindustani Classical music, which paved way for many flautists of the next generations. The book includes the information of new Hindustani raaga-s he created and the images of his Orchestra notations. In all, a unique book on Pt. Pannalal Ghosh evolving the life history through efforts taken by the author for almost three decades. The book is complimented by Bharat-ratna Lata Mangeshkar, Renowned Flautist Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sitarist Pt. Kartick Kumar and few other dignitaries.
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Texas Touch
Ten years after he fell in love with Floryn, the golden-eyed beauty stuck in a passionless marriage with his uncle, Cord Donaldson leaves prison to discover that Floryn has not forgotten their time together. Original.
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One Night With a Goddess
Chloe, the Muse of Happiness, did not pass her hundred—year performance review with flying colors. But she's not worried about Zeus' punishment. Spend a year on earth making mortals happy, then retire to Mount Olympus in luxury? No problem. Isabelle Castleberry's wedding planning business is the perfect spot for Chloe's talents, and the year is certain to fly by. That is, until Miss Belle's nosy grandson comes back to town. Dr. Matthew Castleberry has spent almost two years at Doctors Without Borders and it's definitely left him with some trust issues. His grandmother's new assistant may be a whiz at planning weddings, and very easy on the eyes, but he's not about to let that fool him. There's something about Chloe that he can't quite put his finger on and Matt's determined to figure it out. Now, if he can just keep the rest of his hands off her in the meantime...
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The Ugly Duchess
“Eloisa James is extraordinary.” —Lisa Kleypas “Nothing gets me to the bookstore faster than a new novel by Eloisa James.” —Julia Quinn New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James gives the classic Hans Christian Andersen story of “The Ugly Duckling” a wonderful, witty, and delightfully passionate twist. The Ugly Duchess is another fairytale inspired romance from the unparalleled storyteller whose writing, author Teresa Medieros raves, “is truly scrumptious.” A sexy and fun historical romance, James’s winning tale of a glorious reawakening does not feature ducks and swans—rather it’s a charming story of a young woman unaware of her own beauty, suddenly duty-bound to wed the dashing gentleman who has always been her platonic best friend…until now.