The Himalaya has always been a land of folklore, carried across generations in the voices of its people. Villagers by a bonfire, grandmothers at the hearth with grandchildren at their knees, wandering bards, fakirs and mystics have all shaped a vast oral tradition. This is a world where rivers sing, animals speak, demons and tricksters lurk, and gods walk among mortals. In Voices in the Wind, celebrated authors Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal gather this living inheritance from across the length and breadth of the mountains—Kashmir and Ladakh, Himachal and Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Bhutan, and the sister states of the Northeast—into a single, enchanting volume.
This collection of folktales, fairytales, spirit stories, legends and fables encompasses generational wisdom and contains within it traditional beliefs, local knowledge systems and a deep understanding of the contradictions of human nature. The tales span the spectrum of human and non-human experience: stories of lovers separated by fate and reunited by magic; of crows who nurture abandoned children; of serpent kings and shape-shifting brides; of feisty heroines, tricksters, and goddesses who challenge injustice; of the everyday courage and wit of villagers negotiating harsh but enchanted landscapes. Rooted in ecological memory, these narratives are also reminders of the delicate Himalayan balance between humans, animals, rivers and forests.
Enriched with traditional woodcut illustrations, the volume has contributions from a vast repertoire of scholars, storytellers and folklorists. This collection preserves and resonates with voices that have travelled centuries and continents, and speak urgently to the present. At once an anthology of marvels and a cultural history, Voices in the Wind is a definitive treasury of myth and memory, as enduring and transformative as the mountains themselves.
1869. Tibet is closed to Europeans, an infuriating obstruction for the rapidly expanding British Empire. In response, Britain begins training Indians—permitted to cross borders that white men may not—to undertake illicit, dangerous surveying expeditions into Tibet.
Balram is one such surveyor-spy, an Indian schoolteacher who, for several years, has worked for the British, often alongside his dearest friend, Gyan. But Gyan went missing on his last expedition and is rumored to be imprisoned within Tibet. Desperate to rescue his friend, Balram agrees to guide an English captain on a foolhardy mission: After years of paying others to do the exploring, the captain, disguised as a monk, wants to personally chart a river that runs through southern Tibet. Their path will cross fatefully with that of another Westerner in disguise, fifty-year-old Katherine. Denied a fellowship in the all-male Royal Geographical Society in London, she intends to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa.
As Balram and Katherine make their way into Tibet, they will face storms and bandits, snow leopards and soldiers, fevers and frostbite. What’s more, they will have to battle their own doubts, ambitions, grief, and pasts in order to survive the treacherous landscape.
A polyphonic novel about the various ways humans try to leave a mark on the world—from the enduring nature of family and friendship to the egomania and obsessions of the colonial enterprise—The Last of Earth confirms Deepa Anappara as one of our greatest and most ambitious storytellers.
Why chant the Vedas, follow Vedic karma?
Why preach day by day the books of dharma?
Why learn the six Vedangas by rote?
One thing alone will to your rescue come—
thinking always of the Lord Supreme.
In the Tamil region in medieval times, a quiet revolution unfolded. It came to be known as the Bhakti movement. Appar’s hymn above exemplifies its spirit of rebellion against Vedic rigidity and ritual.
Rebellion in Verse unfolds a journey that goes back to the sixth century CE—a time when many yearned for a reprieve from the constraints of Vedic orthodoxy and caste hierarchies. The Tamil Bhakti movement emerged as their clarion call, a grassroots surge of devotion that redefined spirituality and the social fabric itself.
The saints of this movement were poets of the people, composing their hymns in Tamil and their verses, brimming with simplicity and profundity, wrestled divine wisdom from the elite grip of Sanskrit and handed it to the masses.
Change had dawned. It would soon ripple through history with the force of a tidal wave.
In The Art of Being Fabulous elegance meets passion, and glamour begins from within. In this memoir, Shalini Passi speaks of the celebration of living beautifully and with dignity. Blending style and soulful philosophy, she distills a lifetime of art, fashion and spiritual wisdom into ten rules for a life lived on your own terms. From couture and creativity to karma and courage, Shalini reveals how true fabulousness isn’t about perfection, it’s about presence, purpose and power. With her signature mix of grace and grit, she invites readers to embrace individuality and nurture inner strength. Introspective and instructive, The Art of Being Fabulous is a larger-than-life canvas that calls on the reader to own beautiful mind and life.
The Alphabets of Africa is an ode to a continent that continues to define the human journey. Through time, space and memory, these poems map Africa, celebrating its vast and vibrant tapestry. From the splendour of its ancient civilization to the pulse of contemporary African cities, to inspiring icons and leaders, this book summons Africa in all its depth and glory. Drawn from Abhay K.’s travels across the continent, these poems are an invitation to shed the inherited stereotypes and see Africa afresh.
In his narrative-defining book, Era of India, Minhaz Merchant examines interlinked civilizational arcs across centuries and millennia. Through much of recorded history, living standards were broadly similar in the Old World: Europe, Asia and Africa.
The discovery of the New World in the Americas and Australasia brought about great change: catastrophic for some, a boon for others. Differences in per capita income between Europeans and Asians were minimal in 1600. By 1900, the gap had risen multiple times. Europe emerged from plague and penury to great wealth.
Was this extraordinary turn of events due to scientific discoveries, the Industrial Revolution and technological innovation? Or did centuries of exploitative, invasive colonialism, the 250-year-long transatlantic slave trade from Africa to the Americas, and colonist-settlements in the New World result in the largest transfer in history of wealth from East to West? Crucially, is it time for the West to pay reparations for three centuries of extra-territorial colonial conquest and enslavement?
Using empirical data and deeply researched documented evidence, Minhaz Merchant answers these questions in a riveting narrative that examines how the rise of India from an impoverished British colony in 1947 to the world’s third largest economy by 2030 will reshape the world order in the next quarter century
While India is rapidly creating its magical growth story, our thought process in building brands is alarmingly obsolete. We are still heavily dependent on ‘Segmentation-Targeting- Positioning’, designed and applicable for Western demographics. Hence, we fail to fulfill our truest potential, as Indian creators and customers.
Through through-provoking relatable essays, this book provides a deeper exploration of the Indian buying behaviour, with timeless marketing insights. It also serves as an actionable toolkit, providing a dynamic roadmap for every organisation, which wishes to build successful brands in this country. Lastly, it is an overdue response to ‘thought colonialism’, as India most certainly deserves a customised Brand Leadership model, which is uniquely customer-centric.
Marketing That Works is your ultimate marketing-driven action plan, designed to help marketers build outstanding and long-lasting brands in any part of India. Made in India, exclusively for India.
बाज़ारवादी युग में दरकते इन्सानी रिश्तों पर लिखी आलोक की ग़ज़लें उनके निजी अनुभवों का आईना हैं। ‘आमीन’ की कई रचनाओं में सामाजिक सरोकार के सबूत मिले जिसने आलोक को सहज ही बेदार और प्रगतिशील कवियों की क़तार में ला खड़ा किया—वह क़तार जो हिंदी ग़ज़ल और उर्दू ग़ज़ल की ख़ेमेबंदी से परे सिर्फ़ और सिर्फ़ ग़ज़ल की हिफ़ाज़त कर रही है।
‘आमीन’ के प्रथम संस्करण की भूमिका शीर्ष लेखक कमलेश्वर ने लिखी जो किसी पुस्तक पर उनकी अंतिम भूमिका के रूप में याद की जाती है और मशहूर शायर-फ़िल्मकार गुलज़ार के पेशलफ़्ज़ ने इस पर एक मुकम्मल संग्रह होने की मुहर लगाई। दो भाषाओं का पुल बनाने वाले एक नौजवान के पहले संग्रह पर हिंदी और उर्दू के दो शिखर क़लमकारों के शब्द इस बात की गवाही बने कि आलोक ने अपना अदबी इम्तेहान पूरी संजीदगी और तैयारी से दिया है जो बहुत हद तक सही साबित हुई; वहीं दूसरे संस्करण की भूमिका डॉ नामवर सिंह ने लिखी, इस शुभकामना के साथ कि ये रचनाएँ और दूर तक पहुँचे। आमीन!
सेंट पीटर्सबर्ग की मोहक गलियों में रची-बसी यह कहानी एक ऐसे युवा ड्रीमर की है, जो गर्मियों की लंबी, उजली रातों में शहर की सुनसान सड़कों पर भटकता है। एक ऐसी ही रात में उसकी मुलाकात होती है नास्तेंका से— मासूमियत और सौंदर्य की प्रतीक उस लड़की से, जो अनजाने ही उसके हृदय में गहराई तक उतर जाती है।
चार रातों तक वे मिलते हैं—अपने विचारों, भावनाओं और सपनों को साझा करते हुए। लेकिन जैसे ही उसका दिल इस नए रिश्ते में सुकून पाने लगता है, उसे पता चलता है कि नास्तेंका किसी और से प्रेम करती है — उस व्यक्ति से जो उसे लौट आने का वादा कर गया है। फिर भी, दोनों के बीच एक अदृश्य आकर्षण है, एक अधूरी चाह जो उन्हें जोड़ती है।
व्हाइट नाइट्स यानी उजली रातें मानव संबंधों की सुंदरता और उनकी नाज़ुकता का एक कालातीत प्रमाण है। फ़्योदोर दोस्तोएव्स्की अपनी बेमिसाल लेखनी के माध्यम से अपने पात्रों की भावनात्मक गहराई को ऐसे चित्रित करते हैं कि पाठक दो अजनबियों की उस अंतरंग दुनिया में प्रवेश करता है, जिनकी ज़िंदगियाँ कुछ क्षणों के लिए एक-दूसरे से जुड़ती हैं।
व्हाइट नाइट्स फेस्टिवल रूस के सेंट पीटर्सबर्ग में गर्मियों के दौरान होने वाला एक अंतरराष्ट्रीय सांस्कृतिक उत्सव है, जब रातें भी दिन जैसी उजली रहती हैं। इसमें बैले, ओपेरा, संगीत कार्यक्रम, आतिशबाज़ी और नेवा नदी पर नाव परेड शामिल होती हैं। यह त्योहार कला, रोशनी और शहर की जीवंतता का अनोखा संगम है।
A bud is as complete as the flower is. Honouring the bud is what leads into celebrating the flower! Whether at bud stage or at flower stage, be grateful for who you are. Life becomes extraordinary when you choose to honour it with gratitude.
Gratitude: 42 Days of Honouring Life offers daily practices and reflections to help you appreciate the abundance in your life, nurture your well-being, and foster positive relationships. Commit to this 42-day journey and discover the magic of gratitude.
