Jawaharlal Nehru was Plato’s philosopher king, who ‘discovered’ an India that remains an undiscovered possibility. Nehru and the Spirit of India is a critical and nuanced perusal of his intellectual and political legacy.
From the ‘politics of friendship’ between Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah, Nehru’s defense of secularism in the Constituent Assembly Debates, to what propelled Nehru to curb free speech in the First Amendment, Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee draws from political history to illuminate fierce debates in India today: Kashmir, the CAA, and hate speech. Be it contemporary events like the miracle of Ganesha drinking milk and the use of Vedic astrology in Chandrayaan-2, or the agonising suicide of a doctor, the author examines the fractured nature of Indian modernity, which Nehru had suggestively called a ‘garb’. Bhattacharjee bolsters Nehru’s view that India is enriched by the encounter of cultures and that we must not discard the past, but engage with it.
As a second-generation refugee, Bhattacharjee argues for a ‘minoritarian’ approach to national politics. Breaking ideological and disciplinary protocols, he compels us to learn from the insights of poets and thinkers. Lucidly written, this provocative book offers an original perspective on Nehru and Indian history.
He appears out of nowhere in a sleepy little neighbourhood in suburban Kerala. He calls himself Shunya, the zero. Who is he? A lunatic? A dark magician? A fraud? Or an avadhuta, an enlightened soul? Saami-as they call him-settles into a small cottage in the backyard of the local toddy shop. Here he spins parables, blesses, curses, drinks endless glasses of black tea and lives in total freedom. On rare occasions, he plays soul-stirring melodies on his old, bamboo-reed flute. Then, just as mysteriously as he arrived, Shunya vanishes, setting the path for a new avadhuta, a new era. This first novel by Sri M is a meditation on the void which collapses the wall between reality and make-believe, the limited and the infinite. With its spare storytelling and profound wisdom, it leads us into the realm of ‘shunya’, the nothingness of profound and lasting peace, the beginning and end of all things.
Is there a fundamental new catalyst that can significantly enhance access, affordability and quality of products and services to hundreds of millions of Indians? This catalyst is in the form of a new generation of start-up founders who are leveraging technology platforms, smartphone access, and rapid digitization of the Indian consumer. These young founders don’t carry the baggage of the past and are attracted to the opportunity of breaking open the massive market of Middle India-the next 400-500M Indians just below the top of the pyramid. This book is about this new and powerful force of change blowing across India-what it takes to harness this and reshape the destiny of this country.
Ravi Kumar, head of the Central Counterterrorism Command (C3) of the Intelligence Bureau, is haunted by the partial success of Operation Haygreeva. He and his team of young recruits-Mihir, Cyrus and Jose-exposed designs of a hitherto-unknown terrorist outfit, the Lashkar-e-Hind (LeH), responsible for the Mumbai train blasts. But the mission they had staked their lives on remains significantly unfinished.
The LeH’s leader, Tabrez, had managed to escape to Pakistan. Looking to expand the scale of his operations and strike back at India in previously inconceivable ways, Tabraz becomes the lynchpin of a sinister K2 plan of the Pak ISI to leverage different socio-political anxieties and create a vast network of radicalized minds penetrating deep into Indian society, to destabilize the delicate fabric that holds the nation together.
Despite having faced severe personal trauma, Ravi and his team come together to launch deft counterterror and counterintelligence manoeuvres, codenamed Operation Sudarshan Chakra, putting everything, including their individual safety, at risk.
The path to spiritual understanding can be a confusing one. The manic pace of the present age has loosened the threads that tied our ancestors to prayer and faith. But role models could still help us find our way back. In Icons of Grace, respected ISKCON monk Nityanand Charan Das introduces readers to the lives of twenty-one extraordinary people who served as spiritual guides, through their teachings and through personal example.
At one level, the lives of these great souls-from Mirabai and Ramanujacharya to Sant Tukaram and Adi Shankaracharya-are a practical demonstration of the most essential spiritual principles. In relating them, though, Nityanand Charan Das aims not just to record the richness of their cultural and spiritual legacies but also to convey to readers the lessons one can learn through one’s daily actions and choices. Icons of Grace is inspiring. It also offers hope: however imperfect our journey has been thus far, spiritual redemption is accessible to us all.
This gift edition features the greatest mythological stories retold by India’ favourite author Sudha Murty. Filled with innumerable unusual legends of powerful gods and demons, alluring creatures and feisty women, the books in this collection are packed with arresting illustrations, captivating characters and magical worlds to keep every reader hooked. Read these enchanting narratives that will transport you to another time and fill you with a sense of wonder.
- The Serpent’s Revenge: Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata
Extraordinary stories that reintroduce the fascinating world of India’s greatest epic, the Mahabharata.
- The Man from the Egg: Unusual Tales about the Trinity
Unknown myths about the three most powerful gods from the ancient world-Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
- The Upside-Down King: Unusual Tales about Rama and Krishna
Fascinating stories that surround the two most popular avatars of Lord Vishnu-Rama and Krishna-and their lineage.
- The Daughter from a Wishing Tree: Unusual Tales about Women in Mythology
From Parvati to Ashokasundari and Bhamati to Mandodari, this book features fearless women who frequently led wars on behalf of the gods, slew demons and protected their devotees.
- The Sage with Two Horns: Unusual Tales from Mythology
A gem of a collection featuring lesser-known accounts of wit, wisdom and intrigue from Indian mythology.
Columnist, author and political commentator, Aakar Patel has long been a close observer of the political scenario. In Price of the Modi Years, he seeks to explain the data and facts on India’s performance under Narendra Modi.
Modi’s predecessor, Manmohan Singh, had once said that Modi would be a disaster as prime minister. This book shows how. It concedes Modi’s popularity; this is an accounting of the damage he has wrought. It is the history of India since 2014, assessing the damage across the polity from the economy, national security, federalism, foreign relations, legislations and the judiciary to media and civil society.
Our memories are not long, news cycles are transient and incidents are forgotten or misclassified as being only episodic, unless documented, unified and placed together as a record. And, therefore, this book-a history of these present times.
The island came out of the golden pot of Ma Kamala, which she gave to the pirate Pedru to rule. However, there are mythical and mystical elements to the story about how Dhanapati is not only the village headman but also the giant tortoise of lore that swam in from depths of the oceans and fell asleep here to be seen when the waters recede in the winter months.
Dhanapati was the last Pedru, but he was now old and blind, unable to rule his island for long. He then gifted it to his seventeen-year-old wife, Kunti. Will Dhaneshwari, the new ruler, be able to save the island and its women from the lustful eyes of the administration? Or will the government acquire the island? Or will Kunti be able to cast her spell and get the old tortoise to float away with the island on his back?
The Island of Dhanapatir combines the elements of myth, allegory and magic realism with a folklore of rare beauty.
One thing that bonded Mona, Meera and Sheila were their evening walks. This was the time they talked about their families and work, responsibilities and challenges. Then slowly things began to change, and it was not long before they began talking hot flashes, heavy bleeding, sudden weight gain and other scary symptoms. They thought these were issues that they need to live with as they aged.
Enter Doctor Dua, an experienced gynecologist who takes all of them under her wing and helps them understand and deal with their individual symptoms and more. From physically taking care of oneself to mental adjustments, she changes their perception from the fear of Menopause to treating it as another phase in their lives-one which they can enjoy uninhibited!
Live Your Best Life is a gentle, friendly guide to negotiating Menopause and living a fulfilling life both in body and in mind.
Kundalini, the primordial energy resides in all of us, lying dormant at the base of our spines. Very few know the secret of how to arouse it from its slumber. But now with the world familiar with yoga and its efficacy, the custodians of this knowledge have thought it prudent to open the doors to hitherto secret practices and reveal the what, why and how of Kundalini practice.
Kundalini Yoga for All will take you through this journey with explanations of the various stations you will encounter. Starting with cleansing and tuning your body to the step-by-step guide of your daily Kundalini yoga practice, this book will empower you to experience your highest potential in brain, body and awareness to meet all challenges of life with equanimity and experience bliss which is every human’s birthright.
Take this exciting journey within to discover the divine energy, so you can enhance every sphere of your life-professional, personal and spiritual.
