At the time of Independence, few believed that a country made up of British provinces and over 500 princely states could survive as a nation, even for a few years. That a land stripped of its riches, wracked by disease and famine, and divided along tense communal lines could thrive in its aspirations. Yet, in the 75 years since Independence, India has grown beyond anyone’s expectation.
How did India get this far? What were the sweeping social, political, scientific, technological, military, environmental and economic developments it witnessed along the way? Interspersed with personal anecdotes, illustrations, infographics, informative timelines and quotes, After Midnight revels in the diverse ideas that have come to shape India and offers a multifaceted context to the present. In many ways, this is one of the greatest underdog-beating-the-odds stories in world history, full of blood, sweat, tragedy and triumph.
Traditionally, history has been telling us the stories of kings. In the long tradition of history writing, his-story has always dominated over her-story. Though queens evoke a sense of romance and their stories are told like fairy tales, it is common enough to find that these stories end in tragedy. In India’s history, not all queens are remembered today. Some are celebrated; while others have been almost ignored by historians.
In Ranis and the Raj, Queeny Pradhan has selected six queens. All the six queens are fromthe nineteenth century and have faced the British Raj, the East India Company and the Crown. From the Rani of Sirmur, who was the earliest to deal with theBritish authorities, to Rani Chennamma, Rani Jindan, Begum Zeenat Mahal, Rani Lakshmi Bai, to the Sikkim Queen from the 1860s to 1890s, Pradhan has attempted to carve an engrossing historical narrative for each of these important figures in Indian history. Unlike the biographical convention in traditional history writing, theresearch in this book can be placed in the realm of ‘microhistory’. The life stories of these queens are fragmented due to the ‘silences’ and ‘invisibilization’ in political history of the time, and this book aims to fill these gaps.
Hinduism is an ancient religion, philosophy and way of life. Unlike other great religions that are based on a small set of books, there are hundreds of texts in Hinduism, most of which are very voluminous. They span not merely centuries, but millennia. And most importantly, these ancient scriptures are all in Sanskrit which many do not know. Therefore for a beginner with an interest in Hinduism it is a daunting task as you don’t know where to start such a study.
In The Essentials of Hinduism, Trilochan Sastry unpacks all the ancient texts from the Vedas to the epics covering the entire range of scriptures and everything you need to know about them in an easy-to-read and accessible way making it of special interest to Hindus and those from other religions and nations, and even those who are agnostic or atheistic.
In April 1900, on the imaginary island of Mingheria—the twenty-ninth state of the Ottoman Empire—tensions rise between its Muslim and Orthodox Greek populations as a deadly plague, possibly brought by Muslim pilgrims or merchant vessels, sparks a rebellion. To curb the epidemic, Sultan Abdul Hamid II
dispatches a skilled Orthodox Christian quarantine expert, but resistance from some Muslims, a murder, and incompetence in local governance hinder containment efforts. As the death toll climbs, a Muslim doctor is also sent, yet the quarantine’s failure prompts international intervention through a naval blockade. Now
the people of Mingheria are on their own, and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves. Steeped in history and rife with suspense, Nights of Plague is an epic story set more than one hundred
years ago, with themes that feel remarkably contemporary.
‘The People’ and ‘New India’ are terms that are being invoked freely to both understand and govern India as she enters her 75th year of post-colonial nationhood. Yet, there is little clarity on who these people of India really are, what they do, their desires, histories and attachments to India. Similarly, the phrase ‘New India’ is used far
too loosely to explain away a dangerously confounding politics.
In this book, some of the most respected scholars of South Asia come together to write about a person or a concept that holds particular sway in the politics of contemporary India. In doing so, they collectively open up an original understanding of what the politics at the heart of New India are-and how best we might come to analyse them.
This brilliant collection put together by Ravinder Kaur and Nayanika Mathur includes original and accessible essays by leading social science and humanities scholars of South Asia.
By the time he was thirteen, Alok Kejriwal had begun to have profound spiritual experiences. Separated from his parents at birth, he was raised under the loving care of his Nana and Nani. During the course of these life-altering events, Alok realized that his life was not going to be a usual one.
Over the next few years, Alok met unusual and blessed holy men who uplifted him. He visited temples and sacred places where he had transformative experiences. In November 2011, Alok visited a remote cave near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand that changed him forever.
The Cave is an insightful, honest and deeply personal account of Alok’s spiritual journey. With characteristic candour, he shares intimate aspects of his life that bring meaning and balance to his journey as a successful digital entrepreneur.
A playbook of the principles of success that Alok has acquired over the years, The Cave details the amazing opportunities that are available to us all, if only we follow our heart as much as we follow our mind.
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2022
WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN AWARD
In northern India, an eighty-year-old woman slips into a deep depression after the death of her husband, and then resurfaces to gain a new lease on life. Her determination to fly in the face of convention – including striking up a friendship with a transgender person – confuses her bohemian daughter, who is used to thinking of herself as the more ‘modern’ of the two.
To her family’s consternation, Ma insists on travelling to Pakistan, simultaneously confronting the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist.
Rather than respond to tragedy with seriousness, Geetanjali Shree’s playful tone and exuberant wordplay results in a book that is engaging, funny, and utterly original, at the same time as being an urgent and timely protest against the destructive impact of borders and boundaries, whether between religions, countries, or genders.
In the ten-year anniversary edition of the classic that revolutionized the way Indians think about food and their eating habits, Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight teaches you simple steps you can take towards maintaining a healthy and proper diet and understanding your body and its nutritional requirements.
In FROM XL TO XS, Bollywood’s celebrated yoga instructor Payal Gidwani Tewari teaches you simple and easy to follow principles and exercise routines to lose (or gain) weight, stay fit, and transform your body structure. With photographs, celeb workouts, and useful tips by stars, From XL to XS is the best gift you can give yourself.
In Skin Rules, Dr Jaishree Sharad, one of India’s top cosmetic dermatologists, gives you a revolutionary six-week plan to healthy, blemish-free skin. From the basics-identifying your skin type, acquainting yourself with the fine print on labels-to home remedies, choosing the right make-up and the latest advancements in skincare treatments, this book has the answers to all your skin woes.
Urbanization has changed the way we garden and raise plants in our homes. As large spaces have become a luxury, the sprawling lawns in a house are a rare sight. They are replaced now by plants grown in small spaces, often indoors, with limited light, water and nutrition. This calls for relearning the principles of gardening that suit this new paradigm.
Written for all plant parents trying to raise their plant babies in an urban setting, this book is built on basic principles that keep plants healthy and covers all topics that any plant parent need to know-how to prepare their space, how to choose the right plants for their home, how to care for the plants and keep them happy and how to get family and friends started with plants of their own.
With stories from the Lazy Gardener community, supplemented with chapter-end summaries, explanatory illustrations and plant lists, the book will equip the reader to ask the right questions as they continue to garden and cultivate their knowledge of gardening. Useful for both new and experienced plant parents, Vinayak Garg’s How to Raise a Plant Baby guides them and explains everything they need to know.
The first battle is lost. The book of Mritsanjeevani is in the wrong hands but Nagendra’s plans are not limited only to immortality. What seemed to be the end of all wars was just the beginning of an incredible journey in search of a hidden verse. Om is still incomplete without the knowledge of his past, but he is not alone anymore. Two of the mightiest warriors of all time stand by his side. Two mysterious warriors stand unconditionally with Nagendra too or is there a hidden agendas behind all the allies? Who are LSD and Parimal in real and who is Om? Tighten your seat belts for an adventure in search of words that hold a bigger purpose than even immortality for Divinities and Demons.
