‘The pieces looked like lifeless soldiers. But in Vishy’s mind, they were alive.’
To everyone else, the chessboard was just black-and-white squares. To Vishy, it was a fantastical world of leaping knights, swooping bishops, shape-shifting pawns and clever queens. With Amma as his opponent, every match was a battle of wits waiting to unfold.
Could Vishy outsmart Amma and find the winning move? And could these early games prepare him for the greatest chess stages in the world?
620 CE. Mamallapuram, India.
Twelve-year-old Pallavi’s father works at the royal court of Mamallapuram. Pallavi spends her days in its magnificent library, studying with her best friend Shobavathi and dreaming of becoming a scholar. But life at court is unpredictable.
When her father loses his job and is banished by the king for misconduct, Pallavi is forced to leave her lessons to help her stepmother run a seaside shop. But she cannot turn her back on her education. She secretly scribbles poems in hidden spots to practice writing Tamil. When a jug with a poem etched on it is discovered, it thrills scholars of the kingdom but also alerts its enemies. Suddenly, Pallavi finds herself thrust into a mysterious Chalukya plot to bring down the Pallava empire. To make matters worse, a strange woman arrives and shatters Pallavi’s world with a dark family secret.
Caught amidst spies, secrets, and betrayal, can Pallavi stop the Chalukyas, figure out whom to trust, and forgive her family’s hidden truths?
‘Our friends come to us by chance or by choice. They will not be with us all the time, but somehow, they will be around when we need them.’
ALL-TIME FAVOURITE FRIENDSHIP STORIES is a collection of twenty-five soulful and timeless tales about friendship in all its beautiful, surprising forms, featuring unforgettable characters and evocative illustrations.
From ‘The Playing Fields of Simla’ and ‘Rusty and Somi’ to ‘The Hidden Pool’ and ‘Two Boys and a Tiger’, each
story is filled with the warmth of companionship. There are schoolyard rivalries that turn into ties of loyalty,
chance encounters that become uncanny connections, friendships with animals and with nature itself and rare bonds that endure across distance, years and memory.
Curated by Ruskin Bond, this collection celebrates loyalty and longing, mischief and forgiveness, friendships that withstand time and separation and the magic of finding—and keeping—a friend.
One night, Rudra, a young man who lives in Mumbai, wakes up to find himself covered in snow in the Himalayas. He is puzzled with his situation and manages to crawl to a cave nearby. There he meets a sage who offers him water. His past lives slowly unravel in his mind. Rudra remembers that he was named as ‘Poorna’ in his past life, and he was a yogi. Guided by the sage, he embarks on a journey to meet his guru, and this is the beginning of his many learnings and experiences.
Young, self-driven and adventurous, Poorna goes on to have intensely intriguing and inspiring escapades and heart-stopping explorations, some of which transpire even beyond planet Earth, and all this with an amazing culmination towards a new beginning!
In Dalit Women and the Fullness of Life, Christina Dhanuja confronts the narrow frames that have long confined how Dalit women are seen and understood. Too often rendered as symbols of all-consuming suffering or resilience alone, these are human lives flattened and portrayed without interiority and wholeness. This book refuses that erasure.
With candour and clarity, Dhanuja examines how reductive and unidimensional narratives take hold in institutions, media discourse and social imagination, and what it takes to break them apart. She asks what becomes possible when Dalit women are recognized as complex, desiring beings: capable of joy and contradiction, intimacy and power, fragility and fullness.
Blending memoir with sharp social analysis, the book situates lived experience within structures of caste, gender, faith and community. The result is a soulful and provocative work—one that insists on fullness as a political, ethical and imaginative horizon for Dalit women.
We cannot change the world around us, but we can change the world within us—and that makes all the difference.
What if we made the first move towards being a better person by being more mindful of what we do each day, and more observant of the gifts life has given us? What if, by doing so, we could change the environment within us?
Be Better, Live Better is not just a guide to better living, it’s a deeper understanding of how things are, how they should be and what steps we can take towards bettering our inner and outer life. It is about reconnecting with our truer self and finding what we have lost to today’s fast-paced environment.
Hansaji draws teachings from various scriptures, ancient texts and thought leaders from across the world and distils it all into a programme that is both simple and interesting to follow. It also gives you enough food for thought to carve your own path and create your own blueprint to happiness.
Go ahead, discover the joy of a better life, a better you!
Are you creative? Is creativity the preserve of a select few—or is it something we all possess? And is creativity the same as intelligence? Everyday Creativity explores these questions and more, drawing inspiration and insight from remarkable creators across art, science, politics, sports and even the military. From Amir Khusro to A.R. Rahman, and Leonardo da Vinci to Haruki Murakami, the book distils timeless practices that can help you unlock your own creative potential. Complementing these stories are over twenty-five proven methods of creative problem-solving—designed to move you beyond common sense and towards a more structured, powerful approach to thinking creatively.
Why climb the ladder gradually when you can rise in a jetpack?
Think bigger. Move faster. Lead sooner.
Leapfrog is a hands-on workbook for aspiring young leaders who want break the shackles and are done waiting for their turn. Packed with stories, & anecdotes it has smart prompts, exercises, and real-world hacks that will teach you six game-changing practices.
Learn how to build grit, outsmart your own bad habits, admit what you don’t know, mash up ideas across fields, mute the noise, and think like an entrepreneur.
At the centre of all this is your Personal Journey Map—a blueprint which will help you understand where you are, where you aspire to be, and how to get there.
No theory … Just action … Your leadership gym starts here
Apu steps off the screen and onto the page. The World of Apu is an intimate journey into Satyajit Ray’s creative universe, bringing together his original writings, notes and seldom-seen visuals around the iconic Apu Trilogy. Here, Ray reflects on craft, character and the quiet revolutions of everyday life that shaped modern Indian cinema.
Sketches, frames and personal insights reveal how a young boy from rural Bengal became a timeless symbol of hope, loss and becoming. Lyrical yet deeply observant, this volume is both a collector’s gem and an essential archive—an invitation to witness genius at work, unfiltered and unforgettable.
A collector’s edition, The World of Apu will interest a wide spectrum of readers.
Spark the love of learning with this picture-packed guide to dinosaurs for children.
DK’s best-selling Eyewonder series is back and has been refreshed for the next generation of young readers aged 5-7. This picture-led reference guide will take you on a visual tour of the incredible world of dinosaurs. Stay-at-home explorers will feel inspired by the dramatic photographs, up-to-date information, fact-packed pages and a brand-new “eyewonder” feature where knowledge meets real-world application. Throughout the pages of this newly revised book on dinosaurs, you can find: Fully updated and revised content for children starting to develop a passion for palaeontology. Eye-catching photographs that grab the attention of young readers and keep them coming back for more. Engaging facts, simple explanations and fun activities throughout the book. Find out about the vast universe and beyond with Eyewonder Dinosaurs, from the flying pterosaurs to the mighty T. rex. Learn all about how dinosaurs ate, lived and called out to each other. Plus, with fun and interactive activities to reinforce learning, your child will be entertained time and time again. Explore the series! The Eyewonder series is back and better than ever, with a fresh new look and the latest information. If you liked Eyewonder Dinosaurs, why not dig into Eyewonder Rocks and Minerals, investigate with Human Body, discover Stars and Planets or explore Eyewonder Oceans?
