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Archives: Books

The Break of Dawn (A thrilling page-turner set amidst the 1857 rebellion)

“Unconstrained, unlike a historian, the fiction writer Khan Mahboob Tarzi invents a moment in the history of 1857 and imbues it with high romance and action.”-Rita Kothari, translator, writer, and professor of English, Ashoka University

“[The 1857] rebellion has been the subject of scholarly attention and debate, but the events have not drawn too much literary attention in terms of novels, plays, etc. It is thus good to read this novel and to have it in translation.”-Rudrangshu Mukherjee, chancellor and professor of history, Ashoka University

-A thriller and romance set amidst the raging battle to free India of the British in 1857.

-Brings into focus the lesser-known popular literature in Urdu around the 1857 mutiny.

-The translator, Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, was led to the book out of personal interest, as it includes an account of the erstwhile Mahmudabad royal family’s role in the 1857 revolt.

-Introduces readers to Khan Mahboob Tarzi, a prolific author who wrote over a hundred novels on history, politics, science-fiction, romance and erotica.

It is the searing month of June. The rebellion against the British has just begun and Awadh is up in flames. Hindus and Muslims have joined hands to overthrow the foreign rulers and set India free. Some Indian rulers have started to enter into alliances to fight the firangis, while others have thrown in their lot with the foreigners. Amid all this, Riyaz Khan, a young soldier from the army of the Raja of Mahmudabad, saves a group of Britishers from fellow ‘mutineers’ and escorts them to the safety of Lucknow. In this group is Alice, who falls in love with Riyaz and eventually becomes an informer for the rebels.

The Break of Dawn, originally published in Urdu under the title Aghaaz-e-Sahar, is a thrilling page-turner and a reminder of a time when Indians of all classes and creeds came together to fight for the honour and freedom of their homeland.

The Bournvita Quiz Contest: Collector’s Edition Volume 2

Suitable for ages 9 and up, this is a special edition featuring 1000 questions to test your knowledge!

IN 2008, WHO RECEIVED THE FIRST COPY OF THE E-PASSPORT IN INDIA?
HILSA IS THE NATIONAL FISH OF WHICH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY OF INDIA?
IN WHICH ORGAN OF THE HUMAN BODY WOULD YOU FIND THE AQUEOUS HUMOUR?
WHICH IS THE OLDEST NATIONAL PARK IN INDIA?

With fun Q&As carefully curated from the exhaustive twenty-year-old archives, this definitive book is a treat for all quiz aficionados, who can choose from an array of fifty sections including:
Art and Culture | Wildlife | Entertainment | Mythology | Cricket | Astronomy

The Bournvita Quiz Contest, which started as a radio programme in 1972, shifted to television in the early 1990s. The multiple award-winning TV show, hosted by Asia’s best-known quizmaster, Derek O’Brien, in his inimitable style, ruled the airwaves from 1994 to 2016. Till date, it continues to be one of the longest-running knowledge game shows on Indian television.

So are you ready for the ultimate challenge?

Puffin Classics: Another Dozen Stories

Celebrating 100 years of Satyajit Ray
A classic keepsake edition, including 12 fascinating stories by a master storyteller
Featuring Ray’s original artwork
Bestselling author of One Dozen Stories, Feluda Adventures, The Final Adventures of Professor Shonku
Includes introduction by Sharmila Tagore

Another Dozen Stories brings to you the magical, bizarre, spooky and sometimes astonishing worlds created by Satyajit Ray, featuring an extraordinary bunch of characters!

While ‘The McKenzie Fruit’ trails a humble man trying to leave his mark in history, ‘Worthless’ is a moving story about a seemingly hapless character not quite able to win the confidence of his family. Meet Professor Hijibijbij, the eccentric scientist bent on creating living replicas of peculiar creatures and follow Master Angshuman into a nail-biting and unexpected adventure on the sets of his very first film. This collection includes twelve hair-raising stories that will leave you asking for more!

Translated for the very first time into English by noted translator Indrani Majumdar, this edition is a tribute to Ray’s immaculate literary genius and a gift for his many fans and followers on the centenary of his birth.

China Room

Longlisted for Booker Prize 2021, China Room is a literary masterpiece, inspired by real-life events, from award winning author Sunjeev Sahota

‘Sunjeev Sahota’s writing is the stuff of miracles’ – Bryan Washington

‘A gorgeous, gripping read’ – Kamila Shamsie

‘I’m blown away by it. I was gripped from the first page to the last’ – Tessa Hadley

‘Such a thrilling combination of beauty and heartbreak. It’s breathtaking’ – Charlotte Mendelson

‘An intense drama of classic themes – love, family, survival, and betrayal – told with passion and precision in Sahota’s economical, lyrical prose. China Room is a brilliant novel. I won’t forget any of these characters’ – Adam Foulds

A multigenerational novel of love, oppression, trauma and the pursuit of freedom, inspired in part by the author’s own family history, China Room twines together the stories of a woman and a man separated by more than half a century but united by blood.

Mehar, a young bride in the rural Punjab of 1929, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. She and her sisters-in-law, married to three brothers in a single ceremony, spend their days hard at work in the family’s ‘china room’, sequestered from contact with the men. When Mehar develops a theory as to which of them is hers, a passion is ignited that puts more than one life at risk.

Spiralling around Mehar’s story is that of a young man who, in 1999, travels from England to the now-deserted farm, its ‘china room’ locked and barred. In enforced flight from the traumas of his adolescence-his experiences of addiction, racism and estrangement from the culture of his birth-he spends a summer in painful contemplation and recovery, before finally finding the strength to return home.

The Bird With Golden Wings

What would you do if a bird with golden wings alighted on your terrace and offered you fabulous riches?

A poor little girl is rewarded with lovely gifts when she takes pity on a hungry bird and feeds it all the rice she has, but what happens when the girl’s greedy, nosy neighbour hears the story and tries to get bigger and better gifts for herself? Why did the once sweet sea water turn salty? How did it happen that the learned teacher forgot all his lessons and had to be helped out by the school cook? And what did the king do so that the people of his kingdom did not come to know that he has horrible donkey ears hidden under his turban?

Sudha Murty’s new, enchanting collection of stories bubbles over with fun. Delightful colour illustrations bring to life tales of magical creatures, princesses and kings, ordinary witty men and women in a book that will bring hours of joy to readers young and old.

Queen of Fire

‘I will not yield. . .’

Lakshmibai, the widowed queen of Jhansi, is determined to protect her son’s right to his father’s throne and safeguard the welfare of her kingdom. Faced with machinations to take over Jhansi, at a time when all of India is rising up against the British, she has to prove her valour and sagacity time and again. But will this be enough to save all that she values?

In this gripping novel, award-winning historical novelist Devika Rangachari brings to vivid life the interior life of this nineteenth-century queen, thrust into a position she does not desire but must assume, and of her son, who is cowed by the challenges he has to face but determined to live up to his mother’s courage.

Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes

Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes is a gorgeously illustrated, one-of-a-kind book to introduce the genius of Satyajit Ray to readers young and old.

· A collector’s edition to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Satyajit Ray on 2 May 2021
· The book is an easy introduction to the genius of Satyajit Ray with short anecdotes presented in a wonderful package
· The book has gorgeous line arts that complement the text to create an engaging book that readers will enjoy reading

Tracing his magnificent life with 100 little-known and inspiring incidents as well as unusual trivia, this collectible edition pays homage to the maestro on his 100th birth anniversary.

A master filmmaker, a remarkable auteur, a writer par excellence and an artist of immense reach and range, Satyajit Ray was an indefinable genius. This book is a classic tribute that celebrates his many accomplishments across literature, music, art and more.

Exam Warriors (Revised and Updated Edition)

The new and enhanced edition of Exam Warriors by Narendra Modi is not only an inspiring book for students but also for their parents and teachers. Written in a fun and interactive style, with illustrations, activities and yoga asanas, this book will be a friend in acing exams and facing life.
Non-preachy, practical and thought-provoking, Exam Warriors is a handy guide for youth of India and across the world.

Jamlo Walks

A hard-hitting book on what the lockdown did to the people of India, particularly its young citizens

· Discusses the importance of recognizing injustice and inequality in our day to day interactions
· For ages 7 and up, the book shows the impact the 2020 lockdown had on Indian, particularly migrant labourers and children
· Powerfully illustrated and sensitively told to create an important tool for parents and educators to help young readers question how we treat each other
. A book that’s a must-have in every child and school’s library to teach readers the importance of values such as kindness, equality and compassion


It is day 7 of the lockdown and everyone says the skies are blue again.
Jamlo walks. She looks straight at the road ahead. It is long.

The world has stood still. The streets lie empty and schools are closed. All work has dried up and people keep whispering the word ‘corona’ all the time. Jamlo walks down a long and hot road, alongside hundreds of other men and women and children whom Tara sees on TV. Jamlo walks as Rahul watches the streets turn quiet.

Jamlo walks and walks in a world that needs to be kind and just and equal. A world where all lives are seen as important.

The Astoundingly True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev

Dev Dreamer Dev Braves a Volcano
Daydreamer Dev Reaches the South Pole
Daydreamer Dev Visits the Moon

Forever daydreaming-that’s Dev. Sitting in class or watching the clouds from the roof of Kwality Carpets, he floats off to places all over the world and has wonderful, bizarre adventures.
Mild-mannered schoolboy Dev is no stranger to survival in extreme environments. Classroom trances and home-made flights of fancy take him all over the place-what other kid could have visited Amazon rainforests, summited Mount Everest and crossed the Sahara? Along with the challenges of all this, he also needs to avoid the wrath of teachers and make Amma and Baba proud . . . Not so easy when your brain lives elsewhere!
In this volume, three wacky yet adrenaline-filled stories transport the reader into situations they can only dream of.
Set out with Dev on a solo expedition to reach the South Pole and report back to his teacher on global warming.
Find out which Dev finds more terrifying-going down a volcano or the baffling truth that a girl from his street has arrived there with him!
Join Dev and his trivia-mad friend OP as they become the first space stowaways on a moon landing mission.
For Dev, it has always been Access All Areas and no holds barred!

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