From The Rig Veda To Myriads Of Folk Narratives, The Belief In Demons Prevails All Over India, Vividly Illustrating That A Demon Is Something People Fear Because It Is Beyond Their Comprehension And Control. Time And Again, The Menacing And Uncontrollable Forces Of Night, Darkness And Death, Along With Powerful Defeated Enemies And Incomprehensible Natural Phenomena, Are Demonized.
The Book Of Demons Presents A Perceptive Overview Of The Various Types Of Demonic Beings And Concepts That Exist In Hindu Literature, Supplemented With A Dictionary Of Individual Demons For Ready Reference. Besides The Well-Known Rakshasas And Asuras, The Author Also Reveals A Densely Populated World Of Lesser-Known, But Equally Fascinating, Demonic Creatures. Andhaka (Blind Darkness), Conceived When Parvati Playfully Covered Shiva S Eyes And The World Was Plunged Into Darkness; Gajamukha, The Elephant-Faced Demon Who Was Transformed Into A Mouse By Ganesha And Then Converted Into His Vehicle; Jambha, The Demon-Leader Who Snatched The Pot Of Immortal Nectar From The Ocean During The Great Churning; Maya, The Demonic Equivalent Of Vishvakarma, Architect Of The Gods, Who Built The Three Cities Of Tripura; And Putana, The Demon Who Tried To Kill Krishna By Suckling Him With Poisoned Breasts.
Male Or Female, Human, Animal, Plant, Or Simply A Concept Demons Play A Pivotal Role In Our Mythical Traditions. Blending Insightful Erudition And Lively Description, Nanditha Krishna Brings To Life The Traits And Actions Of A Host Of Complex, Colourful, Monstrous And Intriguing Demons That Inhabit Indian Religion And Mythology.
Archives: Books
Shaam-e-Awadh
In 1528 the Mughal Sultanate conquered and formally incorporated Awadh as one of its constituent provinces. With the decline of Mughal power the nawab-vazirs of Awadh began to assert their independence. After the East India Company appropriated half of Awadh as ‘indenmity’, the then nawab, Asaf’ud Daulah, moved his capital to Lucknow in 1775. A move that resulted in the growth of the city and its distinctive culture known as’Lakhnavi tehzeeb’.
Since then, nawabi Lucknow has undergone enormous changes. The refinement of ‘pehle aap’ has all but disappeared. Originally built to support a hundred thousand people, amid palaces, gardens and orchards, the city now staggers under the burden of fifty times that number. Its unchecked growth and collapsed civic amenities are slowly draining the life and beauty of this once vibrant city.
The rich and flamboyant culture has faded amidst the decay that has eaten into the fabric of the city and the corruption and treachery that permeate the government. In separate pieces William Dalrymple and Barry Bearak trace the decline of Lucknow—the city, its architecture, people, politics, governance—and the sad end of the havelis and their once grandiose occupants. The elegiac Marsia tradition of the Shias strives to be heard over angry chants of ‘Hulla Bol’ of political rallies in Mrinal Pande’s account of her visit to the city. And, in his hyperbolic saga of seven generations of the fictional Anglo-Indian Trotter family, I. Allan Sealy meanders through two hundred years of Lucknow’s chequered history.
However, despite the apparent disintegration, Lucknow’s ineffable spirit can still be found—in the tantalizing flavours of Lakhnavi cuisine; the delicate artistry of chikankari; the legendary courtesans and the defiant voice of the rekhti; the melodious notes of the ghazaI and the thumri …
Engaging and thoughtful, Shaam-e-Awadh: Writings on Lucknow celebrates the unique character of this city of carnivals and calamities.
Penguin Companion to the Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of India’s most revered epics – a transcendental, monumental literary and spiritual narrative with contemporary resonance.
One of the founding epics of Indian culture, the Mahabharata is transfused with ancient Indian wisdom. It is the foremost reference for classical Indian civilization and has great influence on Indian and South-East Asian religion, art, literature and popular culture. At its core, it tells the story of an apocalyptic eighteen-day war for territorial power which pined brothers against brothers and sons against fathers, ended one age and began another. The epic’s spiritual message unfolds through the many digressions and subplots of the story which presents sweeping visions of the universe and captivating glimpses of divinity. The Mahabharata also introduces one of Hinduism’s most well-loved gods, Krishna, whose religio-philosophic discourse on the four human goals–kama, artha, dharma and moksha-is contained in the most important Hindu text, the Gita.
This companion chronologically recounts the events of the Mahabharata, also providing the reader with
– An episode-by-episode outline of the Mahabharata
– Interesting, little-known facts about the epic
– An account of a journal on how the Pandavas spent their twelve years in exile
– A compilation of mythological concepts with detailed explanations
– New insights into the spectrum of characters
– Mythical place-names and their present names and locations
– User-friendly information valuable for students, scholars and the general reader alike
The Potion Of Eternity
This story is packed with the weirdest, meanest and funniest assortment of ghouls, witches, and Yogis.
Unwaba Revelations
Under the all-seeing eyes of the assembled gods, armies are on the move. The Game has begun. And when it ends, the world will end too . . .
In The Unwaba Revelations, the third and concluding part of the GameWorld trilogy, a way must be found to save the world; to defeat the gods at their own game. A daunting prospect under any circumstances, made worse by the fact that the gods, who control all the heroes, are blatantly cheating by following only one rule—that they cannot be defeated by their own creations.
As epic battles ravage the earth, Kirin and Maya, guided only by an old, eccentric and extremely unreliable chameleon, and egged on by the usual rag-tag gang, carry out their secret plan; a plan so secret that, in fact, no one involved has any idea what they are doing!
Monsters, mayhem, mud-swamps; conspiracies, catastrophes, chimeras; betrayals, buccaneers, bloodshed—The Unwaba Revelations continues the roller coaster journey that began with The Simoqin Prophecies and gathered momentum with The Manticore’s Secret. Traversing earth, sea and sky, realms both infernal and celestial, worlds both imagined and material, this book will draw you irresistibly into a tantalizing, action-packed, epic race to reclaim the flawed, magical world of its heroes.
‘A fresh and very original voice’ —Indian Express
Praise for The Simoqin Prophecies and The Manticore’s Secret
‘Simoqin is a romp. It is quite simply the most fun book to see in print this year’ —The Times of India
‘Basu sprinkles [The Manticore’s Secret] with sass and spice, telling the tale from different points of view and in different voices—moving between each with ease and a sense of humour that is infectious’ —DNA
The Puffin Book Of Classic School Stories
A collection of all-time favourite school stories. Meet the world’s naughtiest boys and girls, the best and the worst students and some really famous children in this book as they make their way through school. Read about David Copperfield and his friendship with Steerforth, Tom Brown trying to find his feet in Rugby school, and Jane Eyre fighting poverty and disease in a school for orphans. Not to forget those other irrepressible and immortal boys, Richmal Crompton’s William Brown, Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, RK Narayan’s Swami and Ruskin Bond’s Rusty. Also included are stories from such classics as Anne of Avonlea, Little Men, Stalky and Co., and To Sir, With Love. By turns hilarious and heartwarming, these classic tales are about growing up and the time spent in that one place which is so beloved to some and so hated by others-school.
Eating India
In Eating India, award-winning food writer Chitrita Banerji takes us on an extraordinary journey through a national cuisine formed by generations of arrivals, assimilations and conquests. Traveling across the length and breadth of the country-from Bengal to Goa and Karnataka, via the Grand Trunk Road, then northwards to Amritsar, Lucknow and Varanasi, on to Bombay and Kerala-Banerji discovers a civilization with an insatiable curiosity, one that consumes the old and the new with eager voracity. Weaving together myths and folklore associated with food, the people and their culture, the author narrates captivating accounts of life in the subcontinent: the legend behind the week-long harvest festival of Onam; the strictly observed rules of kosher in the Jewish households of Cochin; the best Benarasi thandai that has a dollop of bhang in it; and the food and culture of the indigenous people who hover on the edges of mainstream consciousness, among others. Eating India is also peppered with fascinating tidbits from India’s history: the use of ‘shali’ rice to make pilafs during the Mughal period; the advent of chillies with the arrival of the Portuguese; British, apart from Goan, influence on Parsi society that prompted the Parsis to open the first girls’ school in India in 1849; and the medieval movable feast that unfolded on the travellers’ platter as they moved from east to west on Sher Shah Suri’s Sarak-i-Azam. At different points in her journey, Banerji shows us how restructuring old customs and making innovations is what India is all about: food in India has always been and still is fusion-one that is forever evolving. Certain to enchant anyone enamoured of Indian food and culture, Eating India is a heady blend of travelogue and food writing.
The Shattered Thigh & Other Plays
The Girl
The Blind Pilgrim
Meet Pooch, the mongoose along with scorpions, crabs, centipedes and other insects and reptiles in the pages of this charming little book as they talk about their habits and eccentricities – in verse! Did you know that the cobra cannot hear, and ‘dances’ because it is following the movements of the snake charmer’s flute? That the hermit crab does not have a shell of its own and has to go about looking for one that fits? And what, exactly, does the cockroach feel when you flee screaming from it? Crackling with wit, and full of fun facts, these poems by the author of the widely acclaimed “Cobra in My Kitchen”, are a must read for poetry and nature lovers alike.