Something has happened to English; and something has happened to Hindi. These two languages, widely spoken across India, need to be understood anew through their ‘hybridization’ into Hinglish-a mixture of Hindi and English that has begun to make itself heard everywhere-from daily conversation to news, films, advertisements and blogs.
How did this popular form of urban communication evolve? Is this language the new and trendy idiom of a youthful population no longer competent in either English or Hindi? Or is it an Indianized version of a once-colonial language, claiming its legitimate place alongside India’s many bhashas?
Chutnefying English: The Phenomenon of Hinglish, the first book on the subject, takes a serious look at this widespread phenomenon of our times which has pervaded every aspect of our daily lives. It addresses the questions that many speakers of both languages ask time and again: should Hinglish be spurned as the bastard offspring of its two parent languages, or welcomed as the natural and legitimate result of their long-term cohabitation? Leading scholars from literature, cultural studies, translation, cinema and new media come together to offer a collection of essays that is refreshingly new in thought and content.
Sonia Gandhi’s transformation from an unsure Congress party president to the unchallenged political chief of the ruling United Progressive Alliance government happened with some speed in the aftermath of the Congress-led coalition’s surprise victory in the 2004 general election. Her renunciation of the prime minister’s post enhanced her moral stature in the public eye, but it is her skilled handling of the equation with the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, that indicates the emergence of a self-confident politician, secure in her position at the helm of national affairs. In this fully revised and updated biography, Rasheed Kidwai tracks the evolution of the new Sonia Gandhi against the backdrop of the Congress party’s return to power after years in the Opposition. The last five years have witnessed the Congress president’s growing assurance in her dealings with party stalwarts, with coalition partners and Opposition leaders. Drawing on his long experience as a political journalist, Kidwai chronicles how Rahul Gandhi’s smooth passage into the front rank of the party’s leadership was achieved and gives a vivid account of how Sonia Gandhi navigated such critical moments as the ‘office of profit’ crisis, the presidential election, the Indo-US nuclear deal and the vote of confidence. In Sonia, A Biography, Rasheed Kidwai tells the extraordinary story of one of India’s most enigmatic women, whose journey from the small Italian town of Orbassano to 10 Janpath, New Delhi, is one of the most fascinating in contemporary India.
Rabindranath Tagore reinvented the Bengali novel with Farewell Song; blurring the lines between prose and poetry and creating an effervescent blend of romance and satire. Through Amit and Labanya and a brilliantly etched social milieu; the novel addresses contemporary debates about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ writing; the nature of love and conjugality; and the influence of Western culture on Bengali society. Set against the idyllic backdrop of Shillong and the mannered world of elite Calcutta society; this sparkling novel expresses the complex vision and the mastery of style that characterized Tagore’s later works.
A tribute to the first Singer-Superstar of Indian Cinema
Hailed as shahenshah-e-mausiqi (emperor of music) and acclaimed as the ghazal king, K.L. Saigal became a phenomenon in his own lifetime. Idolized for his distinctive style by the first generation of Bollywood playback singers, he is now also the subject of study by several scholars.
With no formal training, Saigal recorded 185 songs, including the immortal Diya jalao jagmag jagmag, Rumjhum rumjhum chaal tihari, Baag laga doon sajani and Jab dil hi toot gaya. He also acted in thirty-six feature films, including Tansen, Street Singer and Shahjehan. His popularity, however, skyrocketed with Devdas in which he played the doomed lover to perfection, a portrayal which would influence every actor playing a tragic hero thereafter.
This book, interspersed with archival photographs and appended with a filmography and selected songs, provides a fascinating account of one of Hindi cinema’s greatest legends.
Most students of science in Indian high schools aspire to join one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Thus competition for admission is fierce and staying one step ahead, the IITs make their Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) more difficult each year. each year Bansal Casses, the premier tutoring institute for the IIT-JEE, puts more students into the IITs than any other. bansal classes is the brainchild of V.K. Bansal who began his career as a tutor teaching a single sutdent on his dining table. he had just been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and was on the verge of losing his job with JK Synthetics Limited. today, bansal classes is based in three centres in Rajasthan – Kota, Ajmer and Jaipur – and total annual revenues are pegged at over a billion rupees. The Kota centre along admits almost 20,000 students each year, of which 10% make it to the IITs. and more astounding is the cascading effect bansal classes has had on the town of Kota, which has gained a name as a major hub for specialized tutoring. It all Adds Up is the inspiring story of a man who overcame disability to rewrite his destiny. and in so doing, he turned around the fortunes of an entire city.
