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.
Archives: Books
It All Adds Up
Soulmates
Desire Named Development
The predatory neo-liberal capitalism that has become the norm in PBI – India over the last two decades raises many uncomfortable questions. Today, consumption defines what we are. And with the western capitalist model reigning supreme, all of us seem to have been reduced to being just consumers in the eyes of the government.
The effect on PBI – India’s peasantry has been tremendous. The recent tragic stories played out in Kalinganagar, Singur and Nandigram show how many farmers suddenly find themselves up against the might of the state. The ‘theft’ of agricultural land from poor farmers in the name of progress has become routine.
Meanwhile, private corporations continue to ravage the country’s natural resources without any protest from the administration.
In Desire Named Development, Aditya Nigam makes the case for dismantling some cherished beliefs and for restructuring the economy and our cities in particular ways. A substantial change in government policies and PBI – Individual consumption habits can still make another PBI – World possible for PBI – India’s future.
The Service Of The State
Mother Pbi – India
Between Lives
Right in the middle of a buzzing Malaysian city is a magnificent forest, now a piece of prime real estate and the perfect setting for a swanky theme park. The trouble, however, is Sellamma, the old woman who owns the forest land, and refuses to budge. Sumitra, who works for the Social Reconstruction Department, is given the challenging task of convincing the old lady to move into a welfare home. A great believer in her people skills and a focused professional, Sumitra is used to tackling all kind of cases. But, somehow, Sellamma eludes her manoeuvres. Instead, Sumitra finds herself falling under the spell of the lazy afternoons she spends with the old woman and her dog, listening to stories by the gushing river. Bewitched by the hidden sounds of the forest that punctuate the ageless woman’s narrative, she begins to reflect on her life and choices. On her death, Sellamma leaves Sumitra with yet another choice by bequeathing the land to her. Set in a mesmerizing landscape, and illuminating the eternal struggle between the old and the new, Between Lives reveals to us a journey of self-reflection and the hope of recovering what is lost forever to humanity.
Shiva Plays Dumb Charades
Five children are having fun one evening; playing dumb charades; when Shiva appears and wants to join in! Shiva turns out to be the best at dumb charades; as well as in asking riddles. He can say so much with only his actions! He also tells the children wonderful stories with the help of the many objects he carries with him; like the rattle drum; the crescent moon and a fountain of water that rises from his head. Soon; thanks to Shiva’s playfulness; the children know much more about Shiva and the other gods—even more than their parents!
Kama vs Yama
Jayshree loves doing homework! But one day; instead of studying; she hears voices out in the garden and goes out to see who’s there. She meets a strange man called Kama. Poor Kama was made invisible by an angry Shiva once. Now that Jayshree can see him he shows her all the magic he can do—make butterflies appear; bees buzz; fill the garden with fragrant flowers. But then Yama appears; and he does not like playing at all! Yama believes only in working. Kama and Yama start fighting about who Jayshree will be friends with. Who do you think Jayshree will choose—the fun-loving; naughty Kama; or the stern; no-nonsense Yama?
Beyond The Border
‘I was born in India. Your grandparents were born in what is now Pakistan. But they live in India and I in Pakistan. Strange, isn’t it?’
Beyond the Border, based on two journeys to Pakistan, is a strikingly unconventional account of what life is like for ‘ordinary’ Pakistanis. Yoginder Sikand discovers a country that only remotely resembles
the stereotype of the hostile Muslim neighbour all too common in the Indian imagination. From Shiela, the daughter of a feudal landlord, named after her mother’s Indian best friend, to the owner of a rundown local eatery who refused to take any money as Sikand was the first Indian to visit his stall, the author’s encounters with Pakistanis from all walks of life in Lahore, Multan, Hyderabad (Sind), Moenjo Daro, Bhit Bhah, Islamabad—among other places—reveal a country that is unexpected, paradoxical and rich in diverse narratives.
Departing from the fi ercely polemical rhetoric common in Indian and Pakistani accounts of each other, Yoginder Sikand not only goes beyond the strategist’s view of the India–Pakistan divide, but dispels the myths about Pakistan as the terrible ‘other’ that have fi ltered into the Indian psyche.
This brilliantly perceptive and quirky travelogue illuminates the Pakistani side of the story while telling Sikand’s own tale of exploration and self-discovery.