Do you think Indian history is boring? Check out what these ancient reporters had to say about our country many centuries ago. In his book, Indika, Megasthenes, a Greek traveller, wrote about giant meat-eating ants that dug for gold in mines somewhere in eastern India! Hiuen Tsang, from China, was witness to an assassination attempt on King Harshavardhana at a religious gathering. The Venetian Marco Polo described how the people of Kashmir could use charms to change the weather and bring about darkness. Athanasius Nikitin, from Russia, was amazed by the sultan of Bidar, who went hunting accompanied by 10,000 men on horseback, 50,000 on foot, 200 elephants, 100 dancers, 300 horses, 100 monkeys and 100 concubines! Read astonishing stories about India written by explorers who came to the country as pilgrims, students, traders, voyagers and fortune-seekers from the 3rd century BC till the mid-twentieth century. These visitors left behind fascinating accounts of their perilous journeys in an unknown land; descriptions of what the people ate, wore and thought; who ruled them and how; the strange animals of this land, and many more startling facts which are often the only written historical records of those times. Filled with incredible stories and nuggets of information, In the Country of Gold-digging Ants brings alive the exciting adventures of eleven intrepid men and women, and may just make history your most favourite subject!
Archives: Books
Fear And Forgiveness
‘Human history is not just a history of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, [and] kindness. What we choose to emphasise in this complex history will define our lives…’-Howard Zinn In February 2002, a violent storm of engineered sectarian hatred broke out and raged for many months in Gujarat; blood flowed freely on the streets and tens of thousands of homes were razed to the ground. An estimated 2000 men, women and children, mostly from the Muslim community, were raped and murdered, and more than two hundred thousand people fled in terror as their homes and livelihoods were systematically destroyed. However, Gujarat abounds with thousands of untold stories of faith and courage that endured amidst the fear and hate-Dhuraji and Babuben Thakur who sheltered 110 Muslims for ten days in their home; of Rambhai Adivasi who restored his Muslim neighbour’s roof in the face of local opposition, Rabiya of Ratanpur who waits in the hope that the people from her village will call her back one day and then every thing will be all right, Bilkis Bano and Niyaz Bibi whose perseverance and determination have made them symbols of courage in the face of adversity. Harsh Mander’s Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre, written over the past six years, is not just about the grim events of 2002, of the state’s lack of accountability and the failure of justice, of the numerous commissions and their reports, of the indiscriminate use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002, of police brutality and the trauma of relief camps. It is about the acts of compassion and courage, of the hundreds who risked their own lives and those of their families and their homes to save innocent men, women and children, and even today help the betrayed and shattered minority heal and rebuild. The book compels us to acknowledge the flaws in our judicial, social and rehabilitative structures while showing that the way forward must be one of sympathy, understanding and forgiveness.
Maudiegirl
Nobody – and the whole of Boteju Land agreed – could cook like Maudiegirl. She wielded a wizard’s wand not only in the kitchen but also over domestic problems, however large in magnitude; from predicting the sex of an unborn child to knowing more than a dozen ways to cook eels; from cutting a goat in the right way to setting failing marriages straight; from nursing the ailing to health to keeping the best kitchen, Maudiegirl had a solution to every little problem. Her home was her castle and the kitchen her domain.
In the fourth serving of his Burgher chronicles, Carl Muller reverts to his favourite family, the von Blosses of his first ‘Burgher’ book, The Jam fruit Tree. A hungry family and a wonderful cook, a kind paedophile, a cantankerous mother-in-law, a disloyal husband, good-for-nothing uncles, prudish Pentecostals, Dunnyboy’s exhibitionism, Sonnaboy’s show-of-strength- the author captures the hallmarks of the von Blosses’ days and ways in his quintessentially irreverent, witty and heart-warming style.
Maudiegirl and the von Bloss Kitchen features many of Maudiegirl’s famous recipes making the book a treat not only for Muller fans but also for the senses!
Behenji
Does her loss in the 2017 UP elections mean the end of Mayawati? What kind of legacy does she leave behind for Dalit politics?
First published in 2008, this revised edition pinpoints the reasons behind BSP’s fall in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, loss of power in the 2012 assembly elections, the humiliating zero in the 2014 national polls and her most recent electoral debacle. Also scrutinized in concise detail is Mayawati’s performance as an administrator in the face of rampant corruption charges, the leader who brought a Dalit party to power for the first time on its own, and the failure of her social engineering project during her years in power.
Through an astute mix of political analysis and extensive briefings from those close to her as well as her critics and opponents, Ajoy Bose gives us an insight into the amazing saga of Mayawati, examining her political journey over four decades-from her humble beginnings as a disciple of Kanshi Ram to becoming the chief minister of the largest state and political heartland of India, to her decline.
Nose Uncle
The silence of the night was shattered by a series of screams … a white figure, almost six feet tall, appeared out of nowhere, screaming at the top of its voice and flailing its arms … When Nisha and Ram are sent off to spend their holiday with Nose Uncle at his farm, they are not too happy. After all, Nose Uncle is old, and he is an archaeologist, so how much fun would they have? The brother and sister were never more wrong. Because when Nose Uncle is around, there’s not a dull moment. Using his magnificent nose which resembles the prow of a mighty battleship, Uncle can sniff out both ancient ruins and modern criminals. While digging in a field, looking for signs of an ancient Roman port, Uncle and his young assistants are hurled into a series of mystifying and extraordinarily dangerous adventures. Is Professor Andre Rigolet, of the Free University of Central Quebec, really what he claims to be? Why is he in danger? Who are the shadowy people digging in the dark night near their archeological dig? Then the children are kidnapped by a ruthless gang of smugglers, and it is up to Nose Uncle and his faithful ally, his nose, to get answers to these intriguing questions, solve the mystery and rescue the children. A racy adventure story, Nose Uncle marks the exciting debut of a delightful, eccentric detective.
26/11
The attack on Mumbai shocked the world. For three days terrorists wreaked havoc over multiple venues in India’s commercial capital, leaving a trail of blood, death and destruction. Reporters from Hindustan Times tracked the events as they unfolded at Cama Hospital, the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus and followed the three-day siege at the Taj and Trident Hotels and at Nariman House. The collection brings together their dispatches as well as commentaries, profiles and columns published during the siege and its aftermath. This is a dramatic snapshot of the victims, heroes and perpetrators of the attacks and also of the outrage that still grips the nation.
Banarasidas ARDHAKATHANAK
Poet; philosopher and merchant; Banarasidas had no precedent in literature or tradition that might have inspired him to write his life’s story or guided him in his task. His motivation to write his story was simple: ‘Let me tell my story to all.’ Completed in the winter of 1641; in Agra; Ardhakathanak is the first autobiography in an Indian language.
Banarsidas charms us with his transparency and frankness; revealing as much of himself as possible. And he punctuates the fast-flowing narrative of his life every now and then to muse on the nature of human existence. The result is an astonishing account that is more modern than medieval in tone; and free of formulaic conventions and stylized ornamentation.
At the end of his ‘half story’; Banarasi becomes as intimate to us as an old friend. We know the ups and downs of his life almost as well as we know our own and we come to identify with his intellectual and spiritual struggles; and perhaps even share them.
Don’t Ask Any Old Bloke For Directions
Exploring a karmic network in 25,320 kilometres After twenty years in the Indian Administrative Service, P.G. Tenzing throws off the staid life of a bureaucrat to roar across India on an Enfield Thunderbird, travelling light with his possessions strapped on the back of his bike. On the nine-month motorcycle journey without a pre-planned route or direction, he encounters acquaintances who appear to be from his karmic past: from the roadside barber to numerous waiters and mechanics— fleeting human interactions and connections that seem pre-ordained. Life on the road is full of pot holes in more ways than one, but Tenzing acquires a wheelie’s sixth sense. He is unfazed by suspicious hotel receptionists or other unkarmic sceptics who take one look at his dishevelled, unkempt appearance and ask for an advance, or a deposit or both. Tenzing’s views on life and death, friendship and love are informed by a certain dark humour. But his conviction that everything revolves around the sacred bond that humans share with each other and with the universe is deeply felt and inspiring. Sometime singer with a Gangtok band, a dabbler in vipassana meditation and a supporter of a monk’s school at Mangan, Sikkim, P.G. Tenzing is self-confessedly at a mid-life crisis point and ready for all the adventures this world has to offer.
The Indians
In this bold, illuminating and superbly readable study, India’s foremost psychoanalyst and cultural commentator Sudhir Kakar and anthropologist Katharina Kakar investigate the nature of ‘Indian-ness’. What makes an Indian recognizably so to the rest of the world, and, more importantly, to his or her fellow Indians? For, as the authors point out, despite ethnic differences that are characteristic more of past empires than modern nation states, there is an underlying unity in the great diversity of India that needs to be recognized.
Looking at what constitutes a common Indian identity, the authors examine in detail the predominance of family, community and caste in our everyday lives, our attitudes to sex and marriage, our prejudices, our ideas of the other (explored in a brilliant chapter on Hindu-Muslim conflict), and our understanding of health, right and wrong, and death. In the final chapter, they provide fascinating insights into the Indian mind, shaped largely by the culture’s dominant, Hindu world view.
Drawing upon three decades of original research and sources as varied as the Mahabharata, the Kamasutra, the writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Bollywood movies and popular folklore, Sudhir and Katharina Kakar have produced a rich and revealing portrait of the Indian people.
Nectar In A Sieve
Set in a village in southern India shortly after India gained Independence, Nectar in a Sieve portrays, through the lives of its characters ?? Rukmani, Nathan and their children ?? the hopes and aspirations of a young nation recently embarked on the path of development, surmounting many obstacles along the way. Few novels ever published have celebrated the human spirit, its sheer resilience, with greater success.
Originally published in 1954 to instant acclaim, Nectar in a Sieve became an international best-seller and was translated into seventeen languages. This edition introduces a whole new generation to this classic of modern literature.