Set in Malgudi, a corrupt tourist guide, together with his lover, the dancer Rosie, leads a prosperous life before he is thrown into prison. After release he rests on the steps of an abandoned temple when a peasant passing by mistakes him for a holy man. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he begins to play the part, acting as a spiritual guide to the village community. Raju’s holiness is put to the test when a drought strikes the village, and he is asked to fast for twelve days to summon the rains.
‘The best of R.K. Narayan’s enchanting novels’-New Yorker
‘A brilliant accomplishment . . . Narayan is the compassionate man who can write of human life as comedy’-New York Times Book Review
‘Narayan is such a natural writer, so true to his experience and emotions’-V.S. Naipaul
Television is the single most powerful and dynamic agent of change in India today. It is also the country’s most popular and accessible form of entertainment. Remote Control examines three kinds of programming-24×7 news, soap operas and reality shows-that have changed Indian television forever, and analyzes how these three genres, while drawing on different sources, are hybridized, indigenized and manage to ultimately project a distinctively Indian identity. Shoma Munshi’s book shows us how everyday reality in India in the twenty-first century shapes television; and how television, in turn, shapes us.
At the centre of India’s social churn and high political drama is Bihar, a state with great untapped potential. After bursting on to the scene in the late 1980s and becoming Bihar’s uncrowned ruler, Lalu Prasad Yadav was challenged by his erstwhile comrade Nitish Kumar. Unable to oust Lalu from power with his small, new party, Nitish made an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A quiet but canny politician, Nitish Kumar, as the chief minister, brought back law and order, roads, education and health to the fore of governance, aspects sorely lacking during Lalu’s long rule. But the entry of Narendra Modi into the national political scene in 2013 rocked the alliance’s boat. Nitish’s switching of alliance between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the BJP around that time cost him enormously in terms of political goodwill.
Will Nitish be able to restore his esteem by making Bihar a model state for India’s post-Independence journey? In this riveting narrative, seasoned journalist Arun Sinha tells the intertwined stories of Bihar’s political theatre and Nitish’s rule with incisive candour and in-depth research. The Battle for Bihar is a clear-sighted study of the turbulent state that could show India’s politics its way forward.
How was IIMA born? Who were the key players? What has made its name synonymous with success?
Established in 1961, IIMA is the first Indian business school to achieve international recognition. In 2002, Economist Intelligence Unit’s list declared IIMA as the most selective management school in the world. And in 2011, IIMA was ranked at No. 7 in Financial Times’ global ranking of master’s in management programmes.
In this well-researched book, Prafull Anubhai charts the journey of this premier institution from its inception: the construction of its iconic campus by American architect Louis Kahn, the policies and processes that set the benchmark, the exemplary leadership exhibited by its various chairmen and directors, and its vision and future challenges. The IIIMA Story weaves all the threads together to present a vivid history of an iconic institution that has shaped many lives.
The customer is king. With rising consumer awareness and cut-throat competition, it is important to provide services which are differentiable and memorable for consumers. With a ringside view to customer service, Debashis Sarkar, who has held leadership positions with Unilever, Coca Cola, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered, shares valuable observations about customer service excellence.
How Can I Help You? hands you strategies and tactics to retain and nurture customers by laying down the five major pitfalls to be sidestepped while dealing with customer service. Richly illustrated with case studies and examples, this book is an essential read for every modern professional.
Would you like to free up your mind to solve more problems and make better decisions? Is your company suffering from bottlenecks in decision-making? Are your next-in-line managers or team members adequately prepared to take on all challenges when the time comes for them to move up a level? Do your leaders and peers simply wish they had more time? Would you like to spend more time creating solutions rather than wasting your time worrying about situations and their impact?
If the answers to these questions is a ‘Yes’, Lead 3D shows you a new and exciting way to manage your time and business without changing its structure, by simply realigning your individual thinking and organizational decision-making workload. It presents some interesting ways to engage your mind and thereby your organization.
Why is it that, sometimes, a single pattern repeats itself endlessly through every sphere of an individual’s life, despite their best efforts to change it?
Using his path-breaking method of diagnosis, the sensation method, Dr Sankaran explains that an individual’s perception of stress is shaped by an inner pattern, or song, which is connected to one of the three kingdoms in nature-animal, plant or mineral. Identifying this fundamental connection enables homeopaths to cure ailments at their root.
Insightful, accessible and lucid, Natural Kingdoms tells the story of the homeopathic process through the case studies of three individuals-it will encourage you to discover your own inner song to bring about better health and harmony in your life.
FROM THE ACCLAIMED IIMA BUSINESS BOOKS SERIES
How can you better manage your inventory by looking at the past movement of your stock?
How can you ensure that your customer mailings target the right people to make the most impact?
How do you go about hiring the appropriate people for a job profile?
Business analytics, the method by which data around a business is analysed to better determine the choices we make, is your answer. In this accessible, user-friendly book, Professor Arnab K. Laha explains the relevance of this growing field in business and looks at its uses in marketing, finance, operations and HR. He also devotes a special section to setting up business analytics for your workplace. With examples and case studies, How to Make the Right Decision is the most useful book you can buy for yourself and your business.
If you are among those who tremble and break into a sweat at the thought of facing an audience, or hesitate in offering an opinion, you are not alone. If this has happened to you a few times, you might feel that spoken communication is not your forte. In this book, using interactive and accessible methods, along with a host of useful examples, Prof. Meenakshi Sharma shows you how you can sharpen your ability to leave an impact on others with every interaction.
The integration of alternative medicine with conventional medicine is revolutionizing healthcare across the world. This single volume dictionary features entries ranging from acupoint therapy and abdominal breathing to Iyengar Yoga.
