Loya is twenty-five: solitary, sincere, with restless stirrings in her heart. In an uncharacteristic move, she sets off on an unexpected journey, away from her mother, Rukmini, and her home in Bengaluru, to distant, misty Assam. She comes looking for her beloved Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, but also seeks someone else-her grandfather, Torun Ram Goswami, someone she has never met before. She arrives at the Yellow House on the banks of the Brahmaputra, where Torun lives, not knowing that her life is about to change. Twenty-five years ago, Rukmini had been cast out of the family home by her mother, the formidable and charismatic Usha, while Torun watched silently. Loya now seeks answers, both from him and from the place that her mother once called home. In her quest, she finds an understanding not only of herself and her life but also of the precarious bonds that tie people together.
A delicate, poignant portrait of family and all that it contains, Undertow becomes, in the hands of this gifted writer, an exploration of much more: home and the outside world, the insider and the outsider, and the ever-evolving nature of love itself.
Catagory: Fiction
Fiction main category
Endless Song
A dazzling translation of one of the most revered ancient Bhakti poems
The Tiruvaymoli (sacred utterance or sacred truth) is a grand 1102-verse poem, composed in the ninth century by Sathakopan-Nammalvar, the greatest of the alvar poets. Ingeniously weaving a garland of words-where each beginning is also an ending-the poet traces his cyclical quest for union with the supreme lord, Visnu. In this magnificent translation, Archana Venkatesan transports the flavour and cadences of Tamil into English, capturing the different voices and range of emotions through which the poet expresses his enduring desire for release. The scholarly introduction illuminates the poem’s kaleidoscopic brilliance and the traditions of devotional religiosity it inspired.
The World Between Us
When Amal finds out that her disastrous Tinder match is now going to be her boss, she can’t be more annoyed. Qais Ahmed is everything she never wants to be: narcissistic, manipulative and arrogant.
However, despite her relentless efforts, she is unable to resist his charm and wit and is drawn to him once she gets to know the real him.
She soon discovers that he isn’t just a part of her professional life but has a deep connection to a past she is trying to forget.
Will this disturbing secret tear them apart or bind them together forever?
Pocketful O’ Stories 2
ITC Engage, one of India’s leading fragrance brands is back with its much-loved bestselling series Pocketful O’Stories 2.0 in collaboration with the bestselling romance novelist Durjoy Datta.
This year’s theme, @LOVEIMPROMTWO was inspired by the newly launched 2-in-1 Pocket Perfume which makes sure that you are always ready for romance. People were invited to submit microtales on the unexpected and impromptu moments of love. Almost 25,000 entries were received within a month, making the second edition bigger than the first. Here’s presenting a compilation of the best stories that also includes Durjoy’s own microtales on unexpected moments of romance.
Soar
Bholanath and Khudabaksh are two soldiers in the British Indian Army, sent off to Europe to fight in World War I. One happens to be Hindu and the other happens to be Muslim, but that doesn’t keep them from being the best of friends.
When a mission in a surveillance balloon goes awry, these two gentle soldiers-along with an exceptionally ill-tempered squirrel-are set adrift high above the Western Front. What follows is a grand tragicomic adventure, taking them into the heavens and across a continent gone mad with war. Together, they learn about the worst humankind can do . . . and how true friends, however unalike their identities may be, can soar above it all.
Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak was deeply spiritual from an early age, having being born into a
society caught in the throes of orthodoxy and ritualism. The ills of child
marriage, infanticide and a rigid caste system had further crippled his people.
The outpouring of Nanak’s faith evolved into the universal message of the
omnipresence and existence of one God, of true love, equality and compassion,
which appealed to Hindus and Muslims alike.
Drawing upon the various myths and legends contained in anecdotal biographies
and placing them in as precise a historical framework as possible, The Book of
Nanak traces the chronology of the main events of Nanak’s life. It sheds new
light on Guru Nanak’s message and includes translations of some of his hymns,
which continue to inspire people the world over.
Teach Yourself Hindi
The easiest way to learn Hindi (or any other language) is to hear it spoken. This book, designed by a successful Hindi teacher to foreigners, creates an “audio” effect for quicker grasp and assimilation. Rules of grammar have been explained only where absolutely necessary. A direct conversational style, with the help of a minimal vocabulary, phrases and sentences, makes learning Hindi effortless and pleasurable. Correct pronunciation is a difficult exercise, especially for tongues not accustomed to Devanagari script. Diacritical marks have been provided to indicate different sounds and accents. By repeated practice with the help of the book one can acquire a working knowledge of spoken and written Hindi – and then, if one prefers, pursue advanced study.
English
The narrator in Jeet Thayil’s second full-length collection abandons the sectarian histories of 1990s’ Bombay for New York City-and the events of September 11, 2001. In the faux prologue poem, ‘About the Author’, he stands on ‘Sixth, watching ruin, with/a handful of rain and a prophecy’, a citizen of no country except the republic that gives the book its title. English here is more than a language. It is a source of divinity, and it holds a hard-won tenderness for all things living.
Locha 20+
Vihaan Pratap Singh, Allahabad University. A typical, fearless student leader, Sheikh Saman Khan, who belongs to a Muslim family. In the chaos of the functional elections and Civil Services selections, they both fall in love. How did this happen? What happens to both of them? Does love which blossomed at the sight of each other’s faces, end in bed?Welcome to Locha 20+.
This is the story of Vihaan, Vivek and Aakash and Vish who study in the Oxford of North India and aspire to both IAS and politics. What will happen when a beautiful girl enters the life of four free-thinking boys at this tender age?
9 Easy Steps to Complete Health & Well Being
Nature has endowed each one of us with a complete blueprint for health, progress and harmony. The recipe for this, however, eludes many of us as we struggle with the challenges of life. Every bit of information about health we look at appears to be a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. This book is a unique and magnificent blend of modern science and traditional philosophy that provides a comprehensive analysis on the essentials for mental, physical and spiritual health. Presented herein are simple and easy steps for complete health and well – being. Improve your present and shape your future because destiny is the result of choices you make with the chances you are given.