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Catagory: Biographies, Diaries & True Accounts

Bandhan

This is the story of Bandhan, the only bank that emerged in eastern India after Independence. Founded by the son of a sweet vendor, with a mere Rs 2 lakh, the sum total of his life savings.

On 17 June, 2015, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh stepped out of the Reserve Bank of India building in Mumbai with the much-coveted banking licence, beating some of the country’s top corporate houses. This moment compensated for all the frustrations that had come along the way. A year later, Bandhan Bank was launched with 6.7 million small borrowers.

So, how did Ghosh build India’s biggest MFI from scratch and then, along with his team, transform it into a universal bank? Bandhan: The Making of a Bank chronicles that journey.

This is also Ghosh’s personal story-of a boy growing up in small-town Agartala struggling with poverty, but relentless in his ambition to make it big. He battles competition, hostile moneylenders, a tough economic climate and the perpetual lack of resources. Nobody in India perhaps knows better than him the psyche of a small borrower and the alchemy of doing business with the poor, profitably.

This is one of India’s biggest entrepreneurial stories.

The Perils Of Being Moderately Famous

What is it like to be known as Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s daughter?
Or to have a mother as famous as Sharmila Tagore?
Or to be recognized as Saif Ali Khan’s sister?
Or as Kareena Kapoor’s sister-in-law?
And where do I stand among them?
Actor Soha Ali Khan’s debut book is at heart a brilliant collection of personal essays where she recounts with self-deprecating humour what it was like growing up in one of the most illustrious families of the country. With never before published photos from her family’s archives, The Perils of Being Moderately Famous takes us through some of the most poignant moments of Soha’s life-from growing up as a modern-day princess and her days at Balliol College to life as a celebrity in the times of social media culture and finding love in the most unlikely of places-all with refreshing candour and wit.

‘An expert storyteller’-Pioneer

‘Written with absolute forthrightness and impeccable wit’-Statesman

‘Perhaps only the moderately famous celebrity should write their own stories . . . or perhaps, only Soha Ali Khan should write a memoir’-Ladies Finger

‘Tender and affectionate . . . Stardom may have gone to the brother but grace seems to be a legacy received by Soha. Significant for the perspective that rich and famous or not, in the end it’s our values that define us’-Asian Age

‘A light, breezy read, The Perils of Being Moderately Famous is unlike any other memoir’-DNA

‘Her self-deprecatory humorous streak shines through’-Free Press Journal

‘Who can resist such a warm and self-deprecating title?’-Business Standard

‘If, until now, Soha Ali Khan was moderately famous, then after reading The Perils of Being Moderately Famous I have no doubt that tomorrow she can become extremely famous’-Firstpost

‘If you are one of those who closely follows the news about royalty, Soha Ali Khan will soon give you another reason to keep your passion alive’-Mid-day

‘With a crystal-clear insight on who she is and what she has gone through, Soha proves with the book that even “moderately famous” people are normal human beings’-New Indian Express

‘Moves you to both reflect on life and chuckle at many of its moments’-Verve

‘Read it in one go and loved it. Unselfconscious, truthful, funny and wise’-Shabana Azmi

‘Soha Ali Khan is not just super confident but an amazingly courageous, brutally honest and deliciously funny person who is consistently thoughtful and naturally bright in all that she chooses to pursue-a trek, a job, a role and now motherhood . . . It is difficult to believe this is Soha Ali Khan’s debut book and I will never forgive her if this is her last book’-Bhawana Somaya

‘Absolutely delightful-urbane, witty, self-ironic! The authorial self is not isolated but, rather, embedded in a kaleidoscope of dramatis personae, events, narrative detours’-Ranjit Hoskote

‘Such a wonderful read. So warm, wise and witty’-Konkona Sen Sharma

‘You of a starry night over the Sahara are fun, simple, deep, quirky, funny, emotional, real, brave, honest and beautiful company’-Maria Goretti

‘Witty, self-depreciating but in the right way and so insightful! Some of the points made about human beings and life need to be mandatory reading!’-Sophie Choudry

The Dhoni Touch

For over a decade, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has captivated the world of cricket and over a billion Indians with his incredible ingenuity as captain, wicketkeeper and batsman. Bharat Sundaresan tracks down the cricketer’s closest friends in Ranchi and artfully presents the different shades of Dhoni-the Ranchi boy, the fauji, the diplomat, Chennai’s beloved Thala, the wicketkeeping Pythagoras-and lays bare the man underneath. He discovers a certain je ne sais quoi about the man who has a magical ability to transform and elevate everything which comes into his orbit-the Dhoni Touch.

Funny, candid, and peppered with delicious anecdotes, The Dhoni Touch reveals an ordinary man living an extraordinary life.

‘Dhoni is adored, respected, loved wildly, and yet, remains mysterious. Don’t we want to know more? I do. And this book by Bharat, a fine journalist, helps’
HARSHA BHOGLE

‘One of India’s most stylish and inquisitive cricket writers unleashes an array of helicopter shots to produce the definitive origin story of a player and captain who changed the sport in his country’
ALI MARTIN, GUARDIAN

The High Performance Entrepreneur

In The High Performance Entrepreneur, Subroto Bagchi draws from his own experiences to offer guidance from the idea stage to the initial public offering level. This includes deciding when one is ready to launch an enterprise, selecting a team, defining the values and objectives of the company, writing the business plan, choosing the right investors, managing adversity and building the brand. Additionally, in an especially illuminating chapter, Bagchi recounts the systems and values which have brought Indian IT companies on a par with the best in the world. High-performance entrepreneurs create great wealth, for themselves as well as for others. They provide jobs, which are crucial for an expanding workforce, and drive innovation. More than a guide, this book will tap the entrepreneurial energy within you.

Dawood’s Mentor

Tired of being bullied, a scrawny, impoverished Dawood Ibrahim is looking for a saviour, Khalid Khan Bachcha, who would teach him the ropes of handling a bunch of hooligans. Instead, what he gets is a mentor who eventually transforms him into a cunning mafia boss.

In Dawood’s Mentor, Dawood meets Khalid and they eventually forge an unlikely friendship. Together they defeat, crush and neutralize every mafia gang in Mumbai. Khalid lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate like no other and becomes India’s most wanted criminal.

Healed

Healed is the powerful, moving and deeply personal story of actor Manisha Koirala’s battle against ovarian cancer. From her treatment in the US and the wonderful care provided by the oncologists there to how she rebuilt her life once she returned home, the book takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride through her many fears and struggles, and shows how she
eventually came out triumphant.
Today, as she completes six years of being cancer-free, she shares her story-one marked by apprehensions, disappointments and uncertainties-and the lessons she learnt along the way. Through
her journey, she unravels cancer for us and inspires us to not buckle under its fear, but emerge alive, kicking and victorious.

The Tata Group

The Tata Group is India’s largest and most globalized business conglomerate, with over 100 companies offering products and services across 150 countries, and 7,25,000 employees contributing a revenue of US$110 billion. Tata businesses span ten varied verticals. How did they come so far? How did they groom leadership, delight customers, drive business excellence and acquire global corporations? How did they create greater shareholder wealth than leading multinationals? How did they maintain a brand and corporate values that are considered a gold standard?

From the Victorian era to Independence, and from Licence Raj to a new millennium of globalization, the Tata saga has been nonpareil and deeply interwoven with the destiny of a resurgent nation. It encompasses the role of visionaries like Jamsetji and Dorabji Tata, and doyens such as JRD and Ratan Tata, in building iconic institutions that have played a remarkable role in the making of a self-reliant India.

This deep-dive into the Tata universe brings forth hitherto lesserknown facts and insights. It also brings you face to face with business decisions and their makers. How did Tata Motors turn around Jaguar Land Rover when Ford failed to do so? Why did three successive governments stall the entry of the Tatas into civil aviation? How did Tanishq transition from a near-failure to a stupendous success? Why wasn’t Tata Steel’s Corus acquisition successful? The result of over a decade of rigorous research, pan-India site visits and interviews with over 100 Tata leaders, this bestseller decodes the Tata way of business, making it an exceptional blend of a business biography, a leadership handbook and a management classic.

The Class of 83

At a time when Mumbai was plagued by underworld gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim, Iqbal Kaskar and Chhota Rajan, the batch of 1983 from the Police Training School (PTC) in Nashik-trained by the legendary Arvind Inamdar-produced a group of prominent encounter specialists who have been credited with bringing back the rule of law in the city.

Famed even within this batch, trigger-happy senior police inspector Pradeep Sharma understood that to save the city from the clutches of the underworld, he would need to dilute rival gangs. The Class of 83 delves deep into the most famous (or infamous) encounters conducted by Sharma and his batch mates. Pradeep Sharma was arrested by the same department he had served for two-and-a-half decades. He faced the ignominy of jail, clubbed in the same cell as the criminals he had arrested. However, he fought for his honour, was acquitted and reinstated into service.

In The Class of 83, S. Hussain Zaidi presents a one-of-a-kind story of a policeman’s triumphs, struggles and redemption.

I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier

I don’t write about my experiences with depression to defend the legitimacy of my pain. My pain is real; it does not come to me because of my lifestyle, and it is not taken away by my lifestyle.

Unwittingly known as Alia Bhatt’s older sister, screenwriter and fame-child Shaheen Bhatt has been a powerhouse of quiet restraint-until recently. In a sweeping act of courage, she now invites you into her head.

Shaheen was diagnosed with depression at eighteen, after five years of already living with it. In this emotionally arresting memoir, she reveals both the daily experiences and big picture of one of the most debilitating and critically misinterpreted mental illnesses in the twenty-first century. Equal parts conundrum and enlightenment, Shaheen takes us through the personal pendulum of understanding and living with depression in her privileged circumstances. With honesty and a profound self-awareness, Shaheen lays claim to her sadness, while locating it in the universal fabric of the human condition.

In this multi-dimensional, philosophical tell-all, Shaheen acknowledges, accepts and overcomes the peculiarities of living with depression. A topic of massive interest to anyone with mental health disorders, I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier stretches out its hand to gently provide solace and solidarity.

The Test of My Life

‘That day I cried like a baby not because I feared what cancer would do but because I didn’t want the disease. I wanted my life to be normal, which it could not be.’

For the first time Yuvraj Singh tells the real story behind the 2011 World Cup when on-the-field triumph hid his increasingly puzzling health problems and worrying illnesses. In his debut book
The test of my life, he reveals how—plagued with insomnia, coughing fits that left him vomiting blood, and an inability to eat—he made a deal with God. On the night before the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final, Yuvraj prayed for the World Cup in return for anything God wanted.

In this book, he lays bare his fears, doubts, and the lows he experienced during chemotherapy—when he lost his energy, his appetite, and his hair—and his battle to find the will to survive. Poignant, personal, and moving—The test of my life—is about cancer and cricket; but more importantly, it is about the human will to fight adversity and triumph despite all odds.

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