Publish with Us

Follow Penguin

Follow Penguinsters

Follow Penguin Swadesh

Solo

Barely a year into college, Indrajeet More is offered to host a travel show on budget backpacking across India.

As he undertakes a year-long journey across thirteen cities, what unfolds is a string of surreal life experiences—from getting lost in the forests of coastal Karnataka to camping amid the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, from hunting for the best toddy shop in rural Kerala to dancing to the beats of Naga folk songs.

Through this journey, Indrajeet discovers novelty and relatability in diverse cultures by reflecting on his upbringing in a Maharashtrian household. He navigates the inevitable boredom of solo travel and the anxiety of uncertainty, ultimately seeking belongingness in the most unfamiliar of places.

Solo is a raw, unfiltered backpacker’s gaze at contemporary India, about learning to read people beyond language, understanding food beyond ingredients, hearing stories beyond regions and, most importantly, finding a sense of home away from home.

Bharat Ek Khoj/भारत एक खोज

इस पुस्तक को पंडित जवाहरलाल नेहरू ने भारत की स्वतंत्रता से पहले 1942-1945 के दौरान अहमदनगर किले में कैद होने के दौरान लिखा था।
इसमें नेहरू जी ने सिंधु घाटी सभ्यता से लेकर भारत की आज़ादी तक विकसित हुई भारत की बहुविध समृद्ध संस्कृति, धर्म और अतीत का वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि से विश्लेषण किया है।
उन्होंने भारत के इतिहास के प्रति विभिन्न दृष्टिकोणों में सामंजस्य स्थापित करने का प्रयास किया और खुद को सामंजस्य का एक आदर्श प्रस्तुत किया।
जवाहरलाल नेहरू जी इस पुस्तक के बारे में स्वयं लिखते हैं कि इतिहास मनुष्य के संघर्ष की कहानी है; जंगली जानवरों और जंगल के विरुद्ध और अपने ही कुछ लोगों के विरुद्ध, जिन्होंने उसे दबाए रखने और अपने लाभ के लिए उसका शोषण करने की कोशिश की।

My Truth

Originally titled Mari Hakikat, this is the autobiography of one of the foremost figures in Gujarati literature: Narmadashankar Dave (1833–1886), popularly known as Narmad. The book, part of the Chronicles series of non-fiction translations from Indian languages, is a fascinating assemblage of different forms of writing—diary, reflection, poetry—that document the early period of Narmad’s life. It is an example of a new awakening and new genres that enabled the self to be expressed within the framework of traditional thought. Abhijit Kothari’s English translation, My Truth, brings to readers beyond Gujarat and India this landmark book for the first time. Scholars of India’s intellectual history, as well as literary scholars and students, will find this significant text made available in an elegant translation valuable.

Hedgewar (Founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)

Hedgewar chronicles the untold story of the enigmatic founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose vision for India’s cultural revival continues to shape the nation’s socio-political landscape. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, this biography traces Hedgewar’s journey from an orphaned child in colonial India to the mastermind behind one of the world’s most secretive organizations.

Set against the backdrop of a country grappling with colonial rule, rising communal tensions, and the complexities of modernity, this book opens a window to Hedgewar’s philosophy of cultural nationalism, his challenges with contemporaries like Gandhi, Nehru and Savarkar, and his transformative leadership. It explores his inner struggles to make sense of his own critique of Hindu society.

More than a biography, this work is a window into the labyrinth of India’s civilizational ethos, offering a nuanced perspective on the RSS’s origins and its impact on India today. Hedgewar: A Definitive Biography is a must-read for those seeking to understand modern India’s complexities through the life of one controversial, yet extraordinary man.

Platform Ticket

Most of us have travelled by train and experienced true India. Shared food and stories with our co-travellers. Or reached the platform, gasping to find the train leaving with a merry whistle. And in a queue for tickets, dug through our wallets for exact change, complaining about the slow clerk.

Have you ever thought about what goes on in the minds of the deadpan faces that peek through the grilled counter, mechanically issuing tickets to faraway places while rooted to their seats?

In Platform Ticket, Sangeetha chronicles her time as a ‘commercial clerk’ in the Indian Railways. Between sleepless graveyard shifts and heart-warming moments with travellers, Sangeetha’s life was far from dull. Her years of service, network of colleagues with varied experiences, and storytelling prowess guarantee an enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at this indispensable service in our country.

Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch is about what happens when the life you thought you’d be living radically changes course, everything you thought you knew about the world and yourself has tilted on its axis, and you have to start forging a new path forward. Scaachi employs her signature humour and fierce intelligence to interrogate her previous belief that fighting is the most effective tool for progress. She examines the fights she’s had—with her parents, her ex-husband, her friends, online strangers, and herself—all in an attempt to understand when a fight is worth having, and when it’s better to walk away.

Discovering Sudha Murty’s Non-Fiction

Here, There and Everywhere:
Here, There and Everywhere is a celebration of her literary journey and is her 200th title across genres and languages. Bringing together her best-loved stories from various collections alongside some new ones and a thoughtful introduction, here is a book that is, in every sense, as multifaceted as its author.

Three Thousand Stitches:
So often, it’s the simplest acts of courage that touch the lives of others. Sudha Murty-through the exceptional work of the Infosys Foundation as well as through her own youth, family life and travels-encounters many such stories… And she tells them here in her characteristically clear-eyed, warm-hearted way. She talks candidly about the meaningful impact of her work in the devadasi community, her trials and tribulations as the only female student in her engineering college and the unexpected and inspiring consequences of her father’s kindness. From the quiet joy of discovering the reach of Indian cinema and the origins of Indian vegetables to the shallowness of judging others based on appearances, these are everyday struggles and victories, large and small. Unmasking both the beauty and ugliness of human nature, each of the real-life stories in this collection is reflective of a life lived with grace.

Wise and Otherwise:
First published in 2002, Wise and Otherwise has sold over 30,000 copies in English and has been translated into all the major Indian languages. This revised new edition is sure to charm many more readers and encourage them to explore their inner selves and the PBI – World around us with new eyes.

The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk:
Over the years, Sudha Murty has come across some fascinating people whose lives make for interesting stories and have astonishing lessons to reveal. Take Vishnu, who achieves every material success but never knows happiness; or Venkat, who talks so much that he has no time to listen. In other stories, a young girl goes on a train journey that changes her life forever; an impoverished village woman provides bathing water to hundreds of people in a drought-stricken area; a do-gooder ghost decides to teach a disconsolate young man Sanskrit; and in the title story, a woman in a flooded village in Odisha teaches the author a life lesson she will never forget.

The Old Man and His God:
As she goes about her work with the villagers, slum dwellers and the common men and women of India, Sudha Murty-writer, social worker and teacher-listens to them and records what they have to say. Their accounts of the struggles and hardships which they have at times overcome, and at other times been overwhelmed by, are put together in this book.There are stories about people’s generosity-and selfishness-in times of natural disasters like the tsunami; women struggling to speak out in a world that refuses to listen to them; and tales of young professionals trying to find their feet as they climb up the corporate ladder.Told simply and directly from the heart, The Old Man and His God is a collection of snapshots of the varied facets of human nature and a mirror to the souls of the people of India.

This is only some of the incredible non-fiction you’ll find in this collector’s edition!

Meri Kahani/मेरी कहानी

पंडित जवाहरलाल नेहरू ने एन ऑटोबायोग्राफ़ी नाम से अंग्रेजी में अपनी आत्मकथा लिखी थी, यह उसी पुस्तक का सरल, संक्षिप्त और सुसंपादित हिंदी रूपांतरण है। जवाहरलाल नेहरू ने इसे 1934 और 1935 के बीच जेल में रहते हुए लिखा था और 1936 में इसका प्रथम बार प्रकाशन हुआ। लेकिन जन-जन तक पहुँचाने के लिए जब हिन्द पॉकेट बुक्स ने इसे 1983 में अत्यंत सरल भाषा में प्रकाशित किया, तो इस पुस्तक ने बिक्री के सारे रिकॉर्ड ध्वस्त कर दिए थे।
जवाहरलाल नेहरू एक महान व्यक्तित्व थे और उन्होंने कई प्रेरणादायक और ज्ञानवर्धक पुस्तकें लिखी हैं, लेकिन मेरी कहानी के माध्यम से उन्होंने न केवल अपने परिवार या अपनी संघर्ष गाथा का वर्णन किया है, वरन अपनी आँखों के सामने बनते जा रहे भारत के नए इतिहास को जिस रोचक तरीके से उन्होंने इस पुस्तक में लिखा है, वह नि:संदेह नेहरू जी को एक महान इतिहासकार सिद्ध करने के लिए पर्याप्त है।

A Various World

This captivating collection of essays and short stories offers a window into Ashok Kumar Bal’s diverse life experiences, seamlessly blending personal reflection, social observation, and historical narrative. With an illustrious career in public service, corporate leadership, and academia, the author brings a unique perspective to a wide range of themes—ranging from the deeply personal to the profoundly universal.

A Various World presents events, individuals, and settings that are deceptively simple and ordinary, yet upon closer inspection, they reveal the layered richness of life. The author serves as a medium to connect these themes with readers, inviting them to see that what is often considered ordinary is, in fact, extraordinary.

error: Content is protected !!