We all have come across moments in life when we ask ourselves, ‘Who Am I?’ and ‘What’s my life purpose?’ But often, we simply stop after the inquiry and spend our lifetimes chasing some dream—financial, personal, or societal—without thinking of the bigger picture. This way, we miss out on uncovering the deeper reality of life, its real purpose, and most importantly, why we are who we are.
After her highly successful book, Living Spirituality, Meetu Bisht delivers an insightful text that brings us closer to understanding why we live the life that we live, the true purpose of our unique individual journeys, and the ways in which we can progress and evolve. The book elaborates on concepts such as soul personality and karmic mandates and also explains how our tendencies and certain karmic factors are responsible for our individual life scenarios and destinies.
Why We Are Who We Are is relevant for all those who are keen to get a deeper understanding of their inner state and grow spiritually by living a life of greater meaning and purpose and by becoming a higher version of the self.
Nestled within the walls of a home in a north Indian town, a vibrant microcosm thrives—a tapestry intricately woven by a joint family, their attendants and a continuous flow of visitors. Across three generations, women and men employ varied strategies of adaptation and achievement, choosing either to conform or to challenge the constraints of patriarchy.
At the epicentre of this intricate web stands Mai, the ostensibly gentle mother, orchestrating the complex patterns of relationships and actions, carving out a life not just for herself but for those around her. Despite her modern children’s attempts to liberate her from perceived confinement, the evolving story challenges simplistic notions of bondage and freedom. The novel masterfully weaves profound tales of love and loss, with Mai serving as its central and compelling figure.
Mai, Geetanjali Shree’s debut work, is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. In Nita Kumar’s translation, the narrative comes alive, inviting readers into this captivating exploration of family, relationships and the intricacies of freedom.
Bedi and Sushma’s marriage is arranged. When they first meet, they stumble through a faltering conversation about happiness and hope, and agree to go in search of these things together. But even after their children, Selena, Tara and Rohan, are grown up and have their own families, Bedi and Sushma are still searching.
Years later, the siblings attempt to navigate life without their parents. As they travel to the Ganges to unite their father’s ashes with the opaque water, it becomes clear that each of them has inherited the same desire to understand what makes a happy life, the same confusion about this question and the same enduring hope.
A Person Is a Prayer plumbs the depths of the spaces between family members and the silence that rushes in like a flood when communication deteriorates. It is about how short a life is and how the choices we make can ripple down generations.
It is an accepted fact that Internet-related businesses are largely loss making. Dhruv Nath uncovers the secrets of four highly respected Internet giants which defy this trend boldly. The book narrates the story of four market leaders: Naukri.com, Zerodha, Zoho and Dream11, and how these companies managed to become profitable and stay that way.
These are stories about phenomenal companies and their equally phenomenal founders. How Zoho transformed rural Tamil Nadu, by recruiting young boys and girls who could not afford to go to a decent college. And nurturing them into becoming star programmers. Nithin Kamath, the outstandingly humble founder of Zerodha, who shocked the nation by charging absolutely no brokerage from investors. Sanjeev Bikhchandani, who started Naukri.com from the servant’s quarters above his father’s garage, using second-hand computers and furniture. And subsequently, grew the business to a point where they have an unbelievable 70 per cent share of the market for white-collar jobs. Harsh Jain of Dream11, who built a roaring fantasy sports platform when everyone advised him not to.
Priyanka Mattoo was born into a wooden house in the Himalayas, as were most of her ancestors. In 1989, however, mounting violence in the region forced Mattoo’s community to flee. The home into which her family poured their dreams was reduced to a pile of rubble.
Mattoo never moved back to her beloved Kashmir—because it no longer existed. She and her family just kept packing and unpacking and moving on. In forty years, Mattoo accumulated thirty-two different addresses, and she chronicles her nomadic existence with wit, wisdom, and an inimitable eye for light within the darkest moments.
When Sub-inspector Waqas Mahmood is assigned the case of a suicide of a seventeen-year-old boy, he is tempted to do the bare minimum and close it. Waqas has been disenchanted with the police force and wants to quit anyway. And the ominous presence of a religious outfit around the boy’s house is another reason to stay away. It’s also just too hot in Shantinagar, a dusty town in Punjab in Pakistan.
But Waqas realizes there’s more to the case when the boy’s friend reaches out claiming that it was not a suicide. In fact, the case might be linked to another terrifying case in Shantinagar when a Hindu art teacher was lynched on the accusation of blasphemy against Islam.
Waqas is intrigued; a horror story from his childhood returns to haunt him. From witnesses’ statements, he pieces together accounts of friendships that transcended religions before they were ruined by betrayal, conspiracy and religious fanaticism. Will Waqas succumb to the terror of religious bigots, or will he uphold justice in a society that badly needs it?
Adi Krishnan is different!
He is a bright student, who loves to read, and remembers everything down to the smallest details—yet he has no friends. His unusual view of things makes his classmates and teachers regard him as a weirdo.
Will the bullying ever end? Will people accept him as he is? Will he gain the respect of others, especially his dad?
Award-winning author Zarin Virji creates the extraordinary journey of an ordinary boy, narrated by him, his family, classmates and a teacher. And how, despite the challenges, living with Adi is, in fact, unexpected, delightful and funny.
गीतांजलि रवीन्द्रनाथ टैगोर द्वारा मूलतः बांग्ला में रचित गीतों (गेयात्मक कविताओं) का संग्रह है। ‘गीतांजलि’ शब्द ‘गीत’ और ‘अञ्जलि’ को मिलाकर बना है जिसका अर्थ है—गीतों का उपहार (भेंट)। वैसे रवीन्द्रनाथ सूफी रहस्यवाद और वैष्णव काव्य से प्रभावित थे। फिर भी संवेदना चित्रण में वे इन कवियों को अनुकृति नहीं लगते। जैसे मनुष्य के प्रति प्रेम अनजाने ही परमात्मा के प्रति प्रेम में परिवर्तित हो जाता है। वे नहीं मानते कि भगवान किसी आदम बीज की तरह है। उनके लिए प्रेम है प्रारंभ और परमात्मा है अंत! सिर्फ इतना कहना नाकाफी है कि >i>गीतांजलि के स्वर में सिर्फ रहस्यवाद है। इसमें मध्ययुगीन कवियों का निपटारा भी है। धारदार तरीके से उनके मूल्यबोधों के ख़िलाफ। हालाँकि पूरी गीतांजलि का स्वर यह नहीं है। उसमें समर्पण की भावना प्रमुख विषय वस्तु है। यह रवीन्द्रनाथ का संपूर्ण जिज्ञासा से उपजी रहस्योन्मुख कृति है।
एडगर एलन पो न केवल कवि हैं, बल्कि एक महान कहानीकार भी हैं। वे अपनी कहानियों में एक ऐसा रहस्यमय वातावरण पैदा कर देते हैं कि पाठक रोमांचित हो जाता है। कल्पना की उड़ान भरने में तो उनके सामने बड़े-बड़े लेखक भी फीके पड़ते हैं। कविता और कहानी के अतिरिक्त उन्होंने आलोचनात्मक साहित्य भी लिखा है। लगभग डेढ़ सौ वर्ष पूर्व लिखी हुई उनकी कहानियाँ आज भी वैसी ही लोकप्रिय हैं, जैसी उस समय थीं। उनकी कला को देश और काल की सीमाएँ नही बाँध सकी।
वैसे तो पो की छाप साहित्य के सभी अंगो पर पड़ी, परंतु अंग्रेज़ी के कहानी साहित्य को जितना पो ने प्रभावित किया, उतना किसी और लेखक ने नही। अमेरिका के महान साहित्यकार एडगर एलन पो रहस्य-रोमांच की कहानियों के जादूगर माने जाते हैं। इस पुस्तक में इनकी पाँच श्रेष्ठ कहानियाँ संकलित हैं।
‘धरती अति सुंदर किताब, चाँद-सूरज की जिल्दवाली, पर खुदाया यह दुख-भूख, सितम और ग़ुलामी यह तेरी इबादत है या प्रूफ़ की ग़लतियाँ।’—अमृता प्रीतम
अमृता प्रीतम ने भारत विभाजन का दर्द सहा और बहुत करीब से महसूस किया था, इसलिए इनकी कहानियों में आप इस दर्द को महसूस कर सकते हैं। इनकी कहानियों में महिला पात्रों की पीड़ा और वैवाहिक जीवन के कटु अनुभवों का अहसास भी पाठक को सहज ही हो जाता है। इनकी कहानियाँ भारतीय समाज का जीता-जागता दर्पण हैं और कहानी के पात्र पाठकों को अपने इर्द-गिर्द ही नज़र आते हैं, इसलिए लोकप्रियता के जिस शिखर को इन्होंने छुआ, वह केवल इन्हीं के वश की बात हो सकती है।
