non fiction main category
A Bharat Ratna talks about his life in science in India
Dr C.N.R. Rao talks about his journey and what it takes to become a great scientist. With rare photos, the book covers his early years, his inspirations, the odds he had to overcome to pursue his dream and what it means to be a scientist in India.
In 1959, the Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet into India, where he was granted refuge. Few know about the carefully calibrated operation to escort him safely from the Indian border. An Officer and His Holiness narrates how political officer Har Mander Singh successfully managed this assignment in the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) with limited resources, and despite a treacherous terrain and external threats.
Har Mander Singh kept careful diary entries of the period, which have been reproduced for the first time in this book. His niece and renowned journalist, Rani Singh, painstakingly documents the journey through extensive research, travel and interviews with the Dalai Lama, his youngest brother, Tenzin Choegyal, and Har Mander Singh.
Her own experience of retracing her uncle’s journey also provides a comprehensive overview of the situation today. Rare pictures and valuable input from experts bring alive this thrilling operation that forever changed relations between India, China and Tibet.
In 1994, twenty-year-old Gunjan Saxena boards a train to Mysore to appear for the selection process of the fourth Short Service Commission (for women) pilot course. Seventy-four weeks of back-breaking training later, she passes out of the Air Force Academy in Dundigal as Pilot Officer Gunjan Saxena.
On 3 May 1999, local shepherds report a Pakistani intrusion in Kargil. By mid-May, thousands of Indian troops are engaged in fierce mountain warfare with the aim to flush out the intruders. The Indian Air Force launches Operation Safed Sagar, with all its pilots at its disposal. While female pilots are yet to be employed in a war zone, they are called in for medical evacuation, dropping of supplies and reconnaissance.
This is the time for Saxena to prove her mettle. From airdropping vital supplies to Indian troops in the Dras and Batalik regions and casualty evacuation from the midst of the ongoing battle, to meticulously informing her seniors of enemy positions and even narrowly escaping a Pakistani rocket missile during one of her sorties, Saxena fearlessly discharges her duties, earning herself the moniker ‘The Kargil Girl’.
This is her inspiring story, in her words.
In the story, the author talks about the shocking but true political happenings in the country that he witnessed during his tenure. The plot centers around a character called Anand, a young man who gives up a lucrative career in the hopes of bringing about political reformation. He begins his political career by contesting against the oppressive ruling party. Next, he reaches a spot where he has to choose between the current Chief Minister and his rival. His rival soon wins the post of CM, and he is made to serve under him. Anand then moves to Delhi, at a time when Indira Gandhi takes over the reigns of power. Under her governance, the tables turn, for Anand now replaces his rival Chaudhary and becomes the Chief Minister of Afrozabad. He then has to run the political show under her regime. The book discusses the state of events and the political scenario in India under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, delving into areas like her rise to power, second coming, assassination, followed by her son Rajiv Gandhi’s entry into the world of politics. The Insider reveals to the reader the state of affairs in a political scenario, narrated by a man who has had first-hand experience of it all. The 2nd revised edition of the book was published by Penguin India in the year 2000, and is available in paperback.
Says Osho: ‘Patanjali takes the whole complexity of the human being into account – Never before and never after has such a comprehensive system evolved.’ Drawing on the teachings of Patanjali, Osho gives an entirely new perspective on the fundamental questions of life, the nature of heaven, religion and God. For Osho it is not a question of being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or of a God in the sky, but of each individual becoming aware of his being and attaining kaivalya- the ultimate state of enlightenment when the meditator goes beyond all desire. This process draws on the inner science of yoga. Replete with anecdotes, and including a series of questions and answers that directly address the existential anxieties of a contemporary readership, this book by Osho is a must-read for all those who want to explore the mysteries of life.
At 4:55 p.m., a swirling mass of thick, smoke engulfed the balcony section a well-known cinema hall in posh south Delhi. In the absence of fire exits and ushers to help the patrons, the people seated on the balcony found themselves trapped. By 7 p.m., fifty-nine people had died.
Among these were Unnati and Ujjwal. Their parents, Neelam and Shekhar, decided to fight the prolonged battle to ensure their kids get justice, for they saw no other reason to live. It’s been twenty-one years now, since the fire. But their fight with justice, for justice continues. This is their story.
‘Whether you are cooking daily meals for yourself and your family or an occasional meal for an evening of entertainment, let cooking be a process of discovery and enjoyment,’ say Chef Vikas Khanna. And he means it.
It’s exciting-A new beginning, the new life, a new house, and a brand new kitchen! However, setting up your pantry, buying utensils and equipment, then cooking and entertaining-all can get pretty daunting.
Chef Vikas Khanna understands that. In My First Kitchen he expertly guides you set up your own Kitchen, cook marvelous food in quick, easy steps, throw parties, even barbeque like you were a pro!
He holds your hand through the journey as you pick the best produce, learn to cut, chop and preserve and puree-all the processes that you thought too intimidating.
My First Kitchen is the only book you will need to begin your culinary journey!
The Five-Dollar Smile is a collection of stories of young love and disaffection, adolescent high spirits and youthful traumas; there are also stories, written with the energy and passion of youth, which deal with very adult subjects: death, deceit, loss, hypocrisy, honour. Sensitive, compelling and persuasive, these stories, written for the most part in Shashi Tharoor’s late teens and early twenties, reveal an already formidable talent. Rounding off the collection is a marvellously inventive play set in the time of the Emergency.
As Indians got their first taste of satellite television during the first Gulf War, Raghav Bahl saw his future in the signals flickering across the small screen. Armed with burning ambition, keen business sense and amazing audacity, he assembled a group of talented professionals and rank beginners to launch one of India’s earliest start-up success stories. Starting from a small room in New Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave, Television Eighteen (TV18) grew into Network18, one of India’s biggest media conglomerates spanning television, print, films, the Internet, business and general news, drama and entertainment. In less than two decades filled with excitement, adventure and frequent crises, Network18 launched pioneering properties, television and film careers, and racked up partnerships with blue-chip media brands like CNBC, CNN and Viacom. But a mix of hubris, overreaching and external factors set it up for a free fall.
This is a story of brilliant ideas, severe setbacks, naked aggression, spectacular victories and fatal flaws. It’s a story of a media empire that could only have been Made in India.
Ishi Khosla was recently listed as being among the twenty-five most powerful women in the country in her domain of expertise by the India Today Group. Her latest book, Is Wheat Killing You?, will help not only the millions of people with gluten/ whet intolerance, also known as celiac disease, but all those who prefer to avoid wheat. With the alarming rise in the incidence of celiac disease, this book is a boon as it provides information on the disease and how to manage it without having to give up any favourite foods. Most people with celiac disease who follow a gluten-free diet have a complete and rapid recovery.
This complete guide to gluten-free living is based on scientifically established principles of healthy eating and includes essential facts about a balanced diet that are of interest to all. The book features nearly 200 quick, easy-to-follow, practical and delicious recipes- pan-Indian, Oriental and Continental. Additionally, Is Wheat Killing You? integrates gluten-free cooking with mainstream cooking so those who cannot eat gluten can lead normal social lives. Ishi Khosla explains how grains can affect your health and profiles those at risk for gluten sensitivity.
