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Catagory: Non Fiction

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Facing the Mirror

A groundbreaking book where lesbians found their voice for the first time

For decades, most lesbians in India did not know the extent of their presence in the country: networks barely existed and the love they had for other women was a shameful secret to be buried deep within the heart. In Facing the Mirror, Ashwini Sukthankar collected hidden, forgotten, distorted, triumphant stories from across India, revealing the richness and diversity of the lesbian experience for the first time. Going back as far as the 1960s and through the forms of fiction and poetry, essays and personal history, this rare collection mapped a hitherto unknown trajectory.

In celebration of the Supreme Court’s reading down of the draconian Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, this twentieth-anniversary edition, with a foreword by author and activist Shals Mahajan, brings to readers a remarkable history that illuminates the blood and the tears, the beauty and the magic of the queer movement in India. The raw anger and passion in them still alive, the writings in Facing the Mirror proudly proclaim the courage, the sensuality, the humour and the vulnerability of being lesbian.

The Most Dangerous Place

South Asia looms large in American foreign policy. Over the past two decades, the United States has invested billions of dollars and thousands of human lives in the region, to seemingly little effect. As Srinath Raghavan reveals in The Most Dangerous Place, this should not surprise us. Although the region is often regarded as peripheral to America’s rise to global ascendancy, the United States has long been enmeshed in South Asia. For 230 years, America’s engagement with India, Afghanistan and Pakistan has been characterized by short-term thinking and unintended consequences. Beginning with American traders in India in the eighteenth century, the region has become a locus for American efforts-secular and religious-to remake the world in its image. Even as South Asia has undergone tumultuous and tremendous changes from colonialism to the world wars, the Cold War and globalization, the United States has been a crucial player in regional affairs.

The definitive history of US involvement in South Asia, The Most Dangerous Place presents a gripping account of America’s political and strategic, economic and cultural presence in the region. By illuminating the patterns of the past, this sweeping history also throws light on the challenges of the future.

The Fitness Box Set

Payal Gidwani Tiwari, Bollywood’s most celebrated yoga expert, tells you how to go from XL to XS. With simple and easy to follow principles and exercise routines, learn how to lose (or gain) weight, stay fit, and transform your body structure.

Learn about the four pillars of fitness (strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance), how to avoid an injury, the different forms of training, and even the miracle cure for cellulite. Right from weight training to bodybuilding, Deanne Panday will share the tricks of the trade to help sculpt your body, just the way you want it.

Do you know how Katrina Kaif manages to stay injury-free? Or how Deepika Padukone maintains her washboard abs? Pilates is the answer! Trainer to the stars, Yasmin Karachiwala and internationally known Pilates instructor Zeena Dhalla will show you how to change the shape of your body by teaching you more about your posture and how to improve it.

The Beauty Box Set

GLOW
Vausdha Rai
Did you know that saffron can make you calmer? Or that tulsi protects you against pollution? Or that turnips and radishes clarify your complexion?

Whoever said that great skin is purely genetic has obviously never harnessed the power of beauty foods. While it is possible to fake great skin with make-up, you can only be truly radiant when you nourish your body from within. From basic garden-variety fruit and vegetables to potent Ayurvedic herbs, this book tells you what to eat to ensure beauty inside and out.

Build strength and immunity, brighten and clarify your skin and obtain peace of mind with these potent Indian remedies. These combinations, recipes, home-made face masks, oils and morning infusions will transform not just your skin but also your body and mind. After all, outer beauty is only a symptom of inner health.
AGE ERASE
Rashmi Shetty
Worried about not ageing gracefully?

Do you constantly find yourself wistfully wishing you could turn back the clock?

The clock keeps ticking. That’s inevitable. What we can do, however, is slow down the process and push further the visible signs of ageing. In Age Erase, renowned aesthetic physician Dr Rashmi Shetty will fill you in on the whats, whys, and hows of ageing, the reason why these changes occur, and how simple do’s and don’ts can make a remarkable difference. Immerse yourself in insights on the latest advances in skin care, the right kind of nutrition, and cutting-edge anti-ageing solutions.

From the latest advancements in aesthetic medicine to old-fashioned kitchen remedies that really work to grandmother antidotes, Age Erase unlocks the secrets of ageing gracefully.
SKIN RULES
Jaishree Sharad
What if you could achieve glowing skin in just six weeks?
Sounds unbelievable, but it’s true!

In Skin Rules, Dr Jaishree Sharad, one of India’s top cosmetic dermatologists, gives you a revolutionary six-week plan to healthy, blemish-free skin.

From the basics-identifying your skin type, acquainting yourself with the fine print on labels-to home remedies, choosing the right make-up and the latest advancements in skincare treatments, this book has the answers to all your skin woes.

You’d be amazed at what a short, six-week routine can do for your skin. So what are you waiting for?

Vanni

In the tradition of Maus, Persepolis, Palestine and The Breadwinner, Vanni is a graphic novel documenting the human side of the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the ‘Tamil Tigers’. Told from the perspective of a single family, it takes readers through the otherwise unimaginable struggles, horrors, and life-changing decisions families and individuals are forced to make when caught up in someone else’s war.

Set in Vanni, the northern region of Sri Lanka that was devastated by the civil war, this graphic novel follows the Ramachandran family as they flee their home after the 2004 tsunami and move from one displacement camp to the next, seeking an ever-elusive safe haven and struggling to keep each other alive. Inspired by Benjamin Dix’s experience in working in Sri Lanka for the United Nations during the war, Vanni draws on more than four years of meticulous research, official reports, and first-hand interviews with refugees. It depicts heroic acts of kindness and horrific acts of violence, memorializing the experiences of the Tamil civilians against the forces that seek to erase their memory.

Elegantly drawn by Lindsay Pollock, this exceptionally moving graphic novel portrays the personal experiences of modern warfare, the process of forced migration and the struggles of seeking asylum in Europe.

The Magnificent Diwan

The Magnificent Diwan is the definitive biography of arguably India’s most influential and powerful statesman of the nineteenth century. Drawing on extensive archival material, this is a compelling account of the life and times of a remarkable Indian who, as diwan or prime minister, decisively shaped Hyderabad’s political and economic history for nearly three decades in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was Salar Jung who, by his reforms of the medieval oligarchy that was Hyderabad, ushered the state into the modern era. This account is not merely a chronicle of his life but also a history of Hyderabad-both social and governmental-and gives the reader an encompassing view of the man who has been called the founder of modern Hyderabad. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, this biography introduces Sir Salar Jung I to a new generation, even as it rekindles the memory of a man who has become the victim of collective amnesia.

An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is among the most enigmatic, charismatic, deeply revered and equally reviled figures of the twentieth century. His Autobiography, one of the most widely read and translated Indian books of all time, is a classic that allows us to glimpse the transformation of a well-meaning lawyer into a Satyagrahi and an ashramite.

In this first-ever Critical Edition, eminent scholar Tridip Suhrud shines new light on Gandhi’s life and thought. The deeply researched notes elucidate the contexts and characters of the Autobiography, while the alternative translations capture the flavour, cadence and quirkiness of the Gujarati. In the original and insightful introduction, Suhrud traces Gandhi’s evolution into a seeker of Truth as God, and explores possible modes of reading the Autobiography.

This Critical Edition of the Autobiography is an absorbing, illuminating text about the life-affirming journey of the most public and most complex figure of Indian history.

The Best of Chanakya’s Wisdom Box Set

Chanakya and the Art of Getting Rich
Chanakya’s Arthashastra is an unrivalled political treatise that has been used by scholars, academics and leaders across the world. In Chanakya and the Art of Getting Rich, Radhakrishnan Pillai brings out the inherent lessons from Arthashastra to present a strategic and practical way of wealth creation. This is a holistic study, written for anyone and everyone.

Chanakya and the Art of War
Radhakrishnan Pillai decodes the war secrets of Chanakya as relevant to our personal and professional lives. Be it an army fighting enemy soldiers across the border, the police encountering internal challenges, a politician who wants to win an election, or the common man fighting for survival, Chanakya has a plan for every situation.

Inside Chanakya’s Mind: Aanvikshiki and the Art of Thinking
Chanakya was one of the best strategic thinkers of the world. In the fourth century BC, he wrote the Arthashastra, an unrivalled political treatise that has since been used by leaders across the globe. In Inside Chanakya’s Mind, for the first time, Radhakrishnan Pillai, distils Chanakya’s age-old wisdom on how to think for the masses through his practical and innovative approach.

Improve Memory and Maths Skills

This box set contains the best tips and tricks by renowned trainers and Guinness World Record holders Aditi and Sudhir Singhal. Guaranteed to improve your mathematics and memory skills, these books are must-reads for competitive exams, maths enthusiasts and puzzle aficionados.

Party Like A Star

Learn how to entertain like the celebrity swish-set, with recipes, tips and photos from actual parties thrown by Bollywood stars and big brands. Find a detailed plan of action for every kind of party, be it brunch, high tea or even a big, fat wedding.
Shilarna Vaze, chef and founder of Gaia Gourmet, who has cooked for the best parties and the biggest stars, will turn you into the perfect host with her scrumptious recipes, advice on picking the right party professionals, indispensible checklists and getting every detail just right. Thrown into the mix are essential tips for décor, service, and menu planning, as well as expert and celebrity inputs on how to put together a perfect soiree.

When I’m planning a party [. . .] my instinct is to call Chinu up – Alia Bhatt

Shilarna’s cooking packs a wallop and oomph, not just in flavour and texture but also presentation and creativity – Rashmi Uday Singh

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