The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 was a seminal moment in the history of the Indo-British encounter, and it had a profound impact on the colonial relationship between the two countries. In this dramatic telling, which takes the perspectives of ordinary people into account, the event and its aftermath are strikingly detailed. Wagner argues that General Dyer’s order to open fire at Jallianwalla Bagh was an act of fear and its consequences for the Indian freedom struggle were profound. Situating the massacre within the ‘deep’ context of British colonial mentality and the local dynamics of Indian nationalism, Wagner provides a genuinely nuanced approach to the bloody history of the British Empire.
Catagory: Non Fiction
non fiction main category
English
The narrator in Jeet Thayil’s second full-length collection abandons the sectarian histories of 1990s’ Bombay for New York City-and the events of September 11, 2001. In the faux prologue poem, ‘About the Author’, he stands on ‘Sixth, watching ruin, with/a handful of rain and a prophecy’, a citizen of no country except the republic that gives the book its title. English here is more than a language. It is a source of divinity, and it holds a hard-won tenderness for all things living.
Dear Me
India’s biggest sports stars share their secrets for finding greatness
From Anju Bobby George’s unexpected gold medal at the World Athletics Final in Monaco to Abhinav Bindra’s Olympic gold in Beijing, India’s sportspersons have constantly proved that they stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best. However, as easy as they might make it look, their success is the result of years of struggle, focused training and relentless hard work to overcome several challenges.
Dear Me is a collection of letters from some of the most-celebrated names in sports-Milkha Singh, Vishwanathan Anand, Bhaichung Bhutia and many more-who write to their younger selves and remember the moments that changed their lives. An uplifting reminder that dreams do come true, this book allows you to be inspired by their extraordinary stories.
White as Milk and Rice
The Maria girls from Bastar practise sex as an institution before marriage, but with rules-one may not sleep with a partner more than three times; the Hallaki women from the Konkan coast sing throughout the day-in forests, fields, the market and at protests; the Kanjars have plundered, looted and killed generation after generation, and will show you how to roast a lizard when hungry. The original inhabitants of India, these Adivasis still live in forests and hills, with religious beliefs, traditions and rituals so far removed from the rest of the country that they represent an anthropological wealth of our heritage.
This book weaves together prose, oral narratives and Adivasi history to tell the stories of six remarkable tribes of India-reckoning with radical changes over the last century-as they were pulled apart and thrown together in ways none of them fathomed.
Amma Mia
Is my baby not well?
When can I introduce my baby to solid foods?
Becoming a new mother can be an exciting yet overwhelming time. No matter how prepared you are, there will always be many confusing moments, opinions and a whole lot of drama! And just like any other new mom, Esha Deol Takhtani was faced with many such questions soon after the birth of her two daughters-Radhya and Miraya.
One day, when one of her baby girls was throwing a tantrum, Esha decided to come up with a plan, one that would ensure her child eats right and is happy in the process! And thus began her adventures in motherhood. With the help of her cook, nurse and some of the best paediatricians in Mumbai, she set off on a journey to document her experiences in motherhood in the hope that it would help other mothers too.
Packed with advice, tips, stories and easy and delicious recipes for toddlers, Amma Mia reflects the personal journey of one woman’s transformation into a mother. Informative and easy to follow, this book will help new mothers navigate the ups and downs of raising a healthy toddler and make their child fall in love with food.
Some Sizes Fit All
An oft-repeated dictum every time a company fails to replicate its past successes when introducing a new product or entering a new market is that one size does not fit all. Business gurus advise that every new situation, market and environment calls for a fresh approach and requires ‘unlearning’ what one might have learnt elsewhere, even if that had met with great success. While this statement may appear to be obvious, it is often quoted out of context. The fact is that certain fundamentals of business-irrespective of line of business, geography or scale-are universally applicable.
Some Sizes Fit All is an attempt to explain these fundamental pillars for any kind of business. An authentic and lucid presentation of management concepts and practices-which Akhil Gupta has tried and tested first hand through his illustrious career-this is a must-read for anyone trying to build a robust and financially sound business.
Poetry of Protest
The world has erupted in a groundswell of protests in the last few decades: against authoritarian rule, the stranglehold of global capitalism and rising injustice. Some of these have led to regime or policy change, others to war and mass displacement. Protesters have turned time and again to poetry for it is words alone that can spread the spirit of resistance and offer release from the grip of tyranny.
This specially curated volume brings together some of the best known poetry to have been written against different kinds of oppression from around the globe. Featuring voices as diverse as Anna Akhmatova from the erstwhile USSR to Rabindranath Tagore in India, Pablo Neruda in Chile to Mahmoud Darwish in Palestine, Maya Angelou in the US to Bei Dao in China, Poetry of Protest celebrates the innate tenacity of human beings to defend freedom, equality and dignity.
Not Many, But One Volume I
Sree Narayana Guru (1855-1928) was a spiritual leader and social reformer who led powerful movements to promote social equality. Not Many, But One brings together his work in two rich volumes of translation and interpretation, pieced together for a modern readership.
In Volume 1, we see Sree Narayana Guru’s philosophy of Advaita. He foresees the potential and the need for a new approach to science and technology. As a result, he discovered new dimensions of Advaita and revived it in a manner that suited the most sophisticated developments in physics and modern cosmology. This volume is a study of the works and teachings of Sree Narayana Guru on a spiritual and scientific footing. In his work, one can see a deep-rooted correlation of Advaita and quantum cosmology. The translations, explanations and commentary given are simple and conceivable by ordinary readers who may not be well equipped to grasp the complexities of the intuitional spiritual findings of Advaita and hypothetic conclusions of quantum physics-but without compromising on the authenticity of the works.
Vedic philosophers, physicists, cosmologists and enthusiasts of science and spirituality will appreciate this enterprising effort-though with limitations-in bringing closer two hitherto uncompromising schools of thought. The devotees of Sree Narayana Guru will find an opportunity to delve deeper into his work.
Not Many, But One Volume II
Sree Narayana Guru (1855-1928) was a spiritual leader and social reformer who led powerful movements to promote social equality. Not Many, But One brings together his work in two rich volumes of translation and interpretation, pieced together for a modern readership.
In Volume 2, we see how Sree Narayana Guru revived the Advaita philosophy. The book also focuses on the correlation between the teachings of Advaita, the conclusions of modern physics and cosmology, and how Advaita reveals the complex secrets of the universe. It explains the theoretical, observational and experimental findings given by science about the origin, evolution, existence and future of our universe. Volume 2 also explores the Big Bang theory, the inflation theory, the role of dark matter and dark energy, the concept of space and time, the anthropic principle, supersymmetry, spontaneous symmetry breaking, string theory and other latest avenues of modern science. The translations, explanations and commentary given are simple and conceivable by ordinary readers who may not be well equipped with the complexities of intuitional spiritual findings of Advaita and hypothetic conclusions of quantum physics-but without compromising on the authenticity of the works.
Vedic philosophers, physicists, cosmologists and enthusiasts who love science and spirituality will appreciate this enterprising effort – though with limitations – in bringing closer the two hitherto uncompromising schools of thought. The devotees of Sree Narayana Gurudev will find an opportunity to go deeper into his works.
Memory of Light
SHORTLISTED FOR THE TATA LITERATURE LIVE! AWARD FOR FICTION 2020
Preparations for King George the Third’s fiftieth birthday gala are in full swing in Lucknow. As poets and performers vie to be part of the show, Chapla Bai, a dazzling courtesan from Kashi, briefly enters this competitive world, and sweeps the poet Nafis Bai off her feet. An irresistible passion takes root, expanding and contracting like a wave of light. Over two summers, aided by Nafis’s friends, the poets Insha and Rangin, and Sharad, himself in love with a man, they exchange letters and verses, feeding each other the heady fruit of desire. When Chapla leaves for home, they part with the dream of building a life together. Can their relationship survive the distances?
Narrated in the voice of Nafis, Memory of Light weaves an exquisite web of conversations, songs, reminiscences around a life-changing love.