A CLASSIC OF REPORTAGE FROM RURAL INDIA BY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, WITH A FOREWORD BY GOPALKRISHNA GANDHI
– Prescribed in over 100 universities
– Reveals the human face of poverty
– Key to understanding issues of globalization, human rights, development economics in India
– One of the classics of journalism
Acclaimed across the world, prescribed in over 100 universities and colleges, and included in part in The Century’s Greatest Reportage (Ordfront, 2000), alongside the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Studs Terkel and John Reed, Everybody Loves a Good Drought is the established classic on rural poverty in India. Twenty years after publication, it remains unsurpassed in the scope and depth of reportage, providing an intimate view of the daily struggles of the poor and the efforts, often ludicrous, made to uplift them.
An illuminating introduction accompanying this twentieth-anniversary edition reveals, alarmingly, how a large section of India continues to suffer in the name of development so that a small percentage may prosper. Besides exposing chronic misgovernance, it is also a devastating comment on the media’s failure to speak for the voiceless.
On the eve of a landmark general election, Ruchir Sharma offers an unrivalled portrait of how India and its democracy work, drawn from his two decades on the road chasing election campaigns across every major state, travelling the equivalent of a lap around the earth. Democracy on the Road takes readers on a rollicking ride with Ruchir and his merry band of fellow writers as they talk to farmers, shopkeepers and CEOs from Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu, and interview leaders from Narendra Modi to Rahul Gandhi.
No book has traced the arc of modern India by taking readers so close to the action. Offering an intimate view inside the lives and minds of India’s political giants and its people, Sharma explains how the complex forces of family, caste and community, economics and development, money and corruption, Bollywood and Godmen, have conspired to elect and topple Indian leaders since Indira Gandhi. The ultimately encouraging message of Ruchir’s travels is that, while democracy is retreating in many parts of the world, it is thriving in India.
On the eve of a landmark general election, Ruchir Sharma offers an unrivalled portrait of how India and its democracy work, drawn from his two decades on the road chasing election campaigns across every major state, travelling the equivalent of a lap around the earth. Democracy on the Road takes readers on a rollicking ride with Ruchir and his merry band of fellow writers as they talk to farmers, shopkeepers and CEOs from Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu, and interview leaders from Narendra Modi to Rahul Gandhi.
No book has traced the arc of modern India by taking readers so close to the action. Offering an intimate view inside the lives and minds of India’s political giants and its people, Sharma explains how the complex forces of family, caste and community, economics and development, money and corruption, Bollywood and Godmen, have conspired to elect and topple Indian leaders since Indira Gandhi. The ultimately encouraging message of Ruchir’s travels is that, while democracy is retreating in many parts of the world, it is thriving in India.
What makes some companies survive the test of time while others struggle and perish?
Corporations do not exist in isolation; they are always part of something else, something bigger-an ecosystem. Inspired by the secrets of shinise (Japanese companies dating back to the time of samurais), R. Gopalakrishnan and
R. Narayanan take a deep dive into the art of growing and sustaining a business. Over the forty-eight years of his close association with Unilever and Tata, Gopalakrishnan has gathered experiences and know-how about what makes companies tick, while Narayanan, having worked with Coca-Cola, Nestlé and then two start-ups of his own, has developed keen insights about angel investing and mentoring.
Wisdom for Start-ups from Grown-ups is the culmination of their collaborative effort to bring the best of what grown-ups have to offer to start-ups, presented in the form of all-important lessons.
Did ancient India witness the Great Flood? Why did the Buddha give his first sermon at Sarnath? How did the Europeans map India?
Combining scholarship with sparkling wit, Sanjeev Sanyal sets out to explore how India’s history was shaped by its geography-answering questions you may have never thought to ask. Moving from geological and genetic origins to present-day Gurgaon, Land of the Seven Rivers is riveting, wry and full of surprises.
Jayalalithaa’s journey from a glamour queen to a towering political leader is one of the most extraordinary stories of contemporary India. The unlikely heir of the legendary screen idol and AIADMK founder, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), Jayalalithaa Jayaram triumphed over the odds stacked against her-as a woman and as a former actress-to successfully challenge the mainstream values of Tamil Nadu politics.
The Lone Empress candidly chronicles Jayalalithaa’s tumultuous political life, examining her battle with intra-party rivalry to become the first elected woman chief minister of India; the long-lasting hostility with her rivals; her pursuit of support from the Centre for political survival; and her discomfort with criticism and dissent. The book also shines light on Jayalalithaa’s choice of careers, first in cinema then in politics; the corruption charges that continued to haunt her; and her sudden death. Having breathed her last while in office for the sixth time as chief minister, Jayalalithaa left behind a dramatic power tussle in her wake, and she left Indian politics a little less colourful.
Drawing on interviews with Jayalalithaa’s family, school friends, film critics and actors, political commentators and party members, as well as from letters and journals, acclaimed journalist Vaasanthi offers an objective, insightful and empathetic portrait of this fascinating and enigmatic figure.
As a $3-trillion economy, India is on her way to becoming an economic superpower. Between 1991 and 2011, the period of our best growth, there was also a substantial decline in the number of people below the poverty line. Since 2011, however, there has been a marked retreat in the high growth performance of the previous two decades.What happened to the promise? Where have we faltered? How do we change course? How do we overcome the ever-present dangers of the middle-income trap, and get rich before we grow old? And one question above all else: What do we need to do to make our tryst with destiny? As professional economists as well as former civil servants, Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah have spent most of their lives thinking about and working on these questions. The result: In Service of the Republic, a meticulously researched work that stands at the intersection of economics, political philosophy and public administration. This highly readable book lays out the art and the science of the policymaking that we need, from the high ideas to the gritty practicalities that go into building the Republic.
Why is Royal Challengers Bangalore one of the worst-performing teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), despite having batsman like A.B. de Villiers and Chris Gayle, and being captained by Virat Kohli?
On the other hand, why is Chennai Super Kings (CSK) one of the best-performing teams, despite boasting fewer superstars and an ageing M.S. Dhoni as captain?
The secret could lie in the teams’ captaincy styles. But more importantly, it lies in the way T20 teams plan, strategize and build themselves around a core group, which CSK has done.
In Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde take us on a whirlwind tour of the cricket format that has taken the world by storm. From its inception, when T20 was accepted by a narrow vote of the Marylebone Cricket Club, to its current global popularity, from its original superstar Chris Gayle to newcomers like Rashid Khan and Sandeep Lamichhane, T20 has become a phenomenon that has resurrected the game of cricket.
From the sunny beaches of Trinidad and Tobago, which gave the world a West Indian team feared by its contemporaries, to the raucous stadiums of the IPL, today one of the world’s most valuable sport tournaments, from India’s original rejection of T20 to ultimately embracing it, signalling a shift in world cricket, Wigmore and Wilde break down how T20 has changed the game entirely, and why it may be the future of cricket.
The rice beer bellies of a Christian village in Meghalaya; food fed to departed Zoroastrian souls; a Kolkata-based Jewish community in decline; Tibetan monks who first serve Preta, the hungry ghost; and fifty-six-course feasts of the Jagannath temple-these are the stories in Bhagwan Ke Pakwaan (or, food of the gods), a cookbook-cum-travelogue exploring the connection between food and faith through the communities of India. There are legends and lore, angsty perspectives, tangential anecdotes, a couple of life lessons and a whole lot of food.
First published in 1996 when he was eighty-eight years old, this selection of nearly six decades of Raja Rao’s non-fiction is an audacious contemplation on the deeper significance of India. A combination of fables, journeys, discussions and meditations, The Meaning of India advances the view that India is not just a geographical entity, or even a civilization-state. India is, above all, a metaphysic, a way of being and regarding the self and the world.
Drawing on a wide range of sources-including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Gita, the Buddha, Sankara, Bhartrihari, Kalidasa, Dostoevsky, Valéry, Rilke, Mann and Mallarmé-as also meetings with Gandhi, Nehru, Forster and Malraux, Rao teases out the implications of Advaita or non-dualism, which he regards as India’s unique contribution to the world.
