From beginning his career as a small trader in Delhi to building Havells, one of India’s largest electrical goods company, Qimat Rai Gupta’s story makes for an inspiring read. Told rivetingly by his son, Anil Rai Gupta, this is the account of how QRG, as he was fondly known, braved poverty, ill health, competition, corruption and bureaucracy to turn his dreams into reality.
Havells faced stiff competition from companies that couldn’t tolerate a modest trader challenging them. Despite legal battles, family feuds and severe shortage of funds, QRG never gave up.
During his last years, Havells acquired German giant Sylvania which was twice its size. When Sylvania’s losses pushed Havells to the brink, QRG fearlessly decided to keep the company nonetheless. It was under his tutelage that Anil Rai Gupta, present chairman of Havells, turned Sylvania around.
QRG’s life is proof of the adage ‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve’.
Catagory: Non Fiction
non fiction main category
Seventy
The irrepressible Shobhaa De is back with a book that celebrates her upcoming seventieth year. She calls herself a ‘Child of the Republic’ as looks back on the terrain of her life. Especially at relationships-hers and those she has observed over the years-and at ever-present fears and grief.
Shobhaa De’s writing exudes an empathy that has turned several of her books into life manuals for generations of Indians. Her keen wit spears and spares none, least of all herself. Her delicious irreverence makes this book a delight to read. It is the lessons in loving and living woven into the writing-intensely personal and deeply felt-that form the wise heart of Seventy.
The Unending Game
In God we trust, the rest we monitor . . .
A former chief of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, deconstructs the shadowy world of spies, from the Cold War era to the age of global jihad, from surveillance states to psy-war and cyberwarfare, from gathering information to turning it into credible intelligence. Vikram Sood provides a panoramic view of the rarely understood profession of spying to serve a country’s strategic and security interests.
As a country’s stature and reach grow, so do its intelligence needs. This is especially true for one like India that has ambitions of being a global player even as it remains embattled in its own neighbourhood. The Unending Game tackles these questions while providing a national and international perspective on gathering external intelligence, its relevance in securing and advancing national interests, and why intelligence is the first playground in the game of nations.
Flavours Of The Spice Coast
The south-western coast of India, famous for its spices, has been a cultural melting pot for two thousand years. Jews, Muslims and Christians, merchants and missionaries came and stayed here, adding their influences to the region’s culture and cuisine. Over the years, the traditional produce of the coast-vegetables like yam and tapioca; fruits like coconut, mango and banana; and of course, fish and prawn-has been combined in new and interesting ways in a diverse range of dishes. The recipes in this book draw upon this rich heritage to give us traditional vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare such as Avial, Kaalan, Fish Molee, Chicken Biriyani and Egg Roast. The book also contains recipes for popular breakfast dishes like Puttu and Appam, anytime snacks like Murukku and Banana Fritters and delicious desserts such as Paal Ada Pradhaman and tender coconut pudding.
From street corner food like Trivandrum Chicken to the more adventurous Fish with Mango and Fish in a Plantain Leaf, here is an exciting array of the very best of cooking from the spice coast of India.
Yoga
A compilation of Osho’s talks, Yoga: The Science of Living is not merely a commentary on Patanjali’s ancient treatise. It is enriched with insights from Osho’s own awakened consciousness and defies the traditional norms of spirituality. Osho punctuates the voyage of self-discovery with an irreverent sense of humour as he answers the questions from various people, keen to discover themselves with refreshing candour. Insightful and profound, this book is an invaluable guide for those looking for inner balance and peace.
Yoga
According to Osho, life is nothing but an expression of silence. We come out of silence, but then lose our way. In order to experience this silence again and attain liberation, we need to rediscover the path back to our pure being. The key is simple: we must not identify with our bodies and minds, as all identification is outwards, and we are going on an inner journey. Osho emphasizes, as always, the importance of combining intelligence, awareness and humour on this journey.
The Book of Life
‘The story of mankind is in you, the vast experience, the deep-rooted fears, anxieties, sorrow, pleasure and all the beliefs that man has accommodated throughout the millennia. You are that book.’
Inspired by Krishnamurti’s belief that truth is found through living, The Book of Life presents 365 timeless daily meditations, developed thematically over seven days, illuminating the concepts of freedom, personal transformation, living fully awake and much more.
The Book of Life is a profound collection of insights to treasure every day for those who have come to cherish the wisdom of this extraordinary spiritual sage as well as those who are discovering it for the first time.
Reviving Jobs
Every country in the world experiences the benefits of its demographic dividend, a period that comes but once in the life of a nation-when the share of the working-age population is larger than the non-working-age share. It has the potential to make a country progress towards higher incomes and development. But it can also become a nightmare if there aren’t enough jobs.
India entered this period in 1980, and by the time it ends in 2040, ours will be an ageing society. As more and more youth reach working age, an increasing number of workers are moving from agriculture towards industry and services, sectors which have higher productivity and incomes. Higher incomes generate increased savings, which, when invested, convert into GDP growth, leading to development.
Since 2012, the number of youth entrants into the labour force has increased at an accelerating pace, while the number of jobs created has decreased. This situation might become graver between 2020 and 2030 as the labour force swells further. Reviving Jobs, the third volume in the Rethinking India series, offers suggestions on how India can make the best use of the remaining period of its demographic dividend-any failure to do so will cause millions to suffer in poverty for decades to come.
Momspeak
Mother. Woman. Human.
What is it like to be a mother in India? Is there only one kind of woman as mother or can mothers be as different as chalk and cheese?
In this original, provocative book, Pooja Pande peels off the layers of social propriety to delve deep into the visceral reality of motherhood, much glorified but barely understood in India. Exploring the spectrum of experiences mothers have as women, as humans-from ecstasy to depression, jealous possessiveness to indifference, exhaustion to sensual desire-she reveals the personal, social and emotional roller-coaster motherhood can be. Through vignettes of her personal journey, and hilarious and poignant episodes in the lives of different mothers-married, divorced, single, queer, adoptive-Pande celebrates and shines new light on this transformative, life-affirming experience. Whatever kind of mother you are, you will find your truth reflected in these pages.
Building a Happy Family
You can’t have a happy family unless you’re happy yourself. Raageshwari Loomba, an award-winning speaker on mindfulness, shows us how to create an excellent atmosphere for the entire family to thrive in. Her relateable style is coupled with real-life examples, such as that of Albert Einstein, who couldn’t speak till the age of four and was a poor student. His parents encouraged him with love and allowed him to learn at his own pace. This, she shows, is the way to bring up your own little genius.
Building a Happy Family brings to you 11 simple mindfulness philosophies that will enrich and strengthen your and your children’s inner world. Through scientific research and her own intimate story of heartbreak and facial paralysis, Raageshwari emphasises how our thoughts can manifest further struggles or glory, and how teaching children early that our inner world attracts our outer world is key. Parents are taught to encourage their children’s original expressions, creativity and joy, and not lose sight of it in their own lives too. This is the secret to a happy family.