Category: Features

As the crisp breeze blows in and the days grow cozier, there’s nothing better than curling up with a good book. This October, let the season’s magic unfold with a fresh lineup of our newest books perfect for those chilly mornings and quiet, wintery evenings. Discover new stories to keep you company as the leaves fall and the year winds down.

In A General Reminisces, he reflects upon this time, his interactions with bureaucrats and experiences about the atmosphere at the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. He mulls the change, the way it has taken over the citizens and the army stationed there—at the same time, he pens his thoughts about how militancy sprung up in the Valley in 1990s and how the Indian Army evolved to respond to it. A counter-terrorism force called Rashtriya Rifles was created to counter the rising threat. Then there was a bold response of creation of Ikhwan, a rehabilitation programme that allowed young Kashmiri men to convert from militancy and work with the Indian Army. This eventually led to a bolder experiment of raising the Territorial Army battalion, comprising of surrendered terrorists.
In these events, Lt Gen. Dua weaves in the context to tell a story of a terrorist-turned-soldier, Nazir Wani, who ended up becoming the very beacon of change that Lt Gen. Dua has witnessed and hopes for.

In Engineering a Nation, Aparajith Ramnath delves into a wide range of sources to paint a balanced picture of a man who has come to be regarded as a national icon. Throughout, he explores the professional and intellectual relationships that shaped Visvesvaraya, and highlights the historical context in which he worked. To explore Visvesvaraya’s life, the book argues, is to understand the emergence of the Indian nation itself.

As the emperor of the Chozha kingdom, Sundara Chozha, lies unwell in Tanjavur fort, a sinister plot is being hatched—a plot to wrest the throne from Crown Prince Aditta Karikalan. Senior minister Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar is powerful and could well succeed in his plan to seat Madhurantakan, son of Sundara Chozha’s elder brother, on the throne, after Sundara Chozha’s death.
Aware of the rumblings, Aditta Karikalan entrusts his confidant Vallavaraiyan Vandiyatevan to deliver a message to the emperor and his beloved sister Kundavai Devi. Will the intrepid Vandiyatevan succeed? Or will he fall victim to the machinations? What role does the elder Pazhuvettaiyar’s wife have to play in all this? Will Kundavai Devi be able to protect her brothers’ interests?
Delving into politics, betrayal, desires and ambition in tenth-century Tamil Nadu, Ponniyin Selvan is Kalki’s magnum opus, a gripping tale that has remained popular and beloved for decades. Beautifully translated by Gowri Ramnarayan, Kalki’s granddaughter, Fresh Floods is the first in a series that is unputdownable.

Human at Work delves into these challenges, the rapid technological advances, digital transformation and economic uncertainties that serve as opportunities and threats for the future of work. These developments call for agile leadership, ethical decision-making and commitment to continuous innovation in an ever-shifting landscape.

In Human Nature, Thomas Bell embarks on four walks through the Himalaya, each in a different season, to explore the interplay between the land and the people who call it home. This evocative history entwines travelogue with folklore, literature, art and anthropology, offering a nuanced portrait of life over the centuries in one of the world’s most enigmatic regions.

Bell’s decades of living in Nepal give him an unusual perspective that bridges the gap between insider and outsider. The stories told to him touch on themes from religion to ecology and political economy, and from pre-history to the present day. He also deftly examines the impact of British imperialism and the growing external pressures on the environment.

In Iconoclast, Dr Anand Teltumbde, a distinguished public intellectual and leading authority on the Dalit movement, presents a groundbreaking biography of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Far from the embellished narratives often associated with his legacy, Teltumbde strips away the layers of myth and hyperbole to reveal the man behind the legend.

With incisive analysis and a deep understanding of Ambedkar’s philosophy, Teltumbde extends the narrative beyond the confines of history, examining Ambedkar’s enduring impact on contemporary India. Iconoclast is a masterful tribute to a towering figure in modern history, offering profound insights into the epic struggle for social emancipation and the quest for a truly inclusive society.

St Ursula’s Convent, Madras. The girls here are destined to be nuns or servants, but seventeen-year-old Savi, intelligent and with a gift for languages, dreams of escape. She’s taken on as a governess for the wealthy Nandiyar family.

The horrific events of a single night compel Savi and her lover, Ananda, to embark on a dangerous journey, at the end of which they re-emerge in America under new identities. Forty years later, Savi, now known as Missy, is living the American dream in Chicago. She is the pillar of the South Asian community and mother to two brilliant young women, Mansi and Shilpa.

But the past is only a tremor away. Varun, a charming doctor, enters their lives, and his arrival sets off a chain of events that puts Missy’s world in jeopardy.

An extraordinary debut, Missy is the story of a remarkable woman—tender in pain, courageous in crisis. This is a captivating novel that sheds light on the allure of assimilation and the idea that you can never outrun your past.

There are several books available on the wildlife of different countries and continents, of animal and bird species, even of habitats and ecotypes like the rain forests, the wetlands and the deserts. However, one does not find a comprehensive work on the larger mammals of the mountains of the world. In this book, the author, who has been one of the foremost conservationists and has spearheaded several programmes for the protection of wildlife with his insightful writing, brings alive the world of these mammals.

Mountain Mammals of the World is a definitive guide to the understanding of the most spectacular animals on earth, against the backdrop of some of the world’s most splendid scenery.

The Ramayana is thousands of years old, yet it is filled with life lessons that benefit us even today. It teaches courage and fortitude to handle problems that are the inevitable result of birth. Reading it instils values like leadership, forbearance, loyalty, respect, equality, forgiveness, humility, and most of all, selflessness. Rama exemplifies eternally relevant dharma, demonstrating the path to enlightenment through conscious selfless action. He illustrates how one can attain liberation from suffering not by renunciation but by engaging fully in life, yet rising above it, through the purity of our choices.

This retelling of Valmiki’s Ramayana is a compelling read. It brings alive the poet’s ancient Sanskrit epic in lucid English without diluting the original intent. Making this edition truly special are the additional chapters on Vedic life, Rama’s descendants and the story of Valmiki.

When a bureaucrat who witnessed the Bhopal gas tragedy firsthand passes away from Covid, he leaves behind his oldest friend and an unfinished book.

An impassioned lament, a nostalgic tribute and a poignant ode to boyhood, Thank You, Gandhi is a unique blend of fiction and nonfiction, past and present, memoir and social commentary, and ultimately an uncategorizable book that pays homage to the enduring legacy of the father of our nation. At its epicentre sits the profound bond between K and Munna whose lives are inextricably intertwined with India’s tumultuous history and Gandhi’s teachings.

A novel unlike any other, Thank You, Gandhi takes readers into a liminal space beyond the confines of genre and invites them to confront the difficult questions of where we are and how we got here through a layered and rare exploration of male camaraderie.

Throughout his storied career, Aswath Damodaran has searched for the universal key to demystifying corporate finance and valuation. Now, at last, he offers the groundbreaking answer to readers everywhere. It turns out there is a corporate lifecycle very much like our own, with unique stages of growth and decline. And just as we must learn to act our age, so too must companies. By better understanding how corporations age and the characteristics of each stage of their lifecycle, we can unlock the secrets behind any businesses’ behavior and optimize our management and investment decisions accordingly. As the corporate lifecycle touches virtually every aspect of business, this book is for anyone with skin in the corporate finance game—from managers to investors, from novices to seasoned pros.

Our valiant hero Vallavaraiyan Vandiyatevan has been asked to make his way to Ilankai on Princess Kundavai Devi’s request. With the help of the curious and eccentric Poonkuzhali, he does so, traversing across dangerous land and waters to finally meet ‘Ponniyin Selvan’—the beloved Chozha prince Arulmozhi Varman.
Back home, the plotting to take over the throne of the Chozha empire continues. At the centre of it all, stands the wife of the senior Pazhuvettaraiyar, the beautiful and dangerous Nandini Devi, who will stop at nothing to bring down the Chozas. Will Vandiyatevan and the Chozha princes manage to outplay Nandini and the Pazhuvettaraiyars?
An epic adventure, skilfully written by Kalki and elegantly translated by his granddaughter Gowri Ramnarayan, continues in this, the second in the Ponniyin Selvan series.

It may be the twenty-first century but religious tensions and conflicts continue all across the world. Even today, religion continues to play an unparalleled role in the lives of individuals and nations with people and leaders pitting one religious identity against another. But the question that needs to be asked is this: are all religions fundamentally different from each other?

What if we go back to the source texts of all great religions of the world? What will we find?

Will we find a mountain of differences or a sea of harmony? This book addresses this question and is sure to surprise you with its findings.

The Fertile Earth is a vast, ambitious debut that is equal parts historical, political, and human, with the enduring ties of love and family loyalty at its heart. Who can be loved? What are the costs of transgressions? How can justice be measured, and who will be alive to bear witness?

In The Gym of Leadership, Anil Khandelwal, a proven transformational leader, advocates that building all-round leadership capabilities should be a high-priority agenda for those aspiring for growth. Taking a refreshing approach, he uses fitness work out as an analogy to motivate aspiring leaders to develop new-age leadership skills. According to the author, building leadership capabilities is akin to building physical and mental fitness since both require passion, dedication and discipline. A practical guide to leadership, this book focuses on the actual development and practice of specific skills. It primarily proposes eighteen foundational skills of leadership grouped into four sections, namely, ‘understanding the self’, ‘emotional regulation’, ‘relationship management’ and ‘communication’. Authoritative and foregrounded in rigorous research, it promises to fill in the existing gap in the literature on leadership.

Rama is all of sixteen when Sage Viswamithra takes him to the Dandaka forest, with Lakshmana accompanying them. At first, the spirit of adventure fills the two teenage brothers, but when they enter the forest in broad daylight, it is a curtain of pitch darkness. The smell of decaying flesh, flashes of fire, and the gloom of animals, birds and foliage in terror affect Rama deeply. For the first time, he feels fear. He hears derisive laughter—is it from the forest, or is it within him?

The Living Legend is packed with twists and reflections and hosts the strength of relationships with nature that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana make to restore balance in life. The forest of inner evolution was transformative in their youth, and it is in our time too.

This success, though, was marred by an equally resounding failure of Nehru’s economic project, built on the development of heavy industry, an expanding public sector, and relative isolation from world markets. It failed to produce the growth necessary to rid India of poverty and bequeathed an ethos that made a switch to an outward-oriented, pro-market economy a real challenge in the post-Nehru era. This line of thinking remains entrenched in the Indian political, intellectual, bureaucratic, and business constituencies.

Founders: A unique species of humans engaged in the most productive action that ego can drive. Who put in every ounce of energy to survive and succeed big. Whose journey is so transformative that many lifetimes worth of evolution can get packed into it. Tightrope to the Moon takes readers into the mind of the ‘mega founder’ and decodes how they think, operate and successfully navigate the ultra-competitive startup racetrack. The book unpeels how the founder’s need to prove is first born in a tangible form, grows bigger, survives blow after blow, and yet comes out in front to lead the pack. Based on the author’s over two decades of experience as a venture capitalist, the book uses incisive insights and compelling case studies to unravel the secrets of successful founders. A must-read for founders, their families and their co-workers, this seminal work is a much-needed account of how founders walk the long, treacherous road to success.

The last time Daksh met Aanchal, it was at a wedding in Dubai. A brief spark and then both of them move on. It’s not necessary to be together even if you love each other to the moon and back, right? Wrong.

Not being with the one you love means that there is always this heart-shaped hole in your lives, a pain that you can’t understand, a longing that refuses to go away.

What happens when the Band-Aid on this relationship is ripped off, and they are pushed together to finally see what life for them would be like? What happens when they put aside their ambitions and emotions to finally look at filling the hole?

World’s Best Ex-Girlfriend is a romance that will take the reader through the wringer of love.