Want to go from office zero to hero? These books have your back! Whether you’re looking for leadership shortcuts, incredible life stories, or just a laugh, we’ve got your path to workplace stardom covered. So, put on your reading glasses and get ready to boss it at the office!
Play to Transform || Avinash Jhangiani
Play to Transform is a book that challenges the traditional mindset of business leaders and encourages them to tap into their inner child to accelerate transformation with purpose. The book argues that we are all born creative geniuses with an innate ability to empathize deeply with others, but somewhere along the way, we have lost touch with these qualities. In the post-pandemic world, leaders need to be more empathetic and agile than ever before, and a conscious shift in mindset is required to achieve this.
Unlocked || Gezim Gashi
Gezim Gashi recounts his extraordinary journey-from escaping the Kosovo genocide to becoming the first Albanian-Swede to launch a high school institute in the United States – Gezim lays out a path to personal success and fulfillment that is accessible to all, regardless of their background. With his mentorship, readers will be inspired to overcome obstacles and achieve their biggest goals.
Unfiltered || Ana Lueneburger, Saurabh Mukherjea
A pioneering book, Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach, for the first time, opens the doors that normally shield the confidential world of coaching conversations. The book, through its candour, helps readers fully grasp the life-changing impact that coaching can have. Conceived as a leadership development book, the authors share the narratives (both individual and mutual) of their partnership over the course of five years. The resultant narrative provides not just unique insights that executives and entrepreneurs will find useful for their own development but also deep insights into how, by understanding ourselves, we move towards mastery over the world at large.
Leading from the Back || Ravi Kant, Harry Paul, Ross Reck
Are you looking for a leadership model that is uncomplicated, easy to use and produces amazing results? If so, then Leading from the Back is for you! In it you will find everything you need to become a superstar leader. You will learn how to earn respect from your team members and help them in achieving the impossible. No more learning about numerous principles and laws of leadership. Just a three-part model that has an amazing track record of proven success.
Leading from the Back is a distillation of the collective experience and wisdom of Ravi Kant (former CEO, vice chairman, Tata Motors), Harry Paul (co-author of the bestseller FISH! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results) and Ross Reck (co-author of The Win-Win Negotiator).
The Secret of Leadership || Iyer Prakash
Bestselling author Prakash Iyer uses simple but powerful anecdotes and parables from all over the world to demonstrate what makes for effective personal and professional leadership. Iyer draws lessons from sources as diverse as his driver, a mother giraffe, Abraham Lincoln and footballers in the United Kingdom. He shows how an instinct to lead can be acquired even while flipping burgers at a fast-food chain. All of these stories come together in an explosive cocktail to unleash your inner leader.
Catalyst || Chandramouli Venkatesan
A good job, hard work, IQ, EQ, good communication skills-these are all ingredients for a successful life. The presence of these elements alone, however, does not guarantee success. To convert them into long-term success, you need certain stimuli which precipitate or accelerate your growth. This robustly effective book identifies the various catalysts that you can cultivate and how you can leverage them to propel yourself in your work and life.
Accessible, engaging and easy to follow, and written by someone who has experienced all this in real life and not in theory, Catalyst will arm you with the right tools to succeed at your work place and get the most out of every moment, every day.
The Habit of Winning || Iyer Prakash
Do you feel like throwing in the towel, but want to be a great leader? Would you like to build an organization? Do you want your child to be the best she can be? If you answered yes to any of these questions, The Habit of Winning is the book for you. It is a book that will change the way you think, work and live, with stories about self-belief and perseverance, leadership and teamwork-stories that will ignite a new passion and a renewed sense of purpose in your mind.
We are thrilled to announce the longlisted works from Penguin Books for Tata Literature Live Book Awards 2023. These remarkable books, spanning a wide range of genres and themes, have captivated readers with their narratives that explore love, family, identity, history, science, and societal transformation. Join us in celebrating these exceptional authors and their stories that have earned them a place on the prestigious longlist.
Fear and Lovely || Anjana Appachana
Mallika is a painfully shy young woman growing up in the heart of a close-knit, sometimes stifling New Delhi colony. Though she is surrounded by love, her life is complicated by secrets that she, her mother and her aunt work hard to keep.
After suffering a trauma aged nineteen, Mallika loses three days of her memory and slowly spirals into a deep depression. She must find a way out of this abyss, back to herself and those she cares about. But she must also hide her mental illness from her community.
In a narrative that unfolds elliptically from the perspectives of Mallika and the seven people closest to her, the astonishing story of these characters’ lives emerges. For Mallika’s family, childhood friends and the two men she loves are also hiding truths. As each gives voice to contending with their own struggles, secrets and silences shatter.
Shurjo’s Clan || Iffat Nawaz
Spanning decades, from the forced migration of Bengalis to East Pakistan in 1947, through the 1971 liberation war, the wave of immigrants to the West in the 1980s, and a final return, Iffat Nawaz’s lyrical and evocative prose marks the arrival of a distinctive voice, one that unravels questions of grief, belonging, identity, and family with delightful imaginativeness and devastating insight. With its mesmerising balance between inexplicable otherworldliness and undeniable reality, this debut novel asks, above all, how we can honour the past without letting its wounds destroy us.
Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover || Akshaya Mukul
Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover features a formidable cast of characters: from writers like Premchand, Phanishwarnath Renu, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand and Josephine Miles to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, revolutionary Chandra Shekhar Azad and actor Balraj Sahni. And its landscapes stretch from British jails, an intellectually robust Allahabad and modern-day Delhi to monasteries in Europe, the homes of Agyeya’s friends in the Himalayas and universities in
the US. This book is a magnificent examination of Agyeya’s civilizational enterprise.
Ambitious and scholarly, Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover is also an unputdownable, whirlwind of a read.
The Song of the Cell || Siddhartha Mukherjee
From Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene, The Song of The Cell is the third book in this extraordinary writer’s exploration of what it means to be human-rich with Siddhartha Mukherjee’s revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and all the patients whose lives may be saved by their work.
In The Song of the Cell, Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. He seduces readers with writing so vivid, lucid, and suspenseful that complex science becomes thrilling. Told in six parts, laced with Mukherjee’s own experience as a researcher, doctor, and prolific reader, The Song of the Cell is both panoramic and intimate-a masterpiece.
Against all odds || S. ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, N. Dayasindhu, Krishnan Narayanan
Against All Odds: The IT Story of India is an insider’s account and an anecdote-rich history of Indian IT over the last six decades. It taps into the first-hand experiences of Kris Gopalakrishnan and fifty other stalwarts
who built and shaped the IT industry. This is a tale of persistence and resilience, of foresight, of planning and being ready when luck knocks on the door, of a spirit of adventure and, above all, of an abiding sense of faith in technology and the belief that it would do good for India. It is a tale of triumph, and the best is yet to come!
Forks in the Road || C. Rangarajan
In Forks in the Road, the veteran economist and policymaker provides a captivating account of his professional journey, starting with his purely accidental entry into the RBI in 1982. Rangarajan, regarded as one of the tallest figures in the history of India’s economic reforms, provides crucial insights into the role he played as part of the team which initiated far-reaching reforms in India’s economy in the early 1990s. The path-breaking reforms that he implemented during his tenure as governor of RBI included deregulation of interest rates, strengthening of the banking system by a gradual tightening of prudential norms, creation and nurturing of financial markets, giving them depth and vibrancy, shifting to market-determined exchange rates, making the rupee convertible on the current account and the cessation of automatic monetization of budget deficit.
Working To Restore || Esha Chhabra
Working to Restore examines revolutionary approaches in nine areas: agriculture, waste, supply chain, inclusivity for the collective good, women in the workforce, travel, health, energy, and finance. The companies profiled are solving global issues: promoting responsible production and consumption, creating equitable opportunities for all, encouraging climate action, and more. Chhabra highlights how their work moves beyond the greenwashed idea of ‘sustainability’ into a new era of regeneration and restoration.
October is here, and it brings a fresh wave of literary treasures for readers to discover. From thought-provoking biographies to captivating poetry collections, this month’s releases offer a diverse range of reading experiences. Join us as we explore the exciting world of our newest releases.
Doctor Steel || J.J. Irani
In the 1980s, the steel produced in India was not cost-effective, plagued by quality issues and unable to meet the standards required to take India a step ahead in its development goals.
Enter Jamshed Jiji Irani, fondly known as ‘Doc’ to all, whose efforts aimed at modernizing Tata Steel changed everything. Today, Tata Steel produces low-cost, high-quality metal of international standards. Under his leadership, Tata Steel ushered India into a new age of economic growth. But his story doesn’t end there. A leading industrialist, Irani was keenly involved in the 1990s economic liberalization that put India on the global map. He held positions on various Tata boards, and was part of the Confederation of Indian Industry and several other government-appointed committees. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and an honorary knighthood by the British government for his work.
The Art of Habits || Gauranga Das
As the final book in the three-volume series (after The Art of Resilience and The Art of Focus), The Art of Habits presents forty simple stories filled with deep revelations. What will enthral the readers is the engaging narration, the dynamics of the situations that manifest and the deep learnings from such episodes.
Anarchy or Chaos || Ole Birk Laursen
Driven by the urge for complete freedom from colonialism, authoritarianism, fascism and militarism, which are rooted in the idea and politics of the nation-state, Acharya fought for an international vision of socialism and freedom. During the tumultuous opening decades of the 1900s—marked by the globalization of radical inter-revolutionary struggles, world wars, the rise of communism and fascism, and the growth of colonial independence movements—Acharya allied himself with pacifists, anarchists, radical socialists and anti-colonial fighters in exile, championing a future free from any form of oppression, whether by colonial rulers or native masters. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, private correspondence and other primary sources, Laursen demonstrates that, among his contemporaries, Acharya’s turn to anarchism was unique and pioneering in the struggle for Indian independence.
Restless Lives || Harish Bhat
Restless Lives offers an oasis of quiet contemplation. In this beautiful poetry collection, author Harish Bhat contemplates various aspects that make up daily life. At times pleasing, at others disturbing, the lines within these pages promise to give pause, inspire and stir emotion.
This is Harish Bhat as you have never seen him before.
Fugitive of Empire || Joseph McQuade
A complex, controversial, and often contradictory figure, Bose has been described as a committed democrat, an authoritarian, an advocate of religious harmony, a Hindu chauvinist, an anti-communist, a political pragmatist, an idealist, a Japanese collaborator, an anti-racist, a cultural conservative, a Pan-Asianist, an Indian nationalist, and much more. Drawing on extensive archival research
from India, Japan, and the UK, this refreshing new biography brings to life the largely forgotten story of one of twentieth-century Asia’s most daring revolutionaries.
iParent || Neha J Hiranandani
Iparent decodes India’s app generation and elevates the discussion beyond ‘these kids and their phones!’ Based on research, candid conversations and personal reflection, this timely book is a witty meditation on parenting in a digital world. Hilarious and informative in equal measure, iParent empowers you to connect with the new generation and guide them to cyber-safety without being a helicopter parent. No judgement, no preaching.
Avatars of Brahma || Kaudinya Arpan, Pareekshit Dahal
In Avatars of Brahma, the authors, who run the popular website, Scientific Monk, delve into the lives of each avatar, their works and the philosophies presented by them. They explain how the avatars of Brahma help us understand the Indian thought process and India’s intellectual heritage, and give readers a view of the works of India’s greatest yogis from a twenty-first-century world view.
Heal your Gut, Mind and Emotions || Dimple Jangda
With the gut as a central axis of vigour, health coach Dimple Jangda has helped people all over the world recover from chronic diseases through a powerful combination of ancient Ayurvedic science, modern research and nutrition with a special emphasis on food chemistry.
In this comprehensive book, she shares the tools that shaped her life and advises on how you can use food to preserve your health and reverse diseases. She outlines a five-step process that will help you unlock the huge potentials of the gut and improve your gut–brain axis so it can share critical information with you on what the body truly needs.
Dimple’s goal is to empower people to use nutrition to prevent disease, and through this accessible, exhaustive book, shows you just how you can do that.
Doing Business in Uncertain Times || Ramesh Nair
Doing Business in Uncertain Times is a groundbreaking book which offers a comprehensive exploration of the complexities and challenges faced during economic downturns. It is divided into fifty thought-provoking chapters that present a unique and multifaceted perspective on downturns, providing instrumental guidance to entrepreneurs and business leaders through Nair’s extensive research and expertise,. Shining a spotlight on three key perspectives: business, clients and people, it will teach you to unlearn and relearn, shun past notions, push limits, develop new strengths and realize the potential that lies within you.
Poorna Swaraj || M. K. Gandhi, Dhananjay Rai
Time and again, Mahatma Gandhi’s life, work and philosophy have played pivotal roles in bringing positive change in society. Poorna Swaraj, through its reading of the Constructive Programme: Its Meaning and Place, opens a window to his vision of attaining real and complete independence or ‘swaraj’ for India. With his ideas on communal unity, prohibition, basic education, emancipation of women, advisasis’ concerns, farmers’ distress, removal of untouchability, demystification of leprosy, the role of khadi, charkha, village and small-scale industries, among others, Poorna Swaraj brings to light Gandhi’s road map for an egalitarian society.
The Nirvana Express || Mick Brown
From Edwin Arnold, whose epic poem about the life of the Buddha became a best-seller in Victorian Britain, to the occultist and magician Aleister Crowley; and from spiritual teachers Jiddu Krishnamurti, Meher Baba and Ramana Maharshi to the controversial guru Rajneesh, The Nirvana Express is an exhilarating, sometimes troubling journey through the West’s search for enlightenment.
Soul and Sword: https://penguin.co.in/book/soul-and-sword/
Soul and Sword || Hindol Sengupta
Hindol Sengupta is one of India’s most awarded and read historians. He is the winner of the Wilbur Award, the Valley of Words Award, the PSF Prize and the Kalinga Literary Award for his writing. He has been shortlisted for the Hayek Prize given by the Manhattan Institute in memory of the Nobel laureate economist F.A. Hayek. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and was trained in Indian history and international relations at the University of Oxford and the Geneva School of Diplomacy, and in business and finance at Columbia University. He is the author of ten previous books and lives in New Delhi.
Common Yet Uncommon || Sudha Murty
Written in Sudha Murty’s inimitable style, Common Yet Uncommon is a heartwarming picture of everyday life and the foibles and quirks of ordinary people. In the fourteen tales that make up the collection, Sudha Murty delves into memories of childhood, life in her hometown and the people she’s crossed paths with. These and the other characters who populate the pages of this book do not possess wealth or fame. They are unpolished and outspoken, transparent and magnanimous.
Their stories are tales of unvarnished humans, with faults and big hearts.
Black Money and Tax Havens || R Vaidyanathan
In Black Money and Tax Havens, R. Vaidyanathan provides the reader with a brief overview of black money-its generation, its estimates and how and why it is spirited away to tax havens. He also lays bare the danger that is posed to world financial well-being on account of the lack of political will to tackle these issues. A unique and timely work, this book packs in much information in an accessible manner.
Roman Stories || Jhumpa Lahiri
In ‘The Boundary’, one family vacations in the Roman countryside, though we see their lives through the eyes of the caretaker’s daughter, who nurses a wound from her family’s immigrant past. In ‘P’s Parties’, a Roman couple, now empty nesters, finds comfort and community with foreigners at their friend’s yearly birthday gathering-until the husband crosses a line.
And in ‘The Steps’, on a public staircase that connects two neighbourhoods and the residents who climb up and down it, we see Italy’s capital in all of its social and cultural variegations, filled with the tensions of a changing city: visibility and invisibility, random acts of aggression, the challenge of straddling worlds and cultures, and the meaning of home.
These are splendid, searching stories, written in Jhumpa Lahiri’s adopted language of Italian and seamlessly translated by the author and by Knopf editor Todd Portnowitz.
Another Sort of Freedom || Gurcharan Das
Another Sort of Freedom is a funny, moving and honest memoir of a man’s struggle to break free from expectations. Gurcharan Das was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, during World War II, when Hitler, Churchill and Hirohito were bashing everyone around. His mother noted in her diary, ‘This is a restless baby.’ By age two he had become ‘a difficult child’, and by three she was calling him a ‘troublemaker’. He discovered one day that he could run, and he has been running ever since.
Sakina’s Kiss || Vivek Shanbhag, Srinath Perur
Exquisitely translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur, Sakina’s Kiss is a delicate, precise meditation on the persistence of old biases—and a rattled masculinity—in India’s changing social and political landscape. Ingeniously crafted, Vivek Shanbhag interrogates the space between truth and perception in this unforgettable foray into the minefield of family life.
COMING SOON
Triveni || Gulzar
In Triveni are birds perched on branches, moonstruck musings, a house of straws, walking roses and unbridled desires of the heart. The poems are inhabited by lost lovers, unreturned books and bloodsucking rumours. A poetic form unique to Gulzar, Triveni is a confluence of three of India’s majestic rivers—the golden-hued Ganges, the deep green Yamuna and a third, the mythical one that lies beneath the former two, the Saraswati.
A form Gulzar began experimenting with in the 1960s, Triveni comes close to several classical Japanese forms of poetry such as the Haiku, Senryu and Tanka. The closest Indian forms to Triveni are the doha and shayari. In this stunning translation by Neha R. Krishna, Triveni have been transcreated as tanka and are ladled with musicality, breaking away from the charm of rhyme and metre. This collection, too, is a confluence or sangam of forms and nothing short of a gift from one of India’s most beloved poets.
India has twenty-two official languages and many dialects spoken across the country. As we gear up to commemorate International Translation Day on 30 September, we bring a selection of classics translated from Indian languages to English which promise to introduce readers to great writers who would be lost without their translators.
Celebrate the beauty of translation as we open the doors to diverse stories from Marathi, Sanskrit, Assamese, Bengali, and Hindi. While the books represented are a tiny representation of the classic works in these languages, we hope it gives you a flavour of the region and helps you appreciate our diversity.
Shyamchi Aai || Sane Guruji
Translated from Marathi by Shanta Gokhale
In the words of author Sathya Saran, ‘Shanta Gokhale’s translation carries within it what I believe is the spirit of the original. The prose runs softly like a smooth flowing river that, even as it meanders its way through tricky terrain, manages to avoid any hurdles.’
Narrated over the course of forty-two nights, Shyamchi Aai is a poignant story of Shyam and his Aai—a mother with an unbreakable spirit. This evergreen children’s classic is an account of a life of poverty, hard work, sacrifice and love.
Tales from the Kathasaritsagara || Somadeva
Adapted from Sanskrit by Rohini Chowdhury
Do you know the story of Phalabhuti, who narrowly escaped a grisly fate?
Or of the kind-hearted Jimutavahana, who was willing to give his life to save a snake from death?
Or of young Shringabhuja, who married a rakshasa’s daughter?
These are just some of the many tales that make up Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara, a classic work of Sanskrit literature that is full of memorable characters. Within the pages of this book, you will encounter demons and demi-gods, faithful guards and foolish villagers, golden swans, magic pots and even automatons made of wood!
Taniya || Arupa Patangia Kalita, Meenaxi Barkotoki
Translated from the Assamese by Meenaxi Barkotoki
From the pen of Sahitya Akademi-winning Arupa Patangia Kalita’s comes her only children’s novel to date — Tainya. A timeless classic in Assam, the book has been masterfully translated in English by veteran Assamese translator Meenaxi Borkotoki.
Told in a non-linear format, the book traces Taniya’s journey from the foothills of Bhutan to her final resting place. The antics of this Bhutanese cocker spaniel captured in Kalita’s unmatched storytelling style tugs at all the right heart strings making it quite impossible for you not to react as you read long. An endearing story, the novel is a must-read for pet lovers and readers of Indian literature in translation, alike.
Timeless Tales || Vijaydan Detha
Translated from Marwari by Vishes Kothari
Giving a new lease of life to Vijaydan Detha’s ‘Batan ri Phulwari’, Vishes’s is a hand-picked compilation of the much-loved Rajasthani folktales—a fourteen-volume collection written over a span of nearly fifty years.
Retold in Detha’s magical narrative style complete with imagery, this selection offers some of the oldest and most popular fables from the Thar Desert region. Discover tales of handsome rajkanwars, evil witches, exploitative thakars, miserly seths, clever insects, benevolent snakes and more.
Another Dozen Stories || Satyajit Ray, Majumdar Indrani
Translated from Bengali by Indrani Majumdar
A tribute to Ray’s immaculate literary genius, this collection of short stories brings alive the magical, bizarre, spooky and sometimes astonishing worlds created by Satyajit Ray.
Featuring an extraordinary bunch of characters, the book contains Ray’s original artworks that will leave you and the little ones asking for more!
A Winter’s Night || Premchand
Translated from Hindi by Rakshanda Jalil
The ten stories in this book are an ideal introduction to Premchand and his concerns and ideas that remain relevant to this day.
The world in the book is inhabited by people like Halku, forced to spend the bitterly cold winter night in the open, without a blanket; Kaki, the old invalid aunt, ill-treated by her own relatives; and Shankar, reduced to being a bonded labour for the sake of a handful of wheat. Premchand describes their plights with unflinching honesty. Yet all is not hopeless in this world. There is also little Hamid, who buys tongs for his old grandmother rather than toys for himself; Ladli, who saves her share of puris for her blind aunt; and Big Brother, trying in vain to remember the strange names of English kings and queens.
As the leaves begin to change and the cozy embrace of autumn envelops us, let’s kindle a love affair with these enchanting audiobooks that are as comforting as a warm cup of tea on a crisp fall day. From ancient legends to thrilling cyber mysteries, these stories will engage your senses and tug at your heartstrings leaving you craving for more.
Victory City || Salman Rushdie
In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for the Goddess, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga – literally ‘victory city’ -the wonder of the world.
Cyber Encounters || Ashok Kumar, O.P. Manocha
Cyber Encounters delves deep into the nebulous cyberspace, to bring twelve fascinating accounts of cybercrime. Ashok Kumar, DGP, Uttarakhand Police and a veteran in the systematic fight against cybercrime in the state, and OP Manocha, an ex-DRDO scientist, unfold a specific type of cybercrime in each tale, based on a true story. Packed with information on the crime, its investigation and the apprehending of the criminals, this illuminating insider account is a must-read.
Do Different || Amit Sinha, Joy Bhattacharjya
in Do Different, we offer diverse perspectives on the man: from a fellow wicketkeeper and competitor reminiscing on Dhoni’s early years; to MSD’s first agent with his perspective on the journey of brand Dhoni; to an international fast bowler who played with MSD since his first-class days and then starred for him in the Indian Premier League.
The Force Behind The Forces || Swapnil Pandey
The Force behind the Forces is a collection of seven true stories of eternal love, courage and sacrifice. Written by an army wife, Swapnil Pandey, this book brings to light moving stories of unimaginable valour in the face of broken dreams, lost hopes and shattered families. It proves that bullets and bombs can only pierce the bodies of our soldiers, for their stories will live on in the hearts of these brave women forever, women who have dedicated their lives to the nation, without even a uniform to call their own.
Eden || Devdutt Pattanaik
Eden explores the vast world of Abrahamic myths from a uniquely Indian prism, through storytelling that is intimate but not irreverent, and to introduce readers to the many captivating tales of angels, demons, prophets, patriarchs, judges and kings. It also retells stories from Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Zoroastrian mythologies that influenced Abrahamic monotheism over time.
The Perfect 10 || Yasmin Karachiwala
The Perfect 10 will show you that all it takes is ten minutes a day to start that journey and will be packed with exercise plans, movement ideas and lifestyle changes punctuated by stories of real journeys of real people. Get up. Move with Yasmin Karachiwala. And see how your body and your life changes.
Office Secrets || Harish Bhatt
Office Secrets offers a selection of fascinating and useful secrets that can help you be far more successful at your workplace. As a bonus, they can make you happier as well. You will find within a range of subjects-whether the best methods of fighting exhaustion, organizing your work desk, the power of listening, why kindness is so important, workplace lessons from Hercule Poirot and what you can learn from the cookies that your colleagues eat.
Bravehearts of Bharat || Vikram Sampath
History has always been the handmaiden of the victor. ‘Until the lions have their own storytellers,’ said Chinua Achebe, ‘the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter!’ Exploring the lives, times and works of the fifteen long-forgotten and mostly neglected unsung heroes and heroines of our past, Bravehearts of Bharat brings to light the contribution of the warriors who not only donned armour and burst forth into the battlefield but also kept the flame of hope alive under adverse circumstances.
The Winning Way 2.0 || Anita Bhogle, Harsha Bhogle
In The Winning Way 2.0, Harsha Bhogle and Anita Bhogle share the key elements that make a winning team. Answering key questions on management and strategy, the authors highlight some important points to remember, making them easier to interpret and understand by comparing them to certain aspects of cricket.
Sita’s Ascent || Vayu Naidu
Inspired by myriad age-old and culturally diverse retellings, Vayu Naidu creates a rich, deeply moving and original work of fiction, Sita’s Ascent illuminates the physical and emotive landscape of a woman in exile, who crosses the desert of loss and ascends the abyss of abandonment with the power of love that transforms the narrators and the listeners.
Check Out Our Latest Audiobooks for Children!
The Magic of the Lost Temple || Sudha Murty
City girl Nooni is surprised at the pace of life in her grandparents’ village in Karnataka. But she quickly gets used to the gentle routine there and involves herself in a flurry of activities, including papad making, organizing picnics and learning to ride a cycle, with her newfound friends.
Things get exciting when Nooni stumbles upon an ancient fabled stepwell right in the middle of a forest.
Join the intrepid Nooni on an adventure of a lifetime in this much-awaited book by Sudha Murty that is heart-warming, charming and absolutely unputdownable.
The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories || Sudha Murty
Sudha Murty’s grandparents told her some of these stories when she was a child; others she heard from her friends from around the world. These delightful and timeless folk tales have been her favourites for years, and she has recounted them many times over to the young people in her life. With this collection, they will be enjoyed by many more readers, of all ages.
Taatung Tatung and Other Amazing Stories of India’s Diverse Languages || Vaishali Shroff
Early humans leaving messages on cave walls; three men on a raft stumbling upon a language they weren’t looking for; a secret language that evolved to hide a people; the world’s only undeciphered language that is 4000 years old. The stories in this book take you from the northeastern-most tip of our country to the forests in central India, from indigenous languages that are thousands of years old to those that have developed recently.
Engrossing, entertaining, and packed with trivia, this book is for non-fiction lovers and students, who have a keen interest in all things India.
Dive into a handpicked collection of books that unlock the secrets to success, challenge traditional thinking, and inspire personal growth. From workplace wisdom to extraordinary journeys, entrepreneurial endeavors, and captivating corporate tales, these books offer insights that are both enlightening and entertaining. Whether you’re a business enthusiast or an aspiring leader, these books are your gateway to a world of knowledge and inspiration.
Play to Transform || Avinash Jhangiani
Play to Transform is a book that challenges the traditional mindset of business leaders and encourages them to tap into their inner child to accelerate transformation with purpose. The book argues that we are all born creative geniuses with an innate ability to empathize deeply with others, but somewhere along the way, we have lost touch with these qualities. In the post-pandemic world, leaders need to be more empathetic and agile than ever before, and a conscious shift in mindset is required to achieve this.
Office Secrets || Harish Bhat
Office Secrets offers a selection of fascinating and useful secrets that can help you be far more successful at your workplace. As a bonus, they can make you happier as well. You will find within a range of subjects-whether the best methods of fighting exhaustion, organizing your work desk, the power of listening, why kindness is so important, workplace lessons from Hercule Poirot and what you can learn from the cookies that your colleagues eat.
Harish Bhat wields his pen with his signature insight to delight, inspire, provoke and change the way you see offices forever.
Unlocked || Gezim Gashi
Gezim Gashi recounts his extraordinary journey-from escaping the Kosovo genocide to becoming the first Albanian-Swede to launch a high school institute in the United States – Gezim lays out a path to personal success and fulfillment that is accessible to all, regardless of their background. With his mentorship, readers will be inspired to overcome obstacles and achieve their biggest goals.
Unlocking Unicorn Secrets captures the entrepreneurial journeys of some of India’s new-age founders and looks at the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. It covers themes such as developing an idea, building out the minimum viable product (MVP), finding a co-founder, setting up the founding team, raising funds and scaling the business, among others. Through primary research and a series of interviews conducted with the founders of these billion-dollar companies, the authors weave a narrative that is both accessible and informative.
The Big Bull of Dalal Street || Neil Borate, Aprajita Sharma, Aditya Kondawar
The Big Bull of Dalal Street looks at the life of India’s big bull, as Rakesh was famously known, both as a person and as a professional. Providing a fascinating account of his journey, it analyses the records of Jhunjhunwala’s investments and interviews he has given over the years. More than just a biography, a large section of the book is devoted to understanding the stocks that made him rich and the mistakes he made. Looking at the journey of the legendary investor, the book offers retail investors some useful insights—-benefits of long-term investing, mistakes one should avoid in the stock market, risk associated with leveraged trades, among others.
Exprovement || Hersh Haladker, RA Mashelkar
Through the various examples highlighted in this book, Hersh Haladker and Raghunath Mashelkar emphasize that searching for growth opportunities within an offering’s existing industry usually results in incremental improvement, whereas exponential improvement can be achieved by drawing parallels from outside of the current context.
Unfinished Business || Nandini Vijayaraghavan
Unfinished Business is a chronicle of contemporary Indian corporate history, narrated through the professional trajectories of four high-profile businessmen: Anil Ambani, Naresh Goyal, V.G. Siddhartha and Vijay Mallya. Following these four entrepreneurs’ careers and professional decisions, Unfinished Business throws light on the evolution of Indian capitalism during the first two decades of the twenty-first century, set against the backdrop of a dynamic political, regulatory and business climate in India. And, with great insight, clarity and analysis, Nandini Vijayaraghavan explores the takeaways for entrepreneurs, regulators, lenders and investors in this compelling, illuminating read.
Doglapan || Ashneer Grover
A young boy with a ‘refugee’ tag growing up in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar outpaces his circumstances by becoming a rank-holder at the pinnacle of academic excellence in India-IIT Delhi. He goes on to do an MBA from the hallowed halls of IIM Ahmedabad, builds a career as an investment banker at Kotak Investment Banking and AmEx, and is pivotal in the making of two unicorns-Grofers, as CFO, and BharatPe, as co-founder.
The Dolphin and The Shark || Namita Thapar
The Dolphin and the Shark is born out of Namita Thapar’s experiences of being a judge on Shark Tank India and running the India business of the pharma company Emcure as well as her own entrepreneurship academy. The book emphasizes how leaders of today need to strike a balance between being a shark (aggressive leader) and a dolphin (empathetic leader).
Work 3.0 || Avik Chanda, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay
Work 3.0 tackles this and some of the other most pressing and complex questions of the present age, head-on. Avik Chanda and Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay employ rigorous research supplemented with industry reports, business case studies, expert interviews, anecdotes, their personal expertise and insights, to present a rich multi-disciplinary brew that spans economics, statistics, public policy, history, sociology, psychology, law, political science, literature and philosophy. Highly ambitious in scope, astonishingly rich in analytical detail and far-reaching in its conclusions, the book will change the way you think about the future and how the past and present still shape it.
How Business Storytelling Works || Sandeep Das
Whether you are a corporate professional, an entrepreneur, a tech guru, a marketer, a strategy consultant, a social media influencer or a student, the book tells you how to succeed in the REAL world. Sandeep brings in nuggets from his numerous storytelling workshops at leading corporates and business schools, and intersperses it with illustrations and hordes of popular culture references, making the book
as engaging as a good story. So, what are you waiting for? Head to the checkout counter.
The Company We Keep || Divya Khanna
The Company We Keep is a market research-based exploration of Indian corporate culture. It looks beyond the glamour and jargon of the business world to individual stories that share real personal insights into the aspirations, vulnerabilities, pressures and possibilities of corporate careers and lives. These are urgent conversations we need to keep having as we reflect, review and decide where we can go from here.
Gautam Adani || R.N. Bhaskar
Gautam Adani needs no introduction. One of the richest men in the world, he also helms a business empire that is now India’s largest player in ports and renewable energy. He is also the country’s largest private sector player in sectors like airports, city gas distribution, power transmission, thermal power, edible oil, and railway lines. Yet, look beyond these facts, and startlingly little is known about Gautam Adani, the maverick businessman; about his motivations and vision; about his life, and the episodes, minor and major, that propelled him to make the choices he did.
Build Don’t Talk || Raj Shamani
Your school taught you how to run in the race; it didn’t teach you how to win. And that’s what this book is for. To help you win the race. Packed with useful advice gleaned from his own journey as an entrepreneur and content creator, this book by Raj Shamani is a must-read.
Rahul Bajaj || Gita Piramal
Rahul Bajaj is a billionaire businessman, the chairman emeritus of the Bajaj Group and a former member of Parliament. This book is not just the story of Rahul Bajaj but the story of India. The author takes us through the country’s transformation from the time Rahul Bajaj’s mother was imprisoned during the freedom struggle to the prism of his eventful life.
Based on unrestricted interviews, the book is full of anecdotes, business learnings and political asides. It is, at its core, a moving human story.
Investonomy || Pranjal Kamra
Investonomy not only explains modern value investing principles but also unveils certain secrets of the stock market. It busts popular myths and misconceptions as well. A thorough reading of this book will enable you to chart your own investment plans, and soon, you’ll be all set for your personal wealth-creation journey through equity investment. Investonomy is an initiative to empower existing, as well as potential, investors like you.
Unfiltered || Ana Lueneburger, Saurabh Mukherjea
A pioneering book, Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach, for the first time, opens the doors that normally shield the confidential world of coaching conversations. The book, through its candour, helps readers fully grasp the life-changing impact that coaching can have. Conceived as a leadership development book, the authors share the narratives (both individual and mutual) of their partnership over the course of five years. The resultant narrative provides not just unique insights that executives and entrepreneurs will find useful for their own development but also deep insights into how, by understanding ourselves, we move towards mastery over the world at large.
The Dream Founder || Dhruv Nath
The DREAM Founder is an essential entrepreneurship guide for early-stage Indian start-ups. It also has interviews with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world of start-ups, such as Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri.com, Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, Meena Ganesh of Portea Medical and Dr Annurag Batra of Businessworld.
Penguin India continues to shine on the literary stage with these 6 books making their way onto the longlists for the 2023 JCB Prize for Literature and the Gaja Capital Business Book Prize. Following the groundbreaking International Booker Prize nomination for Perumal Murugan’s Pyre, this is another feather in Penguin India’s cap!
Explore these captivating narratives and thought-provoking ideas that have earned these titles their well-deserved spots on these prestigious lists.
Manjhi’s Mayhem || Tanuj Solanki
Sewaram Manjhi works as a security guard outside a posh Bombay café. On the surface, he’s not unlike millions of invisible Indians who make the city tick, but there is a difference: he holds rage in his heart, and he will go to any length to snatch a chunk of the good life. Enter Santosh, hostess at the restaurant across the street. A damsel in distress, Santosh has a strange request for Manjhi, and far be it from him to say no. What follows is tabaahi – mayhem – as Manjhi finds himself caught in a web of lies and deceit, and on the trail of a bag full of money that will lead to broken noses, bloody heads, sex, seduction, and murder. If he succeeds, Manjhi might finally discover what it means to be in control of one’s destiny in a land where birth determines fate.
Simsim || Geet Chaturvedi
Poignantly written by Geet Chaturvedi, a major Hindi writer, and beautifully translated by Anita Gopalan, Simsim is a struggle between memory, imagination, and reality- an exquisitely crafted book that fuses the voices of remarkable yet relatable characters to weave a tale of seeking happiness, fulfilling passion, and reconciling with loss. Simsim is charming, and wonderfully original.
Fire Bird || Perumal Murugan
Fire Bird is a masterfully crafted tale of one man’s search for the elusive concept of permanence. Muthu has his world turned upside down when his father divides the family land, leaving him with practically nothing and causing irreparable damage to his family’s bonds. Through the unscrupulous actions of his once-revered eldest brother, Muthu is forced to leave his once-perfect world behind and seek out a new life for himself, his wife and his children.
Against All Odds || S. ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, N. Dayasindhu, Krishnan Narayanan
Against All Odds: The IT Story of India is an insider’s account and an anecdote-rich history of Indian IT over the last six decades. It taps into the first-hand experiences of Kris Gopalakrishnan and fifty other stalwarts
who built and shaped the IT industry. This is a tale of persistence and resilience, of foresight, of planning and being ready when luck knocks on the door, of a spirit of adventure and, above all, of an abiding sense of faith in technology and the belief that it would do good for India. It is a tale of triumph, and the best is yet to come!
Winning Middle India || T.N. Hari, Bala Srinivasa
Is there a fundamental new catalyst that can significantly enhance access, affordability and quality of products and services to hundreds of millions of Indians? This catalyst is in the form of a new generation of start-up founders who are leveraging technology platforms, smartphone access, and rapid digitization of the Indian consumer. These young founders don’t carry the baggage of the past and are attracted to the opportunity of breaking open the massive market of Middle India-the next 400-500M Indians just below the top of the pyramid. This book is about this new and powerful force of change blowing across India-what it takes to harness this and reshape the destiny of this country.
Forks in the Road || C. Rangarajan
In Forks in the Road, the veteran economist and policymaker provides a captivating account of his professional journey, starting with his purely accidental entry into the RBI in 1982. Rangarajan, regarded as one of the tallest figures in the history of India’s economic reforms, provides crucial insights into the role he played as part of the team which initiated far-reaching reforms in India’s economy in the early 1990s. The path-breaking reforms that he implemented during his tenure as governor of RBI included deregulation of interest rates, strengthening of the banking system by a gradual tightening of prudential norms, creation and nurturing of financial markets, giving them depth and vibrancy, shifting to market-determined exchange rates, making the rupee convertible on the current account and the cessation of automatic monetization of budget deficit.
On this Teacher’s Day, let’s celebrate the wisdom of gurus who light up our lives. Just as a lighthouse guides ships through stormy waters, these spiritual books illuminate our paths to self-discovery and inner peace. Get ready to embark on a journey of growth and enlightenment with these invaluable teachings.
The Perfect Way || Osho
In The Perfect Way, Osho answers fundamental questions about what meditation is and how we can begin and sustain it in our lives. He does this with precision, thoroughness, humour and compassion. Here is someone who knows, but who also knows how to convey what he knows. His genius in full flight, he points us as far as one can with words towards the inner world of the self, towards the zone of silence.
Kundalini Yoga for All || Kamini Bobde
Kundalini Yoga for All will take you through this journey with explanations of the various stations you will encounter. Starting with cleansing and tuning your body to the step-by-step guide of your daily Kundalini yoga practice, this book will empower you to experience your highest potential in brain, body and awareness to meet all challenges of life with equanimity and experience bliss which is every human’s birthright.
Small Wins Everyday || Luke Coutinho
In Small Wins Every Day, Luke Coutinho presents a simple premise with powerful results, teaching you to rewire your brain for success. The hack? Break down your goals into small wins that you can achieve every day. Stacked over time, these contribute to significant lifestyle changes, good health and happiness.
Secrets of Divine Love Journal || A.Helwa
The Secrets of Divine Love Journal is based on the award-winning book Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam. Through heart-centered reflections, insightful prompts, and thought-provoking questions, Secrets of Divine Love Journal can help you foster a deeper relationship with Allah by connecting you with the heart of your faith in a more intimate and inspiring way.
Dhruva || Gauranga Darshan Das
Discover practical answers to these questions within the pages of DHRUVA, an enthralling narrative penned by Gauranga Darshan Das, an esteemed author, educator and monk, hailing from the prestigious IISc.
Prince Dhruva’s awe-inspiring journey evokes a spectrum of emotions–love, heartbreak, revenge, passion, guilt and devotion. As you immerse yourself in this gripping tale, Gauranga Darshan artfully weaves his realizations as pearls of wisdom that are refreshingly simple yet remarkably effective.
Ask the Monk || Nityanand Charan Das
In Ask the Monk, celebrated monk Nityanand Charan Das lucidly answers over seventy frequently asked questions-by young and the old alike-on topics such as karma, religion versus spirituality, mind, God, destiny, purpose of life, suffering, rituals, religion, wars and so on. These answers that are extremely crucial to help you, the reader, embark on the journey of self-discovery and self-realization.
The Wisdom Bridge || Kamlesh D. Patel
Daaji in The Wisdom Bridge offers nine principles to guide you, the reader, to live a life that inspires your children and your loved ones. These principles are important references for parents, parents-to-be, grandparents and caregivers to create fulfilling and happy lives. They will not only help you enrich the lives of your children and raise responsible teenagers, but pave the way for an inspired life and resilient bonds in your family.
The Rebellious Spirit || Osho
In The Rebellious Spirit, Osho speaks to the spirit that lies hidden beneath our social conditioning, fanning a flame strong enough to burn through layers of rubbish, so that we can see with the crystal-clear gaze of an enlightened being. This is a book that will entice you, tickle your being with laughter, and give you the courage to be yourself in today’s world.
Sing, Dance and Pray || Hindol Sengupta
This is the inspirational story of Srila Prabhupada. As the founder of ISKCON, he ’emerged as a major figure of Western counterculture, initiating thousands of young Americans’.
He has been described as a charismatic leader who was successful in acquiring followers in many countries, including the United States, Europe and India. Srila Prabhupada’s story is bound to put you on a path of self-realization.
The Power of Thoughts || Swami Mukundananda
In The Power of Thoughts, Swami Mukundananda, a world-renowned spiritual teacher from India and an internationally acclaimed mind-management authority, will teach you about watching your thoughts, directing them, dismantling harmful thought structures, creative thinking, meditation and much more. When you focus on revolutionizing your thoughts-the most fundamental aspect of inner personality-you will discover yourself evolving to divine heights to fulfil the purpose of your life.
karma || Sadhguru
Through this book Karma, not only does Sadhguru explain what Karma is and how we can use its concepts to enhance our lives, he also tells us about the Sutras, a step-by-step self help & self improvement guide to navigating our way in this challenging world. In the process, we get a deeper, richer understanding of life and the power to craft our destinies.
The Art and Science of Happiness || Swami Mukundananda
In The Art and Science of Happiness, internationally acclaimed authority on mind management, renowned saint and bestselling author Swami Mukundananda draws on the ancient wisdom of the scriptures and current scientific research to address these questions. He also explains strategies for happiness in relationships, at work and in the face of adversity. By applying these concepts in your daily life, you can be happy everywhere and at all times.
The Art of Focus || Gauranga Das
he Art of Focus, the second book in this three-part series, presents forty-five simple stories filled with revelations to enthral readers with learnings from the experiences of the protagonists and the dynamics of the situations that manifested in their lives.
The first book in the series, The Art of Resilience, presented ingredients to the readers to help them develop resilience in challenging situations that manifested at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Art of Focus builds on the first book and inspires the resilient heart to develop a focused mind. This collective presentation will better equip the readers to take charge of their lives and adapt to the new normal effectively.
Reading Sri Aurobindo || Gautam Chikermane, Devdip Ganguli
The relevance of Sri Aurobindo’s message has never been more urgent and compelling, yet, his Complete Works, thirty-six volumes in all, can be a daunting prospect even for those acquainted with his philosophy and practice. Reading Sri Aurobindo introduces each of these volumes through the perspectives of twenty-one contributors. The result is a book packed with insights inviting us to explore Sri Aurobindo’s deep wisdom and vision for resolving the fundamental issues facing individuals, societies, and nations today.
Step into a world of literary wonders this September with our spectacular lineup of newest releases! From insightful explorations of India’s ed-tech revolution to poignant tales of love and self-discovery, these books are your passport to out-of-this-world narratives. Learn about achieving financial success, discover innovative leadership strategies, and embark on adventures in various fields. This collection guarantees an enriching escape that informs, inspires, and utterly captivates.
Get ready to be amazed!
Educating A Billion || Arjun Mohan
Educating a Billion is an insider’s take on how edtech companies in India are trying to solve the issues plaguing our education system and trying to deliver quality at scale. It covers the formative days of India’s well-known edtech start-ups-BYJU’S, Unacademy, upGrad and Whitehat Jr, among others, and how these companies created products with a promise that made a difference. The growth of these start-ups is synonymous with the growth of venture capitalist led capital deployment in privately held Indian companies (private markets). The book covers Covid-19-induced changes in our educational system which led to the hypergrowth of the edtech ecosystem, a watershed event for digital start-ups globally.
World’s Best Girlfriend || Durjoy Datta
D and A meet under improbable circumstances in the most unlikely of places-a posh resort in the Andamans. While A is fighting hard to escape the shackles of a lower middle-class existence, D is aimless and unsure of what his future holds. Strangely, they are drawn to each other.
‘My gaze drifts to her exposed back, and the tiny knot that secures her shimmering choli in place. Emotions of anger mix with a strange desire in me.’
Four years later, when they meet again, D’s world has crumbled around him. The burden of caring for his sick father and six-year-old sister has left him with little time for anything else. Yet, despite their diverging paths, D and A find themselves reconnecting in unexpected ways. Their mutual attraction deepens.
Till now, fate has been pushing them together, but what will happen when they decide to take matters into their own hands? Will life be as they’ve imagined, or will destiny take even that away from them?
Money Works || Abhijeet Kolapkar
If you are clueless at the end of every month about where your hard-earned money has gone and if you are ready to achieve financial success-this book is for you!
Instead of focusing on ‘How big should your income be?’, Money Works gives excellent tips on how to save intelligently, how you can achieve your life goals with careful financial planning, how to manage your debts and insurance, how to make your hard-earned money grow through investments and finally, how to live a happy and contented life!
Leading from the Back || Ravi Kant, Harry Paul, Ross Reck
Through an engaging parable about the travails of an upcoming young manager, Shiv Kundra, whose leadership style hampers both his ability to lead and his ability to deliver, the authors outline the fascinating concept of ‘leading from the back’.
Leading from the Back is a distillation of the collective experience and wisdom of Ravi Kant (former CEO, vice chairman, Tata Motors), Harry Paul (co-author of the bestseller FISH! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results) and Ross Reck (co-author of The Win-Win Negotiator).
The Perfect 10 || Yasmin Karachiwala
The Perfect 10 will show you that all it takes is ten minutes a day to start that journey and will be packed with exercise plans, movement ideas and lifestyle changes punctuated by stories of real journeys of real people. Get up. Move with Yasmin Karachiwala. And see how your body and your life changes.
How the Light Gets In || Ashok Alexander
There is an adventure inside every person, waiting to be had . . . the discovery of a self, long buried within.
This personal belief reverberates through Ashok Alexander’s How the Light Gets In. In his memoir of an improbable start-up in public health, he writes about an organization with the audacious goal of ending needless deaths and sickness at scale, amongst India’s poorest mothers and children. It is a great leap emboldened by an unshakable faith in the ‘idea that cannot be denied’. It is a tale of adventure filled with twists and turns, told with a disarming honesty.
After Messiah || Aakar Patel
Now the Big Man is gone, with nobody named as his successor. Into this void is pushed Mira, who is reluctant at first but increasingly interested in the position she finds herself in. Will she use her authority to further her agenda, or will she hold on to her principles? Watched by her political rivals, Jayeshbhai and Swamiji, and guided by well-wishers Ayesha, Prabhu and Du Bois, she marches on and discovers something about power-and about herself.
Middle of Diamond India || Shashank Mani
Middle of Diamond India proposes a revolutionary idea – that India has long ignored its largest and most talented segment, citizens in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 districts, its Middle.
The book reveals the hidden stories of those in its Middle who have been ignored owing to their location and language. By examining India’s revolutionary past, its culture, its citizens, its innovators, and its spirit, the book illuminates this Diamond shaped India.
Soma || A K Ramanujan
For A.K. Ramanujan, who infused his diverse knowledge of Indian literatures and traditions into his poetry, the idea of Soma, the mysterious plant used by Vedic priests to extract ambrosia, fed his creativity.
Sifting through Ramanujan’s archives, the editors discovered a series of unpublished ‘Soma poems’ whose style and theme set them apart from his earlier work. This volume includes these poems beside essays and an interview that contextualizes them.
The Illustrated Masala Lab || Krish Ashok
Masala Lab by Krish Ashok is a scientific exploration of Indian cooking aimed at inquisitive chefs who want to turn their kitchens into joyful, creative playgrounds for gastronomic experimentation. In this special edition, Meghna Menon’s vibrant illustrations effortlessly complement Krish Ashok’s lighthearted approach to the demystification of culinary science, making it the perfect vehicle to absorb the exhaustive testing, groundbreaking research and scientific rigour that went into the making of this revolutionary book.
Shades of Blue || Harini Nagendra Seema Mundoli
In this passionate and extensively researched tribute to the elixir that sustains us all, authors Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli take us on a panoramic view of the water bodies of India and the urgent need to address their emergent ecological threats. From the Yamuna in Delhi to the Cauvery in Karnataka and the Pichola Lake in Udaipur to the Brahmaputra in Assam, Shades of Blue is epic in its sweep and yet deeply moving in its intimate concerns.
Naulakhi Kothi || Ali Akbar Natiq, Naima Rashid
Ali Akbar Natiq’s epic saga, Naulakhi Kothi, is an insightful portrayal of the zeitgeist of the times. The sweeping narrative begins in the years leading up to Partition and goes on till the eighties.
Translated by Naima Rashid, it is one of the most important novels of the twenty-first century.
Burning Roses in My Garden || Taslima Nasrin, Jesse Waters
‘Have I not, having kept a man for years, learnt that it’s/ like raising a snake?/ So many animals on this earth, why keep a man of all things?’ writes one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Taslima Nasrin, in her first-ever comprehensive collection of poetry translated from the original Bangla into English. The poems get to the heart of being the other in exile, justifying one’s place in a terrifying world. They praise the comfort and critique the cruelty of a loved one. In these are loneliness, sorrow, and at times, exaltation. Relying almost entirely upon the free verse form, these poems carry a diction which is at once both gentle and fierce, revealing the experiences of one woman while defining the existence of so many generations of women throughout time, and around the world.
The Girl Who Kept Falling in Love || Rheea Mukherjee
Told through the lens of urban myths, accounts of past lovers, bared confessions and half-truths that make up Kaya’s world, The Girl Who Kept Falling in Love dives deep into the futilities of being attached to global aspiration and fighting institutionalized hate while chasing a universal need for love and acceptance.
Curse of the Pir || Mukesh Singh, Anupama Pandey
As the terror outfit intensifies its network in Jammu and Kashmir and carries out the most devastating attacks, Rajveer must think on his feet, juggling different aspects of a counterterrorism operation, leading from the front, all the time handling his family life as best he can. It’s a constant game of chess and hide-and-seek between him and the terrorists. This is the riveting story of an officer who will do everything he can to serve the nation.
Tiger Season || Gargi Rawat
Sunaina Joshi is a reporter with a leading news channel.
Her day-to-day work involves reporting on urban-centric, health-related issues; myriad subjects that bore her, leaving her jaded. Her real passion is a life in the great outdoors, and reporting on wildlife and the environment, something she is unable to do as often as she would like. Unexpectedly, a fabulous opportunity falls into her lap when her channel is commissioned to run a campaign on tiger conservation, featuring a Bollywood star who is trying to resurrect his image and career following a drug scandal.
The shoot takes a dramatic turn when the television team finds itself in the middle of a local conflict and a heated incident involving a tiger attacking a forest guard. Controversy follows, with the decision to relocate the tiger to a zoo, leading to protests and fresh outrage over the action. To Sunaina’s dismay, she finds herself becoming the epicentre of the converging controversies. Also complicating matters are the run-ins she has with the arrogant owner of the resort. But is her aggravation with him turning to attraction?
Can she keep her wits about her while remaining professional about the things she loves?
Sivakami’s Vow 4 Shattered Dream
To meditate lifelong at the feet of our lord-Kalki’s choice of Thirunavukkarasar’s words to end his magnum opus, Sivakami’s Vow, is indicative of the shift from romance to reflection, from the mundane to the spiritual.
As Kalki expertly weaves together various strands of honour, love and friendship in this fourth and final volume of Sivakami’s Vow, he takes the reader through a gamut of emotions. It is no surprise that this novel is considered a classic.
Fugitive of Empire || Joseph McQuade
A complex, controversial, and often contradictory figure, Bose has been described as a committed democrat, an authoritarian, an advocate of religious harmony, a Hindu chauvinist, an anti-communist, a political pragmatist, an idealist, a Japanese collaborator, an anti-racist, a cultural conservative, a Pan-Asianist, an Indian nationalist, and much more. Drawing on extensive archival research
from India, Japan, and the UK, this refreshing new biography brings to life the largely forgotten story of one of twentieth-century Asia’s most daring revolutionaries.
Divorce is Normal || Shasvathi Siva
A divorce rate of around 1 per cent is often boasted about with pride in this country, without much critical thought spared for what it actually means. When Shasvathi Siva decided to end her marriage, she realized exactly how difficult getting a divorce was in our society and legal system. Since then, she has been working towards ensuring that others have it easier, and this book is an endeavour to share her learnings with great empathy and sagacity. Divorce Is Normal is an invaluable companion for anyone contemplating separation and divorce, and a necessary reminder for everyone else that divorce is normal.
Fintech for Billions || Bhagwan Chowdhry, Syed Anas Ahmed
The biggest problem with fintech in India is that the full potential of financial technology and policy is not really reaching the poorest of the poor. Thoroughly researched and expertly written, FinTech for Billions reveals why many of the existing solutions have faltered and fumbled along their path to inclusion. But things are not without hope. Through meticulous research across India – from towns in Rajasthan to villages in Goa, from hamlets in Odisha to districts in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh — Fintech for Billions offers simple, human and ubiquitous solutions that can transform the lives of people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Dive into Unlocked: The Power of You by Gezim Gashi and explore the game-changing influence of our choices: saying “yes” and confidently saying “no.” Through personal experiences and reflections, Gashi unravels the dynamics of these choices, revealing how they shape our journey toward productivity, purpose, and fulfillment.
Read this exclusive excerpt for profound insights that can reshape how we navigate life’s endless decisions.
Unlocked || Gezim Gashi
“If you aren’t working on Saturdays and
Sundays, someone else will, and they
are going to take your seat.”
—DAVID FOSTER
***
I met David a few years ago at Universal Music Group in Los Angeles, where he did a master class for my students. He has long been an inspiration to me, and it was amazing to meet with him and watch him teach our students.
One of the things he said, something that I’ll never forget, is quoted above.
Unless we identify whatever it is that we want to do more than watching Netflix or checking our phone or sleeping in, we won’t have the energy and determination needed.
Once you find the thing that you will say yes to, always, it becomes easier to say no to everything else.
We make so many decisions every day. Whether to hit snooze, whether to send that email, whether to reach out and try again to schedule that meeting with the person who seems to be avoiding us. The power of yes, “Yes, I do want to do this thing more than anything else,” is the power that keeps us moving forward.
Yes unleashes our energy and our talents.
But it is the power of no that frees us to succeed. Without it, the work we do on Saturdays and Sundays may be taking us in the absolute wrong direction.
How many times have you watched people succeed at something only to realize it wasn’t really what they wanted? Become the greatest in their field and then fall into despair or self-sabotage?
How many times have you invested time and energy in attracting the attention of a person you later realized wasn’t someone you wanted in your life?
As many wise people have said before me, success isn’t just about working hard, but about working smart. Stephen R. Covey, the author of the monumental bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said, “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
It is true of our influence on other people, but even more importantly, it is true of our stewardship of our own lives.
There are so many ways we can allow our time and energy to be drained by unimportant tasks, bad habits and procrastination. Many people are outpaced while working long hours—they aren’t working on the right things, or they aren’t regularly recharging their energy and so they burn out.
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey introduced another life-changing idea: our success is determined largely by how well we care for the people who make us successful. For example, I know that I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for my family—they are the people who make everything I do worthwhile. If I had the choice of being at the Grammys or being with my family, my question would be, “Which would make my family happier?” And that isn’t self-sacrifice on my part—my happiness is my family’s happiness, and their happiness is mine. I can be 100 percent sure that they will want me to do what is best for me. That’s what will make them happy. So, success for me includes making time for my family, no matter what. When they need me, I’m there for them Similarly, I know that my body and mind are the instruments that enable me to live my best life. Sleeping at least seven hours a night doesn’t interfere with my work—it is the foundation of my work, just as Serena Williams eats nutritious food and employs the best practice techniques to
win championships.
Barack Obama had a closet full of identical blue suits so that he didn’t have to think about what to wear. Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck and jeans to work every day. Many accomplished people eat the same breakfast and lunch each day to remove yet another decision and series of tasks from their schedule.
The healthiest people make activity part of their daily routine.
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear makes a powerful case for the impact of tiny changes, which he compares to the slightest adjustment in a flight path. Initially, the change is almost unnoticeable, which is why it’s easier to make. Within a brief time, however, when a change becomes a habit, the impact on your direction and destination is significant. And all habits are seeded in a yes and a no. Yes to one thing, no to everything else.
Clear and other researchers have found that it is very difficult to stop a bad habit but much easier to replace a bad habit with a positive one.
We say no to having a cigarette or eating that second pastry and yes to going out for a walk while we talk to a friend on the phone. If we deprive ourselves of pleasure, our mind and body will find a way to recalibrate—we want and need pleasure! But if we can replace one kind of pleasure with another, the new pleasure will become a positive habit quickly.
No to one thing, yes to another.
Yes to one thing, no to another.
We get more effective at life and all decisions when we think in terms of this couplet rather than about all the decisions we must make.
Sometimes this balancing act of yes and no is easy and clear. I know that partying until the early morning will cost me my energy and focus the next day; it might even leave me with a fuzzy head a day or two after that if I indulge too much. Being clear on my “yes” makes it easy—yes, I want to help other people identify and leverage their brilliance, which means I don’t have any days to waste.
Yes, I have to be sharp.
No, I’m not going to stay at that party past eleven.
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