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Category: Features

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Rhymes and Riddles – An Excerpt from ‘The Fork, The Witch and The Worm’

Posted on by Penguin India

It’s been a year since Eragon departed Alagaësia in search of the perfect home to train a new generation of Dragon Riders. Now he is struggling with an endless sea of tasks: constructing a vast dragonhold, wrangling with suppliers, guarding dragon eggs and dealing with belligerent Urgals and haughty elves. The Fork, The Witch and The Worm features three original stories set in Alagaësia, interspersed with scenes from Eragon’s own unfolding adventure.

Relish the incomparable imagination of Christopher Paolini in this thrilling new collection of stories based in the world of the Inheritance Cycle.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Rhymes and Riddles

Eragon stared across his desk at Angela the herbalist, studying her.

She was sitting in the dark pinewood chair the elves had sung for him, still clad in her furs and travel cloak. Flakes of melted snow beaded the tips of the rabbit-hair trim, bright and shiny by the light of the lanterns.

On the floor next to the herbalist lay the werecat, Solembum, in his feline form, licking himself dry. His tongue rasped loudly against his shaggy coat.

Billows of snow swirled past the open windows of the eyrie, blocking the view. Some slipped in and dusted the sills, but for the most part, the wards Eragon had set kept out the snow and cold.

The storm had settled on Mount Arngor two days past, and it still showed no signs of letting up. Nor was it the first. Winter on the eastern plains had been far harsher than Eragon expected. Some-thing to do with the effects of the Beor Mountains on the weather, he suspected.
Angela and Solembum had arrived with the latest batch of traders: a group of bedraggled humans, travel-worn and half frozen to death.

Accompanying the herbalist had also been the dragon-marked child Elva—she who carried the curse of self-sacrifice Eragon had inadvertently laid upon her. A curse instead of a blessing, and every time he saw her, he still felt a sense of responsibility.

They’d left the girl on the lower levels, eating with the dwarves. She’d grown since Eragon had last seen her, and now she looked to be nearly ten, which was at least six years in advance of her actual age.

“Now then, where’s the clutch of bouncing baby dragons I was expecting?” said Angela. She pulled off her mittens and then folded her hands over her knee and matched his gaze. “Or have they still not hatched?”

Eragon resisted the urge to grimace. “No. The main part of the hold is far from finished— as you’ve seen—and stores are tight. To quote Glaedr, the eggs have already waited for a hundred years; they can wait one more winter.”

“Mmm, he might be right. Be careful of waiting too long, though, Argetlam. The future belongs to those who seize it. What about Saphira, then?”

“What about her?”

“Has she laid any eggs?”

Eragon shifted, uncomfortable. The truth was Saphira hadn’t, not yet, but he didn’t want to admit as much. The information felt too personal to share. “If you’re so interested, you should ask her yourself.”

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Wisdom from The Puranas

Posted on by Penguin India

The word ‘purana’ means old, ancient. The Puranas are old texts, usually referred to in conjunction with Itihasa (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata).The  corpus of the Puranas is immense, in scope, as well as in length. Taken together, the eighteen Puranas are four times the size of the Mahabharata.

From Bibek Debroy’s translated volumes of the Bhagavata Purana, we extract the following quotes of wisdom.

A seamless blend of fable and philosophy, the Bhagavata Purana is perhaps the most revered text in the Vaishnava tradition.

New Year, New Books!

Posted on by Penguin India

What better way to start the new year than with some new books? This year, let’s all aspire to read more and encourage others to, too! Penguin presents a list of new books for the month of January. Which one of these will you start your year with?

Democracy on the Road

On the eve of a landmark general election, Ruchir Sharma offers an unrivalled portrait of how India and its democracy work, drawn from his two decades on the road chasing election campaigns across every major state, travelling the equivalent of a lap around the earth.

 

Jallianwala Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre

The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 was a seminal moment in the history of the Indo-British encounter, and it had a profound impact on the colonial relationship between the two countries. In this dramatic telling, which takes the perspectives of ordinary people into account, the event and its aftermath are strikingly detailed.

 

Ganga: The Many Pasts of a River

The Ganga enjoys a special place in the hearts of millions. In this unprecedented work, historian Sudipta Sen tells the fascinating story of the world’s third-largest river from prehistoric times to the present. Seamlessly weaving together geography, ecology and religious history, this lavishly illustrated volume paints a remarkable portrait of India’s most sacred and beloved river.

 

The Begum: A Portrait of Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s Pioneering First Lady

Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan was the wife of Pakistan’s first prime minister. Three religions-Hinduism, Christianity and Islam-had an immense impact on her life, and she participated actively in all the major movements of her time-the freedom struggle, the Pakistani movement and the fight for women’s empowerment. She occasionally met with opposition, but she never gave up. It is this spirit that The Begum captures.

 

Kaifiyat: Verses on Women and Love

Kaifi Azmi’s literary legacy remains a bright star in the firmament of Urdu poetry. His poetic temperament-ranging from timeless lyrics in films like Kagaz Ke Phool to soaring revolutionary verses that denounced tyranny-seamlessly combined the radical and the progressive with the lyrical and the romantic.

 

Little book of Comfort

”So I went out into the night, walked up the hill, discovered new things about the night and myself, and came home refreshed. For just as the night has the moon and the stars, so the darkness of the soul can be lit up by small fireflies – such as these calm and comforting thoughts that I have jotted down for you…’ Ruskin Bond

 

Living Hell

All Nadeem Sayed Khatib, aka Nadeem Chipkali, wants to do is stay in his apartment all day, watch some TV and ignore his mounting worries. He is not in the best shape, cash-wise and otherwise, but let’s be honest: people seriously have it out for him. Sometimes, dangerous people. Set against the backdrop of a low-life Bombay that comes alive at night, Living Hell is a fast-paced noir murder mystery with dark humour and an accidental hero.

 

The Great March of Democracy: Seven Decades of India’s Elections

This book celebrates seven decades of India’s vibrant democracy and the Election Commission’s excellence and rigour, with a remarkable collection of essays written by those who have studied India’s unique experiment in electoral democracy, as well as analysts, politicians, social workers, activists, businesspersons and public servants.

 

Sitayana

Majmudar tells the story of one of the world’s most popular epics through multiple perspectives, presented in rapid sequence-from Hanuman and Ravana, down to even the squirrel helping Rama’s army build the bridge.
However, above all, Majmudar focuses on the fierce resistance of Sita, letting us hear her voice as we have never heard it before.

 

Get Better at Getting Better

To achieve extraordinary success, you need something other than core capabilities like analytical skills, people skills, conceptual and intuitive skills, hard work and hunger for success. Chandramouli Venkatesan identifies this as developing the capability to succeed and continuously improve that capability. He calls this the Get Better Model, or GBM-your model to continuously improve how good you are.

 

The 108 Upanishads: An Introduction

This book is a thoroughly researched primer on the 108 Upanishads, philosophical treatises that form a part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu texts. These Upanishads contain the most crystallized bits of wisdom gleaned from Hinduism. Professor Dalal explains the concepts at the core of each Upanishad clearly and lucidly.

 

The Age of Awakening

The Age of Awakening tells India’s economic story since the country gained independence. It unfolds a tale of titanic figures, colossal failures, triumphant breakthroughs and great moral shortcomings. Weaving together vivid history and economic analysis, this book makes for a gripping narrative.

 

Bhagwaan ke Pakwaan

The rice beer bellies of a Christian village in Meghalaya; food fed to departed Zoroastrian souls; a Kolkata-based Jewish community in decline; Tibetan monks who first serve Preta, the hungry ghost; and fifty-six-course feasts of the Jagannath temple-these are the stories in Bhagwan Ke Pakwaan (or, food of the gods), a cookbook-cum-travelogue exploring the connection between food and faith through the communities of India. There are legends and lore, angsty perspectives, tangential anecdotes, a couple of life lessons and a whole lot of food.

In the City a Mirror Wandering

Unfolding over the course of a single day, Ashk’s sweeping sequel to Falling Wallsexplores the inner struggles of Chetan, an aspiring young writer, as he roams the labyrinthine streets of 1930s’ Jalandhar, haunted by his thwarted ambitions but intent on fulfilling his dreams. Intensely poignant and vividly evocative, In the City a Mirror Wandering is an exploration of not only a dynamic, bustling city but also the rich tapestry of human emotion that consumes us all.

 

Sweet Shop

Arising from visits to sweet shops in the by-lanes of Calcutta, these poems brim with the excitement of what it means to discover, marvel at, and taste the universe. As the first line of the book states, ‘The whole universe is here’. Showcasing the edible, the intimate, and the singular, this collection, like the sweet-shop shelf, is characterized by ‘an unnoticed balance of gravity and play’.

 

 

Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order

China’s Belt and Road strategy is acknowledged to be the most ambitious geopolitical initiative of the age. Bruno Macaes traces this extraordinary initiative’s history, highlighting its achievements to date and its staggering complexity. He asks whether Belt and Road is about more than power projection and profit. Will it herald a new set of universal political values, to rival those of the West? Is it, in fact, the story of the century?

 

Doab Dil

Employing a philosopher’s mind and an artist’s eye, Banerjee takes us to still places in a moving world, the place where two rivers (do ab) meet and forests write themselves into history.

Everything You Need to Know About Conducting a Sting Operation : The Anatomy of a Sting

Posted on by Penguin India

Bhupen Patel has conducted many undercover operations over the course of his career. He’s exposed all sorts of rackets, from asylums admitting patients without proper medical examinations to discovering an illegal network of agents that arrange ‘temporary’ wives for Arab men looking to have a short fling.

Here are a few helpful lessons from The Anatomy of a Sting to give you a better insight!

A Sting is a Thorough Investigation

“A sting operation is nothing less than a police investigation. The difference is that reporters learn on the job without any specific training. Also, we rarely have backup and definitely don’t have arms for self-defence.”

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Importance of a Spy Camera

“One can buy spy cameras for Rs 1500–2000, hidden in buttons, spectacles, watches, ties, etc. The ‘Made in China’ cameras can easily pull off three or four assignments without any glitches.”

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It’s Essential to Cross-Check Every Detail

“I decided to do some groundwork first and stepped out to check if the address provided in the classified ad was legitimate. Since I would be accompanied by a female colleague and it would just be the two of us, it was important to have an idea of the surroundings, the number of people there and the escape routes.”

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Be Prepared for the Worst-case Scenario

“As a team, it was important for Ruhi and me to be on the same page. All our research was in place but we had to be prepared for the worst. It was important that we discussed the characters we were about to play—the names, backgrounds, families, experiences, qualifications, likes and dislikes, all of it.“

∼

Form a Personal Equation

“On the final day of the operation, there was not much to do. By now, the guards and I were friendly enough to greet each other with a smile and even exchange a word or two. Their dialect clearly revealed that they belonged to the remote districts of Maharashtra. It is always easiest and most helpful to strike up a conversation if you show interest in their hometown.“

The Anatomy of A Sting recounts in detail some of Bhupen’s most dramatic and hard-hitting operations.

 

 

 

 

 

The Economic Puzzle of Demonetization – an excerpt

Posted on by Penguin India

In his book Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi–Jaitley Economy, Arvind Subramanian provides an inside account of his rollercoaster journey as the chief economic advisor to the Government of India from 2014–18. Subramanian’s trusteeship saw the country through one of the most hotly contested and turbulent periods of economic governance and policymaking in recent decades, including the controversial recall of 85 per cent of circulated currency during demonetization.
In a chapter titled The Two Puzzles of Demonetization, he lays out his hypothesis on the political and economic puzzles of demonetization as a post facto analysis based on publicly known facts.
Puzzle 1: Why was demonetization so popular politically if it imposed economic costs? Specifically, why did demonetization turn out to be an electoral vote winner in the short-term (in the Uttar Pradesh elections of early 2017) if it imposed so much hardship on so many people?
Puzzle 2: Why didn’t the draconian 86 per cent reduction in the cash supply have bigger effects on overall economic growth? To put this more provocatively, the question was not whether demonetization imposed costs—it clearly did—but why it did not impose much greater costs?
Here is an excerpt of the second puzzle.

Why didn’t the draconian 86 per cent reduction in the cash supply have bigger effects on overall economic growth? To put this more provocatively, the question was not whether demonetization imposed costs—it clearly did—but why did it not impose much greater costs?
Demonetization was a massive, draconian, monetary shock: in one fell swoop 86 per cent of the currency in circulation was withdrawn. Figure 1 shows that real GDP growth was clearly affected by demonetization. Growth had been slowing even before, but after demonetization the slide accelerated. In the six quarters before demonetization growth averaged 8 per cent and in the seven quarters after, it averaged about 6.8 per cent (with a four-quarter window, the relevant numbers are 8.1 per cent before and 6.2 per cent after).

I don’t think anyone disputes that demonetization slowed growth. Rather, the debate has been about the size of the effect, whether it was 2 percentage points, or much less. After all, many other factors affected growth in this period, especially higher real interest rates, GST implementation and rising oil prices.
I do not have a strongly backed empirical view apart from the fact that the welfare costs especially on the informal sector were substantial.
As a monetary economist, though, what is striking is how small the effect was compared to the magnitude of the shock. There are many ways of seeing this. Figure 2 compares what happened to cash with what happened to nominal GDP. It is a stunning picture. Prior to demonetization, cash and GDP move closely together. Then, currency collapses and recovers (the dotted line), but through all of this, the economy seems to have been chugging along almost unmindful of the currency in circulation. You have to squint to see any downward movement of the solid black line (for nominal GDP) after demonetization: in fact, there isn’t, and all the downward blips reflect seasonality, which leads to a lower level of activity in the first (April–June) quarter every year.

What could possibly explain this apparent resilience? A number of hypotheses need to be considered. First and foremost, it could simply be an artefact of the way that GDP numbers are created. In India, there are no timely measures of informal sector activity, so it is proxied by formal sector indicators. Normally, this is not a problem, since the two move in tandem. But when a shock like demonetization occurs that primarily affects the informal sector, relying on formal indicators to measure overall activity will overstate GDP.
This hypothesis goes only a small way towards explaining the puzzle, since any squeeze in informal sector incomes would depress demand in the formal sector, and this effect should have been sizable.
As a result, we need to search for other explanations. One possibility is that people found ways around the note ban, for example by continuing to use the Rs 500 note even after its use had been formally banned, so the currency shock wasn’t actually as big as conventionally measured. Another possibility is that production was sustained by extending informal credit: people simply agreed to pay their bills as soon as currency became available. Finally, to a certain extent, people may have shifted from using cash to paying by electronic means, such as debit cards and electronic wallets.
Or, there may be other, completely different explanations that have eluded my understanding of demonetization, one of the unlikeliest economic experiments in modern Indian history.

Recognized as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers according to Foreign Policy magazine, Arvind Subramanian’s Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy is a deep-dive into the man, the moments, the measures and the means

Emergency Chronicles: An Interview With The Author

Posted on by Penguin India

As the world once again confronts an eruption of authoritarianism, Gyan Prakash’s Emergency Chronicles takes us back to the moment of India’s independence to offer a comprehensive historical account of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency of 1975-77. Stripping away the myth that this was a sudden event brought on solely by the Prime Minister’s desire to cling to power, it argues that the Emergency was as much Indira’s doing as it was the product of Indian democracy’s troubled relationship with popular politics, and a turning point in its history.
In this interview, he talks to us about writing the book!

How long was the research process for this book?
I began research in 2012 and continued it right up writing the first draft of the manuscript, that is, until the end of 2017.

What are some of the archival sources you looked through for this book?
The core of my archival research was at the National Archives of India and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Much of the research at NAI consisted of the depositions before the Shah Commission. While the published report summarized the Commission¹s findings, the depositions proved to be a treasure trove in composing a picture of the daily functioning of the Emergency. The private papers at NMML were invaluable in fleshing out the thoughts and activities of the individual actors. In addition, I trawled through the records of Ford Foundation at the Rockefeller Archive Center in New York to uncover the stories of pre-Emergency family planning and urban slum clearing programs. I chanced upon an unexpectedly rich archival resource consisting of prison letters in the collection of the Center for Research Libraries, Chicago. In addition, I searched through motor car archives in the UK to get materials on the Ambassador since Hindustan Motors claimed that they had none.

In your view, what is the biggest misconception about the Emergency?
The biggest misconception about the Emergency is that it emerged out of nowhere, attributable solely to Indira Gandhi’s desire to cling to power, and that it disappeared without a trace after 1977.  This is a comfortable myth because it permits Indians to believe that there are no deeper problems with India’s experience with democracy, and thus no long-term effects. Since this appeared patently implausible to me as a historian, I set about placing these 21 months in a longer historical perspective, examining both its antecedents and its afterlife.

What is some of the criticism you’re expecting to get for this work?
I expect that those who think that Indira, along with her coterie, as the sole cause of the Emergency would think, wrongly, that the book excuses her. I do not minimize her role, or that of her son, Sanjay; instead, I suggest that Indira did not function in a vacuum. What she and her coterie did was to ratchet up by few notches policies and projects that were long in the making.

What are some of the differences our country would have today, if the Emergency hadn’t been declared?
I think that the political crisis of the early 1970s existed prior to, and independent of, the Emergency. What the suspension of rights did was to turn a political crisis into a constitutional crisis. This produced the belief that Indira was only problem for Indian democracy, and that all that was needed was to restore constitutional rights  This prevented a full reckoning with the underlying crisis of democracy and governance that she had tried to salvage  through the declaration of Emergency. Without it, perhaps India would have confronted more squarely its failure to realize the promise of democracy as a value.

In Emergency Chronicles, Gyan Prakash explains how growing popular unrest disturbed Indira’s regime, prompting her to take recourse to the law to suspend lawful rights, wounding the political system further and opening the door for caste politics and Hindu nationalism.

Books to Look Out For This Holiday Season

Posted on by Penguin India

The holidays are here, and to add to the excitement and cheer, we’ve got another great set of books for you! Dive in to see the books to look forward to, this December.
Healed

Healed is the powerful, moving and deeply personal story of actor Manisha Koirala’s battle against ovarian cancer. From her treatment in the US and the wonderful care provided by the oncologists there to how she rebuilt her life once she returned home, the book takes us on an emotional roller-coaster ride through her many fears and struggles and shows how she eventually came out triumphant.
 
Delusional Politics: Brexit and Political Disorder

Delusional Politics looks at some of the tallest political leaders with the highest standing-in China, the USA, the UK, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, among others-to bring to light how these evolved statesmen are responsible for the rise of a new world [dis]order.
 
Of Counsel

In Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy, Arvind Subramanian provides an inside account of his rollercoaster journey as the chief economic advisor to the Government of India from 2014-18, succeeding Raghuram Rajan as captain of the ship. With an illustrious cast of characters, Subramanian’s part-memoir, part-analytical writings candidly reveal the numerous triumphs and challenges of policymaking at the zenith, while appraising India’s economic potential, health and future through comprehensive research and original hypotheses.
 
Flowers on the Path

This book is a compass which will lead you to that path of peace and enlightenment. It is a collection of articles by Sadhguru which have, for several years, healed many through their beauty, humour, clarity and wisdom. And like flowers, these articles have inspired and stimulated readers, wafting into their lives as a gentle fragrance on some mornings, and on others, startling them awake with fresh perspectives on age-old ideas and beliefs.
 
God of Sin: The Cult, Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu

Asaram originated the business model of branding goods and selling them to followers, using faith as a marketing tool-which other godmen emulated to great success. His commercial empire, now being investigated by economic offences agencies, was built on unaccounted donations, loans given on hefty rates of interest, investments in dubious companies, money laundering and dodgy real estate deals.
God of Sin pieces together Asaram’s journey to spiritual godhood, his fall from grace and the long and arduous road to bring him to justice.
 
The Hungryalists

This is the never-told-before story of the Hungry generation (or the Hungryalists)-a group of barnstorming, anti-establishment poets, writers, artists and activists in Bengal in the sixties. Braving social boycott, ridicule, and arrest, the Hungryalists changed the literary landscape of Bengal forever. Along the way, they also influenced iconic poets such as Allen Ginsberg who struck up a lifelong friendship with the Hungryalists.
 
If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi: Stories

In eleven sharp, surprising stories, Neel Patel gives voice to our most deeply held stereotypes and then slowly undermines them. His characters, almost all of whom are first-generation Indian Americans, subvert our expectations that they will sit quietly by. If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi examines the collisions of old world and new world, small town and big city, traditional beliefs (like arranged marriages) and modern rituals (like Facebook stalking). Ranging across the country, Patel’s stories-empathetic, provocative, twisting, and wryly funny-introduce a bold new literary voice, one that feels timelier than ever.
 
The Anatomy of a Sting

Bhupen Patel takes us through the entire process of a sting and reveals the amount of hard work it takes to not just uncover a story that requires further discreet investigation but also gather enough evidence to bring it to the notice of the public and authorities concerned. Each account will keep you on the edge of your seat and allow a glimpse into the life of an investigative journalist.
 
A Dream I Lived Alone

Padma Vibhushan-awardee Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan narrates his life’s story-from practicing music in a graveyard as a young boy to teaching stalwarts of the music industry, his journey is as lyrical as his songs. Captured in its essence by Namrata Gupta Khan, his daughter-in-law, A Dream I Lived Alone is a heart-warming story of love, riyaz, dedication and the maestro of music, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.
 
And Now and Here

Most of us look for security in our relationships and in our choice of living and working conditions. Underlying this search for security is a deep, instinctive fear of death, which continually colours our lives and drives our focus outward, toward survival.
But we also have a longing to turn inward, to relax deeply within ourselves, and experience the sense of freedom and expansion this brings. With this book the reader can start an exploration of his or her inner world.
 
Leapfrogging to Pole-vaulting

From Leapfrogging to Pole-vaulting looks at the extraordinary challenges of creating disruptive solutions to burning problems in energy, environment and employment in India. We are guzzling expensive, exhaustible energy resources and precipitating enormous environmental crises in order to drive an economic engine that ultimately creates no jobs.
In this original and ambitious book, Dr Mashelkar and Pandit lay out a comprehensive roadmap to a new future, notwithstanding all the formidable obstacles, either perceived or real.
 
Crash

In this book, the author shows that great leaders continue to excel not just because of their skills and intelligence but also by connecting with others using emotional competencies like empathy and self-awareness.
Filled with anecdotes, analysis of various situations CEOs may find themselves in and unconventional advice to help them, Crash: Lessons from the Entry and Exit of CEOs is for veteran leaders as well as for those who aspire to start their own ventures.
 
 
Bhagavata Purana Vol. 1 + 2 + 3

A seamless blend of fable and philosophy, the Bhagavata Purana is perhaps the most revered text in the Vaishnava tradition. It brings to life the legends of gods, asuras, sages and kings-all the while articulating the crucial ethical and philosophical tenets that underpin Hindu spiritualism.
 
Partitions of the Heart: Unmaking the Idea of India

There was one partition of the land in 1947. Harsh Mander believes that another partition is underway in our hearts and minds.
How much of this culpability lies with ordinary people? What are the responsibilities of a secular government, of a civil society, and of a progressive majority? In Partitions of the Heart: Unmaking the Idea of India, human rights and peace worker Harsh Mander takes stock of whether the republic has upheld the values it set out to achieve and offers painful, unsparing insight into the contours of hate violence.
 
Finding Radha: The Quest for Love

Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal, who brought us In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology, now present an anthology on the mysterious Radha, the epitome of love, who defies all conventional codes yet transcends social prohibitions through the power of the spiritual and the sensual, the sacred and the erotic. Finding Radha is the first of its kind: a collection of poetry, prose and translation that enter the historical as well as the artistic dimensions of the eternal romance of Radha and Krishna.
 
Trial by Silence

At the end of Perumal Murugan’s trailblazing novel One Part Woman, readers are left on a cliffhanger as Kali and Ponna’s intense love for each other is torn to shreds. What is going to happen next to this beloved couple?
In Trial by Silence-one of two inventive sequels that picks up the story right where One Part Woman ends.
 
A Lonely Harvest

At the end of Perumal Murugan’s trailblazing novel One Part Woman, readers are left on a cliffhanger as Kali and Ponna’s intense love for each other is torn to shreds. What is going to happen next to this beloved couple?
In A Lonely Harvest-one of two inventive sequels that pick up the story right where One Part Woman ends. But it has a different ending.
 
The Tata Group: From torchbearers to trailblazers

With over 100 companies offering products and services across 150 countries, 700,000 employees contributing a revenue of US$100-billion, the Tata Group is India’s largest and most globalized business conglomerate. The Tata name is known for salt, software, cars, communications, housing and hospitality.
How did they come so far? This book will tell you!
 
The Line of Control: Travelling with the Indian and Pakistani Armies

This vividly told, fast paced narrative brings the border area to life. Jacob was given unprecedented access by the Indian and Pakistani armies and he explores how the border is seen-both in the popular imagination and by those who exist in its shadow. He chronicles the lives of civilians and soldiers, their courage and resilience in the face of constant danger and the extraordinary similarities between the two sides.

Meet the Characters from Anand Neelakantan's 'Vanara'

Posted on by Penguin India

Baali and Sugreeva of the Vana Nara tribe were orphan brothers who were born in abject poverty and grew up as slaves like most of their fellow tribesmen. Sandwiched between the never-ending war between the Deva tribes in the north and the Asura tribes in the south, the Vana Naras seemed to have lost all hope. But Baali was determined not to die a slave. Aided by his beloved brother, Sugreeva, Baali built a country for his people. For a brief period in history, it seemed as if mankind had found its ideal hero in Baali.
But then fate intervened through the beautiful Tara, the daughter of a tribal physician. Loved by Baali and lusted after by Sugreeva, Tara became the cause of a fraternal war that would change history for ever.
The love triangle between Baali, Tara and Sugreeva is arguably the world’s first. Written by Anand Neelakantan Vanara is a classic tale of love, lust and betrayal. Let’s meet the characters.

Baali – the chief of Vana Naras, an indomitable warrior, a noble savage, and straight as an arrow. He loves his brother Sugreeva deeply and would give him anything he asks for – except Tara, who is the love of his life.

~

Sugreeva – The greatest warrior in Vana Nara tribe after Baali. He loves his brother and would do anything for him. He has always been the second man and for him, the end justifies his means. If he wasn’t lusting after Tara, his devotion to his brother was incomparable.

~

Tara – Daughter of an impoverished but principled and kindhearted tribal doctor. She was considered to be the wisest of all and the most desirable women as per Baali. She was deeply in love with Baali, her husband. If Baali had not been there, perhaps Sugreeva had a chance of marrying her.
 

Shakespearean in its tragic depth and epic in its sweep, Vanara gives voice to the greatest warrior in the Ramayana-Baali.

100 years of Sai Baba: His Journey on Life, Death and Everything in Between

Posted on by Penguin India

Rabda has attempted suicide and chances are that he is going to die. Sai Baba of Shirdi enters the hospital room and awakens the spirit body of Rabda. The two, Master and musician, begin to converse about life, death and everything in between.
Set in the present, Rabda by Ruzbeh N. Bharucha takes the reader to the past, to when the Sai lived in His physical body and the life and philosophy of Sai Baba of Shirdi are revealed.
Here are seven quotes from the book that will show you Sai Baba’s path:
 

“ Each moment, every single moment, we either create a dream or a nightmare, as each moment we either choose to live or we choose to kill the opportunity to live.”

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“Either you believe that God does not exist, there is no Supreme Power running this grand show, or you believe in a just God.You cannot believe in a God who exists but is unjust.”

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   “The more selfless your love,the greater the happiness all around.”

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“You may pronounce the words immaculately but if the words aren’t coming from the very breath of your essence, the very sigh of your soul,then those prayers might as well be verbalized by an intelligent parrot.”

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“One needs to be careful of desires as once you have your desires under control,you shall move into the region of the heart.”

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“When your thoughts rule you, you are like a slave in your own house.”

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“So the only wise and commonsensical way of going through life is calmly,giving your best, and leaving the rest to Him.”

A powerful spiritual read, Rabda is a journey you really do not want to miss.
 

Five Modern Homages to Jeeves!

Posted on by Penguin India

PG Wodehouse’s memorable creation,  is a highly implausible pairing—not romantic, not quite friendship but something immeasurably greater—that of that incomparable lounger and shining light  of the Drones Club, Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves.
‘Valet’  may be his official job designation, but he is so much more—father figure, nurse, guardian angel and all-round messiah to Bertie and his many bumbling friends, extricating them from multiple capers and bad decisions-money, thievery and marriage.
Jeeves and Wooster live on through modern literary tributes, TV shows and through the ‘bumbling master-supremely efficient staff’   trope still used in so much modern media.
 
Jeeves and the King of Clubs-Ben Schott
This is a magnificent new homage to Jeeves and Wooster, that leads them through an uproarious adventure of espionage through the secret corridors of Whitehall, the sunlit lawns of Brinkley Court, and the private clubs of St James’s.  As storm clouds loom over Europe and the very security of the nation is in peril-it seems that Jeeves has long been an agent of British Intelligence, but now His Majesty’s Government must turn to the one man who can help . . . Bertie Wooster. We encounter an unforgettable cast of characters – old and new – including outraged chefs and exasperated aunts, disreputable politicians and gambling bankers, slushy debs and Cockney cabbies, sphinx-like tailors, and sylph-like spies.
Jeeves & the King of Clubs is essential reading for aficionados of The Master, and a perfect introduction to the joys of Jeeves and Wooster for those who have never before dipped their toe.
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The classic television adaptation-Jeeves and Wooster
This is the show that made Laurie and Fry one of the ultimate dream-teams, almost as perfect  as Jeeves and Wooster, Laurel and hardy or (as Wodehouse would have put it) eggs and b. The episodes keep the deliciously Jazz-Age nonchalance of the novels while the irresistible charm and chemistry of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie is the perfect recreation of the eternal chemistry of Jeeves and Wooster.
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Wake-Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames
From the creator of the HBO series Bored to Death, the story of a young alcoholic writer and his personal valet, a hilarious homage to the Bertie and Jeeves novels of P.G. Wodehouse.
Alan Blair, the hero of Wake Up, Sir!, is a young, loony writer with numerous problems of the mental, emotional, sexual, spiritual, and physical variety. He’s very good at problems. But luckily for Alan, he has a personal valet named Jeeves, who does his best to sort things out for his troubled master. And Alan does find trouble wherever he goes. He embarks on a perilous and bizarre road journey, his destination being an artists’ colony in Saratoga Springs. There Alan encounters a gorgeous femme fatale who is in possession of the most spectacular nose in the history of noses. Such a nose can only lead to a wild disaster for someone like Alan, and Jeeves tries to help him, but…well, read the book and find out!
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Jeeves and the Wedding Bells-Sebastian Faulks
A gloriously witty novel from Sebastian Faulks using P.G. Wodehouse’s much-loved characters, Jeeves and Wooster, fully authorised by the Wodehouse estate.
Bertie Wooster is staying at the stately home of Sir Henry Hackwood in Dorset. He is more than familiar with the country-house set-up: he is a veteran of the cocktail hour and, thanks to Jeeves, his gentleman’s personal gentleman, is never less than immaculately dressed.
On this occasion, however, it is Jeeves who is to be seen in the drawing room while Bertie finds himself below stairs – which he doesn’t care for at all. His predicament is, of course, all in the name of love …
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A film homage to the master-valet pairing-Arthur (1981)
Featuring Sir John Gielgud as Hobson- a Jeeves-esque  valet to Dudley Moores’s Arthur, the classic ‘happy drunk’ playboy-the movie takes one through a crazy ride of finding love amid wealth, prostitution and substance abuse in the hedonism and excess of 1980s America.
The film won writer Steve Gordon an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and the Writer’s Guild of America award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.
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