February is here, and so is your ticket to a journey filled with love, life, and a bit of everything in between! From not-your-topical romance tropes to tackling parenting in the digital age, or even unraveling the mystery of sports governance (yes, It’s a thing!), these newly released books are here to be your delightful companions, sprinkling a bit of magic to this month of love.
Get ready to feel the love on every page!
Under the Night Jasmine || Manav Kaul
When the pandemic strikes and the lockdown happens, the usually, always travelling Rohit is forced travel within himself and explore his relationships thus far: with his mother, his teacher, his lovers—relationships that affect his current thought process, his relationships now. With the first stirrings of sexual attraction for his teacher and her lover came the shame of desire. His relationship with his lost girlfriend, with Dushyant, brings in guilt and remorse. What could he have done differently? What kind of a shameless person was he, using people to fulfil himself?
Fluctuating between poetry and prose, questioning even the method of writing Under the Night Jasmine is a world that is layered and many-splendored. It’s a coming-of-age novel — A micro look at a man’s world that both pushes back and fascinates.
Ma is Scared || Anjali Kajal
The stories in Anjali Kajal’s debut collection draw us into the lives of ordinary women in Northern India, making us realise quite how rarely we witness these experiences from Dalit points of view.
Whether combating the caste-based disdain of colleagues at work or in the classroom or enduring the new blows that the pandemic landed on Dalit communities, Anjali’s characters find a resilience and a dignity that we can all learn from.
Lilliput Land || Rama Bijapurkar
One of the largest consumer markets of the world, India is made up of lots and lots of small consumers—each earning and spending just a little bit that adds up to a lot. It is served by millions of small suppliers oozing innovation and customer intimacy, and is powered by digital infrastructure that does billions of unique and small transactions every day.
In her new book, Rama Bijapurkar dismisses the easy and simplistic view of the Indian demographic and embraces all the complexities and opportunities that new India has to offer.
iParent || Neha J Hiranandani
Neha J Hiranandani’s iParent comes to the rescue! This book 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.
From Waris to Heer || Haroon Khalid
Heer. The perfect beauty. Ranjha. The perfect lover.
Heer-Ranjha. The perfect love legend.
Waris Shah. Its creator.
From Waris to Heer narrates the story of Heer, Ranjha and Waris, and reimagines the story of the creation of the immortal love legend.
Written in the style of a qissa, the novel, much of which is set in a tumultuous period in eighteenth-century Punjab, evokes both the spirit and the style of the original text even as it makes the story relatable to a modern audience. Lyrically narrated, it is among the most moving novels of our time about the power of love and commitment in a society that seeks to shackle its youth and censor its writers.
Fool Me Twice || Nona Uppal
Set in New Delhi, Fool Me Twice is an unconventional story that will stump readers expecting a good, old romance trope. We meet and fall in love with a young couple planning their futures together when life rudely hijacks the steering wheel. Exploring the ways a twenty-year-old navigates grief and life after a loss that shatters most fifty-year-olds, Fool Me Twice looks at the complexity of falling in love ‘again’ at an age where most are falling for the first time, and what it feels like to move on from mourning one great love to make room for another.
Boundary Lab || Nandan Kamath
Sport is a petri dish. In it, society tests not only human limits but also individual and collective attitudes and norms, often before they impact the wider world beyond the boundary.
In its quest for universal rules, organized sport must regularly balance multiple interests and answer difficult questions. This helps sport—and through sport, society—to tweak laws, markets, morals and technological advances. The outcomes of the resulting debates influence the way we live, view each other, and organize our world.
Why should we care about sport and its governance? Within the covers of Boundary Lab lie the answers.
Being Hindu, Being India || Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav
Meticulously researched and eloquently written, Being Hindu, Being Indian offers the first comprehensive examination of Lajpat Rai’s nationalist thought. By revealing the complexities of Rai’s thinking, it provokes us to think more deeply about broader questions relevant to present-day politics: Are all expressions of ‘Hindu nationalism’ the same as Hindutva? What are the similarities and differences between ‘Hindu’ and ‘Indian’ nationalism? Can communalism and secularism be expressed together? How should we understand fluidity in politics? This book invites readers to treat Lajpat Rai’s ideas as a gateway to think more deeply about history, politics, religious identity and nationhood.
Babur || Aabhas Maldahiyar
Gripping, anecdotal and deeply researched Babur: The Chessboard King delves into Hindustan’s economic landscape during Timurid rule and portrays Babur as a multifaceted ruler, challenging the typical depiction of an infallible conqueror and a good human being. Meticulously sourced from the Persian manuscript of the Baburnama and other primary sources, this book represents a milestone in Babur’s biographical genre, essential for comprehending the ambitions of this enigmatic king.
Take Your Time & Hurry Up || Joey Kidney
Have you ever felt lost or alone in your thoughts, feelings and experiences?
Take Your Time and Hurry Up continues Joey’s experiences as he leaves his early twenties and heads toward adulthood. This book appeals to anyone who is navigating ‘adulting’ without a compass or a map, and who is searching for a sense of belonging.
Joey gently encourages his audience to find comfort, mindfulness, guidance and connection. A clear theme is woven through each passage: a reminder to slow down. After all, what’s the rush.
The Elephant Moves || Amitabh Kant, Amit Kapoor
The Elephant Moves unfolds a captivating saga, tracing India’s economic journey through the lens of competitiveness. From unraveling economic history (‘origins unveiled”) to navigating global dynamics (“sailing the tides”), the book explores the forces shaping nations. It delves into the facets of many Indias, unveiling opportunities in heterogeneity.
The Great Flap of 1942 || Mukund Padmanabhan
The Great Flap of 1942 is a narrative history of a neglected and scarcely known period—between December 1941 and mid-1942—when all of India was caught in a state of panic. This was largely a result of the British administration’s mistaken belief that Japan was on the verge of launching a full-fledged invasion. It was a time when the Raj became unduly alarmed, when the tongue of rumour wagged wildly about Japanese prowess and British weakness and when there was a huge and largely unmapped exodus (of Indians and Europeans) from both sides of the coastline to ‘safer’ inland regions. This book demonstrates, quite astonishingly, that the Raj cynically encouraged the exodus and contributed to the repeated cycles of rumour, panic and flight. It also reveals how the shadow of the Japanese threat influenced the course of nationalist politics, altered British attitudes towards India and charted the course towards Independence.
We, The Citizens || Pranay Kotasthane, Khyati Pathak, Anupam Manur
What is a republic? How do markets work? What is the role of society in bringing about change? These may be abstract questions, but they have a concrete impact on all of us.
We, the citizens, live at the intersection of the Indian state, market and society. Yet, many of us are unaware of what these entities stand for, how they interact with each other, and how they touch our lives.
We, The Citizens, by Khyati Pathak, Anupam Manur and Pranay Kotasthane, decodes public policy in the Indian context in a graphical narrative format relatable to readers of all ages. If you want to be an engaged citizen, aspire to be a positive change-maker, or wish to understand our sociopolitical environment, this book is for you.
The idea of India was an audacious dream. The fulfilment of this dream lies upon We, the citizens.
Accelerating India’s Development || Karthik Muralidharan
Seventy-five years after Independence, India has much to be proud of. We are both the world’s biggest democracy and fastest-growing large economy. Yet, we face profound challenges that hinder both individual well-being and aggregate growth, including education and skills, health and nutrition, public safety, justice, social protection, and jobs.
Accelerating India’s Development is addressed to all Indians—leaders, officials, entrepreneurs, teachers, students, citizens, and civil society—and provides an urgent call to action. It argues that building an effective state is the great unfinished task of Indian democracy, because quality public services are key to translating the political equality of ‘One Person, One Vote’ into greater equality of opportunity for all Indians.
Action || Vivek Mashrani, Anand Venkitachalam
Personal finance is a subject that touches every aspect of our lives, yet it is one that many of us struggle to understand and manage effectively. It is a complex and ever-evolving field that requires constant attention and adaptation. The principles of personal finance are not just about managing money but about creating a better future for yourself and your loved ones. Exploring 100 personal finance principles that will help you make the most of your money, this book brings to light the key principles of personal finance using, what the authors call, the ACTION framework: Assess, Create a plan, Track progress, Invest, Optimize and Navigate.
Mastering the Data Paradox || Nithin Seth
There are two remarkable phenomena that are unfolding almost simultaneously. The first is the emergence of a data-first world, where data has become a central driving force, shaping industries and fueling innovation. The second is the dawn of the AI age, propelled by the advent of Generative AI, that has created the possibility to leverage the data of the world for the first time. The convergence of these two, with data as the common denominator, holds immense promise and the opportunities are boundless.
This book provides us with opportunities to push our thinking, to innovate, to transform and to create a better future at all levels—individual, enterprise and the world.
Looking for a book to accompany your cup of hot coffee these cold days? Here are our February favourites that are absolute page-turners!
Victory City by Salman Rushdie
Victory City || Salman Rushdie
COMING SOON – from the magnificent mind of Booker Prize-winning, worldwide popular novelist Salman Rushdie comes the epic story of a woman who creates a mythical empire only to be destroyed by it over the years. This chronicle of love, adventure, and myth is brilliantly designed as a translation of a historic tale, and it is a monument to the magic of storytelling in and of itself.
Tirukkural by Meena Kandasamy and Tiruvalluvar
Tirukkural || Meena Kandasamy, Tiruvalluvar
The Kamattu-p-pal, written by Thiruvalluvar, is the third portion of the Tirukkural, one of the most significant manuscripts in Tamil literature. The most intimate element of this wonderful work is also the one that has historically been most restricted.
Meena Kandasamy weaves a magical spell with her trademark wit, lyricism, and passionate insight: taking the reader on a journey through 250 kurals organized under separate headings – ‘The Pleasure of Sex,’ ‘Renouncing Shame,’ ‘The Delights of Sulking’ – the outcome is a brand new, crucial, and exhilarating translation that expresses meaningful messages about female sensuality, agency, and desire.
These Seats are Reserved by Abhinav Chandrachud
These Seats are Reserved || Abhinav Chandrachud
Reservation, often known as affirmative action, is a very contentious concept in India. While constitutionally mandated and supported by historians, political scientists, and social activists, many oppose it, seeing it as compromising ‘merit’ and going against the idea of equality of opportunity.
Abhinav analyzes the history and development of the reservation policy in These Seats Are Reserved. Having been thoroughly researched and expertly narrated, this volume is a captivating addition to any thinking person’s library.
The Laughter by Sonora Jha
The Laughter || Sonora Jha
Sonora Jha has developed a fascinating figure who is both in sync with and out of sync with our times, an intellectual man who inspires and then questions our sympathies. As the novel draws to a close, Jha invites us to reconsider events, revealing a depth of loneliness in unexpected places, the individuality of youth, and the looming menace of white rage in America.
The Laughter, an explosive and tense piece of fiction, is a fascinating depiction of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia that compels us to confront our preconceptions as readers and citizens.
The Best of Satyajit Ray by Satyajit Ray
The Best of Satyajit Ray || Satyajit Ray
From Ray’s enduring creation, professional detective Feluda, to the narratives of Professor Shonku; short stories; writings on filmmaking; and opinions on world and Indian cinema, among many others, this box set, The Best of Satyajit Ray, is not only a treat for Ray enthusiasts but also a collector’s edition.
Customer in the Boardroom by Rama Bijapurkar
Customer in the Boardroom || Rama Bijapurkar
Most Indian organisations’ business strategies are characterised by supply-side, tunnel vision of the market, and compulsively competitor-centered methods. Customer in the Boardroom emphasises the importance of firms incorporating customer centricity into their business strategy formulation process if they are to continue to expand profitably and protect their future.
Secrets of Divine Love Journal by A. Helwa
Secrets of Divine Love Journal || A. Helwa
The Secrets of Divine Love Journal is based on the book Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam, which was published in 2008. Secrets of Divine Love Journal will help you establish a closer connection to Allah by uniting you with the heart of your faith in a more intimate and inspiring way through heart-centered thoughts, enlightening prompts, and thought-provoking questions.
From Darkness into Light by A. Helwa
From Darkness into Light || A. Helwa
From Darkness into Light is a deeply moving collection of poetry on forgiveness, guidance, timeless wisdom, prayer, self-love, faith, and the ultimate journey of the soul to healing, connection, and unity with the One. This book was intended for individuals who want to embark on a spiritual journey. For individuals in search of hope, connection, and a meaningful relationship with Allah.
Unfiltered by Saurabh Mukherjea
Unfiltered || Saurabh Mukherjea
Unfiltered: The CEO and the Coach, a pioneering book, for the first time opens the doors that ordinarily shield the confidential world of coaching sessions. The book’s candour assists readers in completely grasping the life-changing influence that coaching may have. As a leadership development book, the writers share the tales (both individual and mutual) of their five-year collaboration. The resulting narrative includes not only unique ideas that executives and entrepreneurs will find valuable for their own development, but also deep insights into how we may master the world by understanding ourselves.
The Perfect 10 by Yasmin Karachiwala
The Perfect 10 || Yasmin Karachiwala
This book will show you that it only takes ten minutes a day to begin your health journey and you will be packed with fitness routines, movement ideas, and lifestyle modifications interspersed with stories of actual people’s adventures. Yasmin Karachiwala is on the move. Observe how your body and life changes.
7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body by Dr. Hansaji Yogendra
7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body || Dr. Hansaji Yogendra
The simple yet practical guide 7 Rules to Reset Your Mind and Body for Greater Well-Being is what you need to read to regain control. This step-by-step book, written by The Yoga Institute’s most acclaimed and regarded Dr Hansaji Yogendra, emphasizes the necessity of achieving and maintaining balance in all parts of your life.
Life Switch by Madhuri Banerjee
Life Switch || Madhuri Banerjee
Life Switch is a thrilling, emotional, dramatic, and erotic love story. Nandita, a staid housewife, switches lives with Annie, her doppelgänger. She swaps her phone, her house, her husband, and her mundane family life for Annie’s dazzling business life at an advertising agency. When secrets are revealed, their lives become brutally difficult.
Oblivion and Other Stories by Gopinath Mohnaty
Oblivion and Other Stories || Gopinath Mohnaty
Gopinath Mohanty’s anthology Oblivion and Other Stories contains twenty short stories. They portray the forgotten ones, the monotony of living on the outside of life—of the impoverished, tribals, and regular people—invisible amid the feudal environment of Orissa in the twentieth century.
Bad Liars by Vikrant Khanna
Bad Liars || Vikrant Khanna
When the body of a well-known fund manager, Anant Kapoor, is discovered in his home, the police quickly suspect his wife of murder. She has no excuse, and she stands to benefit directly from his death. However, when the police dig deeper, they discover two other suspects who are equally likely to commit the crime. Who, and more importantly, why, killed Anant?
Dattapaharam by V.J. James
Dattapaharam || V.J. James
Dattapaharam, a novel by critically acclaimed and bestselling Malayalam author V.J. James, is a rumination on solitude, man’s connection with nature, and the strings that bind us to this world. It is a surreal novel in which the author’s imagination soars like an eagle and words flow like the untouched springs in a rainforest. Dattapaharam is a powerful novel for our anthropocentric age, written by one of the most exciting voices to emerge from the Indian subcontinent. It is at times a fable on the modern world, at times a search for identity amid a quest for discovery, and on the whole a moving tale that takes the reader deep into the forests to understand what truly makes us human.
Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye by K.J.S. Dhillon
Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye is an autobiographical, candid, and emotive account of an Army veteran’s life. It concentrates on the personal, professional, and, most significantly, family life of an Army soldier, and will not only provide insight into the challenges and tribulations he endured, but will also inspire a broad range of readers, particularly young defence aspirants.
Everything seems rosy for the little and young ones, for they experience happiness and love in infinite ways. So why limit their imagination and definition of love?
Let them celebrate this month of love with their pets, friends, parents, grandparents, objects, plants, books, or even their toys. While they do so, introduce them to our personally-curated list of fascinating titles that tell some amazing and fun stories. Exploring different forms of love—our stories will bring your kids, little cousins, nieces and nephews happiness and knowledge.
So, choose some of their next-favourites from this list!
Ritu Weds Chandni
Ritu Weds Chandni || Ameya Narvankar
Ayesha is excited to attend her cousin Ritu’s wedding. She can barely wait to dance at the baraat! But not everyone is happy that Ritu is marrying her girlfriend, Chandni.
Some have even vowed to stop the celebrations. Will Ayesha be able to save her cousin’s big day?
Centering Ayesha’s love for her cousin as much as it showcases Ritu and Chandni’s love for each other, this warm-hearted story celebrates the power of young voices to stand up against prejudice and bigotry.
Sometimes Mama, Sometimes Papa
Sometimes Mama, Sometimes Papa || Nandini Nayar
For children and changing families who have two unique homes. Peek into the simplest solutions for understanding one of life’s most difficult moments–separation.
When Keya’s parents stopped living together, unusual things happened.
Keya became the only girl in her class with two homes.
‘Where will you live?’
‘Who will you live with?’
‘Sometimes Mama,’ Keya said, ‘sometimes Papa!’
This heart-warming story with comforting pictures reassures young readers that parents, whether alone or together, are always there for them.
Mama and Papa are always wonderful together.
Perhaps, they will be wonderful separately too?
Maithili and the Minotaur
Maithili and the Minotaur || C.G. Salamander
What if our world was a lot more? Filled with unknown creatures-some friendly, some scary.
An outcast to the world of humans, Maithili lives in the outskirts of a magical wilderness. But as she makes new friends in the realm of monsters, she must learn to be careful. Because some monsters are just like humans: mean, nasty and out for blood.
Perfect for fans of Hilda and Arthur and the Golden Rope, join Maithili and the Minotaur on their very first adventure in an outlandish world where nothing is as it seems.
Kitten Trouble
Kitten Trouble || Bijal Vachharajani
Sani is terrified of animals-dogs, cats, cows. But her mother has just brought home an orange-white furball.
What is Sani to do?
Kitten Trouble is a part of the Hook Books series. These books are for very young readers, aged five and above. The books work well for reading out loud to kids or for young readers just starting to read by themselves. Written by some of the best-known writers for children, and illustrated in exuberant colour by some of India’s most-loved illustrators, these stories are set largely in non-urban settings. Hawaldar Hook is the endearing mascot of the Hook Books. Each book includes short and fun language exercises at the end.
My Grandmother’s Masterpiece
My Grandmother’s Masterpiece || Madhurima Vidyarthi
‘This is the story of how my grandmother became a famous artist. It happened somewhere between my seventh and eighth birthdays, so she was really old and also a grandmother, and I didn’t know she was an artist. And, of course, she was not famous. And then she was both, all at once.’
For Nini, Minima is just her normal everyday grandmother. So when Minima suddenly shows an interest in doing something new, Nini is not sure that she likes it. After all, a grandmother’s first job is being a grandmother, isn’t it?
As soon as February begins, there’s a nip in the air, something that the weatherman can’t quite comprehend. Cities turn into the sets of La La Land and romance brews in every café. Some people have even speculated to witness moonlight during the day.
For those who detest this month of love and hibernate their way through it or for those who are hopeless romantics, we have a pile of new and fresh, off-the-press, beautiful books releasing that all of us can hold in our hands this February! This pile has fiction, adventure, culture, biographies, music and more! A bit of everything to fill each day of your month with something extraordinary!
Looking for a home in your bookshelves and hearts, here they are:
Aranyak || Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay
Aranyak
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay
Translated from the Bengali by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
Aranyak, written in 1939, is a famous Bengali novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay based on his long and arduous years in northern Bihar. There he came into contact with a part of the world that, even now, remains unknown to most of us. ‘Aranyak’ literally means ‘Of the Forest’. This novel explores the simple and heart-warming story of a man who gets a job as an estate manager in Bihar, and slowly falls in love with the beautiful and tranquil forest around him. The dichotomy of urban and rural life comes alive, reflecting the great love that human beings and nature can share, one that Bandyopadhyay experienced in his heart. Written by one of the greatest Bengali authors, this haunting novel is rooted in guilt and sadness but also tremendous beauty.
Singing in the Dark
Singing in the Dark
K. Satchidanandan, Nishi Chawla
Singing in the Dark brings together the finest of poetic responses to the coronavirus pandemic. More than a hundred of the world’s most esteemed poets reflect upon a crisis that has dramatically altered our lives, and laid bare our vulnerabilities. The poems capture all its dimensions: the trauma of solitude, the unexpected transformation in the expression of interpersonal relationships, the even sharper visibility of the class divide, the marvellous revival of nature and the profound realization of the transience of human existence. The moods vary from quiet contemplation and choking anguish to suppressed rage and cautious celebration in an anthology that serves as an aesthetic archive of a strange era in human history.
Iqbal || Raza Mir
IQBAL
Raza Mir
Also known as the ‘Poet of the East’, Allama Muhammad Iqbal earned a doctorate in philosophy from the Ludwig-Maximillian University at Munich, and wrote his most evocative poems in Urdu, a language that was not his mother tongue. His funeral was attended by 70,000 people, which included colonialists and freedom fighters, socialist atheists and Islamic fundamentalists, Indian nationalists and Muslim Leaguers, reflecting his ability to defy categorization.The book is a relatively short volume that introduces Iqbal to the millennial generation. It is written in a relatively contemporary language, similar to Ghalib: A Thousand Desires. A bulk of the book will comprise a temporal and intellectual biography of Iqbal, while the rest will include a detailed discussion of one of Iqbal’s poems, a translation of some of his well-known poems, and a sampling of some of his famous verses.
The Queen of Indian Pop || Usha Uthup
The Queen of Indian Pop
Vikas Kumar Jha
In this vivid biography, which was originally written in Hindi, Vikas Kumar Jha captures the entire arc of Uthup’s career in music. From her childhood days in Mumbai and her first gigs singing with jazz bands in Chennai’s glitzy nightclubs to her meteoric rise as India’s musical sensation and her philanthropic work, Jha covers it all and manages to weave a narrative that is colourful, inspiring and bound to keep any reader engrossed till the end. This pitch-perfect English translation, by Srishti Jha, offers the reader a front-row seat to the life and times of the inimitable Usha Uthup.
Annus Horribilis || Avinab Datta-Areng
Annus Horribilis
Avinab Datta-Areng
Annus Horribilis is concerned with the violence of thinking, alone. The voices in these poems move through relationships, family, friendship, external disintegration, the labour of loving, being loved and of caring, where they are constantly confronted with the familiar turning foreign, the quotidian becoming a scene of absolute hostility, and where a word otherwise spoken easily becomes incommunicable. The book grapples with a (habitually futile) desire to communicate what should only be communicable-looking for some friend in language-that won’t lead to misunderstanding or, worse, silence. It searches for a language in which thought might survive and perhaps even reach out towards others.
Beguiled by Ruchika Soi
Beguiled
Ruchika Soi
A true story, Beguiled starts with Gitanjali meeting Randeep Singh Taneja at a farm party in Delhi. He called himself ‘Randy’. He flirted with her; she resisted. She was a single mother, a divorcee, and Randy was five years younger. They became friends, went for walks in Lodhi Garden, had coffee in Khan Market, and he asked her hand in marriage. She refused, he beguiled her, they fell in love, and she said yes.
The couple moved to London and this is where the first signs of trouble began. Away from all that was familiar to her, Gitanjali began to notice that Randy was not all that declared to be. Random phone calls from women who claimed to either be his wife or his girlfriend, a child who called him ‘Papa’, photographs of Randy with other women, multiple cell phones…and for all this he had reasonable explanations that left her with no room for doubt. Gitanjali thought she knew her husband. That is until she hadn’t opened his cell phone and found out about the many lives he was leading across the world.
Beguiled is a dark and gripping story about a marriage gone wrong.
The Hidden Hindu || Akshat Gupta
The Hidden Hindu
Akshat Gupta
Prithvi, a twenty-one-year-old, is searching for a mysterious middle-aged aghori (Shiva devotee), Om Shastri, who was traced more than 200 years ago before he was captured and transported to a high-tech facility on an isolated Indian island. When the aghori was drugged and hypnotized for interrogation by a team of specialists, he claimed to have witnessed all four yugas (the epochs in Hinduism) and even participated in both Ramayana and Mahabharata. Om’s revelations of his incredible past that defied the nature of mortality left everyone baffled. The team also discovers that Om had been in search of the other immortals from every yuga. These bizarre secrets could shake up the ancient beliefs of the present and alter the course of the future. So who is Om Shastri? Why was he captured? Board the boat of Om Shastri’s secrets, Prithvi’s pursuit and adventures of other enigmatic immortals of Hindu mythology in this exciting and revealing journey.
Destiny’s Child || Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat
Destiny’s Child
Raghu Palat, Pushpa Palat
This is an intimate account of the extraordinary life of Parukutty Nethyaramma, who went on to become one of the most powerful rulers of the Kingdom of Cochin.
At the age of fourteen, her marriage thrust her into a hostile world. Taking on her detractors, Parukutty stubbornly and fearlessly forged ahead to become a voice none could gainsay. Despite a seventeen-year age gap, she had built a special, unshakable bond with her husband. When he was crowned the sovereign ruler of Cochin, she vowed to support and protect his position throughout her life. Theirs was an enviable partnership of two incredible equals who together went on to break many traditional norms. At a time when women were relegated to the shadows, Parukutty travelled with her husband, participated in important discussions, and even went on to rule as his proxy. She became a force to be reckoned with in her own right.
The Millennial Yogi || Deepam Chatterjee
The Millennial Yogi
Deepam Chatterjee
‘How do I fight? I see failure at every juncture,’ said Jay.
‘If we divide our life the way we sort laundry, we will never find peace,’ replied Vini.
Jayshankar Prasad, or Jay, has had a shady-yet-mercurial rise in his journey as an entrepreneur, but he has little idea as to what is around the corner. On the other hand, Vini, a mystic monk, has already been there, and knows what it is like to have it all and then lose it in an instant. Greed . . . power . . . money . . . are all transitory.
In a serendipitous twist of fate, Jay crosses paths with the enigmatic Vini and thus begins a cathartic and transformative journey. The Millennial Yogi is the zeitgeist parable for anyone searching for meaning and purpose in life. With prose that is both photographic and profound, Deepam Chatterjee has crafted an extraordinary tale of loss, redemption and the fight for one’s soul in an increasingly materialistic world.
Savarkar || Vikram Sampath
Savarkar: A Contested Legacy from A Forgotten Past
The Complete 2-Volume Biography of Savarkar
Vikram Sampath
As the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva, which is in political ascendancy in India today, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is undoubtedly one of the most contentious political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century. From the heady days of revolution and generating international support for the cause of India’s freedom as a law student in London, Savarkar found himself arrested, unfairly tried for sedition, transported and incarcerated at the Cellular Jail, in the Andamans, for over a decade, where he underwent unimaginable torture.
Decades after his death, Savarkar continues to uniquely influence India’s political scenario. An optimistic advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity in his treatise on the 1857 War of Independence, what was it that transformed him into a proponent of ‘Hindutva’? What was it that transformed him in the Cellular Jail to a proponent of ‘Hindutva’, which viewed Muslims with suspicion?
This two-volume biography series, exploring a vast range of original archival documents from across India and outside it, in English and several Indian languages, historian Vikram Sampath brings to light his life and works.
Something I’m Waiting To Tell You || Shravya Bhinder
Something I’m Waiting To Tell You
Shravya Bhinder
After nearly losing the love of his life to a terrible accident, Ronnie realizes how much he loves Adira and what an idiot he had been to hurt her. What’s more, her overprotective mother now takes care of her, and does not like Ronnie being anywhere near her daughter.
He’s going through hell-unable to go back in time and fix things, unable to say what he missed saying to her, ‘I love you . . .’
All he wants now is a second chance, to trace his steps back into a loving relationship and win Adira over. It will not be easy because life is tough; love, even tougher.
Panchali || Sibaji Bandyopadhyay and Sankha Banerjee
Panchali
The Game of Dice
Sibaji Bandyopadhyay, Sankha Banerjee
A fascinating illustrated rendition of the all-consuming Mahabharata … A spectacular show of words and images dealing with love and death, loyalty and duplicity, conflict and concord, and much more …
Impelled by elemental forces of death, destruction and creation, Panchali, with electrifying visuals cinematically construed, reaches its climax: two consecutive games of dice. Marred by deceit, treachery and trickery, and fuelled by obsession, passion and rage, the gambling episode provides the preface to the coming, all-consuming Mahabharata war.
The Tiger’s Pause || Swami Virupaksha
The Tiger’s Pause
The Untold Story of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Peace Efforts in Sri Lanka
Swami Virupaksha
As the fourth phase of the twenty-six-year-long civil war in Sri Lanka was about to begin, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living, visited the island nation with a singular aim: to bring peace to its citizens while trying to mediate between Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the government. The Tiger’s Pause chronicles Gurudev’s time in a highly strung country and also offers an exclusive look into the final chapters of Sri Lanka’s deadly conflict.
Swami Virupaksha, who spent nine years in the country expounding the Art of Living courses and organizing Gurudev’s visits, expertly charts the enormous hope of the Tamil and Sinhalese people against overwhelming misery. In prose that is both concise and empathetic, Swami Virupaksha gives readers a sweeping view of Gurudev’s endeavours towards a ceasefire agreement, and the ups and downs of a country’s quest for peace. The Tiger’s Pause is the narrative of the Sri Lankan people, and gives us a sense of what it takes to understand and address a shared trauma.
The Stone Tower || Riaz Dean
The Stone Tower
Riaz Dean
A path traversed by caravans laden with silk, spices and much more besides, the old Silk Road influenced trade, religions, cultures and economies across Europe, Asia and far beyond.
In his latest book, Riaz Dean blends the best of this region’s history and geography with ancient cartography to solve a 2,000-year-old riddle that has perplexed scholars for centuries: Where was the Stone Tower that the great geographer Claudius Ptolemy had written about? This highly significant but now-lost landmark represented the midpoint and thumping heart of the Silk Road, as merchant caravans plied their wares between the Occident and the Orient.
The $Ten Trillion Dream by Subhash Chandra Garg
The $Ten Trillion Dream
The State of the Indian Economy and the Policy Reforms Agenda
Subhash Chandra Garg
India rightly aspires to be an upper-middle-income economy with its vast workforce gainfully employed
to have a decent standard of living. This, however, is a challenging proposition as India continues to
grapple with major economic policy issues. This book discusses the present state of India’s economy. It thematically explores the critical policy issues India faces today and suggests reforms for India to become a $10-trillion economy by the mid-2030s. The book presents a wide-angled and comprehensive view of the state of the Indian economy. It analyses India’s macroeconomy in the light of its evolution since Independence and covers the performance of the Indian economy on macro parameters of growth, inflation, monetary management, credit management, foreign capital inflows, fiscal management and other important macroeconomic fundamentals. Covering major sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, industry and services, the book also captures India’s progress towards becoming a digital economy.
This book will be an adept lifetime mentor faithfully by your side to guide you through various stages of life. It guides you in achieving meaningful success including tremendous professional success through multidimensional and balanced life goals, which are the key to happiness and fulfilment. The book first focuses on defining the person you aspire to be through a step-by-step process to define your aspirational life goals. Then it guides you in becoming the best version of yourself and worthy of realizing your aspirations. The ideas shared are relevant to people of ages fifteen years onwards, from high school students to early and senior professionals to CEOs. It also includes insights from exclusive interviews with Ratan Tata, Narayan Murthy, Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, Sadhguru, John Chambers, Dr Devi Shetty, Rahul Dravid, Prakash Padukone, Vinita Bali, Vani Kola, and more. These distinguished people have achieved amazing success by passionately pursuing their goal-based journeys and have underlined the ideas shared in the book.
Bose || Chandrachur Ghose
Bose
Chandrachur Ghose
There are not many Indian heroes whose lives have been as dramatic and adventurous as that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. That, however, is an assessment of his life based on what is widely known about him. These often revolve around his resignation from the Indian Civil Service, joining the freedom movement, to be exiled twice for over seven years, throwing a challenge to the Gandhian leadership in the Congress, taking up an extremist position against the British Raj, evading the famed intelligence network to travel to Europe and then to Southeast Asia, forming two Governments and raising two armies and then disappearing into the unknown. All this in a span of just two decades.
Now, new information throws light on Bose’s intense political activities surrounding the revolutionary groups in Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra and United Provinces, his efforts to bridge the increasing communal divide and his influence among the splintered political landscape; his outlook and relations with women; his plunge into the depths of spirituality; his penchant for covert operations and his efforts to engineer a rebellion among the Indian armed forces. With this new information, what appeared to be dramatic now becomes more intense with plots and subplots under one man’s single-minded focus on freeing the motherland and envisioning its development in a new era.
Pacey, thought-provoking and absolutely unputdownable, Bose: The Untold Story of an Inconvenient Nationalist will open a window to many hitherto untold and unknown stories of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Master on Masters || Amjad Ali Khan
Master on Masters
Amjad Ali Khan
Veteran musician and sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan writes a deeply personal book about the lives and times of some of the greatest icons of Indian classical music. Having known these stalwarts personally, he recalls anecdotes and details about their individual musical styles, bringing them alive.
Twelve eminent musicians of the twentieth century appear in the book – Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Begum Akhtar, Alla Rakha, Kesarbai Kerkar, Kumar Gandharva, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan and Kishan Maharaj. In writing about them, Amjad Ali Khan transcends the Gharana and north-south divide, and presents portraits of these great artists that are drawn with affection, humour and warmth.
Investonomy || Pranjal Kamra
Investonomy
The Stock Market Guide That Makes You Rich
Pranjal Kamra
Are you inspired by billionaires around the world but think becoming a billionaire is too far out of your reach?
Are you confused about the behaviour of the stock market and the implications of investing in it?
Are you actually scared of investing in the stock market? If yes, then Investonomy is a must-read for you! 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.
Why I Failed by Shweta Punj
Why I Failed
Lessons from Leaders
Shweta Punj
Fail! And we are stamped for life. Don’t we try and run from failure all our lives? But, ‘spontaneous doing has to go through failures’. Acknowledging failure is singularly the most difficult thing to do. It takes tremendous courage to come out and say, yes, I failed. Shweta Punj chronicles sixteen leaders who have celebrated their failure as much as their success. Each story is an anatomy of failure. So whether it was the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’ that led Abhinav Bindra to miss that winning shot, or whether it was a suicide attempt that pushed Sabyasachi Mukherjee into fully realizing his potential-these stories will encourage you to look at failure differently.
Healed || Manisha Koirala
Healed
How Cancer Gave Me a New Life
Manisha Koirala
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.
Today, as she completes six years of being cancer-free, she shares her story-one marked by apprehensions, disappointments and uncertainties-and the lessons she learnt along the way. Through her journey, she unravels cancer for us and inspires us to not buckle under its fear, but emerge alive, kicking and victorious.
Unburden || Nithya Shanti, Nandini Sen Mehra
Unburden
A Book of Joyous Awakenings
Nithya Shanti, Nandini Sen Mehra
Playful Principles for Conscious Living
What if, to lead our most fulfilling life, there was nothing to acquire, nothing to accomplish, nothing to master? What if we are already home, already whole, already complete? What if, all that is needed, is to gently set down the burden?
Unburden is an invitation to examine ideas, identities and concepts that bind and limit us. We begin to access the power and potency that comes from trusting the silence underlying all thoughts and experiences.
In Nithya Shanti’s inimitable voice, discover profound teachings, simply told. Nithya shares anecdotes, exercises for self-discovery and pointers for awakening, through a distillation of timeless wisdom and contemporary discoveries, along with his own innovations from decades of intensive teaching and practice.
Disrupt and Conquer || T.T. Jagannathan, Sandhya Mendonca
Disrupt and Conquer
How TTK Prestige Became a Billion Dollar Company
T.T. Jagannathan, Sandhya Mendonca
The TTK Group was founded in 1928 in Chennai (then Madras) by T.T. Krishnamachari, who later became a Union minister and held the portfolios of finance, industry and commerce for close to fifteen years.
In this book, the current chairman T.T. Jagannathan, along with Sandhya Mendonca, takes us through the journey of this extraordinary company which fought off bankruptcy and rose like a phoenix to become a highly profitable, successful entity.
Like a phoenix, the group and its constituent companies, have risen from the ashes, many times over, to stand tall and proud. This is the story of a journey that began with early success and experienced catastrophic disasters, and set about turning its fortunes around in stunning comebacks, time and again.
With invaluable business lessons, decades of experience and innovation distilled in these pages, Disrupt and Conquer is a must-read for aspiring entrepreneurs, executives and business leaders.
Everything Is Out of Syllabus || Varun Duggirala
Everything Is Out of Syllabus
An Instruction Manual for Life
Varun Duggirala
Life seldom comes with an instruction manual or a guidebook. It’s often messy and unpredictable too. While our education may prepare us for situations covered within its set syllabus, most of life happens outside this realm and this leaves us grappling with questions around work, life and everything in between.
Hence, this book.
Varun Duggirala has survived and thrived in a system that throws curveballs at us without the tools to actually overcome them. In Everything Is Out of Syllabus, he offers answers to important questions like:
What is the true meaning of success? How can one become more creative and think outside the box?
How can we connect with people, including ourselves? And much more.
Most importantly, he tells readers what are the skills one needs to master to live a more fulfilled life that is optimized for happiness.
When Coal Turned Gold || Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya
When Coal Turned Gold
The Making of a Maharatna Company
Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya
Coal India Ltd (CIL) contributes to about 82 per cent of India’s coal production. In When Coal Turned Gold, former chairman and managing director of CIL, Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya, tells the story, warts and all, of how he dealt with the Dhanbad coal mafia, how he changed the way the industry was perceived, how he dealt with the trade unions and the government and, most importantly, how he was able to script one of the greatest success stories the country had ever seen.
With this immense list, our love for books seems like one that’ll last forever. The perfect love story, what do you think?
