Book rack
Bollywood’s top 20 superstars of indian cinema
Edited by Bhaichand Patel
Penguin 2012, pp 279, 599
This book is a collection of essays by renowned writers on cinema, paying tribute to Hindi cinema’s biggest stars.
It looks into the lives of Bollywood most exceptional legends, their struggles and triumphs, downfalls and scandals, and also the x-factor that made them who they are in the industry — superstars of Indian cinema.
Urban shots — crossroads
Edited by Ahmed Faiyaz
Westland, 2012, pp 217 199
This book explores the conflict and confusion in the lives of some Indian characters: the reclusive kid with a beautiful bicycle, a migrant to Mumbai with Old Monk on his breath, a misunderstood watchman at the library who befriends a little girl, and much more.
The blaft anthology of tamil pulp fiction — volume II
Edited by Rakesh Khanna, Translated by Pritham K Chakravarthy
Tranquebar, 2011, pp 467, 395
A karate superwoman tracks down a stolen idol, a royal family falls prey to an evil curse, and a woman’s obsession with blue films leads to a bizarre murder.
Hira Mandi
Claudine Le Tourneur d’lson
Roli Books, 2012, pp 167, 195
This story takes place in the walled city of Lahore, in an area once known as the pleasure seeker’s paradise. Through this story, Claudine attempts to capture the identity of Pakistani society by writing on its social, religious, political and cultural issues.
Luwan of brida
Sarang Mahajan
Periwinkle, 2011, pp 272, 175
Brida is a village located at the foot of the Malingo Mountains. Luwan plucks out of it a danger that will claim his life. Between him and safety lies a perilous journey, and he quickly discovers that a few assassins and bloodcurdling non-humans want him dead.
Marxism in India: From decline to debacle
Kiran Maitra
Roli Books, 2012, pp 304, 295
This book deals with the growth, evolution and struggle for survival, and the reasons for failure of this ideology in India. The author analyses the challenges that have beleaguered Marxism in our country in the last eight decades.
Ashoka
Charles Allen
Hachette, 2012, pp 460, 750
In a wide ranging, multi-layered journey of discovery that is as much about Britain’s entanglement with India as it is about India’s distant past, Charles Allen tells the story of the man who was arguably the greatest ruler India has ever known.
Voice of the veena: S Balachander
Vikram Sampath
Rain Tree, 2012, pp 446, 595
Of all the stars in the Carnatic music galaxy from the 1930s to the 1980s, there was one star that outshone the brilliance of the rest: the irrepressible genius, S Balachander. This book attempts to recreate the towering personality that he was.
Portraits from ayodhya: Living India’s contradictions
Scharada Dubey
Tranquebar, 2012, pp 272, 295
The author, a resident of Ayodhya herself, paints a portrait of a city that has known no peace, by studying the barricaded Ram Janmabhoomi, travelling through the temple alleyways and visiting its residents.
