Book rack
Turtle Dove: Six Simple Tales:Based in and around Delhi, these short stories about ordinary and sometimes, not-so-ordinary people, could really be about people anywhere.
Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity
Pavan K Varma
Penguin, 2010, pp 275, Rs 499
Drawing upon modern Indian history, contemporary events and personal experiences, the author examines how and why the legacies of colonialism persist in our everyday life, affecting our language, politics, creative expression and self-image. In this, the author shows why India is not in any position to assume global leadership until we reclaim our cultural identity.
It Rained All Night
Buddhadeva Bose
Translated by Clinton B Seely
Penguin, 2010, pp 138, Rs 150
Maloti, a middle-class Bengali girl marries college lecturer Nayonangshu only to find him insecure and sexually timid. She then discovers passion in the arms of the confident, earthy journalist Jayanto whose love provides her solace from the demands of her wifely duties. Bold and explicit, this is a tale of desire, adultery, jealousy and love.
Point Blank
Farhan Siddiqui
Frog, 2010, pp 200, Rs 200
This book isn’t about youngsters who make it to the IITs and IIMs of today’s India, but about those who nurse ambitions and dreams in non-descript colleges and institutions of small town India. Young men, like the book’s protagonist Junaid, who try to balance their carefree and inconsequential lives in a mofussil college, with growing pressures to mould themselves into ‘products’ that modern India seems to seek.
Delhi Durbar
Krishan Partap Singh
Hachette, 2010, pp 291, Rs 195
Ex-Army Chief and now President of India, General Dayal defies his rubber-stamp status to take on Prime Minister Yadav, head of the ruling Third Front coalition government, as the fate of India teeters in the balance. The world’s largest democracy is poised to become a military dictatorship... A tale of moves and countermoves, this is a ruthless, rivettingly intelligent look into the functioning of Indian polity.
Turtle Dove: Six Simple Tales
Divya Dubey
Gyaana, 2010, pp 227, Rs 195
Based in and around Delhi, these short stories about ordinary and sometimes, not-so-ordinary people, could really be about people anywhere. Touching on themes such as friendship, childhood, destiny and growing up, this collection is largely about the bizarre and eccentric world that we live in.
Sirisampige & Other Plays
Chandrasekhar Kambar
ProvokeIndia, 2009, pp 610, Rs 650
Kambar employs drama with all seriousness and complexity for dealing with themes ranging from the exploitative nature of the feudal system to the dualities of life. He has been singularly successful in becoming a significant Indian dramatist while remaining faithful to the Kannada traditions. He also uses many forms including poetry and fiction for his exploration.
