Book Rack

Nadella: The Changing Face of Microsoft
Jagmohan S Bhanver
Hachette, 2014, pp 124, Rs 199

This is a concise, insightful account of Satya Nadella,  the man and the professional, and what his appointment as the third CEO of Microsoft means for the future of the tech industry. What drives the man chosen to lead tech giant Microsoft into the future? What does Nadella’s appointment in particular herald for Microsoft and, indeed, for the tech industry as a whole?

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Rainsong
Pratyaksha
Harper Collins, 2014, pp 178, Rs 250

Translated from Hindi by the author, this collection of stories is an exploration of the human psyche against the backdrop of modern life, language and sensibilities. Like, Anglo-Indian railways’ employee Bradley Hudson wants to become a fish and swim inside the body of Munni Begum, but what about Longlatti, who devoutly tends to him in his twilight years?

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Colours of the cage: A prison memoir
Arun Ferreira
Aleph, 2014, pp 162, Rs 295

In May 2007, human rights activist Arun Ferreira was arrested by the Nagpur police on charges of being a naxalite. Over the next few months, he was charged with more crimes of criminal conspiracy, murder, possession of arms and rioting, among others, and incarcerated in a notorious Maharashtra prison, the Nagpur central jail. This is an account of the nearly five years that he was imprisoned. 

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Harappa: The Lure of Soma
Shankar Kashyap
Palimpsest, 2014, pp 286, Rs 499

Harappa is a highly refined urban conglomerate in the Indus Valley, visited by trade caravans and travellers from faraway lands. The city’s sense of organisation, and above all, its possession of Soma, inevitably bring enemy troops to its door. For the drought-stricken, impoverished neighbours, Soma is the basis of life, a measure against which the power of a state could be judged.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Grey hornbills at dusk: Nature rambles through Delhi
Bulbul Sharma
Aleph, 2014, pp 171, Rs 295

Delhi, with its graceful old gardens and sprawling parks, unexpected patches of scrub forest and elegant avenues of old trees, has an amazing range of bird habitats. Here, the author observes and records all manner of bird and animal behaviour through the changing seasons of the city.

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Survival Tips for lunatics
Shandana Minhas
Hachette, 2014, pp 183, Rs 275

To save the most important things in the world, you have to first find out what they are... Believe it or not, a camping trip is the best place to start... Got the idea? Here’s a story that tells you what on earth is really happening. If you are a clever ‘smartosapien’, Survival Tips for Lunatics is the mad, mad handbook for you to make sense of the world and where it is going, besides round and round.

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7 Secrets of The Goddess
Devdutt Pattanaik
Westland, 2014, pp 257, Rs 395

Lakshmi massages Vishnu’s feet. Is this male domination? Kali stands on Shiva’s chest. Is this female domination? Taken literally, stories, symbols and rituals of Hindu mythology have much to say about gender relationships. Taken symbolically, they reveal many more things about humanity and nature. The fourth title in the 7 Secrets series tries to unravel the secrets locked within the Goddess stories.