BOOKS OF THE MONTH

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

THE AUDACITY OF OPINION
By - JASWANT SINGH

About the Book :

The writings contained within The Audacity of Opinion: Reflections, Journeys, Musings are a vivid reflection of myriad issues that India, as a nation, faces today. The essays are thought-provoking, prescient, and written by one who has an enviable insight into the workings of India's political, defence and economic system. During his long and celebrated career, Jaswant Singh has witnessed India's growth from within, being a part of its chequered political history. The essays touch upon complex issues including the Assam Accord, terrorism in Punjab, India as a secular, socialist republic, the challenges of diplomacy, and the nuclear conundrum. In the section 'Voices of the District', Singh touchingly writes about the acute problems due to scarcity of water, and fodder for cattle; he writes about the peoples' tenacity to fight every adverse situation.

The essays are a brilliant expose on the 'state of India', and written in Jaswant Singh's inimitable style laced with wry humour, they are a telling account of the India of today.

About the Author :

JASWANT SINGH, is one of India's most distinguished and acclaimed politicians, having served eight terms in the Parliament. He was an officer in the Indian Army in the 1960s and an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasta. He has held charge of six ministries including External Affairs, Defence and Finance. Responsible for foreign policy, he dealt with high tensions between India and Pakistan. He was instrumental in the Lahore-Delhi bus initiative in 1999; contributed to the unfreezing of relations and bilateral dialogues with China; helped steer the fifty-day Indo-Pak KargilWar to a conclusion; and effectively and efficiently handled relations with the United States post India's nuclear tests in Pokharan in 1998.

Jaswant Singh is a prolific writer, having authored twelve books, including the widely acclaimed Jinnah: India-Partition Independence, and has contributed widely to Indian and foreign magazines, journals on international security, defence and development issues. Singh is a visiting professor at Oxford University, an honorary professor at Warwick University, and a senior fellow at Harvard University.

Jaswant Singh is a lover of horses, being a skilled horseman himself, and has been a keen polo player.

  ISBN : 9789381506189                                                               PRICE : Rs. 895.00  

Books of the week

THE MAGIC OF SAIDA
By - M.G.VASSANJI

About the Book :

Descendent of an African slave and a Gujarati trader, Kamal Punja grew up in the ancient town of Kilwa, on the coast of East Africa. Kamal, who never knew his father, is given away by his mother to better his prospects. Years later, after a flourishing career as a doctor in Canada, he returns, in search of Saida, his childhood sweetheart. But where is Saida, and why are his efforts to find her being thwarted? Feverish, delirious, and perhaps delusional, Kamal is haunted by the past as he struggles to trace the woman he thinks he betrayed. Along the way, he must face the truth of his mixed lineage and be accountable for a chain of events he had unwittingly set off.

Set in the vivid world where Africa, Arabia and India meet, where history, poetry, and magic combine, The Magic of Saida is a haunting story of enduring love and lost childhood.

About the Author  :

M.G. Vassanji is the author of six acclaimed novels: The Gunny Sack, which won a Commonwealth Prize; No New Land; The Book of Secrets, which won the very first Giller Prize; Amriika; The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, which also received the Giller Prize in 2003; and The Assassin’s Song, which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award for Fiction and the Crossword Prize in India; and two works of non-fiction. His travel memoir about India, A Place Within: Rediscovering India, won the Governor General’s award. He is also the author of two collections of short fiction, Uhuru Street and Elvis, Raja. Vassanji lives in Toronto. 

 ISBN No. : 9780670086283                                                            Price : Rs. 499.00 

Books of the week

CONGRESS AFTER INDIA

By - ZOYA HASAN

About The Book :

Having played a pivotal role in nation building during the freedom struggle, the Indian National Congress has since then emerged as one of the most enduring and influential political parties in the world. In the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Congress swept the polls in the 1984 elections with the highest ever vote and seat tally, and reached its zenith with Rajiv Gandhi at the helm. Due to changes in polity, economy, and society, as well as the international environment, this period, however, marked the end of the Congress epoch in Indian politics.

How did the new Indian political landscape shape the development and the comeback of the Congress in the 2004 parliamentary elections in a coalition? What was the role of contemporary Congress politics, its policy, and its organization and leadership, in the face of challenges posed due to these changes? In Congress After Indira, Zoya Hasan addresses and seeks answers to these questions.

The book discusses the Ayodhya and Shah Bano controversies; economic liberalization; social inequalities; minority development; coalition government, especially the two power centres and the division of power between the prime minister and party president under the United Progressive Alliance government. The book also illuminates aspects of the India–US nuclear deal. This in-depth study of Congress from 1984 to 2009 advances our understanding and perceptions of Indian politics, and political structure and processes.

About The Author :

Zoya Hasan is Professor of Political Science at the Centre for Political Studies and former Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. 

  ISBN : 9780195685978                                                             PRICE : Rs. 795.00  

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BOOKS OF THE WEEK

CUT LIKE WOUND

By - Anita Nair

About the Book : 

Introducing Inspector Borei Gowda ......

It is the first night of Ramadan. At Shivaji Nagar in the heart of Bangalore, a young male prostitute is killed and burnt alive. It would have stayed as yet another unsolved murder, but for Inspector Borei Gowda, the investigating officer. As bodies begin to pile up one after the other, and it becomes clear that a serial killer is on the prowl, Gowda recognizes a pattern in the killings which no one else does. Even as he negotiates serious mid-life blues, problems with his wife and son, an affair with an ex-girlfriend, and official apathy and ridicule, the killer moves in for the next victim ....

Steeped in the lanes and atmosphere of the city of Bangalore, Cut Like Wound introduces to the reader a host of unforgettable characters and is a brutal psychological thriller unlike any in Indian fiction.

About the Author : 

Anita Nair is the bestselling author of the novels The Better Man, Ladies Coupe, Mistress and Lessons in Forgetting. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages around the world. She is also the founder and editor of the online literary journal The Heavenly Bliss Salon for Men. She lives in Bangalore with her husband and son. 

 ISBN : 9789350293805                                                              PRICE : Rs. 299.00 

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