BOOKS OF THE WEEK

The Great Himalayan National Park: The Struggle to Save the Western Himalyas by Sanjeeva Pandey & Anthony J Gaston

ABOUT THE BOOK

The great Himalayan National Park conservation area (ghnpca), a UNESCO world heritage site, is one of the most important protected areas in the Himalayas, one of the world’s great biological realms. The book is intended both as a history and an ecological overview of the park as well as a plea for continuing conservation of the rich legacy of Himalayan plants and animals. In addition to descriptions of the ecology, the book includes local history and Culture and a review of current development in the region. The inscription of the park into the UNESCO world heritage list in 2014 confirmed the outstanding universal values of the area, which contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of Western Himalayan biological diversity. The pictures, taken by the authors and their collaborators, vividly illustrate the grandeur and diversity of the area. The book has universal appeal: to naturalists, scholars, resource managers, trekkers, arm-chair traveller. Success and failure along the road to creating today’s Park are discussed frankly to inform future management efforts and there are numerous examples of conservation in action that will motivate a new generation of naturalists and ecologists to continue the fight to protect the ecology of the greatest mountains on Earth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An officer of the Indian Forest Service (1982 batch), Sanjeeva Pandey has served as Director of GHNP from 1998 to 2006, where he engaged himself in biodiversity conservation through livelihood-based natural resource management. His efforts with Friends of GHNP have resulted in inscription of GHNP Conservation Area as a World Heritage Site in Doha, the State of Qatar, in June 2014. Sanjeeva has travelled to many countries and contributed to numerous training manuals, written peer reviewed papers, newspaper and journal and electronic media articles and formulated project proposals throughout his professional career. Anthony (Tony) Gaston has studied Indian wildlife, especially birds, since 1969, including research for his PhD (at Oxford University) around Delhi and in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the Narmada Valley and Kerala. He headed the initial 1980 and 1983 Himachal Wildlife Project, consisting of international teams of scientists, who surveyed Himalayan front-range ecosystems throughout Himachal Pradesh and recommended the creation of GHNP in its present location. Subsequently, he played a major role in supporting GHNP and was involved in developing the application for World Heritage status. He has trekked extensively in the Park and throughout the Western Himalayas and considers Himachal to be his spiritual home.

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BOOKS OF THE WEEK

Yeh Dil Maange More: Remembering Captain Vikram Batra, My Brother | The Untold Story of India’s Kargil Hero Vikram Batra (PVC) Through His Twin Brother’s Eyes by Anupma Mehta and Vishal Batra

ABOUT THE BOOK

Yeh Dil Maange More is the story of a hero who never truly left us. When Captain Vikram Batra ascended the icy mountains of Kargil, he carried a nation’s hopes on his shoulders. When he returned wrapped in the Tricolour, he became immortal.

A heartbreaking and deeply inspiring true story of Martyr Captain Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra awardee and the face of India’s victory in the 1999 Kargil War, told through the eyes of his identical twin brother, these pages carry the memories no history book ever captured. From the childhood days to the unbearable silence left behind after the war took one of them away.

This is not just a book about battle. It is a story about love, loss, courage, family, and the price of patriotism. It is about a 24-year-old Indian Army officer who smiled in the face of death and whose words, ‘Either I will come back after hoisting the Tricolour, or I will come back wrapped in it’, still send shivers through the heart of a nation.

Raw, intimate, and unforgettable, Yeh Dil Maange More is a tribute to every soldier who never came home, every family that continues to wait, and every Indian who still feels a surge of emotions on hearing the name, Captain Vikram Batra.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anupma Mehta is senior consulting editor at National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi, and a publishing and communications professional with over thirty years of experience across research institutions, UN bodies, publishing houses and the social sector. She has written widely on gender and economics for leading national dailies and has worked with a range of organizations, including UN Women, Oxford University Press, Penguin Books, McGraw-Hill India and Ahmedabad University. She holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English literature from Delhi University and a postgraduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Vishal Batra is the identical younger twin brother of Captain Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra awardee and one of India’s most celebrated heroes of the Kargil War. Born just fourteen minutes apart and raised together in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, the brothers shared an extraordinary bond built on friendship, love and shared dreams. Both aspired to join the armed forces together, but while Vikram went on to wear the uniform and became immortalized in India’s military history, Vishal was not recommended―twice―by the Services Selection Board. In many ways, he continues to live that dream by carrying forward Vikram’s legacy and sharing the deeply human story behind the hero. To Vishal, Vikram was never just a national icon but his closest companion and other half. Through his memories and reflections, he keeps alive not only Vikram’s courage and patriotism but also the warmth, humour and humanity of the man behind the uniform.

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Our mail order service ships books in India and Overseas

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Soumya Gupta at the EBD for “Bharat Bluff”

Most of us believe we're too careful to get scammed and we know not to click suspicious links, share OTPs, or trust strangers on the internet. We tell ourselves that scams happen to people who aren't familiar with tech or who simply weren't paying attention but, somewhere thats what makes us vulnerable. That was one of the things that came up while speaking with Soumya Gupta, author of Bharat Bluff, at the English Book Depot today. 

Published by Roli Books, as she spoke about the book, it became clear that Bharat Bluff isn't just about scams but also about the way they work, why people fall for them, and why none of us are as immune as we'd like to believe. 

One observation she shared was particularly striking that we often assume scams happen only through technology and mostly target older people who aren't digitally savvy but that's no longer true. Today's scams are designed for everyone, a convincing message that appears to come from your bank, a fake investment opportunity, or someone posing as a trusted official, they can happen to anyone, anyone can be deceived. 

Sometimes all it takes is catching someone at the right moment with the right amount of urgency, pressure or trust. And the book, Bharat Bluff explores the world of scams and fraud through real experiences, including incidents that Saumya and her husband encountered themselves and which is why meeting an author is always interesting,hearing the experiences that shaped a book adds another layer to the reading experience. It reminds us that behind every published work is a person who has observed, experienced, and chosen to turn those moments into something others can learn from. 

Thanks to Bookstores, they often introduce us to new books, stories and people.

Perhaps that's the biggest takeaway from today's meet and greet - Awareness isn't about being suspicious of everything. It's about knowing that anyone can be caught off guard and that staying informed is one of the simplest ways to protect ourselves. 

 -Sneha