Books of the week - Saturday, 25th, March, 2023

BIPIN : The Man Behind the Uniform
by - Rachna Bisht Rawat 

About the Book
On the morning of 8 December 2021, India's Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and his wife, Madhulika, said goodbye to their daughter, Tarini, and dogs, and left their Delhi home to board a flight for Sulur in Tamil Nadu. Around 11.48 a.m., they boarded an Mi-17 V5 helicopter that took off from Sulur to Wellington, where Gen. Rawat was to deliver a lecture at the Defence Services Staff College. Just a few minutes away from its destination, the chopper crashed, and all fourteen passengers onboard eventually perished. It was a sudden and shocking end to the life of a man who had risen like a meteor in the defence forces.
Bipin: The Man behind the Uniform is the story of the NDA cadet who was relegated in the third term for not being able to do a mandatory jump into the swimming pool; of the young Second Lieutenant who was tricked into losing his ID card at the Amritsar railway station by a 5/11 Gorkha Rifles officer posing as his sahayak; of the Major with a leg in plaster who was carried up to his company post on the Pakistan border because he insisted on joining his men for Dusshera celebrations under direct enemy observation; of the Army Chief who decided India would retaliate immediately and openly to every act of cross-border terrorism; of the Chief of Defence Staff who was happiest dancing the jhamre with his Gorkha troops.
Written by bestselling author Rachna Bisht Rawat and featuring in-depth interviews with Bipin Rawat's friends, family members and comrades, this book is a befitting tribute to one of India's greatest and most controversial Generals.

About the Author
Rachna Bisht Rawat is the author of six books by Penguin Random House India, including the bestsellers The Brave and Kargil. She lives in Gurugram with Hukum the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed golden retriever; an eclectic collection of books and music; and Manoj Rawat, the man in olive green, who met her when he was a gentleman cadet at the Indian Military Academy and offered to be her comrade for life. Occasionally, they are visited by Saransh the wise, who has moved out to explore the world on his own. 
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The Books of the Week - 18th March, 2023

Crimson Spring: A Novel Longlisted For The Jcb Prize 2022
by - Navtej Sarna 

About the Book
On 13 April 1919, about twenty-five thousand unarmed Indians had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, an open area enclosed by the high walls of flat-roofed houses in a densely populated part of the city. Many of those in the crowd were listening to speakers denouncing the iniquities of the Rowlatt Act, which had recently been imposed on the country by the British, while others, including several children, were simply there to rest, relax, and catch up with friends. A little after five in the evening, a detachment of soldiers, led by Brigadier General R. E. H. Dyer, entered the Bagh. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer ordered his troops to open fire. At least 1,650 rounds were fired. Several hundred died and several hundred more were injured. The massacre was universally condemned by all Indians and even shocked many Britons, who thought it one of the worst outrages in all of British history.
In this masterpiece, Navtej Sarna brings the horror of the atrocity to life by viewing it through the eyes of nine characters—Indians and Britons, ordinary people and powerful officials, the innocent and the guilty, whose lives are changed forever by the events of that fateful day. Set against the epic backdrop of India’s freedom struggle, World War I, and the Ghadar movement, Crimson Spring is not just a powerful, unsettling look at a barbarous act, but also a wider meditation on the costs of colonialism and the sacrifices and heroism of ordinary men and women at a time of great cruelty and injustice. It is a book that will leave no reader unmoved or unchanged.

About the Author
Navtej Sarna was India’s Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and Ambassador to Israel. He has also served as Secretary to the Government of India and as the Foreign Office Spokesperson. His earlier diplomatic assignments were in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Tehran, Geneva, and Washington DC. His literary work includes the novels The Exile and We Weren’t Lovers Like That, the short story collection Winter Evenings, non-fiction works The Book of Nanak, Second Thoughts, and Indians at Herod’s Gate, as well as two translations, Zafarnama and Savage Harvest. He is a prolific columnist and commentator on foreign policy and literary matters, contributing regularly to media platforms in India and abroad.
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Books of the Week - Saturday, 11th March, 2023

The Dalai Lama's Special Envoy : Memoirs of a Lifetime in Pursuit of a Reunited Tibet
By - Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari 

About the Book

Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari spent decades drawing attention to the plight of the Tibetan people and striving for the resolution of the Tibetan-Chinese conflict. He was the Dalai Lama's special envoy and chief negotiator with the People's Republic of China in the formal negotiations over the status of Tibet. In this revealing memoir, Gyari chronicles his lifetime of service to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause.
Gyari recounts his work conducting formal dialogue with the Chinese leadership from 2002 to 2012, as well as his efforts during the many years of quiet diplomacy preceding these historic negotiations. He details the fits and starts of the parties' relationship, addressing successes as well as failures, and highlighting misperceptions, missteps and missed opportunities on both sides. Gyari grounds the recollections of his time as special envoy in his life experiences, providing a powerful account of the personal side of Tibet's struggles. He describes the Tibetan resistance to the Chinese invasion and the tumultuous early years of the Tibetan community in exile, as well as his family's history and spiritual lineage. A reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist lama forced to flee Tibet during the Chinese invasion, Gyari illuminates how his political efforts fulfilled his spiritual calling.
Informed by his unparalleled experiences, Gyari offers realizable-but provocative-recommendations for restarting the Tibetan-Chinese dialogue to achieve a mutually beneficial resolution of the issue. For all readers interested in Tibet's complex modern history, this book offers an incomparable look inside the decades-long effort to achieve the Dalai Lama's vision of a reunited Tibet.

About the Author
Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari (1949–2018) spent nearly five decades in both governmental and non-governmental positions working to garner international support for the Tibetan cause and resolve the Tibetan–Chinese conflict. He was the special envoy of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and led nine rounds of negotiations with the People's Republic of China. Gyari was also president and executive chair of the International Campaign for Tibet.
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Books of the Week - Sathrday, 04th March, 2023

 Arribada: The Arrival
by - Samantha Kochharr

About the Book

Joy and Ollie. Two souls from different worlds who don't speak each other's language. The Universe brings them together to embark on an unusual, unforgettable journey. Sometimes together, sometimes apart. From living in London with a high-powered job and a lovely family, to losing everything and becoming a handyman in a small Maasai village in Africa, Joy wades through happiness, grief, loss and despair; while Ollie swims in the slow lane of life. When truth, as they perceive it, begins to collapse around them, it exposes their brokenness, shatters their beliefs and reveals their worst fears. It leaves them completely devastated. As they unlearn falsehoods, they discover the truths of life. Helped by the wind, the sea and an indigenous tribal elder, Joy experiences the power of the universal energy that heals all. Ollie finds a friend and the real meaning of existence. When we open our hearts to love and trust, we begin to understand who we really are, our life purpose and our inter-connectedness with everything in the environment.

About the Author
Samantha Kochharr is the Managing Director of a leading cosmetic company in India. She is also the Chief Expert for hairdressing for IndiaSkills, and the Deputy Chief Expert-Hairdressing for World Skills International. She has been mentoring young talent for many years now. She started her journey in the hair and beauty industry at the age of 11 and has worked in the movie and fashion industry internationally and nationally for many years. She is also an avid painter and potter. Born into a business family, she is the daughter of the legendary aromatherapist—Dr Blossom Kochhar.
She has been a practising shaman since 2013 and has extensively studied energy healing. Over the years, she has worked with people from all walks of life as a grief whisperer. Arribada: The Arrival is her first book and it is an extension of her spiritual journey.
Samantha lives in Delhi and loves to cook and bake for her family and friends. Following her passion, she runs a popular delicatessen in Delhi, The Tea Room, where the menu is based on her old family recipes.
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