The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change/ Steven R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens/ S. Covey
Power of Now/ Eckhart Tolle
Awaken the Giant Within/ Anthony Robbins
The Last Lecture/ Randy Pausch
Winning/ Jack Welch
The Secret/ Rhonda Byrne
Magic/ Rhonda Byrne
The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be/ Jack Canfield
Steve Jobs/ Walter Isaacson
Eat. Pray, Love/ Elizabeth Gilbert
You Can Win/ Shiv Khera
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari/ Robin S. Sharma
Tuesdays with Morrie/ Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet in Heaven/ Mitch Albom
The Alchemist/ Paulo Coelho
Man's Search for Meaning/ Viktor E. Frankl
The Diary of a Young Girl/ Anne Frank
I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was shot by the Taliban/ Malala Yousafzai
Wonder/ R.J. Palacio
The Book Thief/ Markus Zusak
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment/ Eckhart Tolle
How to Win Friends and Influence People/ Dale Carnegie
The Art of Racing in the Rain/ Garth Stein
Chicken Soup for the Soul/ Jack Canfield, Editor
Jonathan Livingston Seagull/ Richard Bach

FRESH PICKS

Author: Chetan Bhagat
Storyline: Revolution 2020 is a story about 3 childhood friends Gopal, Raghav and Aarti. They have their own ambitions. Aarti wanted to become an air hostess. Raghav gets a rank in IIT-JEE and joins IT BHU. Though he joined in engineering, journalism was his passion and he wanted to bring a change in the country. Gopi’s only wish is to make lots of money. He couldn’t get into IIT in his first attempt. So he joins as a ‘repeater’ in a coaching centre in Kota, spending the entire savings of his father. But fate offers him an opportunity to start his own engineering college, with the support of Shukla, an MLA. To start the college he follows the corrupt path as he did not have another option.
After college Raghav joins as a reporter in a newspaper. His profession creates some problem to Gopi. Shukla, the person behind Gopi, stamps Raghav as much as he can with his political power to get him out of his way. Raghav fights back and starts his own newspaper…Revolution 2020!!
Both Raghav and Gopi like Aarti. Aarti likes Raghav and Gopi was her best friend. How did the relation between Raghav and Gopi change due to their common love?? Can Raghav achieve what he wanted to with Revolution 2020?? Did the relation between Aarti and Raghav continue in spite of his unsettled and busy career which leaves very little time for her?? How can Gopi become the director of an engineering college without even a college degree?? How far did Gopi go on his path?? Can Gopi compete with Raghav to get Aarti??

These are some parts I think you should know by reading the book.

Chetan Bhagat did a great work here. To tell in one line about his style in this book… “He first entertains you, grabs your attention and then says what he wants to.”

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike)

by Robert Galbraith

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case. Strike is a war veteran wounded both physically and psychologically and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: The more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker things get and the closer he gets to terrible danger. A gripping, elegant mystery steeped in the atmosphere of London - from the hushed streets of Mayfair to the backstreet pubs of the East End to the bustle of Soho - The Cuckoo's Calling is a remarkable book. Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is a classic crime novel in the tradition of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell and marks the beginning of a unique series of mysteries.

The Story of Google by Sara Gilbert

Did you know, the first official Google office was in a garage that Larry and Sergey rented from a friend? Larry Page and Sergey Brin met on the Stanford University campus in 1995. Soon they began working together on a project to download the entire World Wide Web and figure out a way to search it using links, as a possible doctoral thesis. Many budget and design issues later, Google became an officially incorporated company. We bring you the story about the origins, leaders, growth and products of Google, the Internet company that was founded in 1998 and is today the world's favorite online search engine. Jaico's creative companies series explores how today's great companies operate and inspires young readers to become the entrepreneurs and businessmen of tomorrow.

Sidney Sheldon's The Tides of Memory

On the surface the De Vere family appear to have it all. Wealth, political power and idyllic life split between their London mansion, Oxfordshire country house and their idyllic, sprawling Martha's Vineyard estate. But beneath the gilded facade and the family's apparently watertight bonds with one another, lie many secrets, some of them deadly. When the mistakes of youth refuse to stay buried and generation old hatreds resurface, the De Veres find themselves on the brink of losing everything. How far will each of them go to conceal the truth and protect the family?

AUGUST 2013

MY JOURNEY: TRANSFORMING DREAMS INTO ACTIONS

by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

From a small boy growing up in Rameswaram, to becoming the country’s eleventh President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s life has been a tale of extraordinary determination, courage, perseverance and the desire to excel. In this series of anecdotes and profiles, Dr Kalam looks back on key moments in his past—some small and some momentous—and tells the reader how each of them inspired him profoundly. With warmth and affection, he talks about the people who left a deep impression on him as he was growing up and as an adult, and the lessons he drew from his interactions with them. He describes those who have been the closest to him—his father with his deep love of God, his mother and her great kindness, his mentors who helped shape his thoughts and outlook. There are heart-warming accounts here of his childhood years spent in a small town by the Bay of Bengal and the many struggles and sacrifices made on the path to becoming a scientist and then the President of India. Dr Kalam also writes about the times when failure and dejection nearly overtook him and how he prevailed over those obstacles by drawing strength from books and spirituality.
Nostalgic, honest, and deeply personal, My Journey is the story of a life as rich as it is unusual—and the beautiful lessons to be learnt from it.

THE RACE OF MY LIFE: An Autobiography

by Milkha Singh and Sonia Sanwalka

Milkha Singh has led a life dominated by running, running, running? From a boy who narrowly escaped death during Partition (most of his family was not so lucky), to a juvenile delinquent who stole and outran the police, to a young Army recruit who ran his very first race to win special privileges for himself (a daily glass of milk). After that first race, Milkha Singh became an athlete by default. And what followed was the stuff legends are made of.In this remarkably candid autobiography, Milkha Singh shares the amazing highs of winning Indias first ever gold in athletics at the Commonwealth Games, the unbridled joy of being hailed as the Flying Sikh in Pakistan, as well as the shattering low of failure at the Olympics.
Simple, yet ambitious; famous, yet grounded; temptations all around him, yet remaining celibate so he could focus on racing; a rich and beautiful girl who was desperate for him, yet fighting the world to marry his lady love, Nimmi?even as the on-field drama found its way into his personal life, Milkha was a man who defined his own destiny. And yet, for a man whose life was dominated by sports, he continues to remain disillusioned with the way sports is run?
Powerful and gripping, The Race of My Life documents the journey of an impoverished refugee who rose to become one of the most towering figures in Indian sports.

LADY, YOU’RE NOT A MAN!’: The Adventures of a Woman at Work

by Apurva Purohit

Today’s woman wants to make a success of both family and career and is unwilling to compromise on either. But the burden of coping with deadlines, recalcitrant children, lazy husbands, difficult bosses and equally difficult in-laws can be daunting, even overwhelming.
In this book, Apurva Purohit, CEO of Radio City 91.1 FM, shows how women can accept, adapt and achieve their way to the highest rung in every arena. Through real-life stories and funny anecdotes, she provides pithy tips on a multitude of topics: from training husbands to training interns, from the right attitude to getting it right with kids, from dealing with household crises to office emergencies, from building a reputation to paving one’s way to the top.
Warm, witty and empathetic, ‘Lady, You’re Not a Man!’ is a must-read for every woman on the quest for work-home balance and determined to succeed in her career and live a happy and fulfilling life.

FUN FACTS: SCIENCE

by Terry O'Brien

Did you know…?
• The average person accidentally eats 430 bugs each year of his life;
• If you could drive your car straight up, you would arrive in space in just over an hour;
• Giraffes often sleep for only 20 minutes in 24 hours;
• The world’s smallest winged insect, the Tanzanian parasitic wasp, is smaller than the eye of a housefly.
These and many such informative and fascinating facts fill up the pages of Terry O’Brien’s Fun Facts: Science. The book covers a wide range of scientific information, which is presented lucidly in order to make learning a fun exercise for children.
With ‘edutainment’ as its motto, this collection hopes to lay the foundation for creativity, problem-solving and the quest for knowledge in the minds of young readers.

SCIENCE IN INDIA: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

by B.V. Subbarayappa

In the fascinating saga of ancient scientific ideas and techniques, Indian accomplishments hold an exalted position. India displayed its originality not only in mathematics and computational astronomy but also in holistic medicine, metallurgy and other fields. For reasons known and unknown, however, India did not develop a rational, methodological and verifiable matrix for ushering in modern science until the nineteenth century. But when modern science was finally introduced to India by the British, it did not view it as alien to its ethos. India welcomed it instead, and several bright Indian scientists scaled the peaks of excellence.
The main objective of Science in India is to present to the general reader a comprehensive narrative about the history of science in the country. Based on authentic sources and their in-depth study, this book deals with the origins, ramifications and achievements in traditional astronomy, mathematics, medicine and chemical practices, besides certain concepts related to the physical world as well as plant life. It also discusses the advent and growth of modern science till Independence, highlighting the seminal contributions of Indian scientists who won international acclaim. This is a historical and factual perspective on science in India, traversing a span of more than 5,000 years.

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida Go inside the mind of a 13-year-old with autism in this courageous memoir tapped out, letter by letter, on a cardboard alphabet. Higashida sheds light on his mental life, describing what it's like to have a conversation, make a mistake, and experience the world. His words are translated from the Japanese by David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) and his wife, K.A. Yoshida, who are also the parents of a child with autism. Steve says, "Simple, poetic, and beautiful...a refreshing window into the world of autism that is not from the 'normal' person's perspective and interpretation."

The Gravity of Birds
by Tracy Guzeman (Goodreads Author)
When a famed painter reveals that he has one last unsold masterpiece, a triptych with two missing panels, his art historian best friend goes in search of the mislaid work's subjects—two sisters whose lives were transformed by the artist's fateful sketch decades ago. Cassondra says, "Beautifully written. The prose lilts, dips, and soars like the flight of the birds whose images run through its pages. A haunting story of the power of love."

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider (Goodreads Author) With a shattered knee and a cheating ex-girlfriend, high school senior Ezra Faulkner's tennis career and social life are equally over. The former golden boy soon trades the popular kids for the debate team and meets the quick-witted but secretive Cassidy in this novel for teens. Krys says, "Beautifully told and achingly haunting, this book just landed itself in my favorites of the year."

JULY 2013

Who will cry when you die? by Robin Sharma

Robin S. Sharma is an acclaimed international guru who guides readers towards enlightenment . The success of his best seller The monk Who Sold His Ferrari is nothing less than sensational !That book had a captivating, as well as a delightful story. When I was still under the spell of Sharma’s books, I started reading this book. This book does lay a tough task ahead of us ! “ Who will cry when you die “ sets about making us think hard as to how to manifest the fullness of our talents. It is not simple though, we know !Robin Sharma calls this book life lessons which is of course very apt. The title suggests that we should live such a life that the world cries when we die ! Who would’nt ask for that ? He gives simple solutions to what we think are complex problems. But I find that, the language and the way he puts them are simple, but to follow them is definitely complex.

The author has given not less than hundred points for us to follow to enrich our lives.At this rate, reading this book has to be a life long pursuit, if we want to follow at least some of them. I personally feel, if we patiently read through the book completely, we are on step one already ! It needs a strong determination on our goal towards self improvement to think and climb on to the second step ! It is, in patches, similar to a moral science book , since it is full of “do’s” and “don’ts” in life !But we can’t deny that even if we start practicing a few of them to start with, there will be better balance,control and effectiveness in our daily lives. There is no doubt that this will be a pleasure for the people who interact with us ! So we start with the idea that “the pleasure of my improvement will be others’, not mine !” To think this way, is not easy either !

To start with,if we identify our calling & make it our way of life, our life starts changing for the better. We all want to be the person which we never are, ultimately ! I think I am going through this phase personally after all these years, in my life and hence I am able to appreciate this point better ! We struggle to establish an identity for ourselves throughout our life, but very often, only unsuccessfully ! Sharma suggests working hard at it, is worthy of the reward, we get in life.

A very interesting suggestion of R. Sharma is to take a “ worry break”, allotting a specific time every day, exclusively to brood over your difficulties. He says make a note of all your worries the whole day and wallow in your problems in the allotted time. He assures us that gradually we will decrease the time for this break and eventually this habit will be eliminated forever ! Sounds worth trying ! But there may be one problem – we will end up creating worries since we have allotted a time for that & we do not want to waste that time, not worrying ! So this suggestion has to be tried with special care !Like Deepak Chopra, Sharma also suggests regularly spending time in communion with nature and silently witness the intelligence within every living thing. I personally follow this, since reading this book and find that it keeps me centered on my highest life priorities. This has made a difference in my life.Sharma expects us to be mature enough to see troubles as blessings which teach us valuable lessons in life. It is rightly said that tough men last and tough times don’t ! I personally feel this trait cannot be cultivated, but we come to accept it only when life takes its toll on us, mercilessly, sometimes.Yet another point which I liked very much in this book, is one I have been practising, ever since I attended my energy classes. Whenever we give away money, if we bless it and give, it comes back to us manyfold !This only proves the timeless truth that the hand that gives is the hand that gathers. To bless the money every time we give cash or cheque – does sound odd and funny, but even once you are proved right, you start practising it – who does not want money to come back, multiplied ?Our respecting our own instincts – the voice within, is stressed by the author and rightly so. It helps us decide whether that thought or action is within or outside our “comfort zone” as we call it. I think this is one of the best suggestions given by the author & the morally strong sounding word “ conscience” is replaced by the layman’s word “ voice within” ! Now it looks within our reach!

If the book “ The monk who sold his ferrari” helped readers cope with the rat race of life, this book with its long list of lessons does make us wonder whether we can take up the challenge at all. But I am not one to give up easily & try I did my best ! Regular reading of the book and trying to incorporate atleast a few in my life have made my mind more full, and life more happy. The more I live, the harder I want to work and rejoice in life for its own sake. Only then I would have been fully used up when I die and hopefully, people who know me will cry !

Goat Days by Beneyemin
Very seldom in life does a book like Goat Days come along and ruin you for other books. It becomes like that mythic true love you once felt for someone when you were still innocent — but now that you have lived through it, you no longer are that innocent person.You have read it and now other books just don’t compare. You may stop reading altogether, for a while, just to let memories of Goat Days flow through you unchecked. The same feeling courses through you after you read books like Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Perfectly pitched books, with the language kept out of the way of storytelling.That is what good books do. They take language out of the equation by simplifying it, making it purely functional. Not to say that Goat Days doesn’t have ornamentation in its narrator’s voice. There is a personality to the voice. But it is also the closest you can come to reading a book by a reliable narrator. There is honesty to the book that doesn’t require false emotion. So there is little to fault in this novel.Najeeb’s tale of being enslaved in the desert of Saudi Arabia is taken from real life, as recounted to Benyamin, the author, who originally wrote the novel in Malayalam in 2008. Benyamin’s work was translated into English, titled Goat Days, and published this year by Penguin. Given the post-Arab Spring global desire for awareness about the Gulf region and life in its vast desert stretches, Goat Days comes at the perfect time.The novel’s linear plot starts with the newly married Najeeb, a labourer in Kerala, getting a suspect visa to work in Saudi Arabia. His motive is simple: he wants to get a better-paying job overseas, and bring home more money for his family. Once he arrives in Riyadh, an Arab at the airport grabs him and takes him into the middle of the desert, where Najeeb is shown his future. He must tend to the Arab’s goats. He must feed them, milk them, water them, take them out to roam the dunes, and he must clean their pens. He is not allowed any fresh water, and his food consists only of bread and milk. Also, Najeeb is subject to constant lashings for jobs that he does not perform perfectly.In the beginning, he has a companion to teach and help him with these tasks. But that companion runs away. Much of the short novel then guides the reader through daily life and extraordinary events in that goat farm out in the desert.
Then there is the inevitable escape, the wandering in the desert, saviours and betrayers. A nest of desert snakes rolls over his body at one point and leave bruises where their slithering bodies touch him. Goats play a major role, even besides the ordinary one of needing attention. For the most part though, it’s the desert that Najeeb has to contend with, while living at the goat farm and especially after escaping it. In a very disillusioning and unromantic passage, Najeeb, or his writer Benyamin, meditates on the meaning of the desert. He comes up with this gold dust: “Writers in every language and religion have seen the desert as a space for enlightenment and spiritual revival. There are writings that suggest life in the desert can create an explosion of knowledge in the brain. But the desert did not revive me in any way. I lived in the desert for more than three years. Then I tried crossing it. All through, the desert gave me nothing but grief and frustration. Maybe the desert gave spiritual knowledge to those who came seeking it. I didn’t set out to look for anything, so I got trapped. It must have decided that it had nothing to offer me.”From kidnapping to escape, the book’s language suits the narrative. There are a few aphoristic lines that might seem out of place if this were based on a fictional account, but they hit home in this true story. One that stands out is: “A way to come out of our sorrow is to listen to the stories of those who endure situations worse than ours.” Najeeb’s faith never wavers. He describes his faith in Allah as “infinite”, and that plays a tangible part at many of the narrative’s boiling points.Then there is Najeeb’s memory of his home and his wife, which is perhaps what clouds his thinking into believing his wife is an angel. He tells us that “her tongue would not utter even a single word of despair … women should be like that; she was my secret pride.” The reader never gets to hear about his wife except in memory, for the narrative ends abruptly after the escape and rehabilitation.However, those are minor drawbacks — at worst and at best just preferences — in an otherwise immaculate work.The reader is transported with Najeeb into that slavery. His fate quickly becomes our own, for we have to dwell with him and his suffering. The desert and isolation overcome us, and so does the drowning feeling that Najeeb will never escape this misery. So when he does get the chance, finally, and nearly refuses to take it, we clench our jaws and goad him for the loss of “[the] urge to escape.”How Najeeb recovers from his misfortunes, who helps him on his way out, and the way in which he finds his way back home is worth discovering on your own.

Megachange: The world in 2150

In 2050 there will be 9.3 billion people alive - compared with 7 billion today - and the number will still be rising. The population aged over sixty-five will have more than doubled, to more than 16 per cent; China's GDP will be 80 per cent more than America's; and the number of cars on India's roads will have increased by 3,880 per cent. And, in 2050 it should be clear whether we are alone in the universe.What other mega changes can we expect - and what will their impact be? This comprehensive and compelling book will cover the most significant trends that are shaping the coming decades, with each of its twenty chapters elegantly and authoritatively outlined by Economist contributors, and rich in supporting facts and figures. It will chart the rise and fall of fertility rates across continents; how energy resources will change in light of new technology, and how different nations will deal with major developments in science and warfare. Mega change is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what the next four decades hold in store.

Dare to Do for the new generation by Kiran Bedi

It is about a life truly lived and living!
The real-life story of India's first and highest ranked woman officer in the Indian Police Service who pioneered a Gandhian (inclusive and transparent) model of policing marked by utmost devotion to duty, innovation, compassion and, above all, willpower!
Voted as Indias most admired woman (The Week, 2002, and MSN, 2011) and most trusted woman (Readers Digest, 2010), Kiran Bedi (in Peshawaria) has won many accolades, including the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, also considered the Nobel Prize of Asia, for forging a positive relationship between the police and the people.Throughout her career, Kiran Bedi dared to remain creative to meet the challenges posed by her various assignments: be it policing, managing prisons or empowering communities through her two non-profit organizations. She won the admiration and respect of millions, both outside and within the country. But all along, she faced obstacles placed by powerful vested interests. She emerged stronger after each ordeal. She is a field person, who thinks on her feet and uses her heart magnanimously and her head judiciously.
After seeking voluntarily retirement from her service in December 2007, she dedicated herself totally to several peoples causes, including the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare. She hosted a much-acclaimed television show called Aap Ki Kachehri (Your Court), which helped individuals and families get a fair resolution to their problems and disputes.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

In a distant, timeless place, a mysterious prophet walks the sands. At the moment of his departure, he wishes to offer the people gifts but possesses nothing. The people gather round, each asks a question of the heart, and the man's wisdom is his gift. It is Gibran's gift to us, as well, for Gibran's prophet is rivaled in his wisdom only by the founders of the world's great religions. On the most basic topics--marriage, children, friendship, work, pleasure--his words have a power and lucidity that in another era would surely have provoked the description "divinely inspired." Free of dogma, free of power structures and metaphysics, consider these poetic, moving aphorisms a 20th-century supplement to all sacred traditions--as millions of other readers already have.

JUNE 2013:

THE DALAI LAMA'S CAT BY DAVID MICHIE

A clever and very sweet novel about a Himalayan kitten rescued by the Dalai Lama and brought into his household. Stripped of a minimal plot, the substance of the novel is a dumbed-down synopsis of Tibetan Buddhism's basic teachings.

There is nothing wrong with this, per se, for it was cleverly done. But ...

The teachings of the Buddha, as well as those either attributed to him or derived from him, are deceptively simply; it is the practice that is a challenge, a challenge that lasts a lifetime (and beyond).

The book is a delightful read, but simplistic and reductionist in its approach to Tibetan Buddhism.

That said, I hope it enjoys a wide readership and brings not a few some steps nearer toward Enlightment.

NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES BY A.C.DOYLE

An absolute must for fans celebrating Holmes's centennial, this is also a first-rate collection of new stories that could serve nicely as an introduction to the famous sleuth. There isn't a bad tale in these 15 although purists may balk at Loren D. Estleman's "Dr. and Mrs. Watson At Home," a snippy playlet, and at the rather nerdy Watson who narrates Joyce Harrington's "The Adventure of the Gowanus Abduction." Most of the stories are affectionate, accurate pastiches of the originals. Among the best are Dorothy B. Hughes's "Sherlock Holmes and the Muffin," and Stephen King's "The Doctor's Case," which keeps the old form while allowing the mystery to be solved by Watson, with a lovely twist at the end. "The House That Jack Built" by Edward Wellen is an hallucinogenic tour de force of a puzzle that revives Moriarty, with a startling idea about the real nature of that "Napoleon of crime." Michael Harrison's "Sherlock Holmes and 'The Woman' " identifies Irene Adler as Lillie Langtry in a brilliant now-it-can-be-told style from a nonegenarian Watson. A splendid addition to Holmesiana, worthy of its honoree.

ARJUNA: SAGA OF A PANDAVA WARRIOR-PRINCE

BY ANUJA CHANDRAMAULI

Arjuna is the immortal tale of one of India's greatest heroes. These pages retell in riveting detail the story of the Pandava Warrior-Prince who has captured the imagination of millions across centuries. This is the intense and human story of his loves, friendship, ambitions, weaknesses and follies, as well as his untimely death and revival, his stint as a eunuch, and the innermost reaches of his thoughts. Told in a refreshingly modern and humourous style and set against the staggering backdrop of the Mahabharata. Arjunas story appeals equally to the average, discerning reader and the scholar. It spans the epic journey from before his birth, when omens foretold his greatness, across the fabled, wondrous landscape that was

his life.

KRISHNA: THE GOD WHO LIVED AS MAN

BY BHAWANA SOMAAYA

The river was in high tide and the footprints of the Yadavas were more or less washed away. Big waves came rushing to the shore and wiped away some more footprints Suddenly Rukmini discovered a familiar footprint and sat beside it . Her eyes brimmed over with tears . These were the footprints her hair locks drooped over when she knelt at her Lord's feet every morning . These were the footprints she worshipped with chandan . the footprints of her Lord of Sri Krishna ! They were deeply immersed in the sand. the impression engraved in the sand was filled with water. Rukmini's streaming tears were making an offering in the water-filled footprints. Daruk arrived and stood beside her . He looked startled. He could not believe how the footprints filled to the brim with water could contain Rukmini's tears without spilling over. What was further surprising was that not a single tear had dropped out of the carved footprint .

Book Summary of Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom

About the Book: Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom

In early 1971, when negotiations for an autonomous East Bengal broke down, brutalities against the citizens of erstwhile East Pakistan led to a mass exodus of refugees into India. Despite an international outcry, the assaults and rapes continued. With the intervention of the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971, after nine months of violence and uncertainty and a twelve-day war between India and Pakistan, the independent nation of Bangladesh was born.
Ace photographer Raghu Rai documented the plight of the refugees,the action during the war and the jubilant scenes of victory and Independence. His treasure trove of photographs, which for over four decades he thought had been lost, was recently rediscovered.The stories are perhaps not unknown, but have been retold by a master storyteller-the refugee camps, the exodus, the never-ending journey, a whirlwind of poignant, tormented history. And finally, anew nation, a new tomorrow.
Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom are never before seen photographs which comprise a significant body of work documenting a turning point in the history of South Asia.

About the Author: Raghu Rai

Raghu Rai has been a Magnum photographer since 1977, when he was nominated to the worlds most prestigious photographers cooperative by the legendary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. His work has appeared in international publications such as Time, The New York Times, Sunday Times, National Geographic, GEO, The New Yorker and others.
For the last thirty years, he has been exhibiting in major cities throughout the world and has won numerous awards.Twenty-five of his photographs

Two hundred years of imperial rule left a legacy of Raj literature comprising journals, diaries and travelogues, ably complemented with the visual images created by the numerous British artists, both amateur and professional. Until the late 18th century, there was no visual record of India since landscape painting did not figure in an otherwise rich Indian art. It was left to these dedicated and meticulous artists like Hodges, the Daniells and Gold to amass a vast illustrative treasure ranging from the Sahib’s day to day routine to the people of India, with their diverse customs and manners and way of life.

The Raj Revisited is a virtual pilgrimage in to the past, a guided tour of imperial India. It is sumptuously illustrated with reproductions of the finest paintings, aquatints, engravings and lithographs, assembled for the first time in a single publication, from the collections of the libraries and museums in India, Britain and the U. S. A. A vibrant narrative blends with the rich imagery to create a wonderful tableau of the social and cultural scene of a bygone era.

About the Book: A Fighting Spirit: Selected Writings of Ashoka Gupta

An active career spanning seven decades is unusual. And to describe Ashoka Gupta (1912-2008) simply as a social worker is not enough. Till the last day of her life, she was a dynamo,who generated exhilaration and energy in those around her. In this volume, we have tried to capture her personality through her own writings and through the recollections of others. The earliest piece by her was published in 1945, the last written in2004. They vividly convey the ethos of the times-the terrible 1940s,through war, famine, riots, and Partition-situations when action spokemore strongly than words. The tragedy of Partition was overtaken bythe excitement and anticipation of nation-building. For Ashoka Gupta the ideals of the Indian constitution were realistic,and needed to be strengthened by ceaseless hands-on work at the grassroots. Twenty years later, she stood by her husband to battle the injustices done to the refugees from East Pakistan who had migrated in the 1960s and were being rehabilitated in the wilderness called Dandakaranya.
This book will be of value to scholars of history, sociology and women's studies, for those working on Mahatma Gandhi,on communitarian relations, on legislation pertaining to women, and on institutional frameworks, particularly the All- IndiaWomens Conference.

Historical Gurdwaras Of Delhi by Art Historian M. K. Pal. Pub.Niyogi Books. The book brings to the fore the importance of the Gurdwaras of Delhi and their compelling historical and socio-cultural background. It reveals many intriguing legends and stories associated with the making of each of these shrines which stand as reminders of the struggles and hardships faced by the Gurus in upholding their faith.

About the Book

Afghanistan has perhaps always preferred to live with uncertainties. The eminent Bengali writer Syed Mujtaba Ali had to quit the country overnight while on a visit in 1927, threatened by political upheavals. Amitabha Ray spent some time in Kabul between 2007 and 2008, as a representative of the Government of India on a United Nations mission. Living a risky existence in an unsettled country he was nevertheless awestruck by its unique landscape, ancient heritage and the natural warmth of its people. Kabulnama is his tribute to those years, sharing personal moments of anxiety, lending a glimpse into the life of the common Afghan. It is a rare journey along the highs and lows of the land and the times. There is camaraderie amidst chaos in this story of a battle-worn nation in a rugged land, lending a ringside view of its natural beauty, history, culture, travel, food and people.

India Since 1947

Sub title: The Independent Years

The most comprehensive compendium on post-1947 India This definitive guide to independent India takes us through the events and personalities that have shaped India in the sixty years since 1947. Starting with Independence Day, it covers the decades in which the subcontinent saw the rise of democracy, its metamorphosis from an economy driven by self-sufficiency to one propelled by the economic reforms of the 1990s, and the concurrent liberalization, privatization and globalization that boosted India's growth rate. It also marks the transition from the era of single-party dominance to that of coalition politics. Arranged chronologically, India since 1947 covers a wide range of topics, from the coming into being of the Indian dominion, India's first elections, the Green Revolution, the Five-Year Plans, and the infamous Emergency (soon reversed by the democratic process) to the beginning of television in India and the launch of its space and nuclear programmes. Among some of the other events covered in the book are:— the discovery of the cholera toxin— Asia's first-ever heart transplant in Bombay— the beginning of the manufacture of bread in Delhi and Bombay— the hijacking of flight IC 814— the setting up of the Bombay stock exchange— the establishment of an all-woman hospital in Hyderabad A separate listing of the events leading up to Independence, interesting factoids on various aspects of modern India, and a detailed index further enhance the appeal of the book.

Decades of hard work, enthusiastic philatelic endeavors and extensive research on the subject for so many years sees the fruition in this book in the form of possibly the first and only authoritative book on the history of the Indian National flag, exposed through philatelic articles, till date.... This book is a must-read for those who are interested in Indian history and those who are curious about the Indian National flag, its background, development and true meaning... I sincerely hope it gets wide acceptance as there isn't a lot of resources available to tell us about the history we should know as proud Indians in a very appealing way... I can honestly say that it is unputdownable... A bit of history, a bit of patriotism and a bit of storytelling. Just grab a copy and enjoy!

A detailed historical account on MK Gandhi and the impact he had on India's political landscape and the making of modern India

A never-done-before detailed section on Gandhi's interaction and association with Muslim leaders

Gallery of rare photographs

Faith and Freedom: Gandhi in History offers a meticulously researched account of Gandhi - his historical background, campaigns, impact on Indian life, and the guidance he still continues to offer in dealing with contemporary problems. The book offers a particularly illuminating and long overdue account of Gandhi's association with Muslim leaders, and shows how politically tragic religious nationalism can be. Written by one of India's leading historians, this book is a must read for everyone interested in understanding the political landscape of modern India.

Packed with high drama, the play portrays through its characters, the whole gamut of emotions - both good and evil - lurking inside each of us

A real page-turner that promises to rivet the reader's attention to the end

The book questions the uncertainty of something as certain as death

Set in the picturesque backdrop of the Kanha-Kisli forest reserve of Madhya Pradesh, Madhukari is a novel about Prithu Ghosh. Prithu had always wanted to live life on his own terms. Just as a tiger is not reliant on others, he too did not wish to be dependent on his wife, family and society. He was constantly at odds with the demands of polite society. He could not endorse their superfluity, hypocrisy, class-consciousness and a constant need to pull others down. Showing complete apathy for the high society to which he belonged, he went around with his motley group of friends whom his wife scorned as riff-raff.

But can Prithu really live like a powerful tiger? Or will reality compel him to accept that man is far too frail and dependent on others to blaze his own trail? Human beings like Prithu have to go around to countless other men and women, begging from door to door with outstretched palms from the day they are born till the moment of their death. Is madhukari then another name of this wandering?

This novel of epic proportions is not just an account of Prithus extraordinary story. The constant presence of nature in the novel makes it tantamount to a character in its own right. The fluidity of description, the dexterity of characterisations and the authority with which a wide variety of references is incorporated into the texture of the narrative make Madhukari one of the most skilfully and powerfully written novels of modern Bengali literature.

Legacy

by Danielle Steel

This compelling, centuries-spanning novel brilliantly interweaves the lives of two women—a writer working in the heart of modern academia and a daring young Sioux Indian on an incredible journey in the eighteenth century. The result is an unforgettable story of courage in the face of the unknown.

At the age of thirty-eight, Brigitte Nicholson has a job she likes, a man she loves, and a book on the women’s suffrage movement that she will finish—someday. Someday is Brigitte’s watchword. Someday she and Ted, a rising star in the field of archaeology, will clarify their relationship. Someday she will have children. Someday she will stop playing it so safe. Then, on a snowy day in Boston, Brigitte’s life is jolted. Suddenly everything she counted on has changed and she finds herself questioning every choice she has made along the way.

As she struggles to regain her balance and plot a new course, Brigitte agrees to help her mother on a family genealogy project. In Salt Lake City at the Family History Library, she makes a stunning discovery—reaching back to the French aristocracy. How did Brigitte’s mysterious ancestor Wachiwi, a Dakota Sioux, travel from the Great Plains to the French court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette—and into the arms of a French marquis? How did she come to marry into Brigitte’s family? What is the truth behind the tantalizing clues in the fragmented, centuries-old records?

Following the threads of Wachiwi’s life, Brigitte travels to South Dakota, then on to Paris, irresistibly drawn to this brave young woman who lived so long ago. And as she comes closer to solving the puzzle of Wachiwi’s journey, her previously safe, quiet life becomes an adventure of its own. A chance meeting with a writer of historical fiction, a new opportunity, and a difficult choice put Brigitte at last in the forefront of her own story. With a complex and powerful family legacy coming to life around her, someday is no longer in the future. Instead, in Danielle Steel’s mesmerizing new novel, someday is now.

'And the Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hosseini - May 21, 2013

Khaled Hosseini's debut novel, The Kite Runner, was one of the Best Books of the Last Decade. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was equally acclaimed. In both these stories, Hosseini brought to life characters in Afghanistan, helping humanize for many Americans the people and places where we were at war post-9/11. Although America is still involved in a war in Afghanistan, it is one that gets little attention and our relationship with that country has become less of a "hot topic." Still, Hosseini is a great writer not just for his timely subject area, but also for his plot and character development. It will be interesting to see how his next book, And the Mountains Echoed, compares with his first two. As the Mountains Echoed was described early on as a novel about family relationships and how we take care of each other. I can't wait to see what that means.

LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRE- DLDAV ND-BLOCK

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