Once Upon a Time in College - Part III


Book Description

Gaam's roommate boasts of an astrologer who can allegedly predict his future lovemaking pattern and diagnose upcoming ailments. Sadistic professors with an agenda to fail their students are counter-attacked by a plethora of cheating talents with out-of-the-box ideas in exam hall and legendary answers in viva. Plans to form a musical band Whistling Woods finally bears fruit. An online friend turns out to be a doggedly persuasive, mild-mannered, religious fanatic. A precocious school girl's crush for her teacher. The night of the leopard print underwear. Mystery of the sperm donor. A Chinese beauty in Darjeeling. A merciless, doctorless treatment in a remote village. And many more adventures of Gaam, Lokha, Handu, Holy-One and Slash continue in this third and final novel of the breezy and entertaining College trilogy. "A honest and relatable account of what college life entails and the humour in the book only reaffirms the story's honesty and reality. Based in East India, this book is a perfect brew of everything in the right proportion. The author's narrative style reflects good penmanship, introspection and is extremely approachable in its casual language. Try putting it down once you start reading it!" Notion Press Editors' Pick 2017 (on Once Upon a Time in College – Part II)




BE A MILLIONAIRE


Book Description

This is a book on empowerment for planning personal finance, especially for Indian middle class with a stress on the investors from North East. Nobody can live decently without making provisions for food, shelter, and cloth. For human beings to provide for above provisions, wealth creation is necessary. Even monks need money for sustenance. The great prophet like Swami Vivekananda once said that no proper worship would be possible with empty stomach. People nowadays enjoy a much longer life than before. This necessitated the emergence of Personal Finance for security of family members, for continued better health, and for better livelihood. This book attempts to make our young citizens much more investment savvy. It is not an effort for spoon-feeding. The book would ultimately inspire one to be a millionaire. This is not just a copy book or handbook of notes that would make investors millionaire automatically. The essays of the book would only empower the mind and inspire one to take his/her own decisions honestly and truthfully. Most of the articles of the book were written from 2008 till 2012.Though economic conditions of the country have vastly changed, the principle of investing has remained unchanged.




Once upon a Time in College - Part 2


Book Description

Everyone is turning matchmaker to hook up newly-single Gaam with girls of their choice, but Gaam is busy with his image makeover and being rude to Sonam – who dumped him in first-year – whenever he gets a chance to do so in his encounters with GPRS (Garima-Pinky-Renu-Sonam); to gratify his urge for ‘cheap enjoyment’. Slash has a whirlwind SMS romance with a love-sick guy who mistakes Slash for a girl. Prem Bhai and Lokha resume chasing Darjeeling girls, though a different college, this time, and Lokha, as usual, is balancing multiple girlfriends at a time. A new, pornoholic, mustard-oil smelling roommate is forcibly thrown into Gaam’s room. An invitation to a Sikkim wedding. A trip down memory lane to grandma’s village. A nightmarish Guwahati-Siliguri bus journey. A senior who needs marathon body massage sessions whenever he pays a visit to the juniors’ hostel… …and many more amusing stories adorn this addictive sequel to the hilarious and much-loved Once Upon a Time in College as it follows the trials and tribulations of the protagonist, Gaam, and his band of friends and seniors in North Bengal Medical College.




Once Upon a Thief


Book Description

In the labyrinthine underbelly of the bustling metropolis of Guwahati, where shadows murmur untold secrets and every alley conceals the sins of the powerful, "Once Upon a Thief" unfurls as a riveting thriller that intertwines a tapestry of mystery, high-stakes heists, murder, and the treacherous dance of double-cross. Aditya, a man haunted by the specters of his own murky history, is thrust into the treacherous web of deceit when he stumbles upon the daughter of a prominent businessman, locked away in a clandestine room during one of his audacious heists. The girl, Ria, unfolds a narrative intricately woven with enigma—a mother confined to an asylum, a father with nefarious intentions and a trail of money lost in the dark web. As Aditya embarks on a mission to help Ria, he unravels a far more sinister danger looming on the horizon, threatening to engulf him in an unfamiliar world of deceit and crime. Amidst the unfolding complexity, an old nemesis, Panchali, re-emerges, casting a dark shadow over Aditya's mission. The lines between good and evil blur as Aditya, accompanied by Ria, navigates the treacherous waters of loyalty, betrayal, and the elusive promise of redemption. His only confidant is Bhargav, a friend whose trustworthiness becomes a lifeline in this perilous journey. As the narrative twists and turns unpredictably, Aditya and Ria find themselves entangled in the intricate web of the city's criminal underworld. Racing against time, they must concoct a master plan to outsmart Panchali and thwart the sinister game orchestrated by a criminal mastermind. With each revelation, the duo inches closer to the truth, only to realize that in this deadly game, where hunters become the hunted, and trust is a scarce commodity, the stakes are higher than ever. "Once Upon a Thief" is a heart-stopping thriller, seamlessly blending the tension of audacious heists with the nuances of a murder mystery. Will Aditya and Ria decipher the cryptic machinations of Panchali before becoming pawns in a game of shadows where nothing is as it seems? In a city where danger lurks around every corner, trust is a luxury, and the truth is the deadliest weapon of all.




No Ghosts in This City


Book Description

Twelve short stories about everyday life and the political realities of Assam. “My stories,” says the author, “are a lot about darkness but they are also about the small sparks of light that occasionally dispel the demons in our souls.” In this collection, a doctor’s comfortable existence in a tea estate is rudely shattered by violent conflict, a daughter reflects on the futility of rebellion, and children discover how shockingly little time it takes to go from joking to being thrown headlong into bloody carnage. Sharp and eloquent, Uddipana Goswami’s stories bring into harsh focus how interwoven political violence is with everyday life. Published by Zubaan.




Challenging Destiny


Book Description

India is a country where there is unity in diversity. However is this really true? This book narrates a real life story of socio-communal integration which began in Assam during the British era. With the passage of time it has become a unique example of national integration, patriotism and social service. “Challenging Destiny” is about the illustrious “Agarwala Family” of Assam. The family’s story is intertwined with the events that occurred in Assam during the British Raj. The dismissal of the last Ahom King, the opening up of tea gardens, discovery of oil and coal, the revival of the Assamese language and cultural identity, beginning of the freedom struggle, the effects of World War 2, partition and the independence of India. The story begins in 1827. A teenaged Navarangram Agarwala starts off on foot from Churu, Rajasthan, in northwest India to redeem a fortune. He walks across Northern India and finally reaches Assam in northeast India. In Assam he not only gains wealth but begins a process of socio-communal assimilation that spawns a lineage that integrates completely into the Assamese community. By 1947 Navarangram’s progeny by their deeds and contributions become the standard-bearers of Assamese socio-cultural renaissance and a symbol of its identity. It is a story of national integration with few parallels in India proving that unity in diversity is not just a catchy slogan.




Looking Back into the Future


Book Description

The book examines questions of identity, ethnicity, sovereignty and insurgency in northeastern India, and especially on Assam and its neighbourhood. Written by an academic-journalist, the various articles situate these in their larger social, economic, political and, above all, historical context, the last being especially important in their becoming a part of colonial India relatively late, well after colonial control was established in the rest of India. Based on close, ground level experience involving extensive travel and interaction with the people, this collection is the result of a long journalistic career spanning nearly 50 years in the northeast region. Written in simple, lucid language, the essays cover a range of themes including culture, belief, and identity; homeland and language politics; and insurgency and separatism. The volume also achieves a uniquely dual historical value – while the articles themselves include a lot of historical information tracing the roots of the various issues discussed, the articles themselves range from 1974 to 2010, providing the modern reader with a series of historical moments captured in their immediacy. Of interest to students, academics, researchers in politics, peace & conflict studies, politics, sociology, history, language, those interested in northeast India, policy-makers, cultural studies, etc.




The Quest for Modern Assam: A History


Book Description

'A model work of historical scholarship'-Ramachandra Guha 'The most well-researched, comprehensive history of contemporary Assam ever written'-Partha Chatterjee The crucial battles of World War II fought in India's north-east-followed soon after by Independence and Partition-had a critical impact on the making of modern Assam. In the three decades following 1947, the state of Assam underwent massive political turmoil, geographical instability, and social and demographic upheaval, among others. Later, the truncated state suffered widespread unrest as various groups believed their cultural identity and political leverage were under threat. New social energies and political forces were unleashed and came to the fore. Definitive, comprehensive and unputdownable, The Quest for Modern Assam explores the interconnected layers of political, environmental, economic and cultural processes that shaped the development of Assam since the 1940s. It offers an authoritative account that sets new standards in the writing of regional political history. Not to be missed by any one keen on Assam, India, Asia or world history in the twentieth century.




Prophecy of Ambari


Book Description

Prophecy of Ambari is the anticipated sequel to the anthropological thriller Ambari, based on the archaeological site in Guwahati which was accidentally discovered in course of digging the foundation for the building of the RBI in 1969. Veteran filmmaker Joyprakash's ambition of making his dream film based on an ancient manuscript found by him has almost been fulfilled. He has carefully selected his cast for the whodunit to be shot in an abandoned villa in the Assam Bhutan border. However, he had kept a secret with himself which he had discovered from the manuscript. It was inevitable that it couldn't remain secret forever and the lives of his cast would be on real danger.




Fragmented Memories


Book Description

DIVA study of identity and its connection to memory, focusing on the history of community identity formation among the Tai-Ahom in Assam./div




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