Taatung Tatung and Other Amazing Stories of India’s Diverse Languages


Book Description

Languages make us human. The ability to communicate and be understood through songs, art, words, inscriptions, or even gestures is essential because we, as a species, cannot live in isolation. And each one of these languages has its own journey. Early humans leaving messages on cave walls; three men on a raft stumbling upon a language they weren't looking for; a secret language that evolved to hide a people; the world's only undeciphered language that is 4000 years old. The stories in this book take you from the northeastern-most tip of our country to the forests in central India, from indigenous languages that are thousands of years old to those that have developed recently. Engrossing, entertaining, and packed with trivia, this book is for non-fiction lovers and students, who have a keen interest in all things India!




10 Indian Scientists Whose Extraordinary Work You May Not Know


Book Description

This book explores the lives and achievements of ten Indian scientists who made remarkable contributions in various fields of science—from measuring the brightness of stars and discovering a treatment for cholera to inventing fibre optics and increasing food sustainability. Though their names and work may not be widely known, they have transformed the quality of our lives. They are . . . Ruchi Ram Sahni Meghnad Saha Yellapragada Subbarow Sambhu Nath De Narinder Singh Kapany Obaid Siddiqi Modadugu Vijay Gupta Chandrima Shaha Jagannathan Vijaya V.R. Lalithambika Vaishali Shroff traces the journey of these scientists, detailing the challenges they faced—financial scarcity, gender bias, inadequate facilities and infrastructure—as she takes us through the evolution of science in India over three centuries.




Nava Durga


Book Description

Durga, as this powerful warrior-goddess is known, Has nine special forms-each one unique, not just a clone. Shailaputri, Brahmacharini and Chandraghanta, Kushmanda and Skandamata, Katyayani and Kaalratri, Maha Gauri and Siddhidatri . . . They are the Nava Durga, Worshipped during Navaratri, The festival of nine nights and nine days That's celebrated across India and the world in myriad ways To praise the goddesses and their glory. This is their story!




India to the Rescue


Book Description

Adapted from Sushant Singh's Operation Cactus: mission impossible in the Maldives.




Dear Mrs Naidu


Book Description

Twelve-year-old Sarojini’s best friend, Amir, might not be her best friend any more. Ever since Amir moved out of the basti and started going to a posh private school, it seems like he and Sarojini have nothing in common. Then Sarojini finds out about the Right to Education, a law that might help her get a free seat at Amir’s school – or, better yet, convince him to come back to a new and improved version of the government school they went to together. As she struggles to keep her best friend, Sarojini gets help from some unexpected characters, including Deepti, a feisty classmate who lives at a construction site; Vimala Madam, a human rights lawyer who might also be an evil genius; and Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, a long-dead freedom fighter who becomes Sarojini’s secret pen pal. Told through letters to Mrs. Naidu, this is the story of how Sarojini learns to fight – for her friendship, her family, and her future. Published by Zubaan.




She Swiped Right into My Heart


Book Description

If you've never had friends, you've never really lived Geet, one of the most unpopular girls in college, is best friends with the beautiful and sought-after Shibani. To win the popularity vote, Geet takes the help of college hottie Rudra, who agrees to act as her 'boyfriend'-he sees an opportunity to get closer to Shibani. Little does he know that Shibani has been harbouring feelings for someone else all along. As misunderstandings and jealousies take centre stage, Geet must make a decision that will affect not just her own life, but also those of her loved ones. She Swiped Right into My Heart is a story about love-gained and lost-and the healing power of friendship.




Vikramaditya's Throne


Book Description

A young girl’s father goes missing A strange old man insists on his storytelling An ancient throne reveals forgotten tales When Upa's father gets kidnapped from the tiny village where he was working, she and her mother move to her great-grandmother's house in a small town, to recover from the shock. There the dejected and worried mother and daughter are befriended by an odd-looking stranger who insists on telling them stories of King Vikramaditya and his long-lost throne. As Upa and her mother listen to these magical stories they begin to see the goodness in the people around them and recognize the relevance of the tales of King Vikramaditya in their lives today. Funny yet thought-provoking, Poile Sengupta's retelling of these ancient stories makes them come alive like never before.




Sex and Power


Book Description

‘Sex underlies human existence, and if human life is sacred, how can sex not be?’ As squeamish as India is today about sex, this is also the land where queens once copulated with head horses at religious ceremonies, where the art of love-making was declared the revelation of the gods and recorded in elaborate detail in the kama sutras and prostitution was a form of sacred offering at temples adorned with erotic sculptures. Using India as a paradigm, Rita Banerji illustrates that sexual morality is not an absolute but a facet of living that undergoes periodic upheavals. She delineates four major periods in Indian history when there were significant shifts in the collective social perception of sex and sexuality, and the associated customs and beliefs. What causes this revision in sexual ethos? To explain this, Sex and Power proposes a modified version of Nietzsche’s slave versus master morality theory. The theory, which is tested against the dynamics of each of the four defined periods, establishes that the moral overview of any given period is determined not by a set of pre-existing ethics but by the existent power structure of the period in question. The accepted moral code actually serves the party in power. How would this theory play out in the context of India today? Banerji examines this question at length as one of extreme urgency, and concludes that the three most burning issues facing the country today—population explosion, AIDS and female genocide—are the manifestations of a collective sexual malfunctioning of society and need to be redressed in the context of an existent social and economic power hierarchy.




Seasons of Splendour


Book Description

A collection of traditional tales about gods and heroes in Hindu mythology, aranged in sequence as they might be told at religious festivals during the course of a Hindu calendar year.




A Brush with Indian Art


Book Description

Winner of the 2019 Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Book (Non-Fiction) Embark on a vivid journey on which you'll learn about the origins and evolution of art in the country. Prepare to be amazed by the first pictures made by early humans; reflect upon the serenity of Buddhist cave paintings at Ajanta; marvel at the splendour of Mughal miniature art; delight in the religious depictions of Tanjore; study the hybrid Company and revivalist Bengal styles; and discover the best of modern and contemporary artists. Watch it all come alive in intricate black-and-white sketches and stunning photographs of the most celebrated visuals across time. A rich primer on the different schools of art and the most significant movements in Indian art history, A Brush with Indian Art might even nudge you into propping up your first canvas!