Showing Books By Language : English

Sylvia Distant Avuncular Ends

Cajetan Pereira is Bhaubaab (brother-sir) to the people of the village he’s made his home. Even as he searches for his ‘roots’ in Goa, Cajetan yearns for his childhood home in Tanzania, pouring that longing into the project of living near a baobab tree on soil that is his only for historical reasons. Into this strange idyll walks Sylvia, a young woman in search of a story. As they discover a past connection and explore ways to build that relationship, the two bond over the common violence that shaped their trajectories, and an uncanny friendship with their one-time aspiring film-star neighbour. Over the course of the novel, Sylvia comes into kaleidoscopic focus. She is colleague and friend, wife and prospective lover, and she is herself, living her many lives in many places. Boldly experimental, Sylvia—Distant Avuncular Ends uses poetry and prose to tell a riveting story at a breathtaking pace. As entertaining as it is poignant, this is a remarkable, accomplished debut.

Eating Wasps

In a small town by the river Nila, a thirty-five-year-old writer kills herself. No one knows why. Fifty-two years later, an antique cupboard in a private resort opens to reveal a frightened child. And the mystery begins to unravel. From the bestselling author of Ladies Coupe comes an unusual new novel about the intensity – and consequences – of desire. ANITA NAIR IS A FINE WRITER WITH A GREAT SENSE OF CHARACTER... AND AN EYE FOR TELLING DETAIL. SHE CAN MOVE FROM TENDER COMPASSION TO SENSUALITY TO RAGING HATRED... A COMPELLING TELLER OF STORIES.

A Taste For Trouble Memories From Another Time

ANIRUDDHA BAHAL has spelt trouble for the Establishment for as long as he can even remember. As a boy of barely fifteen, he ran away from home, all the way from Allahabad to Bombay—returning a week later, chastened and penniless, but with valuable lessons learnt. As a journalist, he transformed the definition and boundaries of reporting with the risks he took and the stories he chased down. And he paid the price for it. As a writer, his first novel won him international recognition— as well as the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, handed to him by no less a personage than Sting. As an entrepreneur, he went against the grain in setting up an investigative news portal at a time when speaking truth to power was no longer on the agenda of media houses. Over the years, this restless, mischievous boy from a village in Uttar Pradesh has come to epitomise the rough and tumble of political journalism in New Delhi. What does such a man see and remember when he looks back? Of people, incidents, turning points, the disappointments and the triumphs, both personal and professional? Some memories, Bahal says, are better left buried, but A Taste For Trouble brings together those that continue to keep him anchored in the present and hopeful about the future.

The Great Unravelling India After 2014

For the first time, I was not so sure that the survival of an idea could be taken for granted. But I was sure of one thing: the battle to salvage it, whether in whole or in part, had to be fought.’ Since May 2014, under a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party, it appears that the Nehruvian—read liberal, secular, scientific—Idea of India has come utterly undone. Institutions of governance that had weathered great turbulence in the past seem to be disintegrating. The economy, once the celebrated ‘India story’, is in a shambles due to self-inflicted blows. Large sections of the media genuflect in cringe-worthy surrender to the ruling dispensation. Two hundred million Indians are being repeatedly reminded about their irrelevance in the new political narrative. Meanwhile, the grand old party of India flounders on unfamiliar territory—trapped in its past and unsure about its future. Sanjay Jha, long-time Congress spokesperson, now suspended from the party for his outspokenness against it, takes a long, hard look at what all of this means for the future of India. What are the reasons for the Congress’s acute lack of oppositional ability? Is a resurrection of this seemingly somnolent giant even possible? What would it entail? Can the party look beyond the easy fallback of the Gandhi-family charisma and embrace transformational change? Can it sell its vision—of inclusive growth and social justice—to a nation that seems mesmerised by hate? Even as he asks tough questions of the government and his party, Jha has not lost faith in Mahatma Gandhi’s India. He writes of renewal, of hope. And the Congress, he firmly believes, is central to that revival of India.

Midnights Borders A Peoples History Of Modern Indi

By the end of my travels, I found myself not with one map of India, but many maps that looked far different from the one I thought I knew.’ India is a land of borders, its peripheries nestling against seven countries. Over seven years, across 9,000 miles, Suchitra Vijayan travelled these borderlands. The more she travelled, the clearer it became to her that local history and memory bear no resemblance to the political history of the nation that claims these lands and peoples. From the densely populated border that India shares with Bangladesh to the highly disputed one with Pakistan, the stories in this book engage with how people live, struggle, fight and survive. A man escapes the floodlights that invade his home by blocking out all light, children use a border pillar as a handy cricket stump, and a family live out their lives beside the men who orchestrated their son’s death. These are stories that question our ideas of what freedom means and what it means to be a citizen. At a time when millions in India face loss of citizenship—the largest crisis of manufactured statelessness in human history—Vijayan’s clear-eyed, empathetic reportage provides a re-examination of the idea of territorial sovereignty. Midnight’s Borders, featuring over forty original photographs, is a compelling narrative of a country in crisis, turning against its own people while coping with the legacy of colonialism and Partition. As the margins close in on the mainland, this necessary account forces a reckoning with the brutality that informs India’s relationship with its borderlands.

Star Struck Confessions Of A TV Executive

There is no guide to cracking the biggest TV market in the world. What there is, is this: the incredible story of how it was done, written by the man who was at the forefront of it all. The early ’90s marked an age of American TV dominating the world, from Baywatch to Cheers to The Jerry Springer Show. Only, it wasn’t winning over the Indian market, where access to one billion TV viewers was dominated by a powerful terrestrial network. Sensing a once-in-a-generation opportunity, Rupert Murdoch gave Peter Mukerjea a seemingly impossible task—to grow a tiny foreign-owned TV channel in India into one of the biggest in the world. If Peter Mukerjea was David, Goliath was a broadcasting behemoth with the weight of the Indian government behind it, and decades of funding, brand-building and a deeply entrenched place in the hearts and minds of Indian viewers. And as any self-respecting giant-slayer will tell you, the only way to take down such an opponent is to throw convention out of the window, risk failure every day and pull together a rag-tag team of adventurers to join the impossible quest. From battling rival CEOs to winning over presidents, from making multimillion dollar deals in the back of a Mumbai taxi to audaciously hiring the biggest film star in the world as your TV host—and making him even bigger—this book chronicles the unbelievable (yet 100 per cent true) story of how a crack team turned Star TV from a quirky challenger channel to the shining jewel in the crown of the Murdoch, and now Disney, global media empire.

Sambhaji

Even as a child, Sambhaji has known he must stand alone. His mother died when he was barely two, and his father was always absent—chasing his own dream of ‘Swaraj’, fighting to keep the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb at bay. As the eldest son, Sambhaji is the true heir to Shivaji. He is valorous, wise and has the makings of a capable statesman. But there are dark forces at play in the palace. Shivaji’s other queen, Soyrabai, is scheming to place her son Rajaram on the throne, and she has the support of several ministers whose misdemeanours Sambhaji is determined to expose. On 3 April 1680, Shivaji dies unexpectedly, and it is finally time for Sambhaji to rise to the challenge. He must now fight Aurangzeb, who has spent twenty years trying to smoke out the ‘mountain rat’, and whose presence in the Deccan poses an increasingly grave threat to the Maratha empire. And what could be better than the enemy’s own brother-in-law willing to hand him the rat on a platter. A moving portrait of an often misunderstood braveheart, Vishwas Patil’s Sambhaji is a massive bestseller that has sold over a 100,000 copies in Marathi. Cinematic and ambitious in its scope, this is a keenly researched and splendidly executed period drama about one man’s struggle to preserve his father’s legacy and of the price extracted by the throne and the homeland.

Simon & Schusters Guide To Gems And Precious Stone

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones provides both the connoisseur and the casual collector with a compact, easy-to-use volume describing more than 100 rare varieties of minerals whose beauty and mystery have possessed our imaginations from time immemorial. More than 450 brilliant photographs accompany profiles of each gem, covering such aspects as appearance, physical properties -- density, hardness, refraction -- occurrence, and how to judge quality and value. Additional sections describe the process of cutting gemstones and the techniques professional gemologists use to evaluate a stone's weight and optical properties. Detailed and comprehensive, this book is essential for anyone interested in the study of gems and precious stones.

To Win At Bridge Have You Got What It Takes

The world of bridge has winners and also-rans. What would you rather be? Winning might not be everything, but it is much better than finishing second or third, and way ahead of being out of place. This book examines the attributes and skills you need to be on the winner's dais more often, not only the personal qualities and psychological requirements, but also the methods you are using and the standard of card play required. TO WIN AT BRIDGE is a challenge full of tips and telling advice, which if followed will produce a positive lift to your game.

No Laughing Matter

An uproarious and frank memoir of illness and recovery, No Laughing Matter is a story of friendship and recuperation from the author of the classic Catch-22. It all began one typical day in the life of Joe Heller. He was jogging four miles at a clip these days, working on his novel God Knows, coping with the complications of an unpleasant divorce, and pigging out once or twice a week on Chinese food with cronies like Mel Brooks, Mario Puzo, and his buddy of more than twenty years, Speed Vogel. He was feeling perfectly fine that day—but within twenty-four hours he would be in intensive care at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital. He would remain hospitalized for nearly six months and leave in a wheelchair. Joseph Heller had Guillain-Barré syndrome, a debilitating, sometimes fatal condition that can leave its victims paralyzed from head to toe. The clan gathered immediately. Speed—sometime artist, sometime businessman, sometime herring taster, and now a coauthor—moved into Joe's apartment as messenger, servant, and shaman. Mel Brooks, arch-hypochondriac of the Western world, knew as much about Heller's condition as the doctors. Mario Puzo, author of the preeminent gangster novel of our time, proved to be the most reluctant man ever to be dragged along on a hospital visit. These and lots of others rallied around the sickbed in a show of loyalty and friendship that not only built a wild and spirited camaraderie but helped bring Joe Heller, writer and buddy extraordinaire, through his greatest crisis. This book is an inspiring, hilarious memoir of a calamitous illness and the rocky road to recuperation—as only the author of Catch-22 and the friend who helped him back to health could tell it. No Laughing Matter is as wacky, terrifying, and greathearted as any fiction Joseph Heller ever wrote.

True Blood Omnibus Dead Until Dark Living Dead In

Sookie Stackhouse enjoys her job as a cocktail waitress in Merlotte's, a small-town bar in small-town Bon Temps, deep in Louisiana. She's funny and pretty and, thanks to her grandmother, she's very well-mannered - but since not many people truly appreciate her ability to read their minds, the guys haven't exactly been beating down her door ... And then along came Bill, tall, dark and handsome - and Sookie couldn't 'hear' a word he was thinking. He was exactly the type of guy she'd been waiting all her life for. Of course, Bill had a disability of his own: fussy about his food, not into suntans, bit of a night person: yep, Bill was a vampire. But at least now Sookie nows there *are* guys she can date who won't worry about her catching them thinking about other women ...

Unfinished A Memoir

'I am a product of traditional India and its ancient wisdom, and modern India and its urban bustle. My upbringing was always an amalgamation of the two Indias, and, just as much, of East and West.' Unfinished takes readers from Priyanka's childhood in India, where she was raised by her grandparents and her parents­-two army doctors committed not only to their children but to their careers and to philanthropy-before being sent away to boarding school at an early age; through her formative teenage years in the US living with extended family in the Midwest (Cedar Rapids and Indianapolis), Queens, and suburban Boston, where she endured bouts of racism; to her return to India, where she unexpectedly won the national and global beauty pageants (Miss India and Miss World) that launched her acting career. Readers looking for a glimpse into what it takes to succeed in the massive Indian film industry will find it here, and they'll also find an honest account of the challenges Priyanka faced navigating her career, both in India and Hollywood. The result is a book that is warm, funny, sassy, inspiring, bold, and rebellious. Just like Priyanka herself. From her dual-continent twenty-year-long career as an actor and producer to her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, from losing her beloved father to cancer to marrying Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra Jonas's story will inspire a generation around the world to gather their courage, embrace their ambition, and commit to the hard work of following their dreams.

The Nectar Of Immortality Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897 - 1981), a revered master of the Tantric Nath Lineage, is an inspiring example of an ordinary family man who attained complete realization of the infinite. Living the absolute non-duality of being in every moment, he taught that true freedom is a possibility open to every one of us. These discourses are about Transcendence. The message is clear: Return to what you were before your so-called birth. Be in that eternity, a state of wholeness. It is changeless reality from which all change has sprung. Maharaj's wisdom is truly partaking of the Gods, because it restores us to our original pristine and blissful condition, the rediscovery of our source.

The Two Lost Mountains

TO THE MOUNTAINS AND THE FALL Still reeling from his loss, Jack must now get to one of the five iron mountains - two of which have never been found - and perform a mysterious feat known only as 'The Fall'. A NEW PLAYER ARRIVES Amid all this, Jack will discover that a new player has entered the race, a general so feared by the four legendary kingdoms they had him locked away in their deepest dungeon. Only now this general has escaped and he has a horrifying plan of his own... * * * * * PRAISE FOR THE JACK WEST THRILLERS 'Thrilling, action-packed adventure from cover to cover' Guardian 'Nobody writes action like Matthew Reilly' Vince Flynn 'Get ready for a wild ride' Daily Telegraph 'Exciting and entertaining' Chicago Sun-Times * * * * * READERS LOVE THE JACK WEST THRILLERS 'Indiana Jones in a book . . . Immensely entertaining' 'A super duper kick ass soldier' 'A first class all-action historical thriller' 'Heart-pounding stuff' 'Enjoy the rollercoaster ride

Master Of Self Realization An Ultimate Understandi

In this book is a collection of 130 talks that were given by Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, guru of Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Shri Ranjit Maharaj. The talks in this book were recorded and edited by Nisargadatta Maharaj and were originally published by him in two volumes in the Marathi language under the name of "Adhyatma Jnanacha Yogeshwar" in the years 1960 and 1961. The text was reprinted in the year 2000 at the insistence of Shri Ranjit Maharaj. Afterwards it was translated into English for this book, truly a modern day spiritual classic in its own right. Also included within the covers of this book is the text "Master Key to Self-Realization" which was authored by Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj in the form of a methodical explanation of many fundamental principles of Advaita Vedanta and Self-Realization. The teaching found here helps the aspirant to form a solid foundation for understanding the fundamental principles of non-duality and in realizing one's True Nature.

Ali Cross

James Patterson's blockbuster Alex Cross series has sold over 100 million copies – and now he's bringing those thrills to a new generation! Alex's son Ali is eager to follow in his father's footsteps as a detective, but when his best friend goes missing, what price will he have to pay to solve the mystery? Ali Cross has always looked up to his father, former detective and FBI agent Alex Cross. While solving some of the nation's most challenging crimes, his father always kept his head and did the right thing. Can Ali have the same strength and resolve? When Ali's best friend Gabe is reported missing, Ali is desperate to find him. At the same time, a string of burglaries targets his neighborhood -- and even his own house. With his father on trial for a crime he didn't commit, it's up to Ali to search for clues and find his friend. But being a kid sleuth isn't easy -- especially when your father warns you not to get involved! -- and Ali soon learns that clues aren't always what they seem. Will his detective work lead to a break in Gabe's case or cause even more trouble for the Cross family?

Trail Of The Tiger Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray A Jo

Trail of the Tiger tracks the personal and political journey of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray against the backdrop of the changing narrative of Hindutva, and new connotations to Hindutva's subnational plot, with the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a new Hindu Hriday Samrat. The trail of Uddhav Thackeray from a professional advertising photographer to Maharashtra's Chief Minister is not just his story. It is the story of saffron 'tiger' Balasaheb Thackeray's own family Mahabharata for political power and legacy that left the patriarch helpless during his sunset years. It is the story of one of the biggest upheavals in Indian politics where breaking a 30-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena joined Sonia Gandhi's camp, holding Sharad Pawar's finger. It is also the story of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) dilemma to deal with the tug of war in the Hindutva camp. Based on news analysis, Trail of the Tiger unpacks media content and explores intertextuality to bring readers the authentic account of the Shiv Sena's saffron to secular trajectory under the leadership of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.

Think Like A Monk

Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast ‘On Purpose’, distils the timeless wisdom he learned as a practising monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. Over the past three years, Jay Shetty has become one of the world’s most popular influencers. One of his clips was the most watched video on Facebook last year, with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 32 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos, which have amassed more than 5 billion views, and his podcast, ‘On Purpose’, is consistently ranked the world’s #1 health-related podcast. In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk in the Vedic tradition to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Drawing on ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, “Think Like a Monk” reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. The lessons monks learn are profound but often abstract. Shetty transforms them into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve focus, improve relationships, identify our hidden abilities, increase self-discipline and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can – and should – think like a monk.

The Rise of Magicks

'On the shield, one of seven forged in the timeless past to hold back the dark, fell a single drop of blood. So the shield weakened, and the dark, spider-patient, waited as the decades passed, and the wound spread under the grass and ground.' The brilliant conclusion to the Chronicles of the One trilogy - an epic story of love, war, family and magic. Fallon Swift has spent all her life preparing for this moment. No longer can she stand by whilst her fellow Magicks are hunted by the fanatical Purity Warriors or rounded up and experimented on by the government. Fallon must follow her destiny to restore the magical shield that once protected them all. But she can't do it alone. It is time to build her army, to take on her nemesis and take down the enemy. She has learned to fight, now she must restore the light and banish the dark forever. The final battle has begun... Series praise: 'A match for end-of-the-world classics like Stephen King's The Stand' - New York Times Review of Books 'Breathtaking' - Heat

Kamala Harris The American Story That Began On Ind

'Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.' - Shyamala Harris When US presidential candidate Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris, senator and attorney, as his running mate in the race for the President's post, the world sat up in attention. For the first time in the country's history, a Black-Asian woman had emerged as a candidate for the most powerful offices in the land. And, when the Democratic Party won, the fire-brand leader became the first woman vice-president elect in the history of the United States. Ever since Biden's announcement, the questions have buzzed on: What is it that makes Kamala Harris perfect for the top job? Why does she attribute so much of her success to her Indian immigrant mother? And how did she manage to seize - and hold - the imagination of a nation in one of the most polarized and keenly contested elections in modern America? Kamala Harris: The American Story that Began on India's Shores tells the extraordinary tale of this courageous and charismatic woman who beat the odds and stuck to her principles in the unforgiving milieu of today's politics. Harris is a pioneer in her own right, a symbol many look up to in the hope of a more inclusive world, and her inspirational rise to the top promises that she will not be the last woman to conquer this mountain.

Krishnayan

‘You will suffer a beastly death—die lonely, helpless and aggrieved.’ Gandhari’s curse has come true. Near the confluence of the Saraswati, Kapila and Hiranya rivers, Krishna lies under an Aswattha tree, fatally wounded by Jara’s arrow. In his final moments, he reminisces about his time in the mortal world, and the women in his life appear before him. The self-assured, erudite royal consort Rukmini, the most precious of his 16,008 wives, asks him why he is embarking upon moksha alone when she was a fellow traveller on his journeys through dharma, artha and kama. Satyabhama, who came into his life carrying the Syamantak diamond in her trousseau, and dazzled him with her beauty and charm, grapples with the meaning of their marriage. Draupadi, his friend and confidante, is eager to know if Krishna ever desired her romantically. And Radha, one with Krishna in heart and soul, although she is another man’s wife, prepares again to free him of all ties, like she did when he had left Gokul. Kaajal Oza Vaidya’s Krishnayan, stitched together with what these four extraordinary women meant to Krishna is at once vivid and intense and also tender, but not for a moment weighed down by sentimentality. Indisputably the biggest bestseller of all time in Gujarati literature—having sold over 200,000 copies and gone into more than twenty-eight editions—it is a finely wrought portrait of a mortal God who is said to be the all-embracing consciousness of the universe itself.

The First Step Is The Last Step

Sinbad And The Trumpet Of Israfil

'Kevin Missal has given the age-old Sinbad tale a delightful spin. Beware, this fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping adventure is going to rob you of your sleep'-Anand Neelakantan Before I came to be known as the greatest sailor in the world, I was a young monster hunter who fell in love. As all legendary love stories go, things were . . . well, not smooth sailing. And of course, there was the problem of the Armageddon. So I set sail across the seven seas to hoodwink a Greek god, crash a vampire wedding, mollycoddle a giant and face the Angel of Death. And as the hourglass turned, I had: Seven days to save the world. Seven days to kill the only girl I have ever loved. Bestselling author Kevin Missal pens this thrilling reimagination of Sinbad--the fabled sailor from the classic One Thousand and One Nights--who encounters fearsome mythological monsters!

The Ending Of Time Fifteen Conversations With Davi

The roots of psychological conflict. 1 April 1980. Duration: 82 minutes. Has humanity taken a wrong turn? What is the root of this tremendous inward conflict of humanity? When I am trying to become something, it is a constant battle. Can the brain itself see that it is caught in time and as long as it is moving in that direction conflict is eternal, endless? Can the mind realise, resolve a psychological problem immediately? Has mankind journeyed through millennia to come to this: that I am nothing and therefore I am everything and all energy? Cleansing the mind of the accumulation of time. 2 April 1980. Duration: 79 minutes. Time is the enemy of man. Is there a beginning which is not enmeshed in time? We said nothingness is everything, and so it is total energy. It is undiluted, pure, uncorrupted energy. Is there something beyond that? Has man ever been free from the 'I'? That emptiness can exist only when there is death of the particular. Why has man given supreme importance to thought? 8 April 1980. Duration: 84 minutes. Is the 'ground' indifferent to mankind, as the physical universe appears to be? How does one find out if there is something more than the merely physical? Why is it that theories are necessary and useful in organising facts about matter outwardly, and yet inwardly, psychologically they are in the way, of no use at all? Seeking security for myself, for my family, for my group, for my tribe, has brought about division. Why has man given importance to thought as the supreme thing? If I accept I am irrational completely, I am rational. Breaking the pattern of egocentric activity. 10 April 1980. Duration: 79 minutes. What will make a human being change deeply, fundamentally, radically? Will I, as a human being, give up my egocentric activity completely? The more knowledge I have acquired, as I have evolved, as I have grown, as I have experienced, it has strengthened me, and I have been walking on that path for millennia. Perhaps I may have to look at this problem totally differently - which is not to walk on that path at all; to discard all knowledge I have acquired. Explanations have been the boat on which to cross to the other shore. The man on the other shore says there is no boat. Cross! What happens to me when I meet something that is completely solid, immovable, absolutely true? Psychological knowledge has made us dull. The ground of being and the mind of man. 12 April 1980. Duration: 71 minutes. Why has having ideas become so important? What is the difference between a religious mind and a philosophic mind? What is the human mind's relationship to the 'ground'? Why has man accumulated knowledge?