Showing Books By Publisher : Speaking Tiger

Istanbul Istanbul

Istanbul is a city of a million cells and every cell is an Istanbul unto itself Below the ancient streets of Istanbul,four prisoners—Demirtay the student,the doctor,Kamo the barber and Uncle Küheylan—sit,awaiting their turn at the hands of their wardens.When they are not subject to unimaginable violence,the condemned tell one another stories about the city,shaded with love and humor,to pass the time. Quiet laughter is the prisoners balm,delivered through parables and riddles. Gradually, the underground narrative turns into a narrative of the above-ground. Initially centered around people,the book comes to focus on the city itself.And we discover there is as much suffering and hope in the Istanbul above ground as there is in the cells underground. Despite its apparently bleak setting, this novel—translated into seventeen languages—is about creation,compassion and the ultimate triumph of the imagination.

Zohra - A Biography In Four Acts

zohra Segal (1912-2014) spanned an Indian century of the arts and became the only woman to make a mark in all the performing arts, with the exception of music, within the country and abroad. This elegant biography traces her remarkable journey.born into a family with connection to the nawabs of Rampur, zohra mumtazullah Khan chose adventure over tradition when she was eighteen, travelling to Germany to learn modern dance. For the rest of her life, she continued to defy Convention and was associated with transformative initiatives in the arts. In 1935, she was recruited by the bohemian genius Uday Shankar and toured the world with his dance troupe, until he disbanded it. In 1943, she set up a unique dance school in Lahore with her husband kameshwar Segal, eight years her Junior. In Bombay two years later, she joined Prithvi theatres, founded by the legendary Prithviraj Kapoor. For the next fourteen years she travelled across India, taking socially relevant plays directly to the people—through the turbulence of Partition and the heady idealism following independence, and the tragedy of kameshwar’s suicide.In 1962, zohra went to London on a drama scholarship and stayed on for twenty-five years, becoming part of a tiny band of Asian artistes who would change the complexion of British theatre. From here to her participation in pioneering TV series and films like doctor Who, jewel in the crown and Bhai on the beach was a natural progression.Back in India, she was surprised to find Bollywood at her door when she was well past eighty. Playing the unconventional grandmother—by turns charming and crusty—she became a household name.In this biography of the unlikely star, Ritu Menon helps us understand both the performer and the person, and the times she lived in.

Video Mariamman And Other stories

in his path-breaking fiction, The acclaimed Tamil writer I may am has written about the brutal complexities of the caste system and patriarchy in unadorned, powerful prose. Video mariamman is a collection of fourteen of his finest stories poonkothai goes looking for her daughter who has eloped with a ‘low-caste’ man, hoping to give the daughter her Certificates and some money so that she can lead a decent life. The ‘stolen girl’, born into a family of black magicians and abducted when she had barely reached puberty, grows up to be a tough survivor who lives life entirely on her own terms. Srinivasan, a police Constable, tormented after being a pallbearer for a Dalit corpse and horrified by its implications for his social status, decides to quit his job. Chandravadanam, a music prodigy, dies, and kalaiammal, who brought her up without ever entering her house, mourns her death and curses the man for whom she gave up her youth and music. . In these and ten other stories—translated by Padma Narayanan with great skill and sensitivity proves why he has been hailed as a writer with few equals anywhere, for his deep humanism and fierce sense of justice

The Very Best of Sherlock Holmes

A selection of the most thrilling detective stories ever written by the master storyteller. Sherlock Holmes, the world’s cleverest detective, sets forth in this collection of six extraordinary stories to solve some of the most intriguing cases of his career. What was the mysterious ‘speckled band’ that a woman referred to with her dying breath? What do the dancing men signify and why do they bring death in their wake? Is there really a league of red-headed men, or is it a conspiracy so audacious that only Holmes can sense it? Will Sherlock Holmes meet his end at the hands of the evil Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach falls?The cases of Sherlock Holmes have held readers spellbound ever since they were first published. In 1927, the stories in this volume were chosen by the author himself as some of the best he had written. Introduced here by Ruskin Bond, the very best of Sherlock Holmes presents the great detective in all his brilliant glory for a new generation of readers.

Runaway Writers

Three spirited young women—Amby, Mini and Bobby—arrive in magical Greece for a Writers’ Workshop. Each is chasing a secret dream, hoping to change track from jobs that are not fulfilling enough. For them ‘the world is full of books in search of authors’. Amby had recklessly quit a cushy corporate job to become the ghost Twitter-writer for KayKay, the hot new Kollywood superstar. Reinventing him as India’s Wittiest Tweeter was heady—until Amby starts craving to be famous for her own writing. Mini, a bestselling children’s books author, arrives with a fantasy of writing erotic novels. And Bobby quits a super successful career as an advertising copywriter to turn into a travel writer. Their creative journey leads to deep friendships and truly inspiring lessons for life. But...unexpected twists and turns are bound to happen in impossibly romantic Santorini...

The Demolition And The Verdict

The Ram temple issue has been at the epicentre of Indian politics since the mid 1980s. The question–‘mandir or masjid’– dominated political discourse without an apparent resolution – until the Supreme Court delivered its judgement on 9 November 2019. The 5-member bench in a unanimous verdict gave the ownership of the 2.77 acres of disputed land to the Ram Janmabhoomi trust, and ordered it to build a temple on the site. Though an alternative five acres of land was awarded to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a mosque to replace the demolished masjid, the scales were clearly tilted in favour of the Hindu petitioners, and as many commentators noted, the judges had in effect legitimized what they themselves had called a ‘criminal act’. . This unprecedented, comprehensive book looks at the key moments in the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation, from the events of 1949, Rajiv Gandhi’s ‘unlocking of the gates’ in 1986, L K Advani’s Rath Yatra in 1990, the demolition of the masjid in 1992, culminating in an in-depth analysis of the 9 November judgement. It gives an objective analysis of the core issue: was the mosque actually built by Babur, and did there exist a Ram temple? . More importantly, the book examines how the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation propelled the BJP from being a marginal political party into becoming the dominant political force today. Mukhopadhyay analyses how politics over the Ram temple secured support for the militant Hindu nationalistic idea and assesses the road ahead for India and the long-term implications of the imminent construction of the Ram temple.

Nimmi's Spectabulous Schooldays

Boys from Good Families

Thippy, the beautiful ‘girl from the outhouse’. Ashwath, only son of a feudal family of landowners. A love that could never be blessed by Destiny. Disillusioned by his family’s rejection of his love for Thippy, stifled by its traditions and conservative ways, Ashwath leaves Bangalore for a university town in America’s Midwest. It is 1981, and the American economy is booming. Ashwath enjoys the three C’s of success: a condominium, a car and a credit card. But a decade later, when the market crashes, he sees the other side of the American dream—joblessness, dingy one-room tenements, and loneliness Casting its shadow over it all is Neel Kamal, his family’s sprawling bungalow in Bangalore, now a piece of prime real estate. Ashwath is compelled to return after twenty-five years to lay claim to his inheritance. In doing so, he has to once again face tangled relationships—with his sister, Savitri, her ne’er-do-well husband, Keshav, his first love Thippy—and the ghosts of his parents who died without ever seeing him again. He also finds love of a different kind, through his high-spirited niece, Shweta, and his intense, idealistic nephew, Aprameya. Finally, it is Neel Kamal that decides what he must do.

Murder In Seven Acts Lalli Mysteries

Seven brilliant stories of murder featuring one of Indian fiction most famous detectives—lalli—the retired policewoman who has been compared to Agatha Christie Miss Marple. In this gripping collection of stories, Lalli—sixty, silver-haired and tough as nails—solves some of the strangest cases of her career. A face keeps reappearing in unlikely places, until a crime of jealousy committed long ago is revealed. Letters from a dead woman hint at a murder that may or may not have happened. A hate-fuelled book-burning claims a life in horrific fashion; and a serial killer turns up in the Studio of a famous fashion designer. A suicide in a Mumbai suburb turns out to be something far more sinister; and a harmless desk ornament becomes a clue to a crime most artistically executed. Finally, for connoisseurs of crime fiction, The curtains come down with a story about lost love and a subtle, surprising revenge.

Captain Young’s Ghost Ghostly Tales From The India

Vintage storyteller Ruskin Bond has created some unforgettable characters in his novels and stories, but perhaps the most memorable and unusual among them are the ghosts and spirits he has encountered. These ghosts are not always horrific; they are mysterious and often benevolent, or lonely creatures looking for company among humans. Collected in these pages are new stories written specifically for this volume—including Captain Young’s Ghost—and classics such as A Face in the Dark and The Haunted Bicycle. Here you will find the spirit of a captain from the British army who returns to the town he founded and rues the lack of Irish whisky; a little boy, long dead, who continues to guide passers-by on treacherous mountain routes; a heartbroken young girl of long ago who seduces young men with her song, and another who longs for a family and some friends. Set in the hills and foothills of North India—the perfect haunt for ghosts and spirits—this collection by the master storyteller will leave you spellbound.

I Want to Destroy Myself: A Memoir

‘The issue Malika raises through her book is how even ‘progressive’ husbands treat their wife’s badly. The patriarchal attitude becomes visible within the four walls of the house. For social and gender equality patriarchal values need to go. The book is a must read for the women and Dalit activists, students, researchers and those who believe in the gender equality’. - Free Press Journal ‘This translation from Marathi by Jerry Pinto is tender and unobtrusive’. - Outlook ‘Malika Amar Shaikh’s forthright self-portrait—and Jerry Pinto’s translation that opens it to non-Marathi readers—is a disturbing yet luminous read’. - Open Magazine ‘Malika Amar Shaikh looks back at a life closely entwined with the Left and the Dalit movements, the souring of her marriage with Marathi poet Namdeo Dhasal and why she put the personal before the political.’—The Indian Express ‘I Want to Destroy Myself is a raw portrait of scattered dreams, love defeated, self-respect crushed, and a story of the valour to survive and live a life of meaning. Malika does keep her poetry alive.’—Kitaab.org ‘I Want To Destroy Myself’ is the angry, searing account of the Dalit Panther poet’s wife’s life with him’.—Scroll.in. About the Author Malika Amar Shaikh is a writer. Other than her autobiography, Mala Uddhvasta Vhaychay, her published work includes books of poetry: Valucha Priyakar (A Lover Made of Sand), Mahanagar (Metropolis), Deharutu (Seasons of the Body) and Manuspanacha Bhinga Badalyavar (When the Lens of Being Human Changes); works of fiction: Ek Hota Undir (There Was Once a Mouse), Koham Koham? (Who Am I?), Handle with Care and Jhadpanachi Ghosht (The Story of a Tree) and a biography of her father, Shahir Amar Shaikh, Sura Eka Vadalacha (The Song of a Storm). Jerry Pinto (translator) is an acclaimed poet, novelist and translator. His published work includes the award-winning novel Em and the Big Hoom and translations from the Marathi of Daya Pawar’s Baluta, Sachin Kundalkar’s Cobalt Blue and Vandana Mishra’s I, the Salt Doll.

A Little Book of Love and Companionship

What is the first rule of love, and what the last? � How can love or friendship be good if it must end? � Is a book as good a companion as a person? � Is it sensible to love at all? India�s most beloved writer collects his own observations and those by some of his favourite authors and artists in this brilliant anthology on love, fellowship and togetherness. This is a book to gift yourself and every companion who has ever walked with you.

A Little Book of Serenity

Why you must pause, look up and out of the window. � Why a geranium flowering on the windowsill and wind soughing in the pines is serenity � How rain drumming on the roof can still the mind as effectively as a night of meditation � How to recognize serenity once you have achieved it This gorgeous pocketbook collects some of Ruskin Bond�s wisest observations�as well as those of the thinkers he most admires�on a life of calm and how to live it. A Little Book of Serenity is perfect to dip into in moments of disquiet and of peace�and to share.

The Man Who Would Not Be God

Kingpin

"�[Kavita Daswani�s] culture-clash dilemmas ring heartbreakingly true� - Entertainment WeeklyAnil Raichand was once the kind of man you might see in the pages of your favourite society magazine - the handsome high-flying industrialist with the rich father, the Ferrari, the clubs, the cigars, and the secret peccadilloes. At twenty-six he was society�s most sought-after bachelor. Educated, charismatic and heir to his father�s wealth, Anil decided he needed two things: to become a business tycoon in his own right by any means, and the perfect wife to help him get there. But, nearly fifty, Anil looks back at a devastated business empire, a pulverized marriage, an estranged daughter and embittered parents. He pushed himself to amass fabulous wealth but found everything crumbling around him. And now he is compelled to confront the cost of his success even as he desperately holds on to the memory of a woman he once turned his back on. Unfolding over four decades - from Anil's boyhood in Singapore, his foray into the Bombay marriage market, falling in love with the wrong woman in Hong Kong, to his meteoric rise and fall in Dubai - Kingpin is a dazzling, high-octane story that will entertain and enlighten you.

On My Terms

Sharad Pawar is one of India's key public figures. Through his five-decade-long career, during which he has never lost an election, he has served as chief minister of Maharashtra four times and as India's defence minister and minister for agriculture. On two occasions he came close to becoming the country's prime minister. He has often bucked the trend, preferring policy and pragmatism over populism, and won admiration for his administrative acumen and consensual politics. Eyewitness-at the highest levels-to India's and Maharashtra's history since the 1960s, he shares in this memoir his reflections on coalition politics, the loss of democracy in the Congress Party (with which he began his political life), the state of agriculture and industry in the country, and the absolute necessity of social harmony and a liberal, inclusive ethos for India's future. As he does this, he also gives us rare information about many crises and turning points: Emergency and its impact on national and regional politics; the fall of the Chandrashekhar government in 1991; the signing of the Punjab Accord between Rajiv Gandhi and H.S. Longowal; the Babri Masjid demolition; the Mumbai bomb blasts of 1993; the devastating earthquake in Latur; the controversy over the Enron power project; and Sonia Gandhi's dramatic decision to give up the chance to occupy the country's highest office

Nehru's India

For much of the countrys post-Independence history, Indian politics was dominated by a single towering figure: Jawaharlal Nehru. A leading figure of the Independence movement, and Mahatma Gandhis chosen successor, Nehru, as Indias first prime minister, from 1947 until his death in 1964, was the architect of its birth as a modern nation-state, a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic. In this volume, some of our foremost thinkers and writers examine the different aspects of Nehrus personality and his legacy.Nehrus influence stretched beyond the Freedom Movement and the political and bureaucratic boundaries of prime ministerhood. A man of letters, it was Nehru who initiated the setting up of the Sahitya Akademi devoted to literature, the National School of Drama and the National Institute of Design; just as, in the field of technology and business management, he established the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management across the country. He was equally the force behind the setting up of dams and factories, which he regarded as the temples of modern India Today, in the year of his 125th birth anniversary, the four key dimensions of Indian nationhood, as conceived and implemented by Nehru democracy, secularism, socialism and non-alignment have altered to a point where they have changed almost beyond recognition or even abandoned altogether. To quote Mani Shankar Aiyar, What needs examination is whether fifty years after he [Nehru] passed away, these are still the defining parameters of Indias contemporary nationhood and, if so, how should they be interpreted in the light of present circumstances? As the debate continues between Nehrus supporters who believe in his enduring contribution, and his detractors who attempt to deny it, the definitive word, perhaps, comes from Nayantara Sahgal, who says in her Introduction, No Nehru, no modern India. The ground we stand on was laid in Nehrus time.

The Ends Of The Earth

Baluta

The Two-Year Mountain

With his life in the balance as he hangs from a rope—alone, high in the Himalayas—a young idealist relives his relentless struggle as a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote village in Nepal. When Phil Deutschle sets out for Nepal, he’s naively unaware of the ordeals he will face—striving to teach in the Nepali language, suffering from debilitating disease, painfully adapting to a foreign culture—but imperceptibly, over two years, he grows so attached to the village that he ultimately leaves it in tears. Following the alienation of his departure, he sets off on a reckless, solo climb of Mount Pharchamo, hardly caring whether he survives. Now, thirty-four years later, Deutschle returns to his village, intent on learning the fate of his family and his students in the wake of Nepal’s bloody Maoist civil war. Vividly written and deeply felt, The Two Year-Mountain combines adventure, travel and autobiography with rare skill.

A Glimpse Of Eternal Snows

In pulsating, polluted Kathmandu, and an idyllic village at the foot of the Himalayas, ‘Doctor Jane’ and her engineer husband Simon hope to make a difference: Jane to fulfil her vision to heal and advocate for the poor, Simon to avert the floods that threaten to devastate the country every monsoon. And even as they take to the Nepali way of life, they find sanity, compassion and joy with baby David, who in England was little more than an ‘interesting case’. A moving, candid story of courage, love and a family’s determination to give their child the best life possible, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows is a must read

The Storyteller's Tale

Delhi has been plundered once again, this time by the forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Forced to evacuate as his house is destroyed, the Storyteller begins his journey away from the city when he encounters a haveli and is invited by its enigmatic Begum to narrate tales. In a mutual exchange of stories, the plot encapsulates various manifestations of love, friendship, loyalty, trust, hatred and jealousy. Tales of unconditional love between two brothers Taka (human) and Wara (wolf) to loyalty between two friends (Aresh and Barab), a bond that transcends death. The Storyteller and the Begum are questioning each other’s stance on love and embracing a deepening but unspoken desire for each other. Set in the 1700s, each story gives a new dimension to love, its manifestation complete as human bonds go through waves of loyalty, trust, hatred, desire, betrayal and jealousy.

A Book Of Simple Living

Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli in 1934. He grew up in Jamnagar, Dehradun and Shimla, worked briefly in Jersey, London and Delhi and moved to Mussoorie in the early 1960s to write full time. He has lived in Mussoorie ever since, alone at first and for many years now, with his adopted family.

All That Could Have Been

About the AuthorRuskin Bond has written novels, memoirs, short story collections and books of essays and poetry. His books include the popular classicsroom on the roof(Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize),A Flight of Pigeons,The Blue Umbrella,Time Stops at Shamli,Night Train at Deoli,Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra (Winner of the Sahitya Akademi award) andRain in the Mountains. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.