Many fault lines criss-cross Indian society today because of economic
inequality, short-stories of the scattered Kashmiri Pandit community who
are tourists in their own homeland and a few light-hearted love
stories: take a look at what the IANS bookshelf has to offer this week.
1. Book: Looking Away; Author: Harsh Mander; Publisher: Speaking Tiger; Pages: 418; Price: Rs.495
In
the two decades since the early 1990s, when India confirmed its
allegiance to the free market, more of its citizens have become
marginalised than ever before. And, as the economics of inequality has
converged with majoritarian politics - most recently exemplified by the
emphatic victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the national elections
of 2014, on the campaign promise of development - Indian society has
become more sharply riven than ever.
In this book, the author
ranges wide to record and analyse the many different fault lines which
criss-cross Indian society today.
There is increasing prosperity
among the middle classes, but also a corresponding intolerance for the
less fortunate. Poverty and homelessness are also on the rise - both in
urban and rural settings. Not only has the state abandoned them, but the
middle class, too, now avoids even the basic impulses of sharing. And
with the sharp right-wing turn in politics, minority communities are
under serious threat - their status as citizens in question - as a
belligerent, monolithic idea of the nation takes the place of an
inclusive, tolerant one.
2. Book: From Home to House: Writings of
Kashmiri Pandits in Exile; Edited by Arvind Gigoo, Shaleen Kumar Singh
and Adarsh Ajit; Publisher: Harper Collins; Pages: 216; Price: Rs.350
It
has been 25 years since around 350,000 Kashmiri Pandits were uprooted
from their homes in the Kashmir valley due to militancy and changed
circumstances. Many of them had to face the ignominy of living in tents,
then in one-room tenements or flats, as refugees in their own land.
There was to be no going back for them.
This is an anthology of
short-stories, essays and writings by Kashmiri Pandits in exile, vividly
bringing out their nostalgia for Kashmir, their sense of betrayal,
their attempts to pick up the pieces and carve a new life for
themselves. These are the reflections of a lost and scattered people in
what for them is an alien land. The writings show both their
vulnerability - their helplessness as they see their culture and way of
life getting eroded - and their resilience - as the younger generation
of Pandits spreads its wings and builds a whole new life for itself.
3. Book: Just Six Evenings; Author: Tanmay Dubey; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 216; Price: Rs.195
Atul
Shukla, a young, successful executive, has been arrested by the
Gurgaon police. As he attempts to find some comfort in the dark confines
of his cell, Atul revisits his life and the six evenings that changed
its course.
Eight years ago, while working in Bhopal, Atul has
met the beautiful and intelligent Priya on a train. When it turned out
that she was in his city for only six days, he decided to woo her in
that fleeting period of time. But fate had other plans in store, and
they were torn apart by lust and betrayal, seemingly forever.
Years
later, Atul and Priya meet, once again for six days, while they are
both navigating the murky underbelly of the modern corporate world. And
this time it's not just their love at stake, but their careers and their
future as well. Will Atul and Priya manage to give love a second
chance? Or will corporate greed destroy their chance for a happy ending?
4.
Book: One Day in the Season of Rain; Author: Mohan Rakesh, translated
by Aparna Dharwadker and Vinay Dharwadker; Publisher: Penguin; Pages:
273; Price: Rs.499
In a remote village in the foothills of the
Himalayas, a gifted but unknown poet named Kalidas nurtures an
unconventional romance with his youthful muse, Mallika. When the royal
palace at Ujjayini offers him the position of court poet, Kalidas
hesitates, but Mallika persuades him to leave for the distant city so
that his talent may find recognition.
Convinced that he will send
for her, she waits. He returns years later, a broken man trying to
reconnect with his past, only to discover that time has passed him by.
A
classic of post-colonial theatre, this Hindi play is both an
unforgettable love story and a modernist re-imagining of the life of one
of India's greatest classical poets
