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Rulers of the kingdom of music
Music Makers: Living
Legends of Indian Classical Music
by Ashok Roy.
Rupa & Co. Pages 333, Rs 995.
In
the beginning was Nada,
the first sound, from where all music came. It was by far the best
introduction music could ever have. After that, there have only been
attempts. He who made Nada also made magicians who could spread
this ether. Adman Ashok Roy brings back the magical face of Indian
classical music and Aditya Rishi comments
on how he has succeeded in this.
A sleuth’s African
safari
Vikramdeep Johal
The No. 1 Ladies’
Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith.
Abacus, London. Pages 250. £ 2.99.
For
several decades, Agatha
Christie’s Miss Marple has been occupying pride of place as the lone
woman in the private detectives’ hall of fame. Now arrives the No. 2
lady detective, who runs the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in, of all
places, Botswana.
When cancer lost and
hope won
Vijay Tankha
Smiles and Tears: A
Salute to Cancer
by Anup Kumar.
Rupa & Co. Pages 272. Rs 295
Last
year, Anup Kumar published
his best-selling Joy of Cancer which recorded his sudden diagnosis of
and successful fight with an advanced cancer condition. Readers of that
moving account will be glad to know that Anup is alive and well and has
been caught by another kind of bug: the writing bug.
Human rights and the
rhetoric of injustice
Shelley Walia
The Umbrella of US
Power: The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the Contradictions of US Policy
by Noam Chomsky.
Seven Stories Press, New York. Pages 78. $ 6.95.
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
theoretically fits in well with America’s longstanding democratic
institutions. As Noam Chomsky argues, “It has long been as good a
model as one can find of a sociopolitical order in which basic rights
are upheld. And it is commonly lauded, at home and abroad, as the leader
in the struggle for human rights, democracy, freedom and justice.”
Guns
and losses
Jaswant Singh
Kashmir: The Untold
Story
by Humra Quraishi. Penguin Books. Page 204. Rs 250.
KASHMIR
has been a problem between India and Pakistan from the time India became
independent and Pakistan was born as an independent country. The decades
after the 1971 War have been marked by militancy in Kashmir sponsored
and promoted by Pakistan. This has added a new dimension to the problem
which has evoked armed reaction within Kashmir by the security forces of
India. The Army has often found itself in the unenviable position of
fighting not an enemy but shooting at citizens of its own country in the
name of helping the maintenance of law and order.
The cutting edge of law
The idea of death by
execution holds morbid fascination. The issues that it raises have
excited the imagination of writers and filmmakers alike. While Adoor
Gopalakrishnan’s film Nizhalkkuthu (Shadow Kill) addresses the
question of sin and redemption through the story of a guilt-ridden
hangman, the memoirs of France’s former chief executioner reveal a man
who thought of his job as an essential public service.
Sinful secrets
At Heaven’s Gates
by Sunil Gangopadhyay. Translated by Sanchayita Chatterjee. Rupa. Pages
155. Rs 195.
The
book is the English
translation of the Bengali novel Shorger Niche Manush by Sunil
Gangopadhyay. It has been translated by Sanchayita Chatterjee.
Gangopadhyay has written intriguing stories like The Death Trap and
Yubok Yubotira, both of which have been translated into English. The
present novel has been well handled by Chatterjee whose impeccable
translation ensures that the essence of the original is not lost in any
way in the translation.
Punjabi review
Fascinating lives
Shalini Rawat
Kis Kis Taranh de
Sikandar
by Gurbachan. Lokgeet Parkashan. Pages 256. Rs 150.
“There
are some who don’t know
how to be important. They act normal even when they become important.
Their characters are hidden in the nobility of their silence…”,
writes the author. The nobility of its silence is what is so touching
about the book. Not that books of regional literature arrive with rave
reviews, news about fat advances or worldwide book–reading sessions.
The peripherals are entirely unnecessary. Everyone knows no one reads
regional literature.
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