Unending quest
Rachna Singh
Solving Kashmir
by Lt Gen M.C. Bhandari. Lancer Publishers.
Pages 362. Rs 795
If there is heaven on earth, it is here. This famous line of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jehan, encapsulates the enchanting beauty of Kashmir. But as we traverse the path from history to reality, we find the beauty of Kashmir marred by conflict. The Kashmir of pristine beauty has in the last six decades become the raison d’etre of open warfare between India and Pakistan, and has slowly but surely become a seething cauldron of terrorist violence.

Creative visions
Aradhika Sharma
Once Upon a Time in Doon: Writings from the Green Valley
Ed. Ruskin Bond. Rupa & Co.
Rs 295. Pages 220
DEHRA Dun in particular and the Doon valley in general have acquired a larger-than-life image and now we have this anthology of stories that touch upon the life, loves and legends of this very special place in the hills. The jacket promises that "this book is of interest to one who has journeyed through the valley and explored it. It will be doubly so to those who have lived in it." However, as a person who has just driven through Doon on her way to Mussorie, this reviewer can add that the book would be of interest to any reader, since it contains the writings of so many eminent and good writers.

Distinctive pathfinder
Himmat Singh Gill
Guru Granth Sahib and its Context
Ed. J. S. Neki. Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi.
Pages 304. Rs 250
THE Adi Granth or the Guru Eternal for the Sikhs hallmarks the inter-faith character of a distinctive religious scripture that can be a pathfinder for the fractured and strife-torn world of today, irrespective of which religious denomination mankind takes its name from.

A pioneer’s parting gift 
Randeep Wadehra
The Science of Mental Healing
by Dr N. L. Dosajh. Unistar, Chandigarh.
Pages IX+166. Rs 295
Human mind is a complex phenomenon. It can be a great source of strength goading one to perform superhuman feats and yet be frail enough to fall victim to assorted emotional traumas and disorders. Often mind and brain are considered synonymous in common parlance. However, while brain is a biological organ, admittedly the most complex, mind is a larger and more sophisticated concept involving one’s will, thoughts and emotions among other things. Therefore, mental disorders invariably present an intractable challenge to psychotherapists who employ techniques largely based on verbal and emotional communication in conjunction with other symbolic behavior.

Why Pash still matters
Rajesh Kumar Sharma
Pash would have been 57 today if, 19 years ago, his life had not been cut short by those who found his pen far deadlier than their guns. The warrior-poet that he was, he would not have allowed his pen to rust either. Indeed, one can say that the last two decades would have inspired him to even greater heights of that lucid fury which always marked his poetry and thought.

Make love for books pay
G.S.Cheema
Having committed myself to paying what most sane people would consider an absurd amount for a single book, I decided to do some research on book collecting as an investment. That books can be a good investment is indisputable, but not all books. One has to apply one’s mind, and study the market, and it helps if one is a little crazy about books.

State of flux
Vijay Mohan
Lost Opportunities:50 Years of Insurgency in the North-East and India’s Response
by Brig (Dr) S.P. Sinha
Lancer Publishers andDistributors.
 Pages 357. Rs 695
India’s strategically vital North-East, comprising seven states with distinct ethnic and cultural identities, has remained on the boil for over half a century. The North-East is vital to India’s security as 99 per cent of its external boundaries represent the international border and much of it is porous. Yet the powers that be have failed to satisfy the aspirations of the people of the North-East and have not met success in their efforts to find a permanent solution to the problems that beset the region.

Not happily ever after
Leave alone kids, even 1 in 10 parents don’t quite get what that favourite bedtime story is all about. And, while most parents will shake their heads and emphatically state that they are not among those people who can’t understand bedtime stories, the finding comes from none other than an adult learning organisation Learndirect.

On the road with two ace reporters
Paul Cartledge
Travels with Herodotus
by Ryszard Kapuscinski, trans. Klara Glowczewska. Allen Lane. Pages 275. 
Ryszard Kapuscinski died in January, aged 74. Travels With Herodotus was originally published in Krakow in 2004, a distinguished addition to a highly distinguished oeuvre, and it has been rendered into very good English by Klara Glowczewska. It is still not clear to me whether the Herodotus text with which Kapuscinski travelled the world was in ancient Greek or modern Polish. Even if the latter, for an amateur (in all senses) Kapuscinski displays a sophisticated appreciation of his source.

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