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Empire of the
mind
A well-informed look at the
world of science in India today
Geek Nation: How Indian Science is
Taking over the World
By Angela Saini.
Hodder & Stoughton/Hachette.
Pages 288. Rs 499.
Reviewed by Roopinder Singh
INDIAN
techies have made a place for themselves the world over, so much so that
they have eclipsed the achievers from their mother discipline, science.
The IITs and other scientific institutions owe much to Jawaharlal Nehru
who insisted that every Indian citizen should develop "scientific
temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform".
Engrossing
tale
The Lotus Queen
By Rikin Khamar.
Rupa.
Pages 157. Rs 195.
Reviewed by Jai Brar
"IT
is time my queen." These gripping words from The Lotus Queen
announce the dramatic irony of the events which unfold in this tale
about the legendary queen of Chittor, Rani Padmini. With his beautifully
sculpted scenes, highly descriptive characters and vivid narration of
events, Rikin Khamar has emerged as a writer par excellence of
historical fiction and made a mark for himself in literary circles.
Frankly
speaking
The Big Bookshelf: Sunil
Sethi in Conversation with 30 Famous Writers
Ed. Sunil Sethi.
Penguin.
Pages 240. Rs 350.
Reviewed by Mohammad Imtiaz
HOW
is a writer made and what is the nature of the writing impulse? Are
writers born with a burning creative drive or do they steadily hone
their art? How do they shape their characters and stories in their
fiction?" These are the basic questions dealt with in The Big
Bookshelf.
Tibet’s
little-known war
Arrested Histories: Tibet,
the CIA and Memories of a Forgotten War
By Carole McGranahan.
Duke University Press, Durham.
Pages xx + 308. $23.95.
Reviewed by Parshotam Mehra
IN
the face of a massive Chinese onslaught and aerial bombing of Tibetan
Buddhist monasteries in 1956, a resistance army took birth, calling
itself "Chushi Gangdrug" (CG). Literally "four rives and
six ranges", CG is an ancient name for the eastern Tibetan province
of Kham.
Brilliant
and original
Singing through the
Nightmare
By Randeep Wadehra
Ukay Publishing Co.
Pages 127. Rs 195.
Reviewed by Dr Iqbal Judge
In
today’s times, it takes guts and perseverance to publish
one’s poems, for poetry seems outmoded nowadays, its place in
magazines and newspapers usurped by ‘lifestyle’ trivia, the
hoi-polloi’s takes on matters A to Zee, or occasional sops for the
soul.
New
look at Netaji
Madhusree Chatterjee
The latest biography analyses
Netaji's life, legacy and ascent to the peak of nationalist policies
Subhas
Chandra Bose has always been regarded as a great popular hero, but
official recognition of his stature as an iconic freedom fighter was
somewhat muted during the primeministership of his rival, Jawaharlal
Nehru, until 1964, says Netaji's grand-nephew Sugata Bose, a professor
of history at Harvard University.
Fleeting
fable
Arun Kumar
An American scribe's sideways
glance at India is captured in a new novel
SIDEWAYS
on a Scooter, a new book on
India by an American journalist who lived in New Delhi for some years,
is billed as a "deft cultural examination" that peels back the
"stereotypical image of India as a land of call centres, yoginis,
and Bollywood".
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