Soumitra Chatterjee: His Life in Cinema and Beyond

From his initial years of searching for identities to the final years of consolidation, Soumitra Chatterjee remained a phenomenon to the very end. When Chatterjee debuted in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apur Sansar’ in 1959, a star was born in Bengali cinema. Soumitra soon transcended the boundaries of the Bengali film industry to become an internationally celebrated actor. Famously known as ‘Ray’s actor’, in a career spanning six decades, Soumitra worked with practically every Bengali director worth his name. ‘Soumitra Chatterjee: His Life in Cinema and Beyond’ is the first comprehensive attempt to portray the life of the actor in all its facets. The intimate portrait has been drawn by journalist Amitava Nag, who shared a close relationship with the actor.

Juvenile, Not Delinquent: Children in Conflict with the Law

The past decade has seen an unforgiving position take root on the purpose of juvenile justice in India, seen as it is — especially in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya case in 2012 — as an instrument of punishment and not reform. India is not the only country in the world that treats ‘juvenile delinquents’ with suspicion. The fact that countries across the world have vacillated between extreme punitive to child sensitive and back to punitive laws over the years is proof of that. Who are these children who enter the ‘system’? Do they ever ‘reform’? ‘Juvenile, Not Delinquent’ is an effort to answer these questions and make people see child offenders as victims and to make them realise that the way forward is through compassion.

The Garden of Tales: The Best of Vijaydan Detha

Vijaydan Detha had a deep sense of anguish about the deprecated status of Rajasthani, despite the language having its own literary traditions and dictionary. This is why he began writing in his mother tongue — a radical choice for his time. Since his writing was so rooted in his ethos, his works continue to reach readers in various languages even 10 years after his death. ‘The Garden of Tales’ is a collection of some of his choicest short stories. A seth who lends money by mortgaging the borrower’s ‘next birth’; a bride who, after the wedding, discovers her husband is actually a woman; a jogi dwelling in the skies who quells his lust by imprisoning women in his Cloud Palace…

Butchered for Love

The murder of Canadian citizen Jaswinder Kaur Jassi had shocked the community. Twenty-three years on, her husband, Mithu, still awaits justice. Tracking their story all these years has been journalist Jupinderjit Singh and he pens their love story — from the beginning to the elusive wait for justice — in his new book ‘Butchered for Love’. In marrying a lowly peasant Mithu, from Jagraon, Jassi had brought ‘dishonour’ to her family of landlords. In revisiting the story, the author throws light on honour killing, which, he insists, is both a gender issue as well as that of human rights. He also writes about the role that the media played in highlighting the issue. He hopes Jassi and Mithu get justice.

The Power of Humility

At an individual level, humility is putting others ahead of ourselves. At an organisational level, it would mean putting the interests of employees ahead of other stakeholders for better business outcomes. Author PV Ramana Murthy has been a curious student of leadership. In ‘The Power of Humility’, he explores this subject in detail. A result of over five years of rigorous research and numerous interviews with business leaders, the book provides a perspective on how humble high achievers are rewriting the rules of leadership. In the process, it not only addresses the importance of humility as a cognitive skill for leaders, but also builds a framework that current and future leaders can use to emulate in their professional careers.