Coorg: Stories and Essays

‘Coorg: Stories and Essays’ draws from and builds on CP Belliappa’s earlier works on Coorg (officially known as Kodagu). The book begins by tracing the progress of the land and its people during the rule of the Haleri rajas; the British annexation and their administration of the territory and the events that culminated in Coorg becoming a part of the Kannada-speaking state of Karnataka. The essays and stories also offer the fascinating illustrated story of Princess Victoria Gowramma, the lost princess of Coorg. Belliappa delves deep into antiquity, covering a wide range of topics relevant to understanding the ethos of Coorg. 

From RBI’s creation in the late 1930s under the British administrators to the present-day reign of technocrats, the men leading it have left an indelible mark, changing forever its systems and procedures. Some have clashed with the political leadership at various times and tried to impress their own ideas upon fiscal policy. As chartered accountant and author Gokul Rathi realised, there was no book that profiled all RBI Governors. He took it upon himself to fill the gap. The pen portraits bring their professional achievements into sharp focus. Filled with trivia and anecdotes, it is a primer on people who have led one of our country’s most powerful institutions.

From the abandoned village of Kuldhara, the deadly NH-33, a portal to the unknown in Hahim, to the infamous Khooni Nala, and many more. In ‘Haunted Places of India’, Riksundar Banerjee writes about some of the spookiest and most terrifying places in the country. Carefully avoiding repeating the elaborate descriptions of the famous haunted places, he focuses on the lesser-known spots in India and the tales surrounding these. The book tries to explore how fear spreads among the groups of people around a specific location. Extensively researched and well narrated, the book presents an otherworldly, ghostly side of India.