Book Beat

Much more than just a fantasy novel

11 Sep 2020 09:59 AM IST

Gul has spent most of her life running. Running away from whom and why? Maybe it’s related to the star-shaped birthmark on her arm. In the kingdom of Ambar intricately woven by Tanaz Bhathena in Hunted by the Sky (published by Penguin India), girls having such birthmarks have been mysteriously

What happened on the day Shastri passed away

11 Sep 2020 09:45 AM IST

Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minister of India, travelled to Tashkent to formally end the 1965 India-Pakistan War on 10 January 1966. One day later, he allegedly died from a heart attack. Why was no post-mortem conducted on him?

Books to look out for this week

28 Aug 2020 04:19 AM IST

Close to the Bone Lisa Ray HarperCollins India, Rs 499 ‘How fortunate it is when life alters you without warning. One of India’s first supermodels. Actor. Cancer survivor. Mother of twins through surrogacy. Woman of no fixed address. Unflinching, deeply moving, brave and charming, ‘Close to the Bone’ is Lisa’s story. Of

Saluting India’s real but hidden heroes

28 Aug 2020 04:15 AM IST

RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations Yatish Yadav Westland, Rs 799 Many of India’s political enemies will call this a fiction book. But that gives credence to its non-fictional character. What lay buried under the crusts of India’s covert operations, this book shows a glimpse. A tip off to

Novelist who rose from the dead

28 Aug 2020 04:13 AM IST

Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan says he is a changed man after he met raucous protests following the publication of his novel, One Part Woman. ‘I am now a more cautious and measured writer,’ he tells Utpal Kumar.

Raja Rao and his idea of India

21 Aug 2020 04:12 AM IST

For Raja Rao, India is not just a desa, a geography. It is a darsana, a way of India looking at the world. Yet, this never stopped him from actively participating in the country’s freedom struggle, Prof Makarand Paranjape tells Utpal Kumar.

A scandalous love story

21 Aug 2020 04:11 AM IST

The novel is based on the reallife romance between a single, well-educated prince, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, and married Hollywood actress Nancy Valentine.

Books to look out for this week

21 Aug 2020 04:08 AM IST

Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace Parmesh Shahani Westland, Rs 559 Parmesh Shahani, tin this book, makes a cogent case for LGBTQ inclusion and lay down a guide to reshaping office culture in India. He talks to inclusion champions and business leaders about how they worked towards change; traces

When Ravi Shankar’s ‘filmy affair’ failed to make impact

14 Aug 2020 03:49 AM IST

Pandit Ravi Shankar’s initial tryst with cinema and how the legendary sitar maestro came to accept that he had been ‘innovative ahead of the times’.

Cracking a chess code

14 Aug 2020 03:48 AM IST

Author Nihshanka Debroy on his debut novel ‘Checkmate’ and how he thought of searching for the origins of chess from parallel viewpoints.

Books to look out for this week

14 Aug 2020 03:43 AM IST

The Killings at Kingfisher Hill: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery Sophie Hannah HarperCollins, Rs 319 Hercule Poirot— Agatha Christie’s legendary fictional creation— returns to solve a fiendish new mystery. Poirot is travelling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate, where Richard Devonport has summoned him

Books to look out for this week

07 Aug 2020 02:51 AM IST

The Citizenship Debate: CAA & NRC Amit Malviya and Salman Khurshid Rupa, Rs 295 Amid widespread protests, the Indian Parliament passed CAA on 11 December 2019. It divided the country into two distinct groups—one section of people considers the apprehensions about the CAA being a case of a misreading of