Book for Hindu temples emphasises Malaysian unity
By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : The Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) has compiled a book to serve as a guideline for priests delivering Friday evening sermons in temples, with emphasis on national unity.
The book was compiled in line with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's call for all religious institutions to play a proactive role in strengthening national unity, The Star newspaper said Wednesday.
It was published in Tamil to cater to the two million-plus population of ethnic Indians, a bulk of them Tamil Hindus who came here during the British era.
There is no authentic Indian writing for children: Suchitra Krishnamoorthi
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Actress-turned-musician-turned-artist Suchitra Krishnamoorthi has donned a new hat - that of a writer. She has just released her fiction series for young adults - "Swapnalok Society", a magical reality tale about life in downtown Mumbai.
Krishnamoorthi said the idea had been bouncing in her head for a few years. "I wanted to write a book but was not sure what. I wanted something light and frothy," Krishnamoorthi told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai.
Adolf Hitler, a lover of books who quoted from Hamlet
By IANS,
London : Better known for burning books rather than collecting them, Adolf Hitler owned an estimated 16,000 volumes and was a voracious reader who loved Shakespeare, says a new book.
"It was by any measure an impressive collection: first editions of the works of philosophers, historians, poets, playwrights and novelists," historian Timothy W. Ryback writes in his "Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life".
Like it or not, Hinglish is here to stay
By Rafat Nayeem Quadri, IANS,
Mumbai : It's called Hinglish, and linguists have declared after a two-day meet that the home-grown interspersing of Hindi and English is here to stay.
Already Hinglish has become hugely popular in advertisers' taglines, literature, movies, short message service (SMS), songs, graffiti and even everyday conversations.
And while Hinglish has its critics, most participants at a seminar here this weekend felt its popularity would only grow and grow.
Follow nature’s trail to solve universe’s mystery: Scientist-author
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : If the universe seems mysterious to you, try becoming a 'cosmic detective'! For, nature has left behind many clues to unravel its mystery, says US-based award-winning scientist Mani Bhaumik who has just penned a children's novel on the subject.
"The study of the universe is a mystery - fortunately nature has left behind some telltale clues around us and like a detective we can pick up the clues and follow the trail to solve the mystery," Bhaumik told IANS in an informal chat in the capital.
The secret of Tintin, 80
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : Fans around the world celebrate Tintin's 80th birthday Saturday just as a British politician-turned-columnist claims he knows things about the Belgian comic-book hero that the rest of us don't.
"A callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor? A sweet-faced lad devoted to a fluffy white toy terrier, whose other closest pals are an inseparable couple of detectives in bowler hats, and whose only serious female friend is an opera diva...
Barack Obama has three books on bestseller list
By IANS,
New Delhi : US president-elect Barack Obama has three books among the top 10 bestsellers in the non-fiction category this week in India. Aravind Adiga's "The White Tiger" stays atop the list in the fiction category.
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non fiction
1. "Imagining India: Ideas for the new century"
Author: Nandan Nilekani
Publisher: Penguin Allen Lane
Price: Rs.699.00
2. "The Secret"
Author: Rhonda Byrne
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Price: Rs.550.00
3. "Dreams from My Father"
Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Canongate
When religion and art overlapped along the ancient Silk Route
By IANS,
Book: "Indian & Central Asian Art: Narrative Interpretations of Unique Fragments"; Authors: P. Banerjee and Radha Banerjee-Sarkar; Publisher: Abha Prakashan; Price: Rs.4,000
Shakti or Durga, Hindu god Shiva's consort, was worshipped in the ancient Khotan region of China in the 7th century AD, reveals a new book that traces how Buddhism and Hinduism flourished together in China, India and Central Asia along the ancient Silk Route.
Tehran guarantees Iranian Nobel peace laureate’s safety
By DPA,
Tehran : Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi was safe and there was no need for any international concern over her well-being, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Monday.
The spokesman was referring to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who Saturday urged Tehran to secure Ebadi's safety after Islamists gathered outside her residence in Tehran last week, accusing her of having sympathy for Israel in the Gaza crisis.
Mumbai attacks an ‘act of war’ by Pakistan: Rushdie
By IANS,
London : Describing the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai as an “act of war” by Pakistan, author Salman Rushdie has called for a fundamental change in the way the West deals with terrorism - beginning by scrapping aid to Pakistan.
In an interview published Saturday - the 20th anniversary of global protests over his novel "The Satanic Verses" that forced him to go underground for long - the Indian-born author also criticised “liberal opinion” in Britain for ignoring the problem of terrorism.
Adiga, Nilekani begin New Year atop bestseller charts
By IANS,
New Delhi : The roar of the tiger is once again heard this week as Aravind Adiga retains the top spot on the bestseller list in the fiction category with his Booker Prize winning novel as does Nandan Nilekani in the non-fiction category with "Imagining India...".
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non fiction
1. "Imagining India: Ideas for the new century"
Author: Nandan Nilekani
Publisher: Penguin Allen Lane
Price: Rs.699.00
2. "Outliers: The Story of Success"
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs.399.00
A happening year for Indian literature
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Be it recognitions at the global level, controversies, visits by high-profile writers, publishers rolling out bestsellers and several new authors spinning stories, Indian literature in 2008 saw them all!
Aravind Adiga brought cheers to the nation when his novel "The White Tiger," an ironic take on the new India with its techno-brilliance and IT prowess, bagged the Man Booker Prize beating the likes of Salman Rushdie ("The Enchantress of Florence") and Amitav Ghosh ("Sea of Poppies") among others.
Hemingway’s works to be available in digital form
By IANS,
Havana : Some 3,000 documents belonging to Nobel laureate US author Ernest Hemingway, one of the 20th century's most influential writers, will be available in digital form, starting Jan 5 - thanks to a project by Cuba's Hemingway Museum here.
The collection under the project contains, apart from his literary works, unedited texts and even insurance policies taken out by the author, EFE news agency reported Wednesday.
No peace with terrorists who burnt my Mumbai: Rushdie
By IANS,
London : Indian-origin writer Salman Rushdie says he is "desperately upset" by the terrorist attacks on Mumbai - his place of birth - and strongly disagrees with the view that peace ought to be made with Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
"I do think of Bombay as my hometown," he told the Daily Telegraph in an interview.
"Those are the streets I walked when I was learning to walk. And it's the place that my imagination has returned to more than anywhere else.
Scientist Mani Bhaumik to release children’s book Wednesday
By IANS,
New Delhi : Leading physicist and international best-selling author Mani Bhaumik will unveil his first children's book “The Cosmic Detective” in Kolkata Wednesday.
Billed as one of the biggest children's titles by Penguin in 2009, which has been designated as the International Year of Astronomy, the book will be launched by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
According to a communiqué issued by Penguin India here, the author's first book "Code Name God" tried to explain spirituality through science.
Cricket ‘certainly better’ than sex: Harold Pinter
By IANS,
London : British playwright and Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, who died this week, said in his last interview he thought cricket was better than sex.
“I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing that god created on earth - certainly greater than sex, although sex isn't too bad either,” he said in the interview, published by the Guardian newspaper Saturday.
Cricket was the subject of the interview, given to the Guardian in October amid failing health. Pinter, one of the greatest post-War playwrights, died Thursday at the age of 78.
Benazir Bhutto’s book launched in Moscow
By NNN-APP,
Islamabad : Russian version of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto's book, "Reconciliation - Islam,Democracy and the West" was launched in Russia to mark the first anniversary of her martyrdom.
According to a message received here from Moscow a large number of Russian scholars, journalists, students and Pakistanis attended the function on Friday.
Dr. Tariq Chaudhry, a Pakistani businessman in Moscow, who arranged translation and publication of the Russian version of the book also spoke on the occasion.
My writings are experiences of liberation: French author
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : For French novelist Arno Bertina, writing is not about expressing a state of mind but about plotting stories on the freedom crusades of those in chains.
Bertina, a poet and an author of repute, engages with the displaced and the homeless in his native country and worldwide.
"I write for the sake of writing and all my writings are somehow experiences of liberation and I try to make up stories with freedom as the main theme," the 35-year novelist told IANS in the capital over coffee.
Woman power: Ibsen strikes a chord in India
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's female characters are not just Western stereotypes. They transcend boundaries to symbolise the dilemmas and emancipation of contemporary women who could well belong to India.
And this was evident at the 10-day Delhi Ibsen Festival, which ended Dec 20 with plays and workshops interpreting the celebrated 19th century writer in the South Asian context.
Bikaner princess documents history of her royal home
By IANS,
New Delhi : An inner courtyard with a stunning, multi-layered red sandstone facade, verandahs lined with beautiful marble tables and imposing bronze sculptures on each one of them - the family home of Rajyashree Kumari Bikaner, an erstwhile Rajasthani princess, is a palace that has hosted the then maharajas of Travancore, Palanpur, Patiala and Gwalior.
My debut novel is the story of an Indian housewife: Bubbles Sabharwal
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi-based theatre personality Bubbles Sabharwal's debut novel "Tomorrow's Promise", a complex psychological canvas of a triangular relationship, is the outcome of a personal tragedy. She wrote the manuscript sitting in a Delhi hospital where her father was being treated.
The novel narrates the story of Shirin Bhatia, a quiet and docile housewife, whose orderly existence turns topsy-turvy when her husband Kabir introduces her to his colleague Udayn Batra.
Dhondy book lands as ‘evidence’ in Charles Sobhraj case
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : While Nepal's book stores are yet to start stocking Farrukh Dhondy's recently published potboiler about a serial killer, "The Bikini Murders" is already on its way to one of the most important places in the Himalayan republic - the Supreme Court.
Dhondy's book has been submitted to the office of Nepal Attorney General Raghav Lal Vaidya by the lawyers hired by the family of an American tourist who was killed in 1975.
I have revisited my school days, Ruskin Bond says about new book
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Grandfather is a man of many gifts. Granny makes gooseberry jam and looks after everyone, Uncle Ken gets into strange situations and Aunt Ruby is afraid of flowers. Mr Oliver, the scoutmaster, eagerly looks forward to his retirement.
Meet the cast of "The Parrot Who Wouldn't Talk and Other sides", the new volume from Ruskin Bond, one of India's best known authors. This slim anthology of memories from the author's school days is to be released in the capital later Friday.
Chandamama’s Ramayana on stalls with rich visuals
By IANS,
Bangalore : Chandamama India, the publishing house of the popular Chandamama range of children's magazines, Thursday offered its young readers epic Ramayana richly laden with colourful illustrations.
According to the publishers, 'Ramayana - An Epic Journey' is the first of its kind attempt when the great Indian mythological saga has been published as a single book with illustrations.
The book was released by management and spiritual guru Swami Sukhbodhananda. "The book has a touch of contemporary world," he said. It is a 430-page book with hand drawn illustrations.
No change: Nilekani, Adiga atop bestseller lists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Nandan Nilekani's "Imagining India" stays on top of the non-fiction bestseller list this week, as does "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga in the fiction category.
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non-Fiction
1. "Imagining India: Ideas for the new century"
Author: Nandan Nilekani
Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane
Price: Rs.699.00
2. "The Secret"
Author: Rhonda Byrne
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Price: Rs.550.00
3. "The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power"
Author: Tariq Ali
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Piecing together nuggets on beloved Bangalore
By Maitreyee Boruah, IANS,
Book: "Multiple City: Writings on Bangalore"; Editor: Anita De; Publisher: Penguin India; Price: Rs.399
From Mahatma Gandhi to Winston Churchill, everyone was bowled over by its weather. Today it is called India's tech hub. But Bangalore is not just one city - it is a multiple city, say old timers, travellers, poets, cartoonists and IT professionals writing on why they love the place.
Book release: “How to Become A Good Journalist” hits market
By TwoCircles.net news desk,
New Delhi: Becoming a good journalist is the dream of a large number of students, who want to make a mark in this field. Catering the requirements of budding journalists a quality book How to Become A Good Journalist has recently hit the market across the country.
Orissa rights panel wants report on author’s arrest
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The Orissa Human Rights Commission has sought a report within two weeks from the state government on the arrest of a journalist for writing a book on the recent communal violence in Kandhamal district.
Lenin Kumar, editor of the quarterly magazine Nishan, was arrested on Dec 7 for his book "Dharma Nare Kandhamalare Raktara Banya" (Flood of blood in Kandhamal in the name of religion) that blames Hindu groups for the violence.
Rana Dasgupta’s new novel about failed man, failed nation
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : It could well be a leaf out of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" or even "Arabian Nights", say critics. British Indian writer Rana Dasgupta's new novel, "Solo", is about the life and daydreams of a 100-year-old man.
Slated for release in India in February 2009 by Harper Collins, the book is not set in the fictional Macondo as in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magnum opus, but in war-torn Bulgaria of the early 20th century.
E-books close to market breakthrough
By DPA,
Berlin : After years of false start, e-books - thin, highly simplified displays - seem to be getting cheap enough for mass use. Thanks to a new technology known as e-ink, they can now function for weeks without a battery recharge.
Early next year, Sony is to launch its PRS-505, a reader device with a six-inch black-and-white screen, in Germany, Europe's biggest market, after introducing it to booksellers in October at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Its launches this year in Britain and France have achieved good sales, as did earlier models in Japan and the United States.
Goa faces neglect behind scenic facade: book
By IANS,
Panaji : Domestic violence is "fairly common" in Goa. One-third of its women suffer from anaemia, and one-fourth are undernourished, says a new book that for a change takes the focus away from the state being a sun-and-sand tourist haven.
Titled "Picture-Postcard Poverty", the book takes a look at what it calls the "unheard voices, forgotten issues from rural Goa". It argues that critical issues of concern are often overlooked in the state.
Upamanyu Chatterjee gets French award, says new book next year
By IANS,
New Delhi : Author Upamanyu Chatterjee, who has been honoured by the French government with the prestigious Officier des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters), says he is working on a new book that will hit bookstores late next year.
Chatterjee, of "English August: An Indian Story" fame, was given the medal and the citation from French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont at the French embassy here Thursday for his contribution to contemporary literature.
Dutch honour for Assam writer Indira Goswami
By NNN-PTI,
Guwahati, India : Noted litterateur Indira Goswami has been conferred with the Netherlands' prestigious Principal Prince Claus Award for her work in Indian culture and its development, but the writer is all the more happy for another reason.
The 2000 Jnanpith Award winning writer, the first Indian to win the Euro one lakh (approximately Rs 64 lakh) award, had a dream of setting up a hospital in her native village in Assam's Kamrup district.(One Lakh:100,000)
Nandan Nilekani, Aravind Adiga still top bestseller lists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Corporate honcho Nandan Nilekani's "Imagining India" continues to dominate non-fiction this week, as does Aravind Adiga in the fiction category of bestsellers.
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non-Fiction
1. "Imagining India: Ideas for the new century"
Author: Nandan Nilekani
Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane
Price: Rs.699.00
2. "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why the World Needs a Green Revolution - and How..."
Author: Thomas L. Friedman
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs.595.00
3. "Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate"
Author: Walter Crocker
Book on eminent Indian Muslims released in Patna
By Tarique Anwar and Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: The book "Celebrating India: Reflections on Eminent Indian Muslims 1857-2007" by Meher Fatima Husain of Centre for Dalit and Minorities Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi was released by Justice Syed Shah Nayyar Husain, Hon'ble Judge of Patna High Court in a ceremony organized by the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library on December 7, 2008.
Meher Fatima talks about her book on 150 patriotic Indian Muslims
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
The book Celebrating India: Reflections on Eminent Indian Muslims (1857-2007) provides biographical profiles of 150 patriotic Indian Muslims, many of them unsung heroes – those who did not become party to the two-nation theory. Author Meher Fatima Hussain, Lecturer at Jamia Millia Islamia, talks to Mumtaz Alam Falahi of TwoCircles.net on her book.
What inspired you to write this book?
Glittering line-up of authors for Jaipur Literary Festival
By IANS,
New Delhi : Bookworms can look forward to a carnival in January when Jaipur will play host to a galaxy of authors like Vikram Seth, Chetan Bhagat, Hari Kunzru, Micheal Ondaatje, Pico Iyer and Patrick French during the fourth edition of the Jaipur Literary Festival.
One of the most colourful events in the city's social calendar, the festival will be held Jan 21-25 at the Diggy Palace.
India has the right to go after terrorists: Obama
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Assuring New Delhi of his "steadfast support" in catching the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, US President-elect Barack Obama has said that India has the sovereign right to go after terrorists to protect itself.
"Sovereign nations obviously have a right to protect themselves," said Obama, who takes over from President George W. Bush Jan 20, at a news conference in Chicago after rolling out his national security team.
Kannada playwright’s works to be published in anthology
By IANS,
Bangalore : Babu Hirannaiah is set to publish his father veteran stage artiste Master Hirannaiah's plays that revolutionalised Kannada theatre, in the form of an anthology. He is doing it to clear misconception about him and to keep his work alive in future.
Babu, a well-known name in television and theatre world, also plans to publish all the plays written by his grandfather, comedian Hirannaiah, who wrote the hit play "Devadasi", staged countless number of times in the past six decades.
John Updike gets lifetime honour for Bad Sex in Fiction
By IANS,
London : While renowned US author John Updike waits for the Nobel Prize, here comes the literary world's most notorious honour - the lifetime achievement award for Bad Sex in Fiction.
The annual awards, given away by the British journal Literary Review, were announced here Tuesday night.
Many British newspapers were expecting former prime minister Tony Blair's former spokesman and Labour's spin doctor Alastair Campbell to take this year's Bad Sex in Fiction award, but the honour went to Rachel Johnson, who happens to be the sister of Tory mayor Boris Johnson.
Harper Collins, Ratna Sagar to promote student dictionaries
By IANS,
New Delhi : Harper Collins Publishers India and Ratna Sagar will enter into an alliance to jointly promote student dictionaries in the country.
The alliance between the publishing houses will be announced Wednesday. Under the alliance, Collins School Gem Dictionary, Collins Compact Dictionary and Collins Pocket Dictionary will be brought out in December.
Bengali literature has bright prospects, says Sunil Gangopadhyay
By IANS,
Dhaka : Bengali literature has bright future, with growing readership in both Bangladesh, India and wherever the Bengali-speaking diaspora resides, India's best known Bengali poet and litterateur Sunil Gangopadhyay said.
He visited Madaripur, his birth place in Bangladesh's Faridpur district, to open a three-day "Sunil Mela", a literary fair that ended Sunday, to celebrate his 75th birthday, BSS news agency reported.
Sunil Literature Practice and Research Centre organised the fair in his ancestral home at Purba Maijpara village under Kalkini Upazila (sub-district).
Nandan Nilekani confident of changing India with ideas
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Can ideas change a nation? Co-founder of Indian software giant Infosys and author Nandan Nilekani believes that they can, even if it takes a long time for them to become embedded in the collective psyche of the country.
US, Britain tried to block Bangladesh’s birth: book
By IANS,
New Delhi : The US and Britain tried to persuade a top advocate of Bangladesh to help roll back the country's liberation struggle in 1971, citing future threats from "Hindu majority India", says a book by a former Indian diplomat.
But Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury, who was based in London, not only rejected the Western interventions but personally conveyed the secret American move to then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Poet Hali instilled patriotism through his writings: Ansari
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Remembering the eminent poet and social reformer Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali Panipati, Vice President Hamid Ansari said Hali had made efforts to instil a feeling of nationalism in the people through his writings.
Ansari Saturday praised the far-sightedness and the writings of Hali while addressing the gathering on the occasion of a two-day Hali Mela (Nov 22-23) which was organised by Hali Trust at Panipat town in Haryana, some 150 km from here.
Penguin to sell travel guides at historical monuments
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian tourist spots will now get quality guides and souvenirs through a Penguin India initiative.
Penguin India, part of one of the world's largest publishing groups, will begin selling picture postcards, trinkets, local tourism maps and souvenirs directly to tourists at monuments and other travel sites in a direct-to-consumer outdoor marketing model.
Indo-Canadian to head chair at top university
By IANS,
Toronto : Indian-origin Sonia Anand has been appointed as head of a new research chair on heart diseases at Canada's top McMaster University at Hamilton near here.
Anand, who is a professor of medicine at the university, will head the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario-Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Population Health Research.
The university Thursday said the new chair "will revolutionise the way we look at heart disease".
UAE children read over million books in charity campaign
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS,
Dubai : The count is out. And a total of 1,323,218 books were read by children between the ages of three and 14 in the course of a two-week campaign in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aimed at helping the education of children in developing nations.
What is that again, you would say.
Well, the idea is simple, novel, challenging, innovative and exemplary.
Adiga, Friedman stay top of the charts
By IANS,
New Delhi : Thomas L. Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why the World Needs a Green Revolution - and How …" remains at the top of the non-fiction bestseller list this week as does "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga in the fiction category.
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non-Fiction
1. "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why the World Needs a Green Revolution - and How …"
Author: Thomas L. Friedman
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs.595
2. "What Next? Surviving The Twenty-First Century"
Author: Chris Patten
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs.795
Othello and Obama – hear it all from African thinker
By IANS,
New Delhi : Not many have seen a link between Othello, the tragic hero of the eponymous Shakespearean play, and US President-elect Barack Obama in the same breath. But this is what iconic African intellectual and author Ali Mazrui plans to do in a lecture in the Indian capital Thursday.
Mazrui, a contemporary of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who studied with him at Oxford University, is in India to participate in a two-day global conference on “Resurgent Africa” that begins Thursday. The seminar will be inaugurated by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.
Government plans award in Maratha freedom fighter’s memory
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : The government is planning to set up an international award for agricultural innovation in the memory of the founder-member of the Ghadar Party, Pandurang Khankhoje, a revolutionary-turned-farmer from Maharashtra, former union minister Vasant Sathe said.
Khankhoje also helped Mexico, his adopted country, set up 30 agricultural universities.
Indian origin journalist’s book nominated for British literature prize
By IANS,
London : The Times journalist Sathnam Sanghera is the latest British-Asian to blaze a literary trail as his book on the travails of his Sikh immigrant family has been short listed for the biography prize at the British Costa Book Awards for 2008.
The book began as a letter to his mother explaining why he was not ready for an arranged marriage. Sanghera started looking for possible objections from his parents to his decision and that led him to forage his family history from when his parents came to Britain from rural Punjab in India.
My book will be about optimism and positivity: Anupam Kher
By Subhash K. Jha, IANS,
Mumbai : After "A Wednesday", actor Anupam Kher's career is going great guns. He has just given the nod to British Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha's new movie and has also decided to write a book about his experiences as an actor, husband, father and a socially responsible citizen.
The decision to pen his thoughts was prompted after he won the lifetime Teachers' Achievement Award Nov 8.
Book fest has bookworms, other Bangaloreans truly hooked!
By IANS,
Bangalore : Bangaloreans in thousands can be found these days snapping up their favourite titles or simply having fun with friends and family at a book fair, said to be one of the largest in India.
The sixth edition of the Bangalore Book Festival-2008, which kicked off at the city's Palace Grounds Friday, has witnessed around 70,000 footfalls almost every day.
Sobhraj readies to sue Dhondy over ‘Bikini Murders’
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Within 48 hours of launching his new book "The Bikini Murders" in New Delhi, author and screenplay writer Farrukh Dhondy is all set to get the kind of controversy needed to make the book a bestseller. His "old friend" Charles Sobhraj, who according to media reports is the prototype of the Saigon-born hero in Dhondy's book, is readying to sue the author.
"My French and British lawyers are reading the book," Sobhraj told IANS Sunday in Kathmandu's Central Jail, where he is serving a life sentence for the murder of an American tourist in 1975.
Market meltdown gives fillip to Marxists’ economic ideology
By IANS,
New Delhi : Karl Marx is again much-sought after in bookstores, courtesy the global economic meltdown, and the Indian Marxists are eagerly circulating handbooks with their economic ideology, including one titled 'The Politics of Privatisation and Its Impact'.
Enthused by reports of a hike in the sale of books by Karl Marx following the economic recession in the West, the Indian Marxist leaders said they are chalking out strategies to propagate their ideology, based on economics.
Now read Taslima Nasreen, other authors in Sanskrit
By IANS,
Lucknow : Literary works of well-known Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen and several others will soon be available in Sanskrit, an official said here Saturday.
"The move will help the revival of Sanskrit language and will also make it popular amongst masses," said C.K. Shastri, general secretary of Samskrita Bharati that has undertaken the project to translate nearly 10,000 books in various languages into Sanskrit.
"We have entrusted Sanskrit scholars from all over India for the translation work," he added.
Bejan Daruwalla foresees prosperity in 2009
By IANS,
New Delhi : Take heart, recession hit Indians. Renowned astrologer Bejan Daruwalla sees a year of plenty ahead. The Sensex might stop tumbling and the days of austerity may end to make room for fatter pay cheques and corporate wisdom.
Harper Collins promotes Hindi reading among kids
By IANS,
New Delhi : At a time when books have taken a backseat to television, internet and videogames, Harper Collins Publishers India Wednesday tried its bit to promote reading Hindi books among children in the capital.
It held a storytelling session of the Hindi translation of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" - "Rajkumar Caspian" - at the Oxford Bookstore in Connaught Place.
After Holocaust, next book on US election: Sam Bourne
By Azera Rahman, IANS,
New Delhi : Renowned author and British journalist Jonathan Freedland - whose pen name is Sam Bourne - plans to weave his next book around the US election campaign.
Having covered the polls this time when Barack Obama had his historic victory, he has enough matter in his hands to pad up his next bestseller.
"I am writing this in Chicago, after seeing Obama celebrate his election as president of the United States. My next novel will be set during a US election campaign," Freedland, 41, told IANS in an e-mail interview.
After Adiga win, Nambisan in race for Asian Booker
By Maitreyee Boruah, IANS,
Bangalore : One of the five authors shortlisted for the 2008 Man Asian Literary prize that will be announced Thursday, Kaveri Nambisan says she gives precedence to her medical career over her literary pursuits.
"The doctor comes before the writer. I've been at it longer and it is full of challenges," Nambisan told IANS in an e-mail interview ahead of the announcement of the winner of the prestigious award, also known as Asian Booker, in Hong Kong Thursday.
Queen’s mother was a ‘ghastly old bigot’: British journalist
By IANS,
London : A well-known British journalist has admitted in a book extracted Sunday that he thought the late mother of Britain's reigning monarch was a “ghastly old bigot”.
Edward Stourton, long-standing presenter of the BBC's flagship radio news and current affairs programme Today, has made the comments in a book on political correctness extracted in The Sunday Times.
In his book, Stourton said the Queen Mother told him about a European summit in the 1990s: “It will never work, you know.”
Orissa court stays release of book on Sri Aurobindo
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The Orissa High Court has stayed the release of a book on Sri Aurobindo in India over allegations that it has objectionable content and distorted facts about the late spiritual leader, a lawyer said Thursday.
Geetanjali Bhattacharya, a devotee, filed a petition in the court seeking a ban on the book 'The Lives of Sri Aurobindo' and action against the writer, her lawyer Siddharta Das told IANS.
Obama win could be Scottish publisher’s windfall
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : A Scottish publisher is waiting to get rich quick, thanks to Barack Obama winning the US presidential election.
Jamie Byng, managing director of Canongate Publishing of Edingburgh, bought two books authored by Obama and now expects them to sell in millions.
Canongate originally printed 300,000 copies of "The Audacity of Hope" and "Dreams From My Father" in Britain, and has now ordered another 120,000 copies after Obama’s win. The print order is expected to go up to half a million by the end of the year.
Caring for your friendly neighbourhood jumbo – here’s how
By IANS,
Thrissur (Kerala) : With 13 Asian countries home to around 15,000 captive elephants, here comes a book that will come in handy for managing and caring for the gentle giants that have for centuries endeared themselves to man.
The 500-page "Captive Elephants in Range Countries for Doctors and Veterinarians", authored by veteran elephant expert Jacob Cheeran, is expected to hit the stands early next year.
Gay photographer captures life in new book
By IANS,
New Delhi : Photographer Sunil Gupta has a different focus on his camera lens. It pans the life and times of his generation - the happening 70s when alternative sexuality was coming out of the closet and young itinerants were journeying the globe in search of love.
The HIV positive photographer of international repute, who operates from both New Delhi and London, has captured his sexual preferences, life, aesthetics, art and politics in his new book. "Wish You Were Here: Memories of a Gay Life", an anthology of coloured photographs, was released here Friday.
Indian author’s book Prachanda’s gift to UN chief
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : As UN chief Ban Ki-Moon arrives in Kathmandu on a whirlwind two-day visit Friday, Nepal's first Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" has lined up an unusual gift besides hosting a sumptuous banquet in his honour.
The UN secretary general and his entourage will be gifted copies of "Prachanda: the unknown revolutionary", the first biography in English offering intimate glimpses into the virtually unknown personal life of the formerly underground guerrilla, penned by Indian journalist Anirban Roy.
Fairy tales and religious myths not good for children?
By IANS,
London : It is a form of child abuse to teach religious myths to young children who are also likely to suffer negatively by reading tales of witchcraft and wizardry like Harry Potter, argues Britain's leading atheist and popular science writer, Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins is planning to conduct research on both the themes as he believes that while fairy tales may impact on children's rationality, they should be cautioned against "unscientific" religious myths.
Indian in Oman writes a family saga
By IANS,
Dubai : An expatriate Indian woman in Oman has written a new novel, a family saga set in India and Oman.
Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia's "A Safe Harbour" is the story of two women, Afreen Luthra and her daughter Trishala.
It is a modern-day suspense-cum family saga set in India and Oman, which is home to a large expatriate Indian community.
India's Ambassador to Oman Anil Wadhwa launched the book at a function in Muscat where officials of the National Association for Cancer Awareness (NACA) and the ambassadors of Britain and Malaysia were present.
New book brings alive women fighters in Indian National Army
By Nirmala George, IANS,
Singapore : They were young women, many in their teens, who had never seen India but were ready to give up their lives to fight for the freedom of a 'motherland' far away.
"Women against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment", by American historian Joyce Chapman Lebra highlights the contribution made by hundreds of women of Indian descent, the daughters of poor rubber plantation workers in Malaya, who responded to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's call and volunteered to form the women's wing of the Indian National Army (INA).
India’s Aravind Adiga wins Booker for debut novel
By IANS,
New Delhi/London/Sydney : India's Aravind Adiga was the toast of the literary world Wednesday after he won the prestigious Man Booker Prize at a glittering ceremony in London for his debut novel "The White Tiger", set against the backdrop of India's growing wealth gap.
The 33-year-old former journalist, who defied odds and beat hot favourite Sebastian Barry, took home the 50,000-pound ($47,000) prize -- becoming the third debutant to win the award in its 40-year-history and the fifth Indian-origin author to win the prize.
Adiga’s alma mater in Sydney toasts his success
By Neena Bhandari, IANS,
Sydney : Students and teachers at James Ruse Agricultural High in north-west Sydney, the alma mater of Indian-Australian author Aravind Adiga, Wednesday celebrated his Man Booker Prize win.
"We are very proud of Adiga's wonderful achievement. It is amazing for someone so young at 34 to receive one of the highest awards in literature. It reinforces the view of our school as a wonderful place of learning," James Ruse principal Larissa Treskin told IANS.
Arvind Adiga wins Booker Prize with ‘shocking tale’ of Indian poverty
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : Indian writer Aravind Adiga has won the 2008 Man Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards, for "The White Tiger" - his debut novel set against the backdrop of India's growing wealth gap.
Adiga took the 50,000-pound ($87,000-dollar) prize for a book described by the chairman of the judges as revealing "the dark side of India" at a glittering ceremony Tuesday night in London's Guildhall attended by the literary who's who of the British capital.
India’s Aravind Adiga wins Man Booker Prize for White Tiger
By DPA,
London : Indian debut novelist Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 for his work The White Tiger in London Tuesday.
The 33-year-old journalist tells the "story of two Indias" in his book, praised by Booker Prize judges' chairman Michael Portillo as "being in the tradition of Macbeth with a delicious twist."
Adiga is the third first-time novelist to win the 50,000-pound ($86,000) Booker Prize, which is awarded each year for the best novel in the British Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland.
‘Diplomacy jogs my mind, writing lets me live’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Exile is the saddest thing that can happen to an individual, says diplomat Navtej Sarna, the author of a new novel on Punjab's last ruler Duleep Singh who died "completely alone" in a cheap hotel room in Paris.
"When you lose your roots and identity, everything you are made of - your culture, history - it's a very sad happening in an individual's life," Sarna, who served as the external affairs ministry spokesperson for six long years and is set to take over as India's Ambassador to Israel, told IANS in an interview here.
Kenya deports anti-Obama US author
By Xinhua,
Nairobi : Kenya has ordered out an American author who wrote a controversial book slamming US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Jerome Corsi had planned to make public statements in Kenya that were critical of both Obama and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga after travelling to Obama's family homeland to investigate links between the Democratic nominee and Kenyan politicians.
He had scheduled a news conference Tuesday at a Nairobi hotel for the Kenyan launch of his book, "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality".
Magris, Mahasweta, Murakami… the Nobel guessing game is on
By Ashish Mehta, IANS,
New Delhi : When a small group of scholars in Sweden announce the Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday, what are the chances of the winner being Mahasweta Devi or Sir Salman Rushdie? Any takers for Haruki Murakami or Bob Dylan?
The guessing game is on and British betting agency Ladbrokes is offering odds on who will win the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature.
A famed policeman gives in to his literary heart
By Darshan Desai, IANS,
Lucknow : He has been a police officer for over 30 years, but Vibhuti Narain Rai, well known in Uttar Pradesh for his literary works and social activism, says he has finally got the job he yearned for.
In a week's time, 51-year-old Rai will take over as vice-chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University in Wardha, Maharashtra, leaving behind all the frills of being a senior Indian Police Service officer.
How to conduct free and fair polls – Rao’s book to tell all
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Concerned over the growing criminalisation of politics and the role of money in elections, K.J. Rao, who as a vigilant election commission observer made a mark in the Bihar elections of 2005, is writing a book on how to conduct clean elections.
The book, slated for release before the next Lok Sabha elections, is based on Rao's experiences during the Bihar elections that was largely violence-free and rid of booth capturing that had characterised earlier elections.
Sri Lanka peace process R.I.P.
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, IANS,
Book: "My Belly is White"; Author: Austin Fernando; Publisher: Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo
This is a revealing book on Sri Lanka's now dead peace process, written by one who was in the thick of it all. Austin Fernando was Defence Secretary when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe signed the Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement (CFA) with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in February 2002. In no time, critics, dominantly from the Sinhalese majority, began to accuse the government of betrayal.
Understated prose brings out the angst of the immigrant
By Shubha Singh, IANS,
Book: "The Immigrant"; Author: Manju Kapur; Publisher: Random House India; Price: Rs.395
The story is set in the mid-1970s. It is about Nina, a lecturer in Delhi University's Miranda College (like the author), who lives with her mother in strained circumstances, slowly growing older and watching the faint wrinkles appear on her face while her body clock ticks louder.
Environment, philosophy, romance: 13-year-old author brims with ideas
By Azera Rahman, IANS,
New Delhi : Debutante novelist Asmita Goyanka drew a parallel of global warming threatening to destroy the earth with the villain in her novel. At the moment, she is working on two other manuscripts and has her mind filled with ideas for more. For a 13-year-old, that's quite a lot.
Set in a fictitious place, Ujaasnagar, Goyanka's novel "The Mystic Temple" is about five schoolgoing girls who take up a dare to snoop around the relics of an ancient temple and are then faced with this huge responsibility of saving the earth from being destroyed by the evil Malvigo.
India has come to world’s top table: journalist Daniel Lak
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : If 1991 was India's wake-up call, then today India is out of bed and on its way to office, says senior British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) journalist Daniel Lak.
But he hastily adds: "Metaphors aside, it means that India has arrived at the world's top table and is awaiting due recognition." His book "India Express" analyses the country's potential role as "Asia's America".
‘Our notion of happiness responsible for our suffering’
By IANS,
New Delhi : “If we practise looking deeply, we will see that our notion of happiness may be responsible for our suffering. That is why Buddha advises us to look again deeply into the nature of our desires. We suffer because of them,” says Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Nobel prize nominee and peace-maker, in his new book “Under the Banyan Tree: Overcoming Fear and Sorrow”.
The insightful book, divided into 10 chapters, transcribes his visit to India in 1996, shows the way to be free, happy and to live in the present.
Book review: Islam in Post-Modern World
By Yoginder Sikand,
The title of this book is, admittedly, somewhat misleading. What exactly is 'post-modern', a term that the book purports to address, but nowhere does it define what the author means by it? Can one talk of a 'post-modern' world when for vast numbers of people 'modernity' (whatever that may mean) itself seems far out of reach? That said, this immensely absorbing set of essays, the latest of Asghar Ali Engineer's writings on socially engaged understandings of Islam, is a must for scholars of Islam as well as for the general reader.
‘India has new generation that can take on the world’
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Author Sanjeev Sanyal, whose new book "The Indian Renaissance: India's Rise After a Thousand Years of Decline" has just hit the stores, feels that India is at a very extraordinary turning point.
Book review: Communalism, Caste and Hindu Nationalism
Book Review
Name of the Book: Communalism, Caste and Hindu Nationalism—The Violence in Gujarat
Author: Ornit Shani
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, New Delhi Year: 2007 ISBN: 978-0-521-72753-2
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand
New book tracks Indian economic renaissance
By IANS,
New Delhi : A thousand years after India slid into an "age of decline" from its pre-invasion years in the 11th century, the country's stars are again on the ascendant, Deutsche Bank chief economist Sanjeev Sanyal says in his book "The Indian Renaissance: India's Rise After a Thousand Years of Decline".
The book probes India's journey across 10 centuries and homes in on its recent economic upswing as the country re-awakens not just as an economy, but as a civilisation.
No slumdog this, only a ‘millionaire in rupees’
By Pranay Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Diplomat, bestselling novelist and now millionaire? Vikas Swarup, India's deputy high commissioner to South Africa and author of the much acclaimed "Q & A", may be on a roll, but he is still modest.
"It is very gratifying," said Swarup, whose debut novel has been turned into a highly acclaimed movie, "SlumDog Millionaire" by British filmmaker Danny Boyle and whose latest book "Six Suspects" may also turn up as a TV film.
Delhi picks Ahmed Rashid, Aravind Adiga as best selling authors
By IANS,
New Delhi : Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid's "Descent Into Chaos" rules the non-fiction list this week while the Booker Prize shortlisted "The White Tiger" by debutant Aravind Adiga is a hit with fiction readers.
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non- Fiction
1. "Descent Into Chaos"
Author : Ahmed Rashid
Publisher : Allen Lane
Price : Rs.495.00
2. "Aids Sutra: Untold Stories from India"
Author : Various
Publisher : Random House
Price : Rs.395.00
3. "The Secret"
Author : Rhonda Byrne
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Price : Rs.550.00
First Kovalam Literary Festival to be star-studded affair
By IANS,
New Delhi : Book lovers in Kerala are in for a treat as the first Kovalam Literary Festival is set to get off to a star-studded start at the sprawling Taj Green Cove on the picturesque Kovalam beach next month.
The festival, which begins Oct 6 and ends Oct 8, is an attempt to give readers in Kerala, one of the most literate states in the country, an opportunity to hear their favourite authors read extracts from their new books and interact with them, said a spokesperson for Noctilucent, the event management firm handling the event.
Poem: Political Iftar
By Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani
Count all the known 'BEARDS' with utmost care,
Seduce them all into our Party's voting share.
Give them the title of 'ULEMA' of high esteem,
As they come, like an army of locust, it must seem.
Manage to make them sit in separate rows,
To send a strong message to our foes.
For us, all of them are a great asset,
Their every motion must be recorded in cassette.
The 'LONGER BEARDS' must occupy central places,
From all sides,the media must cover their faces.
On this gullible community is resting our hope,
Evocative debut tale of social divisions, family dynamics
By Shubha Singh, IANS,
Book: "Evening is the Whole Day"; Author: Preeta Samarasan; Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; Price: Rs.395
"Evening is the Whole Day" is an absorbing and richly embroidered tale about the life of an Indian immigrant family in Malaysia. The title is drawn from a Tamil song and the story revolves around the dynamics and relationships within lawyer Rajasekharan's family, their hopes, aspirations and disappointments.
Book Review: Aurangzeb Revisited
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net,
Name of the Book: The Ulama, Islamic Ethics and Courts Under the Mughals—Aurangzeb Revisited
Sea of Fresh Faces as Rushdie Fails Booker Shortlist
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : Fancied Salman Rushdie failed to make the 2008 Man Booker Prize shortlist for literature announced Tuesday, but Amitav Ghosh and debutant Aravind Adiga stepped in to fill the Indian shoes.
Ghosh's widely-acclaimed Sea of Poppies and Adiga's The White Tiger beat Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence to make the six novels in a shortlist full of fresh faces.
Adiga and another first-time novelist, Steve Toltz, survived the cull of the longlist of 13 as veteran Rushdie joined John Booker - another previous winner - to face the judges' chop.
Dalit literature stall big draw at Delhi Book Fair
By IANS,
New Delhi : Books are a way to bridge the gap between dalits and other sections of society. That's the belief that has driven A.K. Gautam to open a stall exclusively devoted to dalit literature at the ongoing 14th Delhi Book Fair.
The stall by Gautam Book Centre has a large collection of books on dalits, the problems faced by them in society, the dalit revolution, dalit political leaders and literature by various dalit writers. It is attracting huge crowds.
Crime novelist La Plante accused of being copycat
By DPA,
Sydney : Best-selling crime writer Lynda La Plante's 1993 novel "Entwined" contains passages lifted from Auschwitz survivor Olga Lengyel's 1947 memoir "Five Chimneys", news reports said Saturday.
The multimillionaire British author denied plagiarism but admitted to The Sydney Morning Herald that a research assistant may have been the culprit.
How Netaji’s speech was broadcast in parliament
By IANS,
New Delhi : It was the summer of 1997. Krishna Bose, a Trinamool Congress MP and relative of Subhas Chandra Bose, was having a tough time convincing fellow MPs that Netaji's famous speech should be broadcast along with those of Mahtama Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru at the golden jubilee celebrations of India's independence in parliament.
But she was not sure how to go about it, Bose recalled at the launch of her book “An Outsider in Politics” (published by Penguin India) at the Hotel Taj Palace Wednesday night.
Goodbye America? Not yet
By Manish Chand, IANS,
Book: The Post-American World; Author: Fareed Zakaria; Publisher: Penguin/Viking; Price: Rs. 499.
Don't write an obituary of the American superpower yet. It's not that America is declining, but everyone else is rising - this is the "great story of our times" Fareed Zakaria tells in his new book that goes to the heart of tectonic power shifts to the non-Western world in the 21st century.
More women are becoming primary migrants: book
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Asian women are joining men in migrating to other countries, in many cases as principal bread winners, says a new book.
In recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of female migrants, who sometimes come as primary breadwinners.
The male-female ratio of international level on the whole is 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent, though its proportion in the developed countries is almost 50:50, says the book 'Striped Zebra, The Immigrant Psyche' by US-based Uday C. Naval and Soofia K.Hussain, published by Rupa.
Behind the scenes stories from Shankar’s iconic novel ‘Chowringhee’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Mani Shankar Mukherjee, better known as Shankar, the popular Bengali novelist, is a goldmine of stories.
The anecdotes, rich and funny that chronicle lives and suffering in the urban jungle, just roll off his tongue as if he is a walking-talking storybook.
Book Review: Issues in Madrasa Education in India
Name of the Book: Issues in Madrasa Education in India
Author: Yoginder Sikand
Publisher: Hope India, Gurgaon ([email protected])
Pages: 112
Year: 2008
ISBN: 8178711532
Price: Rs. 295
Reviewed by: Nasir Khan
Guru Dutt was the sun, Abrar Alvi the moon, says author Sathya Saran
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Legendary filmmaker Guru Dutt and his scriptwriter Abrar Alvi were two great creative minds and opposite personalities that sparked off great ideas and motivated each other to give their best, says veteran journalist Sathya Saran who has authored a book on the late actor.
Ahmed Rashid, Amitav Ghosh Delhi readers’ top choice
By IANS,
New Delhi : Pakistan journalist Ahmed Rashid's investigation on the impact of Al Qaeda on Pakistan and its surrounding areas tops the non-fiction list while Amitav Ghosh's "Sea of Poppies" continues to rule the fiction chart.
The top 10 in the non-fiction and fiction lists are:
Non-Fiction
1. "Descent Into Chaos"
Author : Ahmed Rashid
Publisher : Allen Lane
Price : Rs.495.00
2. "The Post-American World"
Author : Fareed Zakaria
Publisher : Penguin Viking
Price : Rs.499.00
3. "The Secret"
Author : Rhonda Byrne
Publisher : Simon & Schustar
Rushdie’s writings tortuous: Timeri Murari
By T.S.V. Hari, IANS,
Chennai : Author Timeri Murari doesn't like Salman Rushdie's writing. The man who has created many bestsellers and an acclaimed film describes all those who read awarded authors as "literary masochists".
"I've never finished reading any of Rushdie's books," says Murari. "All those who read awarded authors are literary masochists. Never did good writers like Somerset Maugham, Oscar Wilde, Tolstoy or Frederick Forsyth sniff an award."
Three Muslim women in Man Asia long list
Three Muslim women in Man Asia long list
New Delhi: Three Muslim women found themselves among the 21 selected for Man Asia Literary Prize. The long list of 21 unpublished works includes work from Anjum Hasan, Daisey Hasan, and Salma.
The 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize long list was chosen from submissions received from all over Asia. The largest single group of submissions was from India, followed by the Philippines.
A short list of five works will be announced in October 2008 and winner awarded in November.
Now, a ‘House of Poetry’ to promote Arabic works
By IANS,
Dubai : A new 'House of Poetry' will come up in this Middle East metropolis that will promote, research and document classical and contemporary Arabic poetry and strengthen its presence and profile within the Arab world and beyond.
Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has directed that a House of Poetry be established. The initiative will be set up by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.
Philosophy seeped in spirituality basis of Karan Singh’s new book
By IANS,
New Delhi : Karan Singh, president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), says the essence of his life is a multi-dimensional quest for the divine and this forms the basis of his new book "I Believe - A Philosophy for the Global Society".
"I Believe" is a compilation of Singh's reflections on a variety of subjects like politics, human relationships, economy, science and religion in context of the socio-cultural evolution of India as a spiritually mature nation, placed in a global environment.
Urdu signboards now at Delhi Railway Station
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has asked Delhi Railway Station officers to prepare all official signboards at the station in Urdu language also. He made an unannounced visit to the station yesterday.
He met passengers of Samjhauta Express standing at the platform and checked the facilities provided to them. On the request of the passengers of that train, he ordered officials to put name plates in Urdu also. He also wished them for their happy journey.
Just released: first Korean-Hindi dictionary
By IANS,
New Delhi : Indians and South Koreans can now learn each other's languages more easily with Indian Tourism Minister Ambika Soni releasing the first Korean-Hindi dictionary - a collaborative effort between the two countries.
"The work on this dictionary started in 1994 and contains more than 50,000 main entries including 20,000 sub-entries with over 700 pages," an official statement said here Tuesday.
Funded by the South Korean government and India's Ministry of External Affairs, the dictionary was released by Soni during her recent visit to Seoul.
Migration is the reality of my times: Amitav Ghosh
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : The characters and setting may be different, but his latest "Sea of Poppies" like his other works also focuses on migration, which is the reality of "the Asian times", says India's bestselling contemporary author Amitav Ghosh.
"Sea of Poppies", which was launched Monday and hit bookstores across India in the first week of the month, is the first of a trilogy set just before the Opium wars. It is about an old slaving ship, the Ibis, which sails across the Indian Ocean with its motley crew of sailors, stowaways, coolies and convicts.
Book Review: Chasing A Mirage
It is a tragedy of the post-911 world that the field of Islamic concepts and terminologies have also fallen a victim to misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and plain hysteria. Fuelling these fears among the masses are not only rabid Islamophobes but also those who claim to be nothing of that sort but whose actions speak otherwise. Canadian TV host and commentator Tarek Fatah belongs to the latter category. He has a history of mindless criticism of things as mundane as the aversion to music to more significant ones as the introduction of Sharia-based laws in Ontario.
Iraq, the current oil crisis and American mismanagement
By Shubha Singh, IANS,
"The Ultimate Prize - Oil and Saddam's Iraq"; Author: Ranjit Singh Kalha; Publisher: Allied Publishers Pvt Ltd; Price: Rs 695: Pages: 429
Islam: Perceptions and Reality
Ram Puniyani
Book Review
Book Under review
Islam-Misgivings and History, Asghar Ali Engineer, Vitasta, New Delhi 2008, Pages, 228, Rs 295
Book Under review
Islam-Misgivings and History, Asghar Ali Engineer, Vitasta, New Delhi 2008, Pages, 228, Rs 295
Book review: Unveiling the Hidden History of Women Ulema
Book Review
Name of the Book: Banat-e Islam Ki Dini Wa Ilmi Khidmat ('The
Religious and Intellectual Contributions of Muslim Women')
Author: Maulana Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri
Publisher: Islamic Book Foundation, 1781 Hauz Suiwalan, New Delhi 110002
Year: 2006
Pages: 104
Price: Rs. 40
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand
Author: Maulana Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri
Publisher: Islamic Book Foundation, 1781 Hauz Suiwalan, New Delhi 110002
Year: 2006
Pages: 104
Price: Rs. 40
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand
Second guesses
By TSV Hari
Bombay,
1333 hours
December 31 1992
‘I like your poems Hamid,’ you said.
But you went on to say, ‘I, however, don't find you interesting. You are too intense. All those who are, are dense. I am a carefree girl. I change boyfriends with the same periodicity of changing sanitary napkins,’ you said.
I was shocked that someone beautiful as you could say something daft as that.
I spent a small fortune to find out that you had lied.
Now I know you are poor.
To meet your ends, you hire yourself.