Indo-Pak Mushaira to take place this weekend
By Bushra Alvi Razzack for TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The 51st edition of Shankar Shad Mushaira, an annual meet of poets from India and Pakistan, will...
‘Absolute Khushwant’ is this week’s bestseller (IANS Books)
By IANS,
New Delhi : "Absolute Khushwant" by Khushwant Singh and Humra Quraishi climbed three notches to become the number one book on the non-fiction list this week while "Secrets and Sins" by Jaishree Misra continued to dominate the fiction section.
The top 10 in each category of the bestselling list are:
Non-fiction
1. "Absolute Khushwant"
Author: Khushwant Singh and Humra Quraishi
Publisher: Penguin Books
Price: Rs.250.00
2. "Super Power?"
Author: Raghav Bahl
Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane
Price: Rs.699.00
3. "The Secret: The Power"
A mixed bag of health, sports and entrepreneurial journey
A peek into the life of the "King of Good Times", a must-have guide for football fanatics, tips for the perfect weight regime to an entrepreneur's successful journey - IANS book stack this week offers a concoction of lifestyle, wellness and sports!
A teacher after your heart, from Ruskin Bond
By Paloma Ganguly, IANS,
Book: "Mr. Oliver's Diary"; Author: Ruskin Bond; Published by Puffin; Price: Rs.150
What, you wonder, can be new in the story of a not-yet-40, bald and a bit lonely teacher at prep school, replete with the antics of juvenile boys, a parrot that screeches "bottoms up", frolicking frogs and a violin-playing headmaster?
But Ruskin Bond, who has more than 30 children's books to his credit, uses all the old tricks to make Christopher Oliver a funny and loveable little hero in the hills of Simla.
Negotiate between Mahabharata, management and fiction
By IANS,
(IANS Books This Week)
New Delhi : Mythlogy to leadership, the weekend bookshelf offers variety and adventure.
“We should record our history, our victory” Dalit poet Mercy Margaret
Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net
Dalit literature that revolves around the struggles and lives of Dalits first emerged in the 1960s and has seen exponential growth since....
Adverse comments on Dalits, women in Ramcharitmanas not by Tulsidas: Scholar
By Imran Khan, IANS,
Patna : Adverse comments on Dalits and women in Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas were most probably added later by someone else and should be removed, says a scholar who has been studying and analysing for more than 50 years the manuscript of the Hindu epic poem written by the 17th century saint-poet.
"Adverse reference to or remarks against Dalits and women should be removed and not be allowed to continue," Vijay Shankar Dubey, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and vice chancellor of Patna-based Nalanda Open University, told IANS in an interview.
Nehru’s ‘Mann ki Baat’
By M.R. Narayan Swamy ,
Title: Letters for a Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru to His Chief Ministers (1947-1963); Author: Edited by Madhav Khosla; Publisher: Allen...
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.
Literary Associations of Metropolitan Washington released Nuzaira Azam’s new novel Anahita ki Janam Basti
By Zafar Iqbal
Presiding over book releasing ceremony honoring Nuzaira Azam for her second novel, Anahita Ki Janam Basti, eminent scholar Professor Satyapal Anand said that...
Now buy a book with your grocery from nearest superstore
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Imagine picking up a cookbook along with your vegetables for the day from your nearest department store. Over the next two years, India will see publishers thronging retail stores to sell their books, said a senior official of Parragon Publishing India that has pioneered this form of marketing.
Parragon Publishing pioneered the concept in its home base, Britain, 20 years ago and has since been doing so across Europe and the US.
Reading The Hungry Tide: A brilliant book which overlooked the caste factor
By Zeeshan Husain, TwoCircles.net
My first visit to the mountains was full of excitement and curiosity. I distinctly remember opening my eyes, after a whirling...
A journey from cyberspace to social change
From the gutsy tale of Malala Yousafzai who stood up to the Taliban, to the role played by cyberspace in today's lives -- IANS bookshelf this week has all this and more on offer. Take a look.
1. Book: Picture Abhi Baaki Hai, Author: Rachel Dwyer, Publisher: Hachette India, Pages: 258, Price: Rs.499
White Tiger raises Nepal’s hackles
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Indian author Aravind Adiga's debut novel "The White Tiger" that went on to win the prestigious Booker prize in 2008, has raised hackles in Nepal over what is being regarded as the belittling stereotyping of Nepalis.
"Many English-educated urban Indians have a distorted view of Nepalis," said an article in the Kathmandu Post daily Sunday, calling the novel "shocking" and "blatantly representing Nepalis".
Fatima Bhutto’s book tops bestseller list again
By IANS,
New Delhi : In a super run for late Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto's niece Fatima Bhutto, her "Songs of Blood and Sword" completes a month on top of the non-fiction list while Amish Tripathi's "The Immortals of Meluha" dominates fiction this week.
The top 10 bestsellers in each category are:
Non-fiction
1. "Songs of Blood and Sword"
Author: Fatima Bhutto
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Price: Rs.699.00
2. "The Big Short"
Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs.599.00
3. "Freefall"
Author: Joseph Stiglitz
‘Occupy UGC’ movement in Delhi sees students detained, lathicharged
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: The 'Occupy UGC' movement over the scrapping of non-National Eligibility Test (NET) fellowship...
सैय्यद हसन की याद में नज़्म
आह सय्यद हसन!
(अपने उस्ताद मुहतरम जनाब सय्यद हसन साहब, को मनज़ूम खिराज-ए-अक़ीदत)
By नदीम ज़फर जिलानी
हर शख़्स सोगवार है, हर आँख अश्कबार,
ग़ुंचे, लिपट के फूलों...
दिल्ली में पहला लिटरेचर फेस्टिवल,अपने अधिकारों के लिए दलित लेखकों ने बुलन्द की आवाज़
आसमोहम्मद कैफ TwoCircles.net
दिल्ली-
3-4 फरवरी को राजधानी के विश्वविद्यालय परिसर में किरोड़ीमल कॉलेज में दलित लिटरेचर फेस्टिवल का आयोजन किया गया.देश मे ऐसा पहली बार...
American varsity starts A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Fellowship
New Delhi : An American university has started doctoral grants for Indian students to honour late former president of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who...
HRD ranks JNU, HCU among top four universities
New Delhi : Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad Central University, which recently faced controversies, have figured in top four rankings released by the union...
Book release, Kathak recital liven up Darbar Hall
New Delhi : The high marbled dome of the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan reverberated with music and some scintillating Kathak dance - watched...
Rukmini Devi breached gender barriers through Bharatanatyam
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
Book: Rukmini Devi - A Life; Author: Leela Samson; Publisher: Penguin-Viking; Price: Rs.500.
In 1935 Rukmini Devi brought the ancient dance form Sadir, later known as Bharatanatyam, back to life on the Indian stage with a performance in Chennai. Sadir till then had been confined to the temple precincts and was the 'preserve' of devdasis.
The renowned Bharatanatyam danseuse established her dance school, Kalakshetra, in Chennai the following year - an example of women's empowerment, lending them a voice at a time when culture was a male bastion.
Fostering upliftment of Indian Muslims is the essence of Thanghal’s new book: A review
By Udinoor Mohammed Kunhi
Title - Minority Politics, Ideology and Mission
Author - M.I.Thanghal
Published by - Grace Books, Malappuram
“A race of people is like an...
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
Vivid tale of Guyana and its nostalgic Indians
By Shubha Singh, IANS,
Book: "The Sly Company of People Who Care"; Author: Rahul Bhattacharya; Publisher: Picador; Price: Rs.495, Pages: 280.
History, angling and drama on book-shelf
By IANS,
New Delhi : The book cart this weekend is a load of gripping titles. Flip through with IANS...
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.
Kerala leaders break silence over book on Amritanandamayi
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala politicians Saturday broke their silence over a controversial book on hugging saint Mata Amritanandamayi.
CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said the government...
Typical Earth citizen will soon be Indian: Organizers of new book prize
Hong Kong : By 2030, the average citizen of planet Earth will be an Indian man in his mid-20s. But few people in the...
Strictly for children, please!
Two translations, a graphic novel and a fantasy tale – the IANS bookshelf this week is stacked with gems written in simple language and commanding imagination – allowing children to create a world of their own. Take a look.
Divided Sri Lanka haunts a man at the wheels (Book Review)
By M.R. Narayan Swamy,
Title: Noon Tide Toll; Author: Romesh Gunesekera; Publisher: Penguin Books: Pages: 237; Price: Rs.299
How does Sri Lanka fare after the end of a quarter century of ethnic conflict? Vasantha ferries visitors all around the island in a van bought with savings after retiring early. The road journeys are as much an eye opener to the Sri Lankan driver as much to the men and women he transports - mainly foreigners and Sri Lankans now settled abroad. The still bruised north, the Sinhalese south and the now carefree Colombo come alive as Romesh Gunesekera, a gifted writer, uses Vasantha to take readers from one spot to another, from one saga to another.
Inspiring journeys, countless stories
By IANS,
Insatiable ambition, indomitable courage, political frankness and an adman's curiosity - the IANS bookshelf this weekend has an envious collection for its readers....
Of history, curries and Mumbai soaps
By IANS,
New Delhi : The book case this week is a delight for those who love a good story.
India has 74,000 newspapers, Uttar Pradesh leads
By IANS,
New Delhi: Bucking the global recessionary trends in the media, India, the world's most populous democracy, boasts of 74,000 newspapers - with Uttar Pradesh leading the rest of the country in promoting a diversity of views.
"More than 74,000 newspapers are registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI)," Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mohan Jatua said in a written reply during question hour in the Lok Sabha Tuesday.
Book on Kamala Suraiya released by Justice VR Krishna Iyer
By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net,
Kochi: Former judge of the Supreme Court Justice VR Krishna Iyer released the book ‘Kamala Suraiya: Safalamaya Snehanveshanam’ (Kamala Suraiya: accomplishment of the quest for love) at ‘Sadgamaya’, the residence of Justice Krishna Iyer in Kochi yesterday.
Hamida Aapa ki yaaden
By Shaheer Khan for TwoCircles.net
Eminent Urdu writer Hamida Salim passed away on Sunday, August 16th at the age of 93 at her house in...
Sikh detective unravels peculiar murder
By Shubha Singh, IANS,
Book: "Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder"; Author: Shamini Flint; Price: Rs.295; Publisher: Piatkus
Shamini Flint's novel sets the scene for a new series of detective novels starring Singapore Police's inspector Singh.
A Malaysian playboy businessman is murdered and his Singapore-born ex-model wife is charged with the crime. Inspector Singh is sent to Kuala Lumpur to track the murder investigation and ensure that Chelsea Liew gets a fair trial.
Jumbo tales: first Malayalam book on elephants
By IANS,
Thrissur (Kerala) : One of Asia's foremost elephant experts Jacob Cheeran has completed his fourth book on elephants, the first in Malayalam on the subject, which he says highlights "lesser known things about a better known animal".
Cheeran said that his latest book which runs into nearly 300 pages talks about several unusual things about elephants.
"I would say that this book contains lesser known things about a better known animal and traces the tale of how an elephant called Jumbo was sold by the Regency Park Zoo in London to the Barnum Bailey circus," Cheeran told IANS.
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.
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
Murad Ali Baig, Daniyal Mueenuddin top authors of the week
By IANS,
New Delhi : Murad Ali Baig's "80 Questions to Understand India: History, Mythology and Religion" reaches the No.1 position in the non-fiction list this
week while Daniyal Mueenuddin's "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" tops the fiction category.
The top 10 in each section are as follows:
Non-Fiction
1. "80 Questions to Understand India : History, Mythology and Religion"
Author: Murad Ali Baig
Publisher: Tara Press
Price: Rs.395.00
2. "Prisoner of the State"
Author: Zhao Ziyang
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Price: $20.00 (Rs.965)
Protesting ‘dark times’, filmmaker Bharatiya returns National Award
Shillong : Political filmmaker Tarun Bharatiya, who won the National Award for Best Editing Non Fiction for "In Camera - Diaries of a...
Jaswant Singh’s book on Jinnah already tops chart
By IANS,
New Delhi : The controversial book "Jinnah: India-Partition Independence" by Jaswant Singh predictably tops the non-fiction section of the bestseller list here in the first week of its release while Ali Sethi's "The Wish Maker: A Novel" continued at the No.1 position in the fiction category for the third week in a row.
The top 10 in each section are:
Non-fiction
1. "Jinnah: India-Partition Independence"
Author: Jaswant Singh
Publisher: Rupa
Price: Rs.695.00
2. "The Idea of Justice"
Author: Amartya Sen
Publisher: Penguin Allen Lane
‘Laburnum…’ on northeast an evocative, powerful read
By Azera Rahman, IANS,
Book: "Laburnum - For My Head"; Author: Temsula Ao; Publisher: Penguin Books-India; Price: Rs.150
New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Gripping, not in the sense of a thriller novel, but one in which the reader feels compelled to go on as events unfold in each of the tales. Temsula Ao's collection of short stories, "Laburnum- For My Head" is a sensitively written book, which draws inspiration from the vibrant and troubled region of northeast India.
A country without words
By Parayi for Twocircles.net
Friends who had tongues
Are dragged down the road
To adorn the emperor’s brave new prison
Guard dogs bark with blood red eyes
Across roads,...
Ismail Hussain memorial harmony award given to Homen Borgohain
By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,
Guwahati: Prominent author Homen Borgohain, who returned his Sahitya Akademi recently protesting against the ‘intolerance’, was honoured with litterateur...
Sir Sayyed Awareness Forum organises Seminar on ‘Sir Sayyed and Tolerance’
By TCN News
Aligarh: Sir Sayyed Awareness Forum organised its eighth National Seminar on 'Sir Sayyed and Tolerance' at Muktakash Manch, Aligarh on Wednesday, March...
‘The Immortals of Meluha’ is on top (IANS Books)
By IANS,
New Delhi : Amish Tripathi's "The Immortals of Meluha" continues to retain the number one position in the fiction category while "Before Memory Fades" by Fali S. Nariman tops the non-fiction section in the bestseller list this week.
The top 10 bestsellers in each category are:
Fiction
1. "The Immortals Of Meluha"
Author: Amish Tripathi
Publisher: Tara Press
Price: Rs.295.00
2. "And Thereby Hangs A Tale"
Author: Jeffrey Archer
Publisher: Pan Books
Price: Rs.249.00
3. "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest"
Author: Stieg Larsson
Vyapam : Names of selected candidates removed from law institute’s merit list, RTI reply...
By Siddharth Datta
New Delhi : The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, (or Vyapam as it is popularly known), which has conducted admission tests for...
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
‘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.
Indians would rather spend on shoes, not books: Publisher Ashok Chopra
By Shilpa Raina,
New Delhi : The Indian publishing industry is keeping the written word alive in different formats but the gradual decline in readership...
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.
An endearing look at Sikhs everywhere
By Shubha Singh, IANS,
Book: "Sikhs Unlimited"; Author: Khushwant Singh; Price: Rs.495; Publisher: Rupa
Did Chandigarh lose out to Bangalore as the e-capital of India due to then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's insistence that since Punjab had the benefit of the Green Revolution the next revolution should go to a southern state?
Fiction from troubled South Asia (Book Review)
By M.R. Narayan Swamy,
Title: False Sanctuaries: Stories from the Troubled Territories of South Asia; Author: Meenakshi Iyer; Publisher: Promilla & Co; Pages: 284; Price: Rs.395
मां के बाद अब प्रोफेसर नबीला सादिक भी दुनिया छोड़ गई !
स्टाफ़ रिपोर्टर। Twocircles.net
दूसरों की मदद को सदैव तैयार रहने वाली जामिया मिल्लिया इस्लामिया की असिस्टेंट प्रोफेसर नबीला सादिक की मृत्यु से उनके छात्रों...
R.K. Narayan is one of my greatest inspirations: Scottish author
By Sreya Basu, IANS,
Kolkata : Scottish author Alexander Mccall Smith, who has written over 60 books, says he owes his success to noted Indian writer R.K. Narayan, whose works inspired him deeply.
"It was my early days as a writer when I came across Narayan's novel 'The Man-eater of Malgudi'. I read the entire novel at one go and then got engrossed in his other novels. He is one of my greatest inspirations even today when I sit to pen a new novel," Smith told IANS here.
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
Change is an idea in Chanakya’s new manifesto (IANS Book Review)
By IANS,
Book: "Chanakya's New Manifesto: To Resolve Crisis Within India"
Publisher: Aleph Book Company
Price: Rs 295
Pages: 244
By Madhusree Chatterjee
Marathi writer Kavita Mahajan passes away at the age of 51
By Daisy Katta, TwoCircles.net
Marathi writer, poet and translator Kavita Mahajan passed away in Pune at the age of 51. The cause of her death...
Of partnerships and mysticism
Unfolding different perspectives of viewing the strategic partnership between India and the US is what IANS books brings to you this weekend. Also, an interesting way to look at Sufi mysticism is in the offering. Take a look.
1. Book: India-US Partnership: Asian Challenges and Beyond; Editor: P.P. Shukla; Publisher: Wisdom Tree; Pages: 194; Price: Rs. 795
Political overdose amid election fervour
The timing just couldn't have been better. Writers, journalists and experts are using all their political wisdom to analyse and dissect events, politicians and...
Fatima Bhutto’s book stays on top
By IANS,
New Delhi : "Songs of Blood and Sword" by Fatima Bhutto, niece of late Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, remains on top among non-fiction bestsellers this week while prize-winning author Rana Dasgupta's "Solo" dominates the fiction list.
The top 10 in each category are:
Non-fiction
1. "Songs of Blood and Sword"
Author: Fatima Bhutto
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Price: Rs.699.00
2. "The Big Short"
Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: Allen Lane
Price: Rs.599.00
3. "Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India"
Not into books? Jaipur lit fest still a blast
By Ajay Khullar, IANS,
Jaipur : Here are four good reasons to show up at the Jaipur Literature Festival: literati, glitterati, prettyrati and fourth...hmmm...that's a tough one oh yes, books of course!
The moment you enter the gates of Diggi Palace, the venue of the festival from Jan 21-25, walk over to the registration desk and officially let the party begin. But first you will be slotted.
Sam Miller’s adventure continues to lure book lovers
By IANS,
New Delhi : "Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity" by Sam Miller and "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga maintained their respective positions atop the non-fiction and fiction bestseller lists this week. A list of the top 10 in each category:
Non-fiction
1. "Delhi Adventures in a Megacity"
Author: Sam Miller
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Price: Rs.499.00
2. "The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American..."
Author: David E. Sanger
Publisher: Harmony Books
Price: $20.00 (Rs.1009.00)
3. "Curfewed Night"
Author: Basharat Peer
India’s ancient values important amid intolerance: President
New Delhi : Underlining that pluralism and multi-culturalism were at the core of India's psyche, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said the world was...
Bangalore journalist’s article on Ramadan selected for international award
By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: Bangalore-based journalist Biju Abdul Qadir’s article on Ramadan has been selected for the top three international awards for the best writings on Ramadan this year by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qardawi's IslamOnline website.
Qadir’s article has originally been published in the October 2009 issue of the Young Muslim Digest -- an Islamic monthly published from Bangalore since the past 30 years. Qadir is Executive Editor of the periodical. Biju Abdul Qadir is also Managing Editor of IQRA Publications, Bangalore.
Travancore: A princely state that set a ‘progressive precedent’
By IANS,
Book: \"Travancore: The Footprints of Destiny\" - Autobiography: Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the former king (as told to Uma Maheswari); Publisher: Konark Publishers; Price: Rs.2,000
By Madhusree Chatterjee,
New Delhi : In 1924, when Mahatma Gandhi asked young Chithira Tirunal, the 12-year-old prince of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in Kerala, if he would remove untouchability and throw open the temples to all castes when he became king, the boy answered, "Of course". And he lived up to his word.
BJP’s woman leader assaulted in posh Delhi locality
By IANS,
New Delhi : A woman leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that she was assaulted by a gang of drunk men in a posh locality of south Delhi late Thursday.
PUDR report on SIMI’s saga with UAPA tribunals released
By TCN News,
New Delhi: Banned and Damned: SIMI’s Saga with UAPA Tribunals, a report presenting an analysis of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act...
2015: When I look back
By Mohammad Anas,
Fresh year is ahead but I am petrified of lies,
Like result of last year's devastation upon my eyes.
Poisonous hooch in India...
‘The Immortals of Meluha’ is top bestseller (IANS Books)
By IANS,
New Delhi : "Awakening Giants: Feet of Clay" by Pranab Bardhan tops the non-fiction section while Amish Tripathi's "The Immortals of Meluha" is number one in the fiction category of bestsellers this week.
Non-fiction
1. "Awakening Giants: Feet of Clay"
Author: Pranab Bardhan
Publisher: Oxford
Price: Rs.495.00
2. "Before Memory Fades"
Author: Fali S. Nariman
Publisher: Hay House
Price: Rs.599.00
3. "The Honest Always Stand Alone"
Author: C.G. Somiah
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Price: Rs.395.00
4. "Leela: A Patchwork Life"
Arvind Kejriwal: A politics of articulated angst (Book Review)
By M.R. Narayan Swamy,
Title: The Disrupter: Arvind Kejriwal and the Audacious Rise of the Aam Aadmi; Author: Gautam Chikermane with Soma Banerjee; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 225; Price: Rs.295
‘The Brown Sahebs’: An interesting take on India’s colonial legacy
By Jaideep Sarin,
Book: "The Brown Sahebs"; Publisher: Vitasta Publishing; Pages: 320; Price: Rs.295
American movies and literature are iconoclastic. Hollywood loves to make movies in which the US president gets hijacked ("Air Force One"), or the White House is under siege ("White House Down"). Indian movies and books, by and large play safe, probably afraid of fictionalizing situations which the authorities would frown upon. Thus Anupam Srivastava's "The Brown Sahebs" surprises when its protagonist, Pratap, defaces with provocative poetry the dome of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the majestic residence of India's president.
Northeast, spirituality, Jinnah – diversity at Delhi Book Fair
By IANS,
New Delhi : Jaswant Singh's "Jinnah - India, Partition and Independence", "The Essence of Buddha" by Japanese spiritual master Ryuho Okawa, "The Dhammapada" by Eknath Easwaran, "The Idea of Justice" by Amartya Sen and literature from northeastern India - the 15th edition of the Delhi Book Fair offers book buffs all that's new in Indian and world literature.
Jaipur lit fest’s US edition begins Saturday
New Delhi: The Jaipur Literature Festival will open its account in the US with its first overseas edition beginning on on Saturday in Boulder,...
‘Left, farmers’ movement ignore distinction between peasants, labourers
Interview with Gita Ramaswamy, author of “Land, Guns, Caste, Woman—The Memoir of a Lapsed Revolutionary”
Aatika S | TwoCircles.net
In this interview, the author talks...
Three held in Pakistan with pirated editions of Jaswant’s book
By IANS,
Lahore : Three people have been arrested for selling pirated editions of former Indian minister Jaswant Singh's book "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence" in this Pakistani city, authorities said.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided two shops in Defence Housing Authority and arrested three people for selling the pirated editions of Jaswant Singh's book, Daily Times reported Friday.
A countrywide crackdown has been launched on publishers and bookstores selling fake editions of Jaswant's book.
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.
बिहार के गरीब स्कूल की रंगीन कहानी
TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
बोधगया(सुजाता) - आज कोई व्यक्ति नहीं, कोई शख्सियत नहीं न कोई संस्थान जिसे हम मिसाल की तरह पेश करना चाहते हैं. ऐसे...
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.
Book Review: Aurangzeb Revisited
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net,
Name of the Book: The Ulama, Islamic Ethics and Courts Under the Mughals—Aurangzeb Revisited
Hindu nationalists carrying forward colonial idea of demonising Mughals: Audrey Truschke
By Preetha Nair
New Delhi : Mughal rulers patronised Sanskrit literature in their courts, especially between AD 1560 to 1660, and also took up Persian...
Ghalib’s haveli
Text and photos by Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
hoga koi aisa bhi ke Ghalib ko na jaane
shayar to voh achha hai pe badnaam bahut hai
Will there be any one who doesn’t know Ghalib;
though he is a good poet but ill-reputed.
This is what Mira Asadullah Khan ‘Ghalib’ [1797-1869] said about himself. Known by his pen-name, Ghalib is the most famous Urdu poet of all times. His popularity continues to win him fans from each generation.
Give poets their privacy: Arvind Mehrotra
By IANS,
London : Noted Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra has pleaded the poet's right to privacy after an election for the Oxford University's high-profile poetry professorship sank into chaos amid allegations of mud-slinging and conspiracy.
Mehrotra secured 129 votes for the coveted position, but Ruth Padel, the British poet who won with 297 votes, resigned from the post Monday after revelations she had alerted journalists about allegations concerning the frontrunner, Caribbean Nobel laureate Derek Walcott.
Tagore, Ramayana, faith – Indian flavours to spice up bookshelf
By IANS,
New Delhi : The bookshelf this week is essentially Indian in flavour, showcasing the country's soul.
Many hues of myths, mysteries and history
(IANS Books This Weekend)
There is a battle between celestial and dark forces, an extraordinary tale of riddles is to be solved, waking up to a new world loaded with challenges and the story of Guru Gobind Singh. The IANS bookshelf this weekend offers a mix of many hues. Take a look.
Caught in narrative: gritty saga of Indian tele-news media
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
Book: "Newsroom Live"; Author: Prabhat Shunglu; Published by: Om Books International; Pages: 310; Price:Rs.195
Written by Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, but made in India
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : The ever-growing popularity of Indo-Anglian writing and the publishing boom in India have opened the floodgates for English writers from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh as well. Authors from neighbouring countries are increasingly publishing their books in India, which offers them a sizeable audience still hooked to the written word.
They have inched their way up the Indian best-seller lists with powerful books that combine gripping narratives, snapshots of socio-political realities, history and commentaries.
Book release: Sir Syed, Azad Aur Hindustani Musalman
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: At an impressive ceremony, Padmashri Prof. Qazi Abdus Sattar released the book ‘Sir Syed, Azad Aur Hindustani Musalman’ penned by Dr. Arif-ul-Islam, who is Associate Professor in Statistics Department of Aligarh Muslim University, (AMU), at the Arts Faculty lounge of the university, at Aligarh.
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.
पटना के कोचिंग संस्थानों के वर्चस्व की लड़ाई है भटकाव का कारण
तारिक़ अनवर चम्पारणी
प्राचीनकाल से लेकर वर्तमान तक पटना शहर का अपना एक राजनीतिक, सामाजिक और शैक्षणिक महत्व रहा है। बिहार का पहला कॉलेज पटना...
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.”
Jamia Millia, Kashmir University sign MoU to start PG courses on Kashmir, South...
By TCN News
New Delhi : Jamia Millia Islamia and Kashmir University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for running...
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.
Kannada literary festival: Muslim authors’ exclusion draws criticism
No Muslim writers have been given a chance to participate in the poet convention, and the Byari language, which Muslims speak in coastal...
‘Princess Diaries’, ‘Tehelka As Metaphor’ top Delhi bestseller lists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Meg Cabot's latest and the last in the series - "The Princess Diaries: Ten out of Ten" - captures the reader's attention as it debuts at the top position in the fiction list while veteran journalist Madhu Trehan's "Tehelka As Metaphor" rules the non-fiction chart this week.
Non-Fiction
1. "Tehelka As Metaphor"
Author: Madhu Trehan
Publisher: Lotus Roli
Price: Rs.595.00
2."Imagining India: Ideas for the new century"
Author: Nandan Nilekani
Publisher: Penguin Allen Lane
Price: Rs.699.00
3. "The Man From Pakistan"
Capitalism, crorepatis and relationships, browse all you want
By IANS,
(IANS Books This Week)
Anshu Gupta, Sanjiv Chaturvedi win Magsaysay awards
New Delhi: Social worker Anshu Gupta and former AIIMS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi on Wednesday won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay awards for "enterprising leadership" and...
Indira knew of threat to life before Blue Star: Pranab
New Delhi : Indira Gandhi knew her life was at risk when she decided to go for militarily storm the Golden Temple, President Pranab...
Students in literate states lead spike in protests
By Prabhpreet Singh Sood & Prince Singhal
States with higher literacy levels report more protests, and nearly half of these protests were led...