The Sound of Waves
‘Kalki’ R. Krishnamurthy; translated by Gowri Ramnarayan
Hachette India
Rs. 899
Set in the days leading to Independence, Kalki’s tour de force lays bare the emotions of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary changes. The characters move from rural Thanjavur, Madras, Bombay, Karachi, New Delhi, Agra and Calcutta to Lahore as the country fractures, relationships crack, and morality and nationalism are questioned.
Long Shadows
David Baldacci
Macmillan
Rs. 699
FBI agent Amos Decker investigates the mysterious murder of a federal judge and her bodyguard at her home in an exclusive, gated community in Florida. Decker must first find the answer to why the judge felt the need for a bodyguard and the meaning behind the strange calling card left by the killer.
The Greatest Marathi Stories Ever Told
Selected and edited by Ashutosh Potdar
Aleph Book Company
Rs. 799
The 28 stories here represent some of the finest short fiction in Marathi literature, featuring literary greats such as Gangadhar Gadgil, G. A. Kulkarni, Baburao Bagul, Kamal Desai, Anna Bhau Sathe, Urmila Pawar, and others. The stories are sarcastic, humorous, elegant, experimental—together, they showcase the range and vibrancy of the Marathi literary tradition.
What the Rains Foretold
N. Mohanan; translated by Manoj Neelakanthan
Niyogi Books
Rs. 395
In this origin story of Kerala, Vararuchi, an accomplished scholar, seeks to challenge destiny and overturn its writ. He forsakes his 12 children in the pursuit of knowledge. The children grow into fine young people, the progenitors of Kerala. The translation makes the age-old tale accessible to a wider audience.
WE Mean Business: 20 Women Entrepreneurs, 20 Stories
Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Shrutika Mathur & Nishtha Vadehra
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) & Yoda Press
Rs.499
An anthology of narratives in the graphic format by and of 20 businesswomen—including steel traders, factory owners, potters, YouTubers, and weavers among several others—from across India who defy expectations and claim their space under the sun.
Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices and Cultural History in Western India
Prachi Deshpande
Permanent Black
Rs.995
The focus of this book is the Modi script, formerly used for writing the Marathi language, which also serves as an entry point to understand the structures of power that produced the “regional vernaculars” of the Indian subcontinent. A cultural history of western India that makes us see language as more than a tool of communication, as history and practice.
The Social Life of Democracy
Sundar Sarukkai
Seagull Books
Rs.599
Drawing on B.R. Ambedkar’s ideology, philosopher Sundar Sarukkai critically examines the meaning and function of democracy today and argues in favour of bringing democracy into our everyday lives rather than leaving it exclusively to the domain of electoral politics.
Missing in Action: Why You Should Care About Public Policy
Pranay Kotasthane, Raghu S. Jaitley
Penguin
Rs.399
This book about India’s tryst with public policymaking explains, using Bollywood references and a dash of humour, the fundamental concepts of public policy as well as the logic (or the lack of it!) of the Indian government’s actions, shortcomings, and constraints.