A lucrative offer for the man of the house from a top US tech company, the sudden elevation in social status with parents’ eyes shining with pride, and colleagues and neighbours pretending to not be jealous… all this is far too tempting for the individual to worry about the legendary rigidity of US immigration law. The wife, too, easily succumbs to the lure of America and the idea of the […]
Make no mistake, this is no airbrushed hagiography dressed up as a biography. During the time when he was playing, there were few better sights than the ball meeting the middle of Sanjay Manjrekar’s bat, whether it was in forward defence or for a drive through the off side. Considered one of the most technically proficient batters of his time, as he recounts his rollercoaster career as cricketer and TV […]
Man of Peace envisages for Tibet a future in which the Dalai Lama returns to his people and “Tibet restores itself as the realization of the Dalai Lama’s vision – the ‘Switzerland of Asia’ – the spa and sanatorium; the holistic hospital among nations; a Pure Land of health and healing, meditation and study; teaching a Path to Enlightenment.” In articulating this vision for Tibet, the book delves into Buddhist […]
In cricket, there have been books dedicated to several genres. Autobiographies of prominent players, lists of best matches, most memorable knocks, description of some memorable events of a major tour or by a personality have all been published. However, there are few on great bowling spells in a list that is invariably packed with tomes for batsmen. One book that stands out on bowling is 10 for 66 and All […]
Review: Available Light, New and Selected Poems by CP Surendran Some poets scoot into the limelight; why or how is a mystery. Others hardly get an entry pass into the glow. What is it that attracts this beam of light — profile, a stint at Oxbridge, editorial contacts or sartorial panache? The limelight is not always a discerning critic. CP Surendran, despite a first-rate novel Hadal (which never got near a […]
India has vibrant cinematic and literary traditions, but its most compelling stories, messages and performances have come from another source entirely – at least in the last four decades or so. For exuberant dances, persuasive pitches, catchy dialogues, memorable music, or even challenging social conventions and mores, you can’t beat advertisements. In a time frame usually lasting less than a minute, ads made cases for products spanning washing powder to […]
There have been many books depicting the Kashmir issue from a man’s perspective but hardly any from the women’s point of view. Kashmir is on the boil; the “Azadi” chant reverberates from every corner; normal life is at a halt. A young, educated, career-oriented woman’s life gets entangled amidst all this. The result is Nayeema Mahjoor’s debut book “Lost in Terror” (Penguin, Rs 299, pp 305). There have been many […]
“As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know”. This pithy quote uttered by American strategist and former Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, perhaps best captures the essence of Professor […]
