First Impressions
REMEMBER those tomes that you were forced to lug around the dreary library? Here is a history book that will gladden your hearts and lighten your spirits. This book is one that students of history and life can romp through in one sitting. This is history at its riotous best where Hitler and Eva play a different game, as do the famous Wright brothers and Gandhi. There are no Gods here, only mortals. So over coffee at the Moulin Rouge, Picasso and Marie Curie discuss existentialism. Find that difficult to swallow? Turn to the failed attempts of the Wright brothers when they make their first aircraft. A huge ungainly monstrosity that cannot lift itself off the ground, leave alone fly.
This is Gautam Bhatia's take on history. Slightly askew and of course, it helps if you've already read up the normal version because therein lies the punch. The book's illustrations complement the storyline.
Comic Century, Gautam Bhatia, Penguin, Rs. 350.
TERRORISM, militancy, guns and blood. These are familiar in the world we live in. But for the people of Kashmir, this is a stark reality that pervades their lives. What then is life for a young boy? Is he carefree? Or is he drawn in to the dark labyrinths of a logic that compels him to pit himself against the ones he loves the most?
This is the story of Aftab. Cocooned by a loving family, Aftab is like other children. Bubbly and enthusiastic, he seems far removed from the daily grind of a life overcast with terrorist threats. But Aftab has a dark secret that he refuses to reveal even to his closest friends. Come dusk and he sneaks into the empty house across where he meets up with his hero Akram. To Aftab, Akram is the man to die for. As his awe of Akram and his fellow mates increases, they see in him the perfect bait for their designs. In his desperate need to prove his loyalty to Akram, Aftab takes on a mission so dangerous that it finally costs him his life.
This book takes a long and hard look at life under such conditions and the often horrible choices that young people make.
No Guns at My Son's Funeral, Paro Anand, Roli Books, Rs. 195.
FOR someone who values beauty and perfection, even the slightest hint of disfigurement is cause enough for rejection. Anupama is a beautiful and talented young woman who meets an equally talented young doctor named Anand. Like in all fairy tales, they finally get married. Even as Anand basks in the beauty of his new wife, life takes a double turn when she discovers a small white patch on her foot. The snowballing effect of this is enormous and Anupama finds herself thrown out of her home. Sudha Murty is a woman with a mission and through her book conveys a message of truth, integrity and grit. This is also a story of a woman's courage and independence in the face of adversity. Murty attacks the sterotypes that we often live with but cannot and do not reject. Her storyline is simple; the message simple. It is a book that compels you to look inwards and question your attitudes.
Mahashwetha, Sudha Murty, East West Books Pvt. Ltd., Rs. 150.
IN an age where reality shows seem to have overtaken life, a good ghost story is something of a lost genre. So when R.V. Smith decided to compile what he had written over two decades, he bought himself a readymade audience, one that appreciated the fine art of telling a "good ghost story". And what better than locate these creatures of the night in some of India's most historical cities? Delhi, Agra and Lucknow — home to the British once, home to thousands of denied desires, these cities throw up more than their share of ghostly radiance. These are not ghoulish tales of the unexpected, but they certainly are tales that send the senses ticking in a bit of a tizzy.
The Veiled Shadow, R.V. Smith, Hope India Publications, Rs. 150.
SUCHITRA BEHAL
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