The Sari Shop WidowShobhan Bantwal
Fingerprint, 2012, pp 364, 250
Anjali Kapadia, a 37-year-old widow, is devoted to transforming her parents' sari shop into a chic boutique. The store has been her entire world, her only world in fact. But life has strange twists up its sleeve. In spite of all her efforts, now, 10 years later, the store stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Anjali could lose everything she has worked so hard for...unless fate intervenes.
Patriots & Partisans
Ramachandra Guha
Allen Lane, 2012, pp 400, 699
In this collection of essays, Ramachandra Guha defends the liberal centre against the dogmas of left and right with style, depth and polemical verve. The essays turn a critical eye on topics as wide ranging as Hindutva, the Communist left, and the dynasty-obsessed Congress Party. This book confirms Guha's standing as India's most admired historic and public intellectual.
The Chronicle of Death & Rebirth
Tarun Cherian
Creator's Child, 2012, pp 136, 300
Is death the end? Are there ghosts and demons out there? Will angels gather us up? Are we reborn? Do we have to go through this again and again, forever at death's mercy? Can we escape? Are there worlds beyond? Where does the soul live? If we have to come back, are we just booted out? Or prepared? The Chronicle of Death & Rebirth is an incredible journey past death's dark doors.
2012 Nights
Vipul Rikhi
Fingerprint, 2012, pp 260, 195
Is this world ending because you have consumed all tales, or are you here consuming tales because the world is ending? Have all stories gotten lost forever? Have all our fables become the same? Convinced that the world is going to end soon, a paranoid and drunk writer begins to tell his cat tales. Tall tales, true tales. Fables of compassion, greed, destruction and creation, loss and search...
The Indian Ideology
Perry Anderson
Three Essays, 2012, pp 191, 350
Today, the Indian state claims to embody values of a stable political democracy, territorial unity and religious impartiality. But how far do they correspond to the realities of the Union? If they do not do so, is that simply because of the fate of circumstance, or the recent misconduct of its rulers? The Indian Ideology suggests that the roots of the current ills of the Republic go much deeper, historically.
The Hacker: Client. Coder. Chaos
Stanley Moss
Fingerprint, 2012, pp 232, 150
All hell breaks loose at a struggling young Gurgaon-based software firm when Shaitan Vikram, one of its ex-employees and a psychopath hacker, swears to avenge his legitimate but ill-timed dismissal. Suddenly, it's corporate espionage, program sabotage, and human drama running at the same time. It falls upon on the new-age management brass of the company to appease its clients and salvage its reputation.
Durbar
Tavleen Singh
Hachette, 2012, pp 312, 599
In 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency, and soon reckless policies, said to be authored by the PM's younger son, followed. Tavleen observed a small, influential section of Delhi's society remained strangely unaffected by the state of the nation. And it wasn't long before they held positions in the Indian government. Following the PM's death, she observed the beginnings of a political culture of favouritism and ineptitude that took hold of the government. This book is a sharp account of those turbulent years.