The essential Khushwant Singh collection.In an essay in this anthology, Khushwant Singh claims that he is not a nice man to know. Whatever the truth of that assertion, there is little question about his skill as a witty, eloquent and entertaining writer. This book collects the best of over three decades of the author’s prose—including his finest journalistic pieces, short stories, translations, jokes, plays as well as excerpts from his non-fiction books and novels. Taken together, ...

In Arguments with Gandhi, Ramachandra Guha uses the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi to present a moral and political history of the modern world.The Gandhi of this book is a compelling as well as controversial figure, whose ideas on non-violence, social justice, religious harmony and economic policy have elicited a wide range of responses, affirmative as well as critical. As Guha demonstrates, Gandhi's debates with his contemporaries, and the arguments of later generations with h...

‘It can’t be love . . .’ he thinks and immediately his heart protests.They are complete opposites!She’s a small town girl who takes admission in Delhi University (DU). An idealist, studies are her first priority.He’s a Delhi guy, seriously into youth politics in the DU. He fights to make his way. Student union elections are his first priority.But then opposites attract as well!A scandal on campus brings them together, they begin to walk the same path and somewhe...

Amit Lodha is a decorated IPS officer holding the rank of inspector general. But before he rose the ranks in the service, he was an IIT graduate who was struggling to find his true purpose. In this book, Lodha tells us how he turned his life around and studied for the UPSC exams. He also tells us how he trained to be an officer and had the most memorable beginning to his career, in Bihar.Punctuated with his signature humour and adventure-packed stories on everything from solving a k...

An under-strength Gorkha battalion undertakes the Indian Army's first heliborne operation deep behind enemy lines, defeating a Pakistani force twenty times its strength. Fighters of the Indian Air force target the Government House in Dhaka in a daring air raid, forcing the Pakistani government in Dhaka to capitulate and surrender. Four battle casualties become close friends at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune in the war's aftermath.In this collection of true stories, decorated war vetera...

In Arguments with Gandhi, Ramachandra Guha uses the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi to present a moral and political history of the modern world.The Gandhi of this book is a compelling as well as controversial figure, whose ideas on non-violence, social justice, religious harmony and economic policy have elicited a wide range of responses, affirmative as well as critical. As Guha demonstrates, Gandhi's debates with his contemporaries, and the arguments of later generations with h...

A comprehensive and gripping narrative'---Vikram Sampath, author, historian and Fellow of Royal Historical Society'A must-read'---Sandeep Unnithan, managing editor, India TodayThere are not many Indian heroes whose lives have been as dramatic and adventurous as that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. That, however, is an assessment of his life based on what is widely known about him. These often revolve around his resignation from the Indian Civil Service, joining the freedom movement, to be e...

Did you know that the 1965 Indo–Pak War was initiated by Field Marshal Ayub Khan of Pakistan in an effort to wrest Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) from India? His failure to achieve his aim led eventually to his overthrow. This account highlights the human dimension of war through the dramatic personal experiences of army and air force officers that astonish and overwhelm one’s imagination. It will convince the reader that real life is often stranger than fiction. The book also brings to light l...

The Vedanta was an inseparable part of Swami Vivekananda’s personality. He lived and breathed this philosophy while preaching it to India and the west. While Vivekananda’s landmark address at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 established him as modern India’s great spiritual leader, his popularity and appeal is attributed to his ability to integrate his human side with his profound spiritual side. In this beautifully written biography, Chaturvedi Badrinath liberates Vivekanand...

A story from a third-generation soldier of the 1st Battalion, the 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF) who was killed in combat.A ghost story narrated to the author by an officer of the Garhwal Rifles while on a visit to Lansdowne.A gripping account of the air raid on Pakistan's airfield at Sargodha in 1965 led by Wing Commander O.P. Taneja, VrC.These are some of the stories featured in Major General Ian Cardozo's book Beyond Fear, stories that inform the reader that fear is not exceptional. It is commo...

A comprehensive and gripping narrative'---Vikram Sampath, author, historian and Fellow of Royal Historical Society'A must-read'---Sandeep Unnithan, managing editor, India TodayThere are not many Indian heroes whose lives have been as dramatic and adventurous as that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. That, however, is an assessment of his life based on what is widely known about him. These often revolve around his resignation from the Indian Civil Service, joining the freedom movement, to be e...

‘Ram’s story as a metaphor for human strengths and weaknesses and as a window to inner divinity’—Tehelka / Ram is maryada purushottam, the supreme upholder of social values, scion of the Raghu clan, jewel of the solar dynasty, seventh avatar of Vishnu. Reviled by feminists, appropriated by politicians, he remains serene in his majesty, the only Hindu deity to be worshipped as a king. Join Devdutt Pattanaik as he explores the relevance of Ram in modern times, peeling back the layers of meta...