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This lavishly illustrated book deals with the second and third periods of Orchha painting, which span the years 1605 through 1675. A central theme of the paintings presented in this volume is the love between the archetypal couple Krishna and Radha, which is both mystical-religious and secular-playful in nature.This lavishly illustrated book, the second volume in the series Orchha,Datia, Panna: Miniatures from the Royal Courts of Bundelkhand (1590–1850),deals with the second and third periods of Orchha painting, which span the years 1605 through 1675. A central theme of the paintings presented in this volume is the love between the archetypal couple Krishna and Radha, which is both mystical-religious and secular-playful in nature. Indeed, it is the confluence of sacred and profane love that gives India’s culture and art its unique spirit. The images were created to illustrate poetic works such as the Rasikapriya, whose author, the Orchha court poet Keshavdas, invites his readers to savor the aesthetic and religious delight of Radha-Krishna love through his riti lyrics in the vernacular language of his era. Through stylistic analyzes and interpretations of over 100 paintings from his collection, many of them published here for the first time, the author brings to light the accomplishments of the Orchha school during its heyday in the seventeenth century.

Devavratt and his friends navigate the rapidly changing landscape of their homeland, moving from the bustling school and college corridors of the 70s and 80s to the dynamic corporate offices of the 21st century. Their dreams and challenges unfold against the backdrop of a modernizing India. Through heartfelt conversations and spirited debates, playful pranks and nostalgic reunions, the characters delve into nationalism, cultural pride, social-economic changes in India, love, friendship and spirituality.

The novel The Madhouse is an allegorical novel that chronicles the jarring transformations occurring in the psyche of the Indian society by the onslaught of liberalisation in the 1990s. It is in this reign of the free-market economy and excessive consumption that the nameless characters of The Madhouse find themselves. In fact, in a way, there are only two characters in this novel. There is ‘The Bazaar’, representing the free - market forces, and then there is ‘The Citizen’, whose reincarnations within the various vignettes of the novel are trapped in the vicious cycle of distress and fears which manifest themselves in myriad situations. But, fundamentally, it is only one character. Somewhere, his dreams have been stolen, somewhere else, his memories have been abducted. In another situation, he has forgotten who he is and in yet another one, he is looking for a lock to safeguard himself from the prying eyes of the Bazaar— but the Bazaar is looking for him.

This lavishly illustrated book, the third and final volume in the series Orchha, Datia, Panna: Miniatures from the Royal Courts of Bundelkhand, deals with the third, fourth, and fifth periods of Bundelkhand painting, which spans the years 1635 through 1840. It begins with the Mughalizing painting styles that predominated in Datia after the disintegration of Orchha in 1635 and the rise of Datia as an independent principality and major cultural center. It also addresses the development of Bundelkhand painting after 1675, when Raja Chhatrasal established Panna as the capital of his Bundela kingdom. Bundelkhand painting ceased with the raja’s death in 1731, and it was only after a long interruption that it experienced an Indian summer at the court of Datia during the period of British suzerainty in the nineteenth century. However, the style of the latter era no longer bore a resemblance to the Datia and Orchha schools of the seventeenth century, but was rather an offshoot of the prevailing Mighal-Rajput style developed by painters who had left Delhi in the second half of the eighteenth century.

Pudumaipithan (1906-1948) is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of short stories in Tamil, and as the harbinger of literary modernism in the language. He is remembered for having revolutionized Tamil prose into a medium through which he approached the lives and emotions of subaltern urban and rural characters, with a distinctly modern sensibility. This biography, written immediately after Pudumaipithan’s death, by someone very close to him, remains the most authentic biography of the writer till date.

G.B. Patnaik’s memoir is a richly detailed account of the many challenges he encountered in his long, illustrious career, his perseverance with which he overcame them, revealing valuable insights into the inner workings of the Indian judiciary. It recounts some of the fascinating cases he presided over and the strategic judgments he delivered as a judge first at the Orissa and Patna High Courts, and later at the Supreme Court of India. His sincere professionalism, superlative research acumen, and unyielding commitment to maintain and disseminate justice had distinguished him in his early years of practice.

Middle of the week, in front of the school where she drops off her son every day, Draupadi witnesses something grotesque. The ludicrous ways of fate leave the ball in her court—should she inform the police, or hold on to the safety of her little boy, her husband miles away in a forest battling his own demons? Does one dare explore the limits of courage when the stakes are life and safety? From the pen of one of Odisha’s most inventive writers comes a novel of quiet perseveration and struggle for a better life within the parameters of genteel norms and bureaucracy.

The Paradesis and the Malabaris have been at loggerheads for centuries, with carefully drawn lines separating the two communities. It is a marriage the elders will never agree to, and Esther stands to lose everything. Meanwhile, the newly formed state of Israel opens its doors to Jewish immigrants from around the world, calling upon Jews to make aaliyah to their fatherland. Yehuda and Esther are faced with a dilemma—should they start their lives afresh in Israel or stay back in Cochin and try to reconcile their worlds?Set in the 1950s, in the land of silk, spices, and synagogues, The Ballad of Jew Town tells the story of two young lovers who find themselves caught between two communities and nations as they discover what it means to be an Indian Jew.

Man and beast come together, rage together in the undulating staccato of Amrita Nilanjana’s ambitious collection of short stories from Sundarbans and beyond. The shimmering waves of the Ganges, pungent tiger musk too close for comfort, the menacing, oppressive silence of the Sundarbans, its terrifying beauty and the valiant perseveration of the people who inhabit it—make up the diegetic universe of this land.

Fresh from prison, a woman returns home to grapple with her husband’s betrayal; accused of witchcraft, an aging midwife becomes the scapegoat for a tragedy; and a destitute widow’s life takes a surreal turn when she is thrust into local politics. Barak Valley—lush, picturesque, and seemingly tranquil to outsiders—emerges in these stories as both tormentor and refuge, a witness to its people’s quiet hunger for connection, belonging, and dignity. Whether it is a mother confronting her daughter’s pregnancy out of wedlock, an octogenarian rediscovering her forgotten love for the sitar, or a child forming an unlikely friendship with an elderly man, the characters in this anthology reveal the singularity of seemingly ordinary lives.

Colour My Grave Purple is an unusual anthology of historical fiction from Assam which spans a century of the Northeastern state’s colourful past, evoking a vivid journey from the 1850s to the 2000s. Through stories about the peoples, cultures, ecology and socio-political paradigms of the frontier region, readers will stumble upon a fascinating mix of characters and entities; from occult practitioners and drunk elephants to a British-Naga queen and the Chinese red army. In these stories, Assam will encounter Britain, Japan and China through lived experiences that seamlessly traverse the natural-supernatural dichotomy, while attempting to understand its own identity as a state.

Can surgery be painless without modern anaesthetics like ether, chloroform, or chemical sedation? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Before chemical anaesthesia, mesmerism—originating in Vienna—was used to numb patients’ bodies, allowing painless surgeries, and it found remarkable success in colonial Bengal through the pioneering work of Dr. James Esdaile. Ghosal’s Mesmerising the Body delves into this unique chapter of Indian medical history, drawing on archival records, medical reports, and contemporary accounts, while also tracing how mesmerism shifted from a medical practice to a topic of folklore in twentieth-century Bengali literature.

Aman, Naseema and Ganeshan’s only son, goes missing. He returns six years later but is killed in a bus accident. As Naseema takes refuge in spirituality, Ganeshan discovers his son through poems he left behind. One day, the police show up at their door with a clue that connects Ganeshan to Vijay, a young boy who is beaten to death by the wardens of Ashaniketan, a notorious children’s home, from where he tried to escape. Ganeshan launches an investigation of his own and ropes in his friends Cawasji and Rishi for help, only to discover that the boy was not Vijay. Another boy disappeared from the orphanage, but no one noticed.

Sriman’s job was a strange one, serving customers he knew nothing about and delivering food he had no stake in. Friendships were fleeting, and social events were calculated losses. The gig economy taught Sriman to swallow complaints. Mrittika Sen, a two-wheeler driver of a bike taxi app, knew life was precarious for female gig workers, vulnerable to erasure with a button’s press. Sriman, Mrittika, and others found solace in Akashganga, a hundred-year-old house and its resident, Bishan Basu, who introduced them to the stars.

A Century and a Quarter of Struggle chronicles the enduring resistance of the Bhil tribes against the Rajputs, Marathas and British colonial forces from 1800 to 1925. It highlights the Bhils’ transformation from autonomous rulers of a vast territory in Central India to a marginalised and oppressed community due to deceit, exploitation and deprivation of their lands and resources.

Herbarium is a work of eco-fiction of startling ambition and talent. Growing up in Dubai with his parents, Tipu is a sensitive little boy more at home in the glow of video games than in the natural landscapes his mother, Fatima, adores. But during a weekend trip, Tipu’s world of whimsy is upended. Like a transplanted seedling, he comes to live at his mother’s childhood home in Kerala, where he is surrounded by the traces of her past—handwritten notes, pressed flowers and leafs, & the stories people remember her by. In the hush of groves and unspoken wounds carried over generations in their community, Tipu begins to see the world through his mother’s eyes.

In the foggy alleys of Enlightenment-era England, where coffeehouse discourses could topple the limits of human knowledge over bites of squab pudding and dinner parties could determine the course of natural history, a singular mind moved in eccentric circles, crisscrossing paths with the aristocracy, academia, and clergy, but always forging his own, off-beaten tract. His vision was steadfastly different—a map that could show the layers of the earth. What he envisioned was not just a map, but a subterranean archive of the earth’s secrets. Balancing between stumbling across a discovery and the manic rush of invention, Moulik reimagines William Smith’s intellectual trajectory through the landscapes that shaped him—rural austerity, industrial upheaval, scientific circles marked by class division and exclusion, and long, labouring hours in canal routes and coal mines.

Positions features a careful selection from K. Satchidanandan’s essays on Indian literature, written over the past 25 years. The General Theme of the book is Indian literature). The book contains essays that look for paradigms based on Indian textual practices and reading traditions, while also drawing freely on Indian and Western critical concepts and close readings of certain texts. The first part of the book discusses questions on the idea of Indian literature, The poetics of bhakti, the concept of the ‘modern’, the location of English writing in India, The conflicting ideas of India, projected especially by the subaltern literary movements and the issues of literary criticism and translation.

A touching narrative about love, loss, and resilience, portraying deep emotions and human relationships.

Charles Dickens' classic tale of redemption and holiday spirit. Follows Ebenezer Scrooge as he learns the true meaning of Christmas. A heartwarming and timeless story of generosity and kindness. Perfect for readers of all ages.

Court & Courtship: Indian Miniatures in the TAPI Collection is a study of Indian paintings in which the author J.P. Losty explores the well-trod highways and the lesser-known byways of miniature paintings, put together by the well-known textile collectors, Praful and Shilpa Shah.Starting with a splendid 16th-century painting from the early Rajput Bhagvata Purana, readers will savor the variety of Mughal and other portraits of emperors, princes, courtiers, and of royal elephants and horses. Courtly pictures include several from the Deccan, Rajasthan, Central India, and the northern hills. Resplendent ladies in 18th and 19th-century attire adorn the pages, as do paintings acquired for the textiles and costumes they illustrate – jamas, paijamas, angarkhas, turbans, odhnis, patkas, canopies, and qanats.Representing the classic texts of Sanskrit and Hindi literature are stunning examples from a 17th-century ragamala, the Shangri Ramayana, the Gita Govinda, Harivamsha, and Rasikapriya. Two of the most impressive paintings ever to come out of Nathdwara are featured here, from the hands of master artists Sukhdev Gaur and Ghasiram Sharma. Showcasing 90 superb images, this collection is sure to be of interest to lovers of Indian art.

Painting in the Kangra Valley is an attempt to survey the painting styles of Guler and Kangra, which flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The painting activity began with Kashmiri painters, who started receiving royal patronage during the reign of Raja Dalip Singh (1695−1741) of Guler. But it attained culmination during the long reign of Maharaja Sansar Chand (1776−1823) of Kangra. The royal atelier of Kangra produced a large number of paintings covering diverse subjects. The advent of the Bhakti movement in north India had a tremendous impact, resulting in a preference for Krishna themes for the artists of Guler and Kangra.The sentiment of love is the main subject of Guler-Kangra paintings. They illustrate the finest specimens of various kinds of nayika described by the Hindi poets of the riti genre. The female figures seen in these paintings are depicted as graceful and beautiful idealizations, handled by the painters with utmost delicacy and tenderness.Vijay Sharma’s analytical approach, based on facts, gives new insights into the origin and development of the Guler school and the marked influence of later Mughal painting on the styles of Manaku and Nainsukh. Featuring around 160 images this book is a significant read for researchers as well as connoisseurs.

Stories from Kolkata are often assumed to be about bhadralok culture and the Bengali way of life. But Kolkata is a city with a multiplicity of stories to share. Contemporary Urdu Short Stories from Kolkata highlights the diversity of recent Urdu short stories from the city. In one story, a writer trying to escape the city wants to find the reason why the railway clock has stopped working, in another, a new friendship sours as soon as it blossoms, while some other stories show how the complexity of human relationships is explored.

The multifaceted Rajshekhar Basu (1880-1960), who wrote under the pseudonym ‘Parashuram’, was one of Bengal’s great humourists, apart from being an accomplished essayist and lexicographer, and a distinguished chemist. His stories were always illustrated by his friend, the artist Jatindrakumar Sen (1882-1966). Together, the stories and sketches were an intrinsic part of the lives of generations of Bengalis.

Is virtue what is compromised in an arranged (coerced/’forced’) marriage? Is that every girl’s horror movie dream? For Little Kankabaty, however, it is a quickly impending reality even while the love of her life promises enlightenment but is a mama’s boy leading his life constantly circumspect and carefully. Yet now she is tasked with rescuing him from the clutches of scorned ghostwoman Nakeshwari, of the beautiful nose and broken marriage alliance with Ghyanghon Bhoot, belonging to a community of cutesy spirits from which Lullu has spirited the comely but crafty wife of Aameer away.