Also featured are excerpts from works in progress. Non-fiction Soonoo Taraporewala, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Colin L.

Fernandes, Suresh Chandvankar, Rama Lakshmi, Shweta Sarda, Michel Danino, Sneha Rajaram, Atia Hussein Fiction Richard Simon, Gitanjali Kolanad, Kavitha Mandanna, Samina Mishra, Vivek Nityananda, Dev Makhija, Aparijith Ramnath quotes It s a . .

. wonder that despite its uncertain commercial prospects, certain publishers remain resolute in their quest to discover and nurture new writing, driven possibly by the conviction that in the sea of unheard voices, there are several worth listening to and taking a chance on.

..

[First Proof is] worth waiting for. Year after year The Hindu This anthology traverses an impressive trajectory The Statesman Unputdownable variety [of fiction and non-fiction] (less)

They talk about pretty much the same things: visas, music, booze, the impossibility of getting laid in the city. There are foreigners too, trekking on the usual routes, smoking cheap grass and looking for their inner selves.

The Maobadis loom large in ‘Home for Dashain’, wreaking vengeance on behalf of the people. Though rarely mentioned in the city, they are ever present, invoked by the sad pole dancers in the more risqu bars and the transvestites pounding the streets looking for customers.

And in 'Aryaghat', a Kathmandu family lays to rest the ashes of a Nepali boy who has committed suicide in Alabama. The sixteen stories in Nothing to Declare are passionate, pensive and at (less)

How did this popular form of urban communication evolve? Is this language the new and trendy idiom of a youthful population no longer competent in either English or Hindi? Or is it an Indianized version of a once-colonial language, claiming its legitimate place alongside Indias many bhashas? Chutnefying English: The Phenomenon of Hinglish, the first book on the subject, takes a serious look at this widespread phenomenon of our times, which has pervaded every aspect of our daily lives. It addresses the questions that many speakers of both languages ask time and again: should Hinglish be spurned as the bastard offspring of its two (less)

I. The rise of the Taliban: 1.

The Rabbani government, 1992-1996/Amin Saikal. 2.

How the Taliban became a military force/Anthony Davis. 3.

Pakistan and the Taliban/Ahmed Rashid. II.

The Taliban and the world: 1. The United States and the Taliban/Richard Mackenzie.

2. Russia, Central Asia and the Taliban/Anthony Hyman.

3. Saudi Arabia, Iran and the conflict in Afghanistan/Anwar-ul-haq Ahady.

III. The Taliban and the reconstruction of Afghanistan: 1.

Dilemmas of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan/Michael Keating. 2.

Afghan women under the Taliban/Nancy Hatch Dupree. 3.

Is Afghanistan on the brink of ethnic and tribal disintegration?/Bernt Glatzer. 4.

The UN in Afghanistan: ‘Doing its best’ or failure of a mission’?/William Maley. 5.

Has Islamism a future in Afghanistan?/Olivier Roy. 6.

The future of the state and the structure of community governance in Afghanistan/M. Nazif Shahrani.

Index. “In late 1994, a new force unexpectedly emerged in the politics of war-ravaged Afghanistan –the (less)

Avoiding land mines and bullets, he spent months travelling through Iraq and Iran negotiating a way into Afghanistan. Joining forces with the war-weary Mujahedeen, he found unexpected allies and unforgettable friends.

Although Loseby encountered danger on many occasions, he experienced a strange joy; daily life was full of small acts of kindness and many acts of hostility - ordinary exchanges charged with tension and drama. The result is a rare glimpse of the Afghani people themselves, people of warmth, generosity and humour.

But this is not just a travel story, (less)

Her anger at his being late turns to horror when a catastrophic gas leak poisons the city air. Anjali miraculously survives.

Her marriage does not. A smart, successful schoolteacher, Anjali is now remarried to Sandeep, a loving and stable professor.

Their lives would be nearly perfect, if not for their young son’s declining health. But when Anjali’s first husband suddenly reappears in her life, she is thrown back to the troubling days of their marriage with a force that impacts everyone around her.

Her first husband’s return brings back all the uncertainty Anjali thought time and conviction had healed. As events unfold, feelings she had guarded like gold begin to leak way from her, spreading out into the world and challenging her once (less)

The Barbarians and the mule/Moazzam Sheikh. 2.

Papa's girl/Soniah Naheed Kamal. 3.

The door is open/Zubair Ahmed. 4.

If truth be told/Javed Shaheen. 5.

Barriers that remained/Vali Ram Vallabh. 6.

The dying sun/Syed Afzal Haider. 7.

Jungle/Ikramullah. 8.

Feeqa's death/Nadir Ali. 9.

A letter from India/Intizar Husain. 10.

In his own time/Talat Abbasi. 11.

Spots/Zahur-ul-Haq Sheikh. 12.

Mangoes in the time of winter/Aush Lal. 13.

The squatter/Asad Mohammad Khan. 14.

The tie that binds/Faiza Rana. 14.

The home-bound/Asif Farrukhi. 15.

Old men/Asadullah Ghazanfar. 16.

The buffalo/Sorayya Khan. 17.

Hieroglyphics/Fahmida Riaz. 18.

Paths/Azra Waqar. Notes on contributors.

"A letter from India brings together the best short fiction by some of the most important voices of Pakistani literature. Refreshing in their style and diverse in their themes, these stories--in English, and translated from Urdu and Punjabi--reflect a move away from nationalism and parochialism as they examine issues of identity, sexuality, individual freedom and interpersonal (less)

The author stood in the modest court room in Ahmedabad where Gandhi was found guilty of sedition by that same Raj and ventured into the prisons to which Gandhi was so (less)

Canonical texts deify Sita while regional variations humanize her. Folk songs and ballads connect her timeless predicament to the daily lives of rural women.

Modern-day women continue to see themselves reflected in films, serials and soap operas based on Sita’s narrative. Sacrifice, self denial and unquestioning loyalty are some of the ideals associated with popular perceptions of Sita.

But the Janaki who symbolized strength, who could lift Shiva’s mighty bow, who courageously chose to accompany Rama into exile and who refused to follow him back after a second trial, is often forgotten. However she is remembered, revered or written about, Sita continues to exert a powerful influence on the collective Indian psyche.

In Search of Sita presents essays, conversations and commentaries that explore different aspects of her (less)

Acknowledgements. 1.

'ILM and Islam: the early Islamic scholarly tradition. 2.

Madrasas in India: historical evolution. 3.

Madrasas in independent India. 4.

Madrasas and the agenda of reform. 5.

Reformed Madrasas and new forms of Islamic education. 6.

Madrasas and militancy. Conclusion.

Notes. Glossary.

Sources. Index.

"The emergence of radical Islamist movements in various parts of the world, the rise and fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the 9/11 attacks, widespread vilification spearheaded by Hindutva Groups--all these and more have made madrasas a much talked about institution. Focusing on the madrasas of India, Bastions of the Believers seeks to critically interrogate sensationalist and stereotypical images of the madrasas by highlighting their diversity and the complex social roles that they play in the lives of many Muslims.

Madrasas, as a rule, represent a conservative form of theology and jurisprudence that is, in many ways, ill-suited to a modern, pluralistic society (less)

More than half a century after his death at the age of forty-three in Lahore, he remains anathema to the establishment. Saadat Hasan Manto wanted to be remembered as the greatest short-story writer ever; as his epitaph would have it, his only competitor is God.

Indeed, he is best known for his Partition stories, where he lays bare the absurdity of the religious divide that would forever unhinge the lives of two nations. No other writer has been able to capture the devastation of Partition as Manto has.

But, as this exhaustive anthology shows, Manto’s best work sweeps across genres and states (less)

It was there that he first encountered his fiery and anarchic mentor Chef Kishen, under whose supervision he was guided towards the heady spheres of women and food. Amidst the turmoil that ravaged the Valley and the thwarted sexual yearnings that filled his days, Kip learned to prepare a host of delectable dishes—from rogan josh to tiramisu.

Months passed, and though a Sikh, Kip felt secure in his allegiance to India, the right side of the interminable conflict. But one day, a Pakistani ‘terrorist’ with long, flowing hair was swept up on the banks of the river, and everything changed.

Shuttling between the present and the past, Chef exults in culinary delights even (less)

1. Colonizers and settlers.

2. The Anuradhapura Kingdom I: aspects of political history from Saddhatissa to the Cola conquest.

3. The Anuradhapura Kingdom II: An irrigation civilization.

4. The Anuradhapura Kingdom III : the political economy.

5. The Anuradhapura Kingdom IV: a Buddhist civilization.

6. The Polonnaruva Kingdom: Indian summer of Sinhalese power.

7. The fragmentation of the Sri Lankan polity: from c.

1250 to the end of the fifteenth century. 8.

The periphery stakes a claim. 9.

The crisis of the sixteenth century. 10.

Portuguese rule in the maritime regions, C. 1600-58.

11. The Kandyan Kingdom at Bay, 1658-87.

12. The struggle for mastery over Sri Lanka, C.

1680-1766. 13.

Trade and agriculture under the voc. 14.

The VOC in Sri Lanka: the last phase, 1767-96. 15.

The impact of Dutch rule. 16.

Religion, literature and the arts in the Kandyan Kingdom. 17.

The English East India Company in (less)

Crucial cases that have made a decisive impact on the nation, especially on the interpretation of the law. The relationship between the political class and the judiciary.

The cancer of corruption and how to combat this menace. The author outlines measures to restore the now-low credibility of the legal profession.

He also delineates his role in several high-profile cases. In recognition of his track record, the Government of India nominated him to the Rajya Sabha.

He describes the highlights of his tenure there. Both members of the legal profession and the lay reader will find the contents (less)

Introduction/Maroof Raza. 1.

Terrorism: the Indian experience/Afsir Karim. 2.

Trends and influences of terror networks: comparisons from West and South Asia/Shairi Mathur. 3.

Terrorism and India's military/Gautam Das. 4.

Countering insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir: debates in the Indian Army/Ali Ahmed. 5.

The role of India's police in combating terrorism/Ved Marwah. 6.

Intelligence issues: Was the nation forewarned of 26/11?/Bhashyam Kasturi. 7.

Pakistan and terrorism/Samarjit Ghosh. 8.

The US-NATO counter-terrorism experience in Afghanistan/Swapna Kona Nayudu. 9.

Pre-empting and preventing nuclear terrorism/Bharat Karnad. Acknowledgements.

Notes. Notes on contributors.

"The attacks on Mumbai on 26 November 2008 brought home to Indians the full horror of terrorism. It also brought home, quite literally, the change in the contemporary face of war.

War today is no longer confined to battlefields; it is right here. How is India equipped to deal with this menace which has been described as an 'ultramodern, and a very traditional, conspiracy?' (less)

Introduction: working with available light. 2.

Time and space in India: 50 million to 50,000 BCE. 3.

Civilization in the Indus Valley: 50,000 to 1500 BCE. 4.

Between the ruins and the text: 2000 to 1500 BCE. 5.

Humans, animals and Gods in the Rig Veda: 1500 to 1000 BCE. 6.

Sacrifice in the Brahmanas: 800 to 500 BCE. 7.

Renunciation in the Upanishads: 600-200 BCE. 8.

The three (or is it four?) Aims of life in the Hindu imaginary. 9.

Women and ogresses in the Ramayana : 400 BCE to 200 CE. 10.

Violence in the Mahabharata: 300 BCE to 300 CE. 11.

Dharma in the Mahabharata: 300 BCE to 300 CE. 12.

Escape clauses in the Shastras: 100 BCE to 400 CE. 13.

Bhakti in South India: 100 BCE to 900 CE. 14.

Goddesses and Gods in the Early Puranas: 300 to (less)

The 100 Lyrics in this volume, published to Comcide with Gulzar's seventy-fifth birthday, are handpicked by Gulzar himself, and represent his most memorable compositions of all time (less)

31 October 1984. 2.

Not riots but murder. 3.

What the state was doing. 4.

The men behind the violence. 5.

The aftermath. 6.

Why I hurled the shoe. "The unanswered questions, the justice delayed, the unbearable memories--the three days of 1984 when over 3000 Sikhs were slaughtered have indelibly marked the lives of thousands more who continue to exist in a twilight of bitterness and despair.

It was outrage at this state of affairs that led Jarnail Singh, an unassuming, law-abiding journalist, to throw his shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a Press Conference in New Delhi.

He readily acknowledges that this was not an appropriate means of protest as a journalist, but asks why, twenty-five years after the massacres, so little has been done to address the issues that are still unresolved and unanswered and a source of anguish to the whole community. I accuse.

..

. is (less)

Their cosy domestic scenario undergoes great upheaval with the introduction of the vivacious Binodini, a young, attractive widow who comes to live with them. Asha and Binodini become bosom pals.

Binodini is initially drawn to Behari but then begins to respond to the advances of Mahendra, who has become obsessively attracted to her. After several twists and turns, Binodini elopes with Mahendra, leaving the entire family in turmoil.

On the one hand, A Grain of Sand: Chokher Bali is a sensational account of two illicit relationships: Mahendra's infatuation with Binodini which blinds him to everything else, and Binodini's secret passion (less)