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Welcome to this edition of The Hindu on Books Newsletter. Tributes have been pouring in for constitutional expert, lawyer, scholar and writer A.G. Noorani who passed away on August 29 at 93, weeks before his 94th birthday on September 16. Writers and friends have been celebrating his rich legacy. He leaves behind a treasure trove of books that analysed and disseminated complex aspects of the law and the Constitution, politics, human rights, civil liberties and history. Some of his well-known books include The Kashmir Question, Constitutional Questions and Citizens’ Rights, Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu & Kashmir, The Destruction of Hyderabad, The Muslims of India, The Babri Masjid Question, India-China Boundary Problem 1846-1947 and The RSS: A Menace to India. Mincing no words, he began his book on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh with this: “What is at stake is not only the Indian Dream. What is at stake is the soul of India.”
In reviews we read about Saurabh Kirpal’s new book, a thriller set in Ooty, a novel on the duality of city life, and talk to literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil about her new book on the rich literary tradition of Urdu poets.
Books of the week
In his new book, Who is Equal? (Vintage), senior advocate and queer rights activist Saurabh Kirpal stresses on the importance to fight for equality as long as inequality exists. “Talking about equality would become irrelevant when there will be no equality,” he tells Chittajit Mitra. Inequality, he contends, is a reflection of the structural problems that exist in society and as long as they don’t disappear, inequality will not. “From the perspective of a queer person, while Section 377 is gone, there is marriage inequality, and on a daily basis, people are petrified of coming out at work, because of fear of harassment or wrongful termination.” Different people, says Kirpal, try to bring about change in different ways. He has tried to present a book written in relatively simple language, highlighting issues and how the courts have dealt with it in the past, and which areas still need to be examined.
Rohit Manchanda’s the Enclave (Fourth Estate) is a slice of urban life story told around the protagonist Maya’s joys and struggles of daily existence. Maya is a mother, poet and full-time employee of a centre that deals with education and policy, and Manchanda, says the reviewer Percy Bharucha, expounds contemporary notions that plague urban Indians, including the hypocrisy and duality of their milieu. “The Enclave is a lyrical read and while its plot might seem all too familiar, its prose is what sets it apart,” points out Bharucha.
Blood, With A Drop of Sherry (Olympia Publishers) by T.S. Marni is a debut thriller set in colonial-era Ooty which has lots of charm and a host of colourful characters, writes Stanley Carvalho in his review. Marni is the pseudonym for three sisters, and the novel begins with A.J. Panicker returning to his hometown after 18 years in England with ambitious plans of developing his property in Ooty. And then a murder takes place. Carvalho says the racy novel with 36 short chapters will keep the reader engrossed and guessing who the killer might be.
Spotlight
Rakhshanda Jalil’s latest book, Love in the Time of Hate: In the Mirror of Urdu (Simon&Schuster), is a collection of essays on Urdu poetry and the Indian polity. In an interview with Maaz Bin Bilal, she says the book is a search for voices that speak of love rather than hate, inclusion rather than exclusion, commonalities rather than differences. “I am not claiming that any of this is new. I am calling attention to a wealth that has been hiding in plain sight for Urdu readers for centuries; through translations and a narrative that strings together these diverse ‘pearls’ on a common thread, I am simply making them accessible to English readers.” The Urdu poet, Ghalib et al, has written something for every occasion, every sentiment, every impulse that flickers through the human heart, she points out. “There comes a time in the history of nations when they need their poets the most... for it is the poets who can remind people of the essential values that hold them together. For us in India, that time is now....”
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- The Maz Files (Westland Books) by Dubai-based journalist Mazhar Farooqi traces international crime lords, taking readers from the Burj Khalifa to the badlands of Zimbabwe. He writes in the introduction that his “stories on drug lords, ruthless killers, dreaded gangsters, serial scamsters, forex fraudsters and sex predators often rubbed a great many people the wrong way.” The book also reveals some untold stories, which could not be published in the newspaper for a variety of reasons.
- Richard Lobo’s Human at Work (Penguin) is a journey through the challenges of the modern workplace, from navigating economic uncertainties to adapting to new workplace dynamics. Lobo’s key message is clear: humans must remain at the centre of every technological shift. With case studies and insights, Lobo looks at the future of work in the time of AI.
- The second book in ‘The Alloy Era’ series traces genetically engineered posthuman Akshaya and her best friend Somya’s journey to the most historic orb in the universe in S.B. Divya’s Loka (Hachette). While discovering the dangers of the planet, they explore love and friendship.
- Matt Haig’s The Life Impossible (Canongate) is the story of a retired Maths teacher Grace Winters who goes to Ibiza with no plan and no return ticket. She has inherited the home of a long-lost friend who has passed away. In her journey to learn more about her friend’s life, she must first come to terms with her own past.
Published - September 03, 2024 12:35 pm IST