It is now over two decades since the Hindi-film heroine drove the vamp into extinction, and even longer since the silver screen was ignited by the true Bollywood version of a cabaret. Yet, Helen nicknamed H-Bomb at the height of her career continues to rule the popular imagination. Improbably, for a dancer and a vamp she has become an icon. Jerry Pintos gloriously readable book is a study of the phenomenon that was Helen: Why did a refugee of French-Burmese parentage succeed as wildly as she did in mainstream Indian cinema? How could otherwise conservative families sit through, and even enjoy, her cabarets? What made Helen the desire that you need not be embarrassed about feeling? How did she manage the unimaginable: vamp three generations of men on screen? Equally, the book is a brilliantly witty and provocative examination of middle-class Indian morality; the politics of religion, gender and sexuality in popular culture; and the importance of the song, the item number and the wayward woman in Hindi cinema.

Helen: The Life and Times of A Bollywood H-Bomb: Jerry Pinto

Pinto, Jerry

Sports & Outdoors

India Portfolio

Described variously as the Kashi of the South, the Rome of the East and the pearl of the Orient, Goa, located on the west coast of India, is renowned for its scenic charm, its beaches, and the architectural splendor of its temples, churches and old houses. With its sun-sand-surf leitmotif it is also the land of the lotus-eater, a tourist's paradise of fun and frolic, raves and revelry. But Goa is more than just the world's favorite holiday destination. Its unique history, shaped by the various dynasties that ruled it the Rashtrakutas, the Kadambas and the Bahmani Muslims, before its 450-year-long occupation by the Portuguese from 1510 has given it a distinctive flavour, a different rhythm, an easy cosmopolitanism. Reflected in Water is a collection of essays, poems, stories and extracts from published works that bring to life both the natural beauty and the changing social and political ethos of India's smallest state. From Mario Cabral e Sa's delightful take on the earliest Portuguese women to come to India to Gita Mehta's description of hippies at Calangute, from Alexander Frater's mesmerizing account of Goa in the monsoon to Manohar Malgonkar's ode to the Mangeshi temple, this anthology celebrates the irreverent and the sacred in equal measure. Teotonia R. de Souza's profile of the little-known opium smuggler who tried to liberate Goa' is as captivating as Frederick Noronha's portrait of Abbé Faria, eighteenth-century priest, mesmerist and revolutionary, and one of the region's most famous sons. While Antoine Lewis fleshes out Goa's culinary delights, Frank Simoes pays a tribute to feni, the quintessential spirit of the place. Naresh Fernandes's obsessive search for the elusive humerus of St Francis Xavier echoes Vivek Menezes's quest for a painting by F.N. Souza, arguably the greatest painter the state has produced. And various aspects of Goa's history and society, arts and architecture engage the interest of writers as diverse as William Dalrymple and Graham Greene, Maria Couto and Armando Menezes. Insightful essays, intense poetry and evocative fiction, as alluring as the place they describe, make Reflected in Water redolent of the very essence of Goa.

Reflected in Water: Writings on Goa

History

Asia

Penguin Global

The devastatingly original debut novel from a winner of the 2016 Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction. “Profoundly moving . . . I cannot remember when I last read something as touching as this.” —Amitav Ghosh, author of The Glass Palace First published by a small press in India, Jerry Pinto’s debut novel has already taken the literary world by storm. Suffused with compassion, humor, and hard-won wisdom, Em and the Big Hoom is a modern masterpiece, and its American publication is certain to be one of the major literary events of the season. Meet Imelda and Augustine, or—as our young narrator calls his unusual parents—Em and the Big Hoom. Most of the time, Em smokes endless beedis and sings her way through life. She is the sun around which everyone else orbits. But as enchanting and high-spirited as she can be, when Em’s bipolar disorder seizes her she becomes monstrous, sometimes with calamitous consequences for herself and others. This accomplished debut is graceful and urgent, with a one-of-a-kind voice that will stay with readers long after the last page.

Em and the Big Hoom: A Novel

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Penguin??Books

Cobalt Blue

A paying guest seems like a win-win proposition to the Joshi family. He's ready with the rent, he's willing to lend a hand when he can and he's happy to listen to Mrs Joshi on the imminent collapse of our culture. But he's also a man of mystery. He has no last name. He has no family, no friends, no history and no plans for the future. The siblings Tanay and Anuja are smitten by him. He overturns their lives and when he vanishes, he breaks their hearts. Elegantly wrought and exquisitely spare, Cobalt Blue is a tale of rapturous love and fierce heartbreak told with tenderness and unsparing clarity.

Literature & Fiction

Kundalkar, Sachin

Literary

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE INDIA PVT.LTD.

Em and the Big Hoom

Contemporary

Penguin

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. First published by a small press in India, Jerry Pinto's devastatingly original debut novel has already taken the literary world by storm. Suffused with compassion, humor, and hard-won wisdom, Em and the Big Hoom is a modern masterpiece, and its American publication is certain to be one of the major literary events of the season. Meet Imelda and Augustine, or, as our young narrator calls his unusual parents, Em and the Big Hoom. Most of the time, Em smokes endless beedis and sings her way through life. But when Em's bipolar disorder seizes her she becomes monstrous, sometimes with calamitous consequences for herself and others. This accomplished debut is graceful and urgent, with a one-of-a-kind voice that will stay with readers long after the last page.

Em And The Big Hoom (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Turtleback Books

First published by a small press in India, Jerry Pinto'sdevastatingly original debut novel has already taken the literary world bystorm. Suffused with compassion, humor, and hard-won wisdom, Em and the BigHoom is a modern masterpiece, and its American publication is certain to beone of the major literary events of the season.Meet Imelda and Augustine, or-as our young narrator callshis unusual parents-Em and the Big Hoom. Most of the time, Em smokesendless beedies and sings her way through life. She is the sun aroundwhich everyone else orbits. But as enchanting and high-spirited as she can be,when Em's bipolar disorder seizes her she becomes monstrous, sometimes withcalamitous consequences for herself and others. This accomplished debut isgraceful and urgent, with a one-of-a-kind voice that will stay with readerslong after the last page.

Em and the Big Hoom: Library Edition

Blackstone Pub

A Very Indian Christmas: The Greatest Indian Holiday Stories of All Time (Very Christmas)

Tagore, Rabīndranāth

LAHIRI, JHUMPA

Adiga,Aravind

RUSHDIE,SALMAN

Mauzo, Damodar

New Vessel Press

Il grande Uhm

Salani

Winner of 'The Hindu' Literary Prize 2012

Rupa Publications PVT Limited

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Books by Pinto, Jerry