Sita is one of the defining figures of Indian womanhood, yet there is no single version of her story. Different accounts coexist in myth, literature and folktale. 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 life. It revisits mythology, reopening the debate on her birth, her days in exile, her abduction, the test by fire, the birth of her sons and, finally, her return to the earth offering fresh interpretations of this enigmatic figure and her indelible impact on our everyday lives.

In Search Of Sita

Gokhale, Namita

Religion & Spirituality

India Viking

Memoirs: Habib Tanveer

Biographies & Memoirs

Tanvir, Habib

Memoirs

Nobody has done more harm to me . . . than Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939. Had relations between the two great nationalist leaders soured to the extent that Bose had begun to view Nehru as his enemy? But then, why did he name one of the regiments of the Indian National Army after Jawaharlal? And what prompted Nehru to weep when he heard of Bose s untimely death in 1945 and to recount soon after, I used to treat him as my younger brother ? Rudrangshu Mukherjee s fascinating book traces the contours of a friendship that did not quite blossom as political ideologies diverged, and delineates the shadow that fell between them - for, Gandhi saw Nehru as his chosen heir and Bose as a prodigal son.

Nehru And Bose: Parallel Lives

Mukherjee, Rudrangshu

Historical

The Covid-19 pandemic has sharpened the divisions within and among countries. Nationalism continues to stir India, with the re-election of Narendra Modi in 2019, and in the US, despite the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020. The pandemic and the unsettling expansionism of China are reasons for heightened bilateral cooperation between the world's oldest and largest democracies, but they are increasingly protectionist and volatile. India and the US are trying hard to figure out their respective roles in the emerging world and their biliteral ties, as fears of a new Cold War, or even a military confrontation loom large. Both democracies are also grappling with contesting visions of their nationhood. Renewed debates over national security, borders, international trade, economic order, immigration, citizenship, state-society relations, the place of minorities, and institutional trust in both countries are noisy and fractious. In India, Narendra Modi's Hindutva Strategic Doctrine is reshaping India and advancing a new framework for its ties with the world; in the US, a significant portion of Trump's 'America First' nationalism has been embraced by his successor Joe Biden, demonstrating the salience of nationalism. Strategic commentaries tend to treat international relations in isolation from domestic politics. In a first, Open Embrace explores the domestic motivations of the strategic policies of India and the US. This new, wholly revised edition accounts for the post-pandemic shift in global politics and ongoing changes in the US politics around the defeat of Trump by Biden.

Open Embrace: India-US Ties in a Divided World

Politics & Social Sciences

George, Varghese K

Politics & Government

Seven Decades of Independent India

Rai, Vinod

Social Sciences

Masalamandi: A guide to the world of Indian spice blends

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Hussain, Sadaf

Main Courses & Side Dishes

The Essentials of World Religions

History

Sastry, Trilochan

World

An Indian Woman in Islamabad: 1997-2000

Ghanashyam, Ruchi

Community & Culture

At the start of his career as sub-collector of Parvathipuram sub-division in north-coastal Andhra Pradesh way back in 1974, Subbarao learnt--the hard way--that tribal development requires more than enthusiasm; it requires, most of all, an understanding of poverty. Nearly forty years later, in 2013, as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India in the midst of a fierce exchange rate crisis, Subbarao learnt--once again the hard way--the harsh challenges of emerging economies in an unequal world. Bookended by these assignments is the remarkable journey of a small-town boy from a modest background to the top echelons of India's civil service and then on to the helm of the country's central bank. Subbarao recounts that journey--his hopes and despair, his successes and setbacks, his mistakes and misdeeds, and the lessons he learnt along the way--with rare candour and honesty. The subtext of that story though is his constant soul searching about whether he has given back to society more than he received. Just a Mercenary? is a warm, engaging and earnest account of an extraordinary career that is bound to inform and inspire young professionals trying to find their way up their career ladders and discover meaning in their journeys.

Just a Mercenary: Notes from My Life and Career

Subbarao, Duvvuri

The Notbook of Kabir: Thinner than Water, Fiercer than Fire

Literature & Fiction

ANAND

Poetry

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