The Visual World of Muslim India: The Art,
Culture and Society of the Deccan in the Early Modern Era
Laura Parodi
I B Tauris [hardback], 2014
PRs 13,530
A richly illustrated and comprehensive exploration of the art of the late medieval and early modern Deccan, this book explores how and why court art, artefacts and built environments were created and experienced, and which other agencies were involved besides and beyond the court. Beginning with the idea of large spaces experienced daily by a range of subjects, Parodi continues with examples of architecture and architectural decoration that affirmed peculiar identities or beliefs, and finally considers some artefacts that played a role in court diplomacy as well as everyday life. She examines the visual landscapes of the Deccan, including the magnificent Qutb Shahi capital of Golconda, as well as smaller, lesser-known structures that constituted the ‘city’ in the early modern Deccan. Parodi also focuses on painting and painters, and their intersection with court policy and diplomacy. The last section of the book leaves the boundaries of the court and looks at wider patterns of the circulation of goods and ideas, highlighting the momentous social changes that followed the Mughal conquest of the Deccan (and their subsequent withdrawal from the region).
The Punjab: Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed
Ishtiaq Ahmed
Rupa Publications [paperback], 2011
PRs 990
A riveting account of the partition of the Punjab in 1947, this book is a holistic study of the first major case of ethnic cleansing after the Second World War. Besides shedding new light on the events based on secret British reports, it contains poignant accounts of eyewitnesses, survivors and even participators in the carnage from both sides of the border. Ahmed aims to give a balanced account of Partition and show how religious differences are no bar to peaceful coexistence unless highlighted by divisive forces.
The Sunil Gavaskar Omnibus
Sunil Gavaskar
Rupa Publications [paperback], 1999
PRs 762
Sunil “Sunny” Gavaskar: the gentleman cricketer who played for Mumbai and India during the 1970s and 1980s. This omnibus brings together three of his most riveting books. The classic Sunny Days traces his cricketing career from childhood onwards. In Idols, Gavaskar pays tribute to 31 of his contemporaries from the cricketing world, including Javed Miandad, Vivian Richards, Sir Gary Sobers, and B S Chandrasekhar. One-Day Wonders is a superb collection of the most memorable one-day matches played by India. Originally published to coincide with the “Little Master’s” fiftieth birthday, this volume remains a must-have for all cricket enthusiasts.
Grand Delusions: A Short Biography of Kolkata
Indrajit Hazra
Aleph Book Company [hardback], 2013
PRs 590
Hazra’s exploration of Kolkata – once Calcutta, headquarters of the Raj – goes far beyond the expected stories about a metropolis that has been mined for clichés by a long line of writers, artists, grumblers and tellers of tall tales. He takes his readers to the eccentric paras (neighbourhoods) and clubs of the north and the south; past buildings crumbling silently into spectacular ruins; deep inside Park Street’s iconic restaurants and watering holes; through roads choked by political rallies to rundown cinema halls haunted by lonely men and into the lairs of soothsayers and tantric love gurus. Part personal essay, part documentary, part cultural history, Grand Delusions is utterly distinctive and full of surprises. Both intimate and provocative, it shines new light on a great and fascinating city. Hazra conveys his deep knowledge of Kolkata’s history and culture with style and wit, deftly capturing the city’s glories and disenchantments, its ironies and its anxieties.
Thistle and Drone: America’s War on Terror or War on Tribal Islam?
Akbar Ahmed
Repr. Vanguard [hardback], 2013
PRs 1,295
In the wake of 9/11, the US declared a “war on terrorism”. More than ten years later, the results are decidedly mixed. Here, world-renowned author, diplomat, and scholar Akbar Ahmed reveals an important yet largely ignored result of this war: in many nations it has exacerbated the already tenuous relationship between central governments and the largely rural Muslim tribal societies on the peripheries of both Muslim and non-Muslim nations. Ahmed’s study demonstrates that this conflict between the centre and the periphery has entered a new and dangerous stage with US involvement after 9/11 and the deployment of drones in the hunt for Al Qaeda. In this, the third volume of his ground-breaking trilogy, Ahmed draws on 40 case studies representing the global span of Islam to demonstrate how the US has become involved, directly or indirectly, in each of these societies. Beginning with Waziristan in Pakistan and extending to societies in Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, this book offers a fresh approach to the conflicts studied and presents an unprecedented paradigm for understanding and winning the war on terror.