7/31/2019 Niyogi books Reading Corner Volume July-September

1/4

RNI NO. DELENG/2008/26953Volume 4, Issue 3, JulySeptember 2012

HISTORY LITERATURE ART CULTURE HERITAGE BIOGRAPHY TRAVELOGUE WILDLIFE RELIGION SELF-HELP FICTION TRANSLATION

The Quest

Goutam Ghoses lm The Quest(Moner Manush) has wonmany prestigious awards including the Golden Peacock

for the Best Film at the 41st International Film Festival in

India and the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on

National Integration at the 58th National Film Awards

Sarojini Naidu: Her Way

With Words takes a look at

the fascinating personality

of this poet, freedom ghter

and woman with great

oratorical skills

Price:` 2

Author Ruskin Bond recently

received yet another honour

the prestigious Lifetime

Achievement Award from the

Delhi Government

Reprints of three historical

bo ok s fro m th e Nation al

Archives of India present, in

great detail and depth, a look

at an era long gone by

The lm script of The Quest (Moner Manush), based on a novel by Sunil

Gangopadhyay, is much more than a biography of Lalon Fakir. It reveals the

stages of a simple young mans emergence as Lalon Fakir, the prevailing social

2 4

connes of communal faith they had found a large expanse under the sky,

which had served as a bountiful meeting place for many religions. In Lalons

words, they were like a rudderless raft in a shore-less river; a hidden

current where those who wanted to get lost can get lost.

Goutam Ghose has produced several documentaries on prominent

personalities such as Ustad Bismillah Khan, Satyajit Ray and HH Dalai

Lama, in addition to ten feature lms and a number of advertisement,

corporate and short lms. He has won fteen National Awards and is the

only Indian to win the coveted Vittori Di Sica Award. He was awarded

the Knighthood of the Star of Italian Solidarity in 2008.

In addition to his own collections of

poems in English and Bengal i and

short stories in English, Shankar

Sen has translated into English

Tarapada Santras Folk Arts of

West Bengal and the Artist

Community and the Bengali

bestsellerMadhukari. Both these

books have been published by

Niyogi Books.

scenario, a disciples faith in his Guru and a mans endless journey in quest

of the single entity that his heart craved for. Lalons songs were devotional

lyricspoetic and passionate, carrying deep philosophical annotationsin

tune with the music of the Baul community of rural Bengal. The Baul

community renounced all recognised institutional religions and

revolted against long-established rites, customs and

faiths. Breaking down the barriers of the narrow

3

7/31/2019 Niyogi books Reading Corner Volume July-September

2/4

Volume 4, Issue 3, JulySeptember 20122

Intriguing IndiaThe Historic South

Sarojini NaiduHer Way With Words

Gupp and Gossipfrom the Hills

Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) was one of the most

outstanding women of her time. A poet, a freedom

ghter and a woman with great oratorical skills, she

was also known for her progressive thinking, her acerbic

wit and her compassion. In a world where politics

was dominated by men, she held her own, and

kept company with the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru,

Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose. In a

collection of writings about her, an essay by her as

well as selections of poems, folk songs and letters

sourced from the National Archives of India, the

reader is given an insight into the life and times

of this fascinating woman and her rich legacy.

The third book in this fascinating series, Hugh and Colleen

Gantzer invite the reader to join them as they let their

intuitions roam freely to unravel the mysteries of the

southern parts of the country

A look at some aspects of Sarojini Naidus fascinating

personalitythe romantic poet, the fervent patriot

and the skilful writer

In their travels around southern India, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer

look beyond history. What is the link between Daroji in tropical

Karnataka and the mysterious beast that prowls the snowy wastes

of the High Himalayas? Why were boulders carved as temples

There is not such a place as these hills for the tongue of false

report to wag about. Everybody thinks everybody elses

affairs to be more worth looking after than their own. Ifyou have a friend or two to lunch, tea or dinner, the whole

town is sure to know before noon next day what was on

your table and who said or ate what. Ganesh Saili reveals

his very personal collection of stories from the foothills

of the Himalayas in his latest book, which has delightful

illustrations by TK Manoj Kumar.

Freedom and freshness of outlook gave

Sarojini Naidu the astonishing insight

to see the signicance of compositeness

in Indian history. In 1906, at the age

of 27, she introduced an amendment at

the Indian National Conference substituting

India for Hindu. It was carried. Progressively, she

became more and more involved in the freedom struggle,

and, as a woman of special talent, became the prized trophy

of the Congress. She projected the modern face of Indian

womanhoodcondent, assertive and politically motivated.

This book is edited and introduced by Professor Mushirul

Hasan, an internationally renowned historian, prolic author

and former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia University,

Delhi. He is presently the Director General of the National

Archives of India.

of varied architectural styles in an ancient port? Did an extreme

rural sport in Tamil Nadu originate thousands of years ago in the

Mediterranean lands? Did supermen walk the earth in the sixth

century BC and has the image of one been captured in stone?

This is not a book about history or archaeology or anthropology or

any of the other very specialised sciences concerned with delvinginto the past, weighing and measuring it all, and presenting it as

the mind of the historian sees it. History is, too often, his-story:

the view of a specialist conforming to the rigours of his profession.

Let the Gantzers help you discover the incredible south.

Says Ruskin Bond: Spicy and saucy, this survey of a hill

station, past and present, is full of lively anecdotes about

its history, people, eccentrics, scandalseverything that

makes the place unique. The book is both informative and

entertaining. Never a dull moment. Never a dull page!

7/31/2019 Niyogi books Reading Corner Volume July-September

3/4

Volume 4, Issue 3, JulySeptember 20123

In Search of aNew Afghanistan

Wit and Wisdom: Pickings from

the Parsee Punch by Mushirul

Hasan makes headlines

Words ofthe Master

RecreatingHistory

Archives in India ReprintsDo we have the right balance of development and security

assistance towards the reconstruction of Afghanistan? Is the

strategy behind pushing the military into both combatant anddevelopment roles yielding any dividends in Afghanistan? This

well-researched book by Sujeet Sarkar raises many questions

about the situation in Afghanistan and the challenges the

country faces.

A set of twelve books by Rabindranath Tagore,

consisting of ve plays, ve poetry collections and two

books of essays, available in a beautiful gift pack.

Three historical books have been recently reprintedThe North-

Western Provinces of India, which traces the history, ethnology

and administration of the area; Things Indian, an alphabetical

listing of things Indian and The Native Races of the British

Empire: Northern India. These books were written by William

Crooke (Bengal Civil Service, retired) and present, in detail and

great depth, a look at an era long gone by.

7/31/2019 Niyogi books Reading Corner Volume July-September

4/4

4 Volume 4, Issue 3, JulySeptember 2012

World of Crafts

FORTHCOMING TITLES

Mandra

Mandra, the Saraswati Samman winner

for 2010, is one of the most acclaimed

epic novels of SL Bhyrappa. It has

already been successfully translatedinto Hindi and Marathi. Though it

takes its theme from the classical

question of art versus morality, many

more subtler and complex issues

haunting human life are marvellously interwoven. Rooted

deeply in the harsh realities of the world, the governing theme

evolves like a banyan tree in all directions and pictures many

home truths that are inseparable with art, artist, art tradition,

art criticism and the world of connoisseurs.

PERSONAL VIEW

NEWSMAkERS

Printed & published by Bikash D. Niyogi on behalf of Niyogi Books, D-78, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110 020, India, and printed at Niyogi Offset Pvt. Ltd., D-78, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110 020, India. Editor: Bikash D. Niyogi

Ph: +(91)-(11)-26816301, 49327000, Fax: +(91)-(11)-26810483/26813830, Email: niyogibooks@gmail.com, Website: www.niyogibooks.com

Clockwise from left: Crafts

Atlas of India released at

the India Habitat Centre,

New Delhi; at the launch

ofIn the Absence of

Jagannatha, Bhubaneswar;

Mapping India, released at

Taj Coromandel, Chennai;

It Happened Along the

Kaveri, released at the Raj

Bhavan, Bengaluru and Wit

and Wisdom: Pickings from

the Parsee Punch launched

at the India International

Centre, New Delhi.

Jaya Jaitly and her publishers, Niyogi Books, and all

those who have contributed maps and illustrations to this

astonishing book need more than our congratulations.

They deserve our thanks, the thanks of the age of

plastics and of cement to the living vestiges of an earlier

age. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay brought Jaya Jaitly to

my awareness. I owe my presence here to that link. I

have no credentials for launching this remarkable work,

this monument of a publication, this atlas, other than

that Jaya associates me with that remarkable woman.

The atlas of maps prepared by artists with invaluable

text by Jaya Jaitly is of a map of promise spread

on a table of adversity. It is a map of survival on a

eld of capitulation, and of brave perseverance amidst

the call for abject abdication. This atlas is therefore

the cartography of a miracle. It is also a road map for

that very miracle to go forwarda very Indian thing

to attempt.

Craftsmanship and artisanship reside among the

poorest of the poor. It is amazing how talent can

reside and thrive in the underprivileged.

Everyone knows who buildings are

named after. But do we know the names

of the craftspersons, the artisans, who

made them? Like those great workers,

todays artisans and craftspersons are

largely unknown. And like those workers, todays

artisans are also hugely talented. What they need

is a great engagement, a great enlisting for a great

self-articulation.

Thanks to Jaya Jaitlys album we now have in a

book, this atlas, details of their work across the length

and breadth of India. How are todays artisans to be

given a sense of purpose, a sense of sunrise rather than

a sunset. We will be wrong if we think that artisanship

and craftsmanship are about aesthetic judgment

and sentiment being on one side and commercial

judgment and reason being on the other. If that is theunderstanding then, I am sorry to say, the game is lost.

If we think that this atlas is about some ineffable spirit

of beauty and the rest is all philistine or is a gigantic

juggernaut of shallow economics and hollow statistics,

the case is over and the cause is lost.

Those concerned with the future of artisans will be

making an error if they think that way. Those who believe

that crafts are only about beauty and aesthetics are in

error, just as those who believe in the other argument,

the economic argument, and think that paying for

Ruskin Bond:The Mussoorie Years

A tribute to a friend of forty years.

Ganesh Saili captures memorable

moments in the life of Ruskin

Bond, right from infancy to the

present day. Presented in this

book, interspersed with photographs and writings, is a

unique offering that provides an insight into the life and

times of Ruskin Bond. It makes interesting reading for all

ages and is a visual delight as well.

Walking Through Fire

Randhir Khares gripping story

of Sean Varma, who, while lying

critically wounded in hospital, tries

desperately to decipher how he has

come to be there, but his trauma

prevents clari ty and push es him

instead to recollect his fragmented

life. A child of grandparents from

four different culturesSpanish,

Irish, English and Indianhe

survives an abusive childhood and

goes on to experience the trauma of

Kolkata at war with itself. The best years of his childhood

are spent dealing with a violent, alcoholic and womanising

father who cant keep down a job. Left to fend on his

own, Sean has to come to terms with the person he has

become. His journey leads him across the subcontinent to

the apocalyptic moment that will change him forever, and

help him make peace with his life.

A Darker Dawn, Middle Time, Kayakalpa: The Elixer of

Everlasting Youth, The Tenth Unknown, The Girmitiya Saga,

Uttara Yogi, Well Met in Cyprus and Soiled Clothes are

available in digitised versions in Kindle, Apple and Nook.

More titles to follow soon.

itself is the sole

just if icat ion, are

wrong. Here I am

not pleading for

some middle-of-

the-road line. I am urging the propagation of the crafts

of India not as the expression of a niche of Indian life

but, in fact, of the whole of the Peoplehood of India.

The time has come for us not to overthrow but

to overlay onto our political map a cartography that

recognises us for what we, in our basic being, are,

namely, a highly advanced form of life abjectly

dependent on a highly unpredictable ambience.

I will conclude with two subversive suggestions.

Plastics have a lobby, a huge and powerful lobby.

Crafts have a constituency. Jaya Jaitly has shown how

re-cycled plastic waste are used by craftspersons to

create new objects of beauty. That is good, but I am

not thinking of that. I suggest that we ask for a levy

or a cess to be imposed on plastic manufacture to

compensate for the extinction of those

hand-crafted objects that plastics have

replaced. This cannot be done in a

hurry. A study will have to be made of

what has been affected, and who the

affected parties are and how they can

be assisted by the new fund. But this should be done.

Plastics cannot be allowed to stomp the land as if they

own it to make what they like, sell what they like, and

create non-destructible litter which then occupies our

space and hurts us irretrievably.

Likewise, with cement. Now I have never lived in a

house that has no cement in it. We all use and depend

on cement. But there have to be some restrictions. I

suggest a similar cess or levy be imposed on cement

manufacture and use whereby any new building above

a certain dimension, or above a high-line, must pay

something towards the conservation of fragile listedheritage buildings, which are repositories of the craft-

skills of India where carpenters, masons, artisans have

worked hand in hand with labour.

Far from being in the sunset, the crafts of India must

be made to feel, and must become, part of a sunrise of

Indias great and creative interface with the substances

of its earth.

On the occasion of the release ofCrafts Atlas of India

by Jaya Jaitly

Another tribute to the deserving authorthe Delhi Government recently

bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ruskin Bond. Ruskin received

the award from the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit.

Economist, civil servant and

diplomat, Dr Abid Hussain

passed away on 21 June in

London. Dr Hussain was

presented the Padma Bhushan

in 1988. He has chaired

several important committees

set up by the Government of

India. We at Niyogi Books

value our association with

him and convey our heartfelt

condolences to his family.

By Gopalkrishna Gandhi

E-booksAvailable

We need to turn to thehuman beings behind

our crafts, to thepeoplehood of India