‘Anchhuye Prashna’ or ‘Unexplained Questions’ – In this book, Swami Ji has taken up such questions, which have not come to the notice of the society. Besides, clarification has been provided on the subjects related with Dhyana (meditation), Hath Yoga, Chakra Bhedan and Yoga etc. and guidance has been provided to the disillusioned masses.
This book examines Shyam Benegal’s films and alternative image(s) of India in his cinema, and traces the trajectory of changing aesthetics of his cinema in the post-liberalisation era. The book engages with the challenges faced by India as a nation-state in post-colonial times. Looking at hybrid and complex narratives of films like Manthan, Junoon, Kalyug, Charandas Chor, Sooraj Ka Satvaan Ghoda, Zubeidaa and Well Done Abba , among others, it analyses how these stories and characters, adapted and derived from mythology, folk-tales, historical fiction and novels, are rooted in the socio-political contexts of modern India. The author explores diverse themes in Benegal’s cinema such as the loss of home and identity, women’s sexuality, and the status of dalits and Muslims in India. He also focuses on how the filmmaker expertly weaves history with myth, culture, and contemporary politics and discusses the debate around the interpretive value of film adaptations, adaptation of history and the representations of marginalised communities and liminal spaces. The book will be useful for students and researchers of film studies, cultural studies, and the humanities. It will also interest readers of Indian cinema and the social and cultural history of India.
“An unexpected joy of a book . . . it follows an emotional and culinary journey from childhood in pre-independence Uganda to London in the 21st century.”—The Sunday Times Through the personal story of Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s family and the food and recipes they’ve shared together, The Settler’s Cookbook tells the history of Indian migration to the UK via East Africa. Her family was part of the mass exodus from India to East Africa during the height of British imperial expansion, fleeing famine and lured by the prospect of prosperity under the empire. In 1972, expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin, they moved to the UK, where Yasmin has made her home with an Englishman. The food she cooks now combines the traditions and tastes of her family’s hybrid history. Here you’ll discover how shepherd’s pie is much enhanced by sprinkling in some chili, Victoria sponge can be enlivened by saffron and lime, and the addition of ketchup to a curry can be life-changing . . . “Alibhai-Brown paints a lively picture of a community that stayed trapped in old ways until it was too late to change . . . [a] brave book.”—The Guardian “For many of us food is the gateway experience into other cultures and lives. Yasmin’s personal story intertwined with the foods which mean so much to her touched me deeply. And made me hungry. You can’t ask for more.”—Gavin Esler, author of Brexit Without the Bullshit: The Facts on Food, Jobs, Schools, and the NHS “It’s beautifully written, as you would expect, and utterly fascinating. There are some wonderful dishes here too.”—Tribune
Kings and Scientists, Gurus and Professors, Maharathi Warriors and Indian Army Veterans. All will fight against the rising dark powers of Pataal Loka: The Asuras. Kingdom of Vedgarh, an ancient home of purebred Aryans nestled amidst the Himalayas and hidden from the modern societies, is the sole preserver of sacred Vedic knowledge and celestial powers. Sitting on the verge of yet another great war with Asuras, the kingdom is eagerly waiting for a Maharathi warrior to lead its forces. With intensifying Kaliyuga, Asuras' dark powers are rising with every passing day. As a fallback step, the kingdom opens its gates for modern Science and weapons. A grand research project begins to harmonize ancient Vedic miracles with modern scientific principles. But the budding internal politics is eating up the kingdom like parasites. Will it impact the research project as well? What will happen if an internal conflict arises between Modern Science and Ancient Vedic science? Will Asuras win and destroy the universe's last hope of defeating the Kaliyuga forever? Book one of The Forbidden Rhymes series begins the saga of the greatest war of Daivi Astras in the history of mankind.
"This beautifully produced pictorial volume traces the journey of Ludhiana’s evolution in the field of performing arts – a journey that’s intrinsically woven into the weft and weave of the Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam or the LSS.‘To create a world of art. A world of creative expressions.’This was the objective of the LSS when it began as a membership club. But what the LSS did to Ludhiana’s art and culture scene was something that even the founders did not envisage.Taking us behind the scenes, the authors Sunil Kant Munjal and S K Rai, reveal a gamut of experiences – some funny, some serious, some exceptional – but all human... as performers from various walks of life make the stage come alive in Ludhiana at the LSS.Read about how Jaya Bachchan brought drama to real life; Anupam Kher’s untold story; the dedication of the Shah family; the humility and warmth of Pandit Jasraj...This book is a must-read for art connoisseurs looking for insights into their favorite icons."
The Greatest Story Ever Told...Again Bombay 1955. Aging Parsi businessman Rustom Pestonjee chances upon brilliant archer Yash Kuru at the Gateway of India. Struggling to make ends meet to feed his two nephews and adopted son, Yash accepts Pestonjee’s offer to become a hitman for one night, the start of a unique relationship. When Pestonjee dies, Yash pledges to be regent of his mentor’s empire of crime, and hand it over one day to the most deserving man from a yet-unborn generation of Kurus. Yash’s august ‘dharma’ will now determine the destinies of three generations of Kuru men and women. Mumbai 2007. A family torn asunder and an empire up for grabs. Yash’s grand-nephews battle it out for control of the city’s underworld, as Rishabh, Vikram and Jeet try to reclaim what Rahul and Ranjit had seized from them through deceit. Can the wily Kishenbhai’s strategy defeat Karl Fernandes’ deadly warcraft? Will pitiless Jahn get the revenge she yearns for? Who will own Mumbai? A modern-day version of The Mahabharata, The Last War is a page-turning account of brothers in arms and families at war. In the gritty expanse of India’s most dynamic city, from its ritzy high-rises to its mean streets and slums, loyalties are tested, blood is drawn and only ‘dharma’ can justify the means to a devastating end.
"The essays in this volume explore adab, the Muslim ideal of the harmonious life of a person who knows the proper relationship to God, to others, and to oneself, and who, as a result, plays a special role among his or her fellows."--Jacket.
‘We are like the Corleones in The Godfather’—Randhir Kapoor There is no film family quite like the Kapoors. A family of professional actors and directors, they span almost eighty years of film-making in India, from the 1920s to the present. Each decade in the history of Hindi films has had at least one Kapoor—if not more—playing a large part in defining it. Never before have four generations of this family—or five, if you include Bashesharnath Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor’s father, who played the judge in Awara—been brought together in one book. The Kapoors details the professional careers and personal lives of each generation—box-office successes and failures, the ideologies that informed their work, the larger-than-life Kapoor weddings and Holi celebrations, their extraordinary romantic liaisons and family relationships, their love for food and their dark passages with alcohol. Based on extensive personal interviews conducted over seven years with family members and friends, Madhu Jain goes behind the façade of each member of the Kapoor clan to reveal what makes them tick. The Kapoors resembles the films that the great showman Raj Kapoor made: grand and sweeping, with moments of high drama and touching emotion. ‘Few books on Indian cinema have been written with such wit, clarity and sparkle’—Outlook ‘Jain writes in a language that is simple and pithy. . . it will keep alive public interest in the Kapoors who refuse to call it a day’—Telegraph ‘Immensely readable...will surely find a place in the Indian cineaste’s library’—Biblio
A 14-year-old girl is butchered in a high school shooting. A 72-year-old woman is throttled at home. A 7-year-old child is crushed into the concrete by a trash dumper. The only thing common between all of them: their name. Someone is slaughtering every woman, girl, and child named Natasha Mehra . . . Which is what Natasha Mehra, the most unpopular girl on campus, discovers. Though she' s always hated her name, she would' ve never imagined that it would be the reason she would be on the run from a gruesome death. But these murders aren' t random acts of madness. Rather, they are part of a conspiracy hatched by the Kul, an all-powerful secret organisation with tentacles everywhere. And the success or failure of this 2000-year-old mission will determine the future of humankind . . .