One unmistakable feature of the Indian highway is the presence of these brightly decorated trucks that ply the country's roads. The men who drive these trucks spend long hours on the road and can be away from their families for weeks at a time, so their trucks act as a second home and they take great pride in them. In Horn Please photographer Dan Eckstein travelled across India's byzantine and burgeoning road network documenting these elaborate trucks - representing a blinding mash up of new and old India.
Horn OK Please (HOP) depicts India from the perspective of an unusual individual, one who is a successful executive in the Indian corporate sector. The book is targeted toward the educated urban class, young working professionals, NRIs, and anyone who wants to know what the outlook and life of the urban working professional is in India today. It offers hope, portraying a movement beyond the mere struggle for existence, a freedom from the mundane and an aspiration for a better society underlined with a passion for driving coupled with a lust for life. It delves into the joys of crass commercialism, a dream of long drives lived through the book and culminating in a positive view of India as a nation that will be an eye-opener for the world. Although not a travelogue in the true sense, the book illustrates a journey of sorts with a large part of the book actually written on a road trip while also including reflections from various stages of Kartik's life. Every chapter begins with a sarcastic poetic snippet, goes on to set the context, present his points of view and culminates in a warped moralistic end from a virtual community. Through the book Kartik uses techniques like feigned ignorance, unacceptable slang (mostly understood only by a handful of social media geeks) to ask rudimentary, thought provoking and sometimes merely provoking questions. The hopefulness is, however evident in every kilometer of the book which looks at the goodness and prosperity that is clearly visible across a booming India. The second book is already in progress and is titled "Horn OK Please The SCROTUM Scrolls".The narratives range from his experiences in adventure sports to incidents involving hospital visits. There are many accounts from foreigners who have traveled across the country. In contrast there is an account of someone who portrays himself as a moron with a low IQ, also addressing readers in the same vein while taking them on a journey that shows them his perspective of the country, eloquently disproving moronic notions along the way. This book will shatter the illusion of docile corporate workers in a nation that is considered to be humorless, self-effacing and living in its past glory.
A NEW YEAR AT RAGLEY-ON-THE-FOREST SCHOOL... It's 1981, the time of Adam and the Ants, Rubik's Cube, the Sony Walkman and the Falklands War, as head teacher Jack Sheffield returns to Ragley-on-the-Forest School for another rollercoaster year. Vera, the ever-efficient chool secretary, has to grapple with a new-fangled computer - and enjoys a royal occasion - while Ruby the caretaker rediscovers romance with a Butlin's Redcoat. And for Jack, wedding bells are in the air. But the unexpected is just round the corner...
Muriel assumes her family is too poor to hold a Passover Seder this year--but an act of kindness and a mysterious magician change everything. It's the Spring of 1933 in Washington D.C., and the Great Depression is hitting young Muriel's family hard. Her father has lost his job, and her family barely has enough food most days, let alone for a Passover Seder. They don't even have any wine to leave out for the prophet Elijah's ceremonial cup. With no feast to rush home to, Muriel wanders by the Lincoln Memorial, where she encounters a mysterious magician in whose hands juggled eggs become lit candles. After she makes a kind gesture, he encourages her to run home for her Seder, and when she does, she encounters a holiday miracle, a bountiful feast of brisket, soup, and matzah. But who was this mysterious benefactor? When Muriel sees Elijah's ceremonial cup is empty, she has a good idea. This fresh retelling of the classic I.L. Peretz story, best known through Uri Shulevitz's 1973 adaptation The Magician, has been sumptuously illustrated by noted graphic novelist Sean Rubin, who based his art on photographs of D.C. in the 1930s. An author note with information about the holiday is included. An Association of Jewish Libraries Spring Holiday Highlight A Booklist Editors' Choice A CSMCL Best Multicultural Children's Book of the Year
When a thirteen year old boy falls in love for the first time, he surely will suffer temporary inner turmoil. But if the center of his desire appears to be of the same sex, the turmoil will be painful and his life a complete shamles.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology
