8 August 1942. As Gandiji and prominent leaders are put in jail, Babu and Manju suddenly find themselves a part of the larger protests--their schools close down and their father is put behind bars. Their daring brother Mohan goes underground and the rest of the family moves to Narayanpur, a sleepy little village seemingly untouched by the turbulence in the country. But Narayanpur is seething within and it all comes to a head when a group of children dare to confront the police.
A delectable offering of the best stories written by master storytellers, including Ruskin Bond, Anita Desai, Satyajit Ray, R.K. Narayan, Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth, to name a few. Each story represents the richness and range of contemporary writing for children, and is beautifully illustrated to make this truly a collector's item.
As collective violence erupts in many regions throughout the world, we often hear media reports that link the outbreaks to age-old ethnic or religious hostilities, thereby freeing the state from responsibility. Through five case studies of both rural and urban public violence, political scientist Paul Brass shows that government and the media often select and focus most on those that support existing relations of power in state and society.
Jay'S Life Comes Apart At The Seams When Her Husband Is Asked To Leave His Job While Allegations Of Business Malpractice Against Him Are Investigated. Her Familiar Existence Disrupted, Her Husband'S Reputation In Question And Their Future As A Family In Jeopardy, Jaya, A Failed Writer, Is Haunted By Memories Of The Past. Differences With Her Husband, Frustrations In Their Seventeen-Year-Old Marriage, Disappointment In Her Two Teenage Children, The Claustrophia Of Her Childhood&Amp;Mdash;All Begin To Surface. In Her Small Suburban Bombay Flat, Jaya Grapples With These And Other Truths About Herself&Amp;Mdash;Among Them Her Failure At Writing And Her Fear Of Anger. Shashi Deshpande Gives Us An Exceptionally Accomplished Portrayal Of A Woman Trying To Erase A 'Long Silence' Begun In Childhood And Rooted In Herself And In The Constraints Of Her Life.
As collective violence erupts in many regions throughout the world, we often hear media reports that link the outbreaks to age-old ethnic or religious hostilities, thereby freeing the state, its agents, and its political elites from responsibility. Paul Brass encourages us to look more closely at the issues of violence, ethnicity, and the state by focusing on specific instances of violence in their local contexts and questioning the prevailing interpretations of them. Through five case studies of both rural and urban public violence, including police-public confrontations and Hindu-Muslim riots, Brass shows how, out of many possible interpretations applicable to these incidents, government and the media select those that support existing relations of power in state and society. Adopting different modes--narrator, detective, and social scientist--Brass treats incidents of collective violence arising initially out of common occurrences such as a drunken brawl, the rape of a girl, and the theft of an idol, and demonstrates how some incidents remain localized while others are fit into broader frameworks of meaning, thereby becoming useful for upholders of dominant ideologies. Incessant talk about violence and its implications in these circumstances contributes to its persistence rather than its reduction. Such treatment serves in fact to mask the causes of violence, displace the victims from the center of attention, and divert society's gaze from those responsible for its endemic character. Brass explains how this process ultimately implicates everyone in the perpetuation of systems of violence.
“There can be no vaulting over time,” thinks Urmila, the narrator of Shashi Deshpande’s profound and soul-stirring novel. “We have to walk every step of the way, however difficult or painful it is; we can avoid nothing.” After the death of her baby, Urmila finds her own path difficult to endure. But through her grief, she is drawn into the lives of two very different women—one her long-dead mother-in-law, a thwarted writer, the other a young woman who lies unconscious in a hospital bed. And it is through these quiet, unexpected connections that Urmi begins her journey toward healing. The miracle of The Binding Vine, and of Shashi Deshpande's deeply compassionate vision, is that out of this web of loss and despair emerge strand of life and hope—a binding vine of love, concern, and connection that spreads across chasms of time, social class, and even death. In moving and exquisitely understated prose, Deshpande renders visible the extraordinary endurance and grace concealed in women's everyday lives.
When Yannick learns that he is to stay with his Aunt Mathilde in the South of France, he cannot believe his luck. If the paintings of his mother's beloved Cezanne are to be believed, surely Provence is paradise itself. So begins an idyllic month for the young boy. Then one evening the idyll is spoilt when an important local comes for dinner and Yannick accidentally destroys a precious drawing the man leaves behind. He could never have imagined that his mother's hero, the world-famous Cezanne, would come to his inn, and sit at one of his tables Yannick is devastated by what he has done, and resolves to make things right. But in so doing he makes a surprising discovery."
'Gopi, I can't believe a year has passed since I met you. You have brought me so much happiness!' In this second book in the bestselling Gopi Diaries series, Gopi is stronger, bigger, more confident than the little pup he was in the first book, but he is also cheekier and more mischievous! He faces new situations, new challenges, even new dog companions with endless energy and spirit. And then comes the day when he faces the biggest surprise of them all... Written in Sudha Murty's inimitable style, this simple story told from a dog's perspective shows us just why pets are so precious - for their love, devotion and boundless affection. This is a book for Sudha Murty's fans of all ages as Gopi paws himself yet again into the hearts of children and adults alike.
Not Many Readers Of Shashi Deshpande May Be Aware That Her First Experiments In Writing Fiction Started With The Short Story. Over The Years, She Has Published About A Hundred Stories In Literary Journals, Magazines And Newspapers, In Between Writing Her Immensely Popular Novels Which Are Now Read All Over The World, And Taught In Universities Wherever Indian Writing Has An Audience. In This Collection We Find Shashi Deshpande At Her Best, Writing With Subtlety And A Rare Sensitivity About Men And Women Trapped In Relationships And Situations Often Not Of Their Making. The Wife Of A Successful Politician Who Must Look To A Long-Lost Past In Order To Keep Up The Pretence Of Contentment; A Little Girl Who Cannot Comprehend Why The Very Fact Of Her Being Born Is A Curse; A Young Man Whose Fantasy Of Love Drives Him To Murder; A Newly-Wed Couple With Dramatically Differing Views On What It Means To Get To Know Each Other Every One Of The Characters Here Is Delineated With Lucidity And Compassion. Written Over The Past Three Decades, The Stories In This Volume Provide An Insight Into Often Forgotten Aspects Of Human Feelings And Relationships, Weaving A Magical Web Of Emotions That Is Testimony To The Unusual Depth And Range Of Shashi Deshpande S Writing.
Not many readers of Shashi Deshpande may be aware that her first experiments in writing fiction started with the short story. Over the years, she has published about a hundred stories in literary journals, magazines and newspapers, in between writing her immensely popular novels which are now read all over the world, and taught in universities wherever Indian writing has an audience. In this collection we find Shashi Deshpande at her best, writing with subtlety and a rare sensitivity about men and women trapped in relationships and situations often not of their making. The wife of a successful politician who must look to a longlost past in order to keep up the pretence of contentment; a little girl who cannot comprehend why the very fact of her being born is a curse; a young man whose fantasy of love drives him to murder; a newlywed couple with dramatically differing views on what it means to get to know each other—every one of the characters here is delineated with lucidity and compassion. Written over the past three decades, the stories in this volume provide an insight into often forgotten aspects of human feelings and relationships, weaving a magical web of emotions that is testimony to the unusual depth and range of Shashi Deshpande's writing.
