Strange Burdens

Strange Burdens is not a biography but a book of political commentary. It examines and analyses Rahul Gandhi’s ideas and leadership since he officially entered politics in March 2004. It journeys all the way to the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on 30 January 2023 and captures the dilemmas of his disqualification a couple of months later.

The narrative here crawls across two decades with the intention of understanding Rahul Gandhi’s politics and predicaments, confusions and contradictions, triteness and triumph, as well as his burdens and benignity. The book does not seek to answer questions about his suitability or unsuitability for a public role but is rather focused on how he has been caught in the currents of history. It is not a myth-busting or myth-making exercise, nor is it an inquisition; it is a pursuit of political insight. Since the book is about Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, it cannot not be about Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Examining one automatically illuminates the other. The book looks at the contrasts and convergence of the two personalities and the two parties they represent.

Memoirs of Valmiki Rao

We are really excited to announce a second novel from Lindsay Pereira, whose debut novel Gods and Ends was critically acclaimed and shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature and the Tata Lit Live award.

Set in Parel, THE MEMOIRS OF VALMIKI RAO is a contemporary retelling of the Ramayana, set against a Mumbai burning post the demolition of the Babri masjid. Lindsay continues to write the Bombay novel and gives a view of the decrepit lives of those in suburban Mumbai.

This story may end with sadness, but the author wants you to remember that it started with love. This is the story of Rameshwar Shinde and Ravinarayan Kumar, a young woman called Janaki, and the neighbours they live with, in the shadows of towers. It is a story of families torn apart by bigotry, an unmissable retelling of the epic Ramayana set at a time when blood mixed with the grime of Mumbai’s streets. A tale more pertinent than ever, in a country once again teetering on the edge.

Beyond fear

A story from a third-generation soldier of the 1st Battalion, the 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF) who was killed in combat. A ghost story narrated to the author by an officer of the Garhwal Rifles while on a visit to Lansdowne. A gripping account of the air raid on Pakistan’s airfield at Sargodha in 1965 led by Wing Commander O.P. Taneja, VrC. These are some of the stories featured in Major General Ian Cardozo’s book Beyond Fear, stories that inform the reader that fear is not exceptional. It is common to all human beings. The question is: Do we face fear or run away from it? Through these thirteen stories, he reveals to the reader how military personnel conquer fear. He calls it ‘biting the bullet’.

Through the twists and turns of his stories, he brings out how honor, love, courage, trust, hope, faith and loyalty help the soldier in his quest to conquer fear and that these very qualities can help the reader deal with fear in their everyday lives. These stories also show that real life can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

Goa:1961

Penguin Vintage is delighted to announce the launch of ‘Goa, 1961: The Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration’ by one of Goa’s home-grown prolific writers, Valmiki Faleiro, this July.

The subject of the liberation of Goa in 1961 and its integration into the Indian Union in 1962 is sparsely understood at best and misunderstood at worst. Faleiro lucidly outlines the prevailing political atmosphere and its changing character, the part played by indigenous independence movements and freedom fighters leading to the liberation of Goa, and the impact of its consequent assimilation into India. Extensively researched and extremely well-written, Goa, 1961 is a seminal book on an important subject and a must-read for anyone interested in Indian history.

India Rising

We are delighted to present, INDIA RISING, the first book on the life of R. Chidambaram- India’s Nuclear Man, one of India’s foremost scientists. The book looks at the life of one of India’s foremost scientists, Dr R. Chidambaram, who served as principal scientific advisor (PSA) to the Government of India and as chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee and examines his relationship with the political leadership.

A Padma Vibhushan awardee, he played a leading and integral role in the design and execution of the peaceful Nuclear Explosion experiment at Pokhran in 1974 and led the team of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which designed the nuclear devices and carried out in cooperation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) the Pokhran tests in May 1998. During his stewardship of the DAE, the nuclear power programme got a big boost and the capacity of the nuclear power plants increased sharply. Ruminating about his interactions with the scientific community and the political leadership, Dr Chidambaram describes key events in India’s journey to self-reliance in nuclear energy. India Rising is not only a memoir of one of India’s eminent scientists, but also a fascinating account of India’s ascendance in the world of science and technology.

Perfect 10

Learn the secrets of healthy living with India’s wonder woman of fitness!
The brains behind the beauty of some of India’s biggest celebrities, Yasmin Karachiwala is launching her first solo book. She is widely credited with bringing Pilates to India. Her multidisciplinary approach to fitness includes weight training, HIIT, cardio, functional training, Pilates and more.

According to Yasmin, the problem with Fitness, and here she uses a capital F—is

that it is its own enemy. And, that enemy is its reputation. A reputation that has been harnessed by a multi-billion-dollar culture that favours speed over well-being, aesthetics over health, and sweat over efficiency. There is little or no reward for incremental gain. Fitness looks hard. Weight maintenance looks difficult. It is a culture that has normalised half-truths for so long and so deeply that these have become part of our conditioning and discouraged us from seeking out our own path to better health.

Her book aims to normalise that fitness is easy. This book will show you that all it takes is 10 minutes a day to start that journey and it is packed with exercise plans, movement ideas and lifestyle changes. Get up. Move with Yasmin herself and see how your body and your life change.

Attitude

Have you ever stumbled upon a piece of life-changing knowledge that made you think: Why the hell didn’t someone tell me this sooner?!

Millions of people have listened to Adam Ashton and Adam Jones on the What You Will Learn podcast, where they have spent tens of thousands of hours studying the best ideas from the greatest minds on the planet. Their most frequently asked question: What is the best lesson you’ve come across? While you’d think a simple question would have a simple answer, it hasn’t-until now! Attitude: The Sh*t They Never Taught You will take you on a journey through takeaways from over a hundred of the world’s greatest thinkers, capturing lessons in personal development, career, business, personal finance, human nature, history and philosophy. Every lesson will be useful, and one might change your life. Remember, it is your attitude, not aptitude, that determines your altitude in life.