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This feast of smiles was put together giving the secret strategies and all the tricks of courtesans One of Kshemendra’s finest satires, The Courtesan’s Keeper is a delightful and rambunctious rendition of the life and times of the courtesan Kankali as she teaches the ways of the world to her ward Kalavati. From the attractive courtesan and her shrewd keeper to the experienced barber and the avaricious trader, the book brings to life the vibrant society of Kashmir Valley a thousand years ago through a host of characters, each drawn in vivid detail. With its terse narrative, directness and economy of style, and fast-paced action, the book is fully suited for the twenty-first-century reader.

Three Women (Nashtaneer, Malancha, Dui Bon) is by Rabindranath Tagore. Nashtaneer (The Broken Nest), Malancha (The Arbour), and Dui Bon (The Two Sisters) are considered to be some of Tagore’s finest prose works. Subtle, full of psychological nuance, and lyricism, this is vintage Tagore.

Kalidasa’s most famous play refashions an episode from the Mahabharata, magnificently dramatizing the love story of Shakuntala, a girl of semi-divine origin, and Dushyanta, a noble human king. After their brief and passionate but secret union at her father’s forest ashram, Dushyanta must return to his capital. He gives Shakuntala his signet ring, promising to make her his queen when she joins him later. But, placed unawares under a curse, he forgets her—and she loses the ring that would have enabled him to recognize her. Will the lovers be reunited? The world’s first full-length play centred on a comprehensive love story, The Recognition of Shakuntala is an undisputed classic of the ancient period. Vinay Dharwadker’s sparkling new translation is the definitive poetic rendering of this romantic-heroic comedy for the twenty-first century stage. His absorbing commentary and notes give contemporary readers an unparalleled opportunity to savour the riches of a timeless text.

A Life in Words, the first complete translation of Ismat Chughtais celebrated memoir Kaghazi hai Pairahan, provides a delightful account of several crucial years of her life. Alongside vivid descriptions of her childhood years are the conflicted experiences of growing up in a large Muslim family during the early decades of the twentieth century. Chughtai is searingly honest about her fight to get an education and the struggle to find her own voice as a writer. The result is a compellingly readable memoir by one of the most significant Urdu writers of all time.

An extraordinary detailed manual on statecraft and the science of living by one of classical India's greatest minds; Kautilya; also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta; wrote the Arthashastra not later than 150 AD though the date has not been conclusively established. Legend has it that he was either a Brahmin from Kerala or from north India; however; it is certain that Kautilya was the man who destroyed the Nanda dynasty and installed Chandragupta Maurya as the King of Magadha. A master strategist who was well-versed in the Vedas and adept at creating intrigues and devising political stratagems; Kautilya's genius is reflected in his Arthashastra which is the most comprehensive treatise of statecraft of classical times. The text contains fifteen books which cover numerous topics viz.; the King; a complete code of law; foreign policy; secret and occult practices and so on. The Arthashastra is written mainly in prose but also incorporates 380 shlokas. Artha; literally wealth; is one of four supreme aims prescribed by Hindu tradition. However; it has a much wider significance and the material well-being of individuals is just a part of it. In accordance with this; Kautilya's Arthashastra maintains that the state or government of a country has a vital role to play in maintaining the material status of both the nation and its people. Therefore; a significant part of the Arthashastra has to do with the science of economics. When it deals with the science of politics; the Arthashastra describes in detail the art of government in its widest sense—the maintenance of law and order as also of an efficient administrative machinery.

And below her hair; she would put on a garland and spend a few minutes just gazing into a pond; seeing her reflection and satisfying her desire before turning away and returning the worn garland to her flower basket The emperor Krishnadevaraya’s epic poem Amuktamalyada (Giver of the Worn Garland) depicts the life of the medieval Vaisnava poet-saint Andal; or Goda Devi as she is also known; and her passionate devotion to Lord Visnu. Krishnadevaraya’s unique poetic imagination brings to life a celestial world filled with wonder; creativity; humour and vibrant natural beauty. The mundane is made divine and the ordinary becomes extraordinary; the routine activities of daily life become expressive metaphors for heavenly actions; while the exalted gods of heaven are re-imagined as living persons. The poet’s ability to see divinity in the most commonplace activities is an extension of his powerful belief that god is everywhere; in everything; at all times.

When my concentrated mind was purified; I directed it to the knowledge of the recollection of past lives’ —The Buddha on the night of his enlightenment Associated with the living traditions of folk tale; drama and epic; the Jatakas recount the development of the Bodhisatta—the being destined to become the present Buddha in his final life—not just through the events of one lifetime but of hundreds. Written in Pali; the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon; the Jatakas comprise one of the largest and oldest collections of stories in the world dating from the fifth century BCE to the third century CE. Generations in South and South-East Asia have grown up with these tales. This volume contains twenty-six stories drawn from various ancient sources; and each story reflects one of the ten perfections—giving; restraint; renunciation; wisdom; strength; acceptance; truthfulness; resolve; loving kindness and equanimity. A detailed introduction elaborates on the ten perfections; explains the forms of enlightenment as well as the structure; and the historical and geographical contexts of the stories. Sarah Shaw brings to life the teachings of Buddhism for the scholar and lay reader alike.

Young doe-eyed maidens cast bewitching glances in the moonlight. Birds frolic, flowers bloom in a riotous kaleidoscope and the shifting seasons bear witness to the amorous games of lovers. And through this boisterous celebration of beauty and bounty, timeless wisdom is dispensed through brief, colourful vignettes. In Three Hundred Verses, Bhartrihari, one of the greatest Sanskrit poets of all time, brilliantly expounds on our most enduring concerns and dilemmas: living, loving and leaving. Although composed centuries ago, these poems amply display the full force of his genius. Bursting with lush imagery and brimming with deep philosophical musings, these verses covering a wide range of themes that resonate even today—from the sensuous stirrings of passionate love to poignant reflections on life’s inherent transience; from notions of wealth and wickedness to the nature of fate and fortitude. By turns playful and wise, A.N.D. Haksar’s gorgeous and accessible translation captures the verve, acuity and erotic charge of Bhartrihari’s most significant work.

Full of wit and delicious observations, Mrs Funnybones captures the life of the modern Indian woman—a woman who organizes dinner each evening, even as she goes to work all day, who runs her own life but has to listen to her Mummyji, who worries about her weight and the state of the country. Based on Twinkle Khanna’s super-hit column, Mrs Funnybones marks the debut of one of our funniest, most original voices. ‘I love Twinkle Khanna’s brilliant observations and self-deprecating humour—she is the discovery of the decade’—Karan Johar ‘Fantastic, fashionable and funny’—Vogue ‘A woman with more than a few quips up her sleeve’—Open ‘Spot-on . . . she addresses pressing matters . . . in a light-hearted, breezy manner without coming off as a preachy martyr’—Huffington Post ‘An intelligent critic . . . [writing] is a craft and Twinkle Khanna has demonstrated she has the chops’—DailyO ‘One of the best columnists we have’

Come, explore the places we worship Join Amma and her children as they travel to the famous Golden Temple in Amritsar. Take a tour through the wonderful sights, sounds and history of Darbar Sahib. Hear stories about the Sikh gurus. Visit Darshani Deori and Akal Takht. Savour a drink from the sacred waters at Har Ki Pauri and the langar from the world's biggest kitchen! Learn Guru Nanak's eternal message of equality, love and service. Told through interesting stories with captivating illustrations, this new series introduces readers to the history of different faiths and their associated monuments.

Bhakti Mathur
"Bhakti Mathur lives in Hong Kong with her husband, their two sons and two dogs. She is a banker by profession and the author of the hugely popular Amma, Tell Me series."

Did you know that Brahma once had five faces?
Why do snakes have a forked tongue?
Do gods cheat?
Why does Shiva sport a crescent moon on his head?

The Trinity, consisting of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, is the omnipresent trio responsible for the survival of the human race and the world as we know it. They are popular deities of worship all over India, but what remain largely unknown are some of their extraordinary stories.
Award-winning author Sudha Murty walks by your side, weaving enchanting tales of the three most powerful gods from the ancient world. Each story will take you back to a magical time when people could teleport, animals could fly and reincarnation was simply a fact of life.

Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in north Karnataka. She did her Mtech in computer science, and is now the chairperson of the infosys Foundation. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has written novels, technical books, travelogues, collections of short stories and non- fictional pieces, and four books for children. Her books have been translated into all the major Indian languages. Sudha Murty was the recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006, and the Attimabbe Award from the government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature in 2011.

A couple of years after his father's death, ten-year-old Ruskin travels to Dehradun to spend his holidays with his new family. As he reacquaints himself with his mother, now remarried and with a busy social life, his stepfather and new siblings, a pensive Ruskin longs for his father's company, his stamp collection and the old gramophone. Trying to escape this unfamiliar place, he immerses himself in books and explores the forest glades, canals and bazaars of the little town, forming some unlikely friendships on the way.
After the much-loved Looking for the Rainbow, the master storyteller lends another backward glance at his boyhood years-a vacation that took place over seventy winters ago-remembering his days with rare humour, remarkable charm and twinges of heartache.

Ruskin Bond

"Ruskin Bond’s first novel, The Room on the Roof, written when he was seventeen, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas (including Vagrants in the Valley, A Flight of Pigeons and Delhi Is Not Far), essays, poems and children’s books, many of which have been published by Penguin India. He has also written over 500 short stories and articles that have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 1999. Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, and grew up in Jamnagar, Dehradun, Delhi and Shimla. As a young man, he spent four years in the Channel Islands and London. He returned to India in 1955 and has never left the country since. He now lives in Landour, Mussoorie, with his adopted family."

Mano Majra is a place, Khushwant Singh tells us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the 'ghost train' arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of thousands of refuges, bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. Train to Pakistan is the story of this isolated village that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endures and transcends the ravages of war.

Khushwant Singh

Khushwant Singh was India's best - known writer and columnist. He was founder -editor of Yojana and editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, The National Herald and Hindustan Times. He authored classics such as Train to Pakistan, I shall Not Hear the Nightingale and Delhi. His latest novel, The Sunset Club, written when he was 95, was published by Penguin Books in 2010. His non- fiction includes the classic two - volume A History of the sikhs, a number of translations and works on Sikh religion and culture, Delhi, nature, current affairs and Urdu poetry. His autobiography, Truth,Love and aLittle Malice, was published by Penguin Books in 2002. Khushwant Singh was a member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 but retuned the decoration in 1984 in protest against the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army. In 2007,he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. Among the other awards ha has received are the Punjab Ratna, the Sulabh International award for the most honest Indian of the year, and honorary doctrates from several universities.

The untold story of Hindi cinema’s first superstar Obsessed female fans routinely sent him love letters written in blood. Hysterical crowds camped outside his house to catch a glimpse of the superstar. And the frenzy unleashed by his public appearances was enough to give law-enforcers a nightmare. In the 1970s, Rajesh Khanna achieved the kind of fame that no film star had ever experienced before—or has since. But having climbed to the pinnacle of success, he then saw it all vanish. And through it all, he remained a fighter till the very end. In this riveting biography, journalist Yasser Usman examines Rajesh Khanna’s dramatic, colourful life in its entirety: from little-known facts about his childhood to the low-down on his relationships and rivalries, from his ambitious hopes to his deep-seated insecurities. What emerges is a tantalizingly written, meticulously researched chronicle of a fascinating and mercurial man—one who was both loved and feared by those closest to him. It is a story that encapsulates the glittering, seductive, cut-throat world of Bollywood at its best and its worst.

Find your own potential In this book, based on his discourses, Osho talks about woman not in his capacity as a man, but as a ‘consciousness, an awareness’. Osho talks about various issues like motherhood, relationships, family and birth control. Questioning the concept of marriage, he says it is the ‘ugliest institution invented by man’ as its aim is to monopolize a woman. He is equally critical of the institution of family which ‘corrupts the human mind’. A woman, he says, should not imitate man: ‘Rejoice in your feminine qualities, make a poetry out of them.’ The perfect state of being, according to Osho, is a synthesis between the head and the heart, with the heart remaining the master. The rare sensitivity of Osho’s words will appeal to both men and women.

History matters in contemporary debates on nationalism,' Sugata Bose contends in The Nation as Mother. In this interconnected set of deeply researched and powerfully argued essays and speeches Bose explores the relationship between nation, reason and religion in Indian political thought and practice. Offering a subtle interpretation of the ways of imagining the nation as mother, the book illuminates different visions of India as a free and flexible federal union that have acquired renewed salience today. Breaking out of the false dichotomy between secular nationalism and religious communalism, the author provides incisive analyses of the political legacies of Tagore and Gandhi, Nehru and Bose, Aurobindo and Jinnah, and a range of other thinkers and leaders of the anti-colonial movement. The essays question assumptions about any necessary contradiction between cosmopolitanism and patriotism and the tendency among religious majoritarians and secularists alike to confuse uniformity with unity. The speeches in Parliament draw on a rich historical repertoire to offer valuable lessons in political ethics. In arguing against the dangers of an intolerant religious majoritarianism, this book makes a case for concepts of layered and shared sovereignty that might enable an overarching sense of Indian nationhood to coexist with multiple identities of the country's diverse populace. The Nation as Mother delves into history on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of freedom to evoke an alternative future of a new India based on cultural intimacy among its different communities.

He was born a Kshatriya. He became a Brahmarishi. When Satyavati, wife of Rishi Ruchik, exchanges with her mother, Queen Ratna, the magic potion for bearing a child, they change not just their children’s destiny, but also the history of mankind. Born of this mix up is Vishwamitra, the son of a Kshatriya, with the qualities of a Brahmin. The duality in his life soon begins to show as he strives to become a Brahmarishi—the ultimate, the most powerful of all Gurus. Vishwamitra is the riveting story of a brave but stubborn, haughty yet compassionate, visionary king of Aryavarta who became one of the most well- Known sages of all time.

One of the most unconventional yet immensely popular deities in the Hindu pantheon, goddess Kali essentially represents the dark and contrary aspects of the cosmos. Her naked form and association with violence, blood and gore challenge the very concept of divinity. Yet, over the centuries, she has come to represent a whole gamut of conflicting images—from bloodthirsty ogress to benign goddess. So today while she is venerated as Chamunda, a deity who verges on the macabre and grotesque, she is also adored in household shrines in one of her milder forms, Dakshina-Kali. It is this evolution of Kali—from her origin as a tantric goddess to her metamorphosis into a divinity in mainstream religion—that Seema Mohanty captures brilliantly in this book. Drawing upon a variety of sources—rituals associated with the worship of Kali, tales from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, the Tantras and Agamas, folklore and films—she has succeeded in portraying in engrossing detail the myriad manifestations of the enigmatic deity that is Kali.

A contemporary interpretation of the foundational text for the practice of yoga. Patañjali’s Yoga Sutra (second century CE) is the basic text of one of the nine canonical schools of Indian philosophy. In it the legendary author lays down the blueprint for success in yoga; now practised the world over. Patañjali draws upon many ideas of his time; and the result is a unique work of Indian moral philosophy that has been the foundational text for the practice of yoga since. The Yoga Sutra sets out a sophisticated theory of moral psychology and perhaps the oldest theory of psychoanalysis. For Patañjali; present mental maladies are a function of subconscious tendencies formed in reaction to past experiences. He argues that people are not powerless against such forces and that they can radically alter their lives through yoga—a process of moral transformation and perfection; which brings the body and mind of a person in line with their true nature. Accompanying this illuminating translation is an extended introduction that explains the challenges of accurately translating Indian philosophical texts; locates the historical antecedents of Patañjali’s text and situates Patanjali’s philosophy within the history of scholastic Indian philosophy.

Specification:

• Product Code: BK8186117040
• Author : Charmaine O' Brien
• Cover : Paperback
• Publisher :  Penguin
• Edition : 2013
• Pages : 304
• Weight : 450 gm.
• Size : 6.2 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Language : English
• ISBN-10: 9780143414568
  ISBN-13: 978-0143414568

Description:

This first-ever comprehensive guide to regional food across India takes you on a mouth-watering journey through the homes, streets and restaurants of each state, exploring exotic and everyday fare in equal measure. Be it the lime-laced Moplah biryani, the Goan Galinha cafreal, the bhang ka raita of Uttarakhand, or the Singpho people’s Wu san tikye, India’s rich palette of flavours is sure to drum up an insatiable appetite in you. Laden with historical information, cultural insights and personalized recommendations, The Penguin Food Guide to India is your ideal companion to the delightful world of Indian cuisine.

Specification:

• Product Code: BK14210
• Author :   Nanditha Krishna, M. Amirthalingam 
• Cover : Paperback
• Publisher :  Penguin
• Edition : 2014
• Pages : 312
• Weight : 280 gm.
• Size : 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Language : English
• ISBN-0143066269
  ISBN-13: 978-0143066262

 

Plants personify the divine — The Rig Veda (X.97) Trees and plants have long been held sacred to communities the world over. In India, we have a whole variety of flora that feature in our myths, our epics, our rituals, our worship and our daily life. There is the pipal, under which the Buddha meditated on the path to enlightenment; the banyan, in whose branches hide spirits; the ashoka, in a grove of which Sita sheltered when she was Ravana’s prisoner; the tulsi, without which no Hindu house is considered complete; the bilva, with whose leaves it is possible to inadvertently worship Shiva. Before temples were constructed, trees were open-air shrines sheltering the deity, and many were symbolic of the Buddha himself. Sacred Plants of India systematically lays out the sociocultural roots of the various plants found in the Indian subcontinent, while also asserting their ecological importance to our survival. Informative, thought-provoking and meticulously researched, this book draws on mythology and botany and the ancient religious traditions of India to assemble a detailed and fascinating account of India’s flora.

Description

The ever-popular Book of Good Counsels from ancient India. One of the best-known Sanskrit classics, Narayana’s Hitopadesa is a fascinating collection of animal and human fables augmented with polished verse epigrams and gnomic stanzas, many of which have become proverbial. This satirical, often irreverent and sometimes ribald text has been popular for centuries as a compendium of worldly advice on matters ranging from statesmanship and detailed battle plans to personal conduct and marital fidelity. It has also served generations of students as a model of grammatical and metaphorical excellence. In this ‘Garden of Pleasing Stories’, as Narayan himself describes it, birds, beasts, men and women scheme, suffer, lust, err, grieve and rejoice, acting as perceptive social critics and astute commentators on the absurd nature of human folly. Combining his own literary genius with skilful selections and modifications of material from the Panchatantra and a host of other traditional sources, Narayan has created a refreshingly original masterpiece. This excellent new translation faithfully renders the wit and wisdom of the original.

The Indian subcontinent was the scene of dramatic upheavals a few thousand years ago. The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses. One of them disappeared. Celebrated as -Sarasvati' in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century through topographic explorations by British officials. Recently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river's buried courses and isotope analyses have dated ancient waters still stored under the Thar Desert. In the same Northwest, the subcontinent's first urban society"the Indus civilization"flourished and declined. But it was not watered by the Indus alone: since Aurel Stein's expedition in the 1940s, hundreds of Harappan sites have been identified in the now dry Sarasvati's basin. The rich Harappan legacy in technologies, arts and culture sowed the seeds of Indian civilization as we know it now. Drawing from recent research in a wide range of disciplines, this book discusses differing viewpoints and proposes a harmonious synthesis"a fascinating tale of exploration that brings to life the vital role the -lost river of the Indian desert' played before its waters gurgled to a stop.

A masterful translation of the Bhagavad Gita, along with the Sanskrit original. A faithful rendition of the 2000 year old Song Celestial, Bibek Debroys translation resonates with the spirit of the original while using modern idiom and language. He captures, verse by verse, the essence of this ancient philosophical poem which debates eternal questions of right and wrong, action and consequence, and the conflicting nature of duty and love. The text stands by itself, complete and without interpolation, juxtaposed with the Sanskrit for easy reference, interpretation and explanation are tucked away as notes at the end. Authentic and readily accessible to the scholar and the non initiate, this edition of the Gita is essential reading for anybody who wishes to grasp the core of Indian philosophy and religion.