Pensha

Hip, cool, vivacious and a li'l confused. It's difficult to slot the youngsters in one particular category; and so Penguin Books India's INKED, an imprint focusing on Young Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction, hopes to connect with youngsters by giving them a chance to pick up books from a wide variety of genres. The three inaugural titles, to be available in bookstores later this month, include Eliza Crewe’s Cracked — the first book of the Soul Eater trilogy — is a tale of the war between good and evil. Karma by Cathy Ostlere, is the story of how a young girl facing the demands of two cultures endures personal tragedy, and yet learns to forgive, accept and love. Vibha Batra’s Seventeen and Done (You Bet!), sequel to Sweet Sixteen, is set in high school and taps into emotions like romance, fashion, friendship and longing. Talking about crafting content for youngsters, Ameya Nagarajan, says, “The dominant theme of the introductory titles, and those in offing, is that of the liv...

A few pages into S Hussain Zaidi's Dongri to Dubai – Six Decades of Mumbai Mafia – and you know this isn't a frothy work, like several Bollywood potboilers trying to decode the gang war for the viewers. This depiction of the mafia in mainstream cinema becomes our talking point with the senior crime journalist who was in the city for an event. Zaidi's pithy style of writing also dictated his choice of words, “Bollywood is the PR machinery of the underworld. It tries to glorify and gives their protagonists a heroic touch. I disagree with that.” What separates the serious from the froth is the research. Explaining the way he goes about gathering material for his non-fiction books, Zaidi says, “I dig into old police records, I cull the details from there. I also chat up old timers and try to get an entire picture. I don't go by rumours or hear-say. I back up the information with facts.” His no-nonsense credentials are known. But what does he have to say to about his tri...

This is a book review of "A Restless Wind." Name: A Restless Wind By: Shahrukh Husain Pages: 350 Published by: Picador India Price: Rs 499 My first thoughts while reading this book was that it's very topical. Communal tensions are on a simmer and we read about the 'victim' stories ever so often. You will find all this in the 'A restless wind'. The only difference is that it's being narrated by a Pakistani woman – who was raised in India and the country of her birth. Husain's protagonist, Zara Hamilton, was born in Karachi, but raised in Qila, a fortress in Trivikram, in Gujarat. Zara's aunt (mother's sister) is a part of the Ramzi order, pirs, who are the Gurus of Hindu king of Trivikram. The royal lineage is the direct ascendant of Vamana (Lord Vishnu's avatar) and their association with the Ramzis is a symbol of communal harmony. When she is urgently summoned by Aunt Hana to Qila, Zara decides to give her floundering mar...

I had attended a session on translated works at Sudarshan Rangmanch. This is the report. ---- Every language has its own nuances shaped by the community speaking it. There are those little jokes, imagery and references to socio-political and economic context used with a flourish by those speaking it. The moot question before a translator is if these cultural references resonate within a speaker of a different tongue. Kalasakta Pune and Kelyane Bhashantar had recently organised a festival of translated literature which saw the reading session of 'Rabindranathanchya Sahwasat'. It was translated from the Bengali original - Mangputeche Rabindranath – by Vilas Gitay. Excerpts from Milind Champanerkar's, 'Lokshahivadi Ammi's, ek dirgha patra', translated from Saeed Mirza's, 'Ammi: Letter to a Democratic Mother', was also read out at the three day festival. While chaste Marathi can sound a little harsh on ears, Gitay succeeded in retaining the original...

This is my review of 'The Lowland' by Jhumpa Lahiri. Umbilical ties cut deep and bind together. Udayan and Subhash Mitra, born 15 months apart in the lowlands of Tollygunge, Calcutta, are alike and yet dissimilar. The elder brother, Subhash, is placid, eager to obey and fall in line. Udayan is bold, impulsive and idealistic. Quite predictably, you know what's in store for them. The placid brother makes a success of his career, but his personal life is in shambles and the younger one's idealism snatches him away far too soon. Lahiri's fluid, visual lucidity and layered writing vouches its presence in this book too. But, one can't ignore the melancholy tone trying to consume the characters. The story builds up very slowly, from the detailed Naxalbari movement which takes Udayan's life to the very picturesque depiction of Rhode Island, in USA, where Subhash makes his home. Lahiri takes almost 250 pages (of the book) to give us a very comprehensive picture...

Most professionals today spend their waking hours at work or in activities related to work. Invariably, your relation with the boss is a critical factor in defining the work experience, says Manjiri Gokhale Joshi. In her third book, Bosses of the Wild, Manjiri has likened boss personality types to 10 animals, providing insights into their behaviour. Ambika Shaligram finds out more Why did you choose to write about boss-employee relationship and use the analogy of animals to explain personality traits? Well, I have worked in different fields. I began my career as a print journalist, then moved on to e-learning and IT. What I have learnt is that even if the workplace has a good system, the technology used is advanced, state-of-the art, all this comes to naught if there is people conflict. The boss types are similar in almost all fields and so are the employees. There is conflict if both the parties have different expectations from each other. The key is to manage the expectations, kn...

This is an interview of Jyoti Mate of Swalay, who has kick-started her new initiative on June 21 - Plant a JOY (Just Open Yourself). --- There are two kinds of people in this world --- those who know how to express themselves fluently and spontaneously, and then there are those who hesitate to open up and choose to stay in a shell. If you belong to the second category, Jyoti Mate is here to help. Founder of Swalay, Mate helps you express yourself and eventually discover 'self-rhythm'. Explaining the concept, the 43-year-old Kathak dancer, says, “Swalay or self-rhythm stands for four concepts. The first concept is 'expressive art therapy', which is conducted through music, dance, rhythm, colours, craft and painting. The next is 'art appreciation', for which, I invite masters/ maestros in that particular field to discuss their art. That said, it is equally important for the audience to participate in the discussion. The third concept is 'giving exist...

This is an interview with Ravi Pattanshetti, who came 47th in the recently declared UPSC exams --- In September 2008, Ravi realised that he wanted to become part of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), a job with endless opportunities and challenges. And, so he quit his job at Infosys and joined the Dnyanprabodhini's civil services coaching center. Mentored by Vivek and Savita Kulkarni and I P Singh, he gave his first shot at cracking the UPSC exam in 2010. Ravi cleared it, but did not score enough to be selected for the IAS. He joined the supplementary services – Indian Corporate Law Service attached to Ministry of Corporate Affairs – in 2011. A little disillusioned with the result of his first attempt, Ravi again sat for the exams and failed. Ravi, who is an Electronics and Telecommunication Engineer, says that “all work and no play” affected his second chance. He decided to take a crack for the third time, with a more relaxed approach. “ There were weeks whe...

I had reviewed this children's book for the Sunday supplement. ---- Name: The Lu Quartet Super Sleuths and Other Stories By: Nalini Das Translated by: Swapna Dutta Published by: Hachette India Pages: 417 Price: Rs 399 I have grown up on Nancy Drew mysteries, like several other teenagers, wishing I could idolize a desi girl detective pitting her wits against unscrupulous minds. Well, I learnt pretty late of a team of four school girls, who were a perfect foil for each other, in solving cryptic clues. The four school girls had impressed the readers of Sandesh, a Bengali magazine for children, with their intelligence and presence of mind, throughout the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Kakoli Chakrabarty (Kalu), Malabika Majumdar (Malu), Bulbuli Sen (Bulu) and Tultuli Basu (Tulu) – together referred to as Gandalu (in Bengali) or Lu Quartet – are boarders in a residential school at Kanchanpur. Their first case, Lu Quartet - Super Sleuths - is innoc...

This has already been published in the Sunday supplement. Krishnaji Keshav Damle also known as Keshavsut --- Poetry never really appealed to me. And, so it was with great reluctance that I agreed to my husband's plan to visit Keshavsut Smarak – a memorial raised in memory of 'Father of Modern Marathi Poetry', Krishnaji Keshav Damle – in Malgund. We were in Ganapatipule at that time and decided to go to Malgund, a 10-minute drive (a kilometre) from the popular tourist destination. A sign-post told us to take a left turn and what greeted us, at the end of the lane, was tranquil silence. No security guards, no tourists, just a plaque announcing that Damle, popularly known as Keshavsut, was born in the red-roofed house, surrounded by green shrubbery. Keshavsut's house in Malgund  A poem by Keshavsut  The house, renovated in the old style, was near-empty, except for Keshavsut's portrait that was hanging from the wall in the front room. In the...

This is an interview of Fizzah Shaikh, a ceramic artiste. ---- Plain ceramic crockery and pottery give her food for thought. So the moment Fizzah Shaikh sees a ‘ceramic canvas’, she immediately starts visualising the design and colours that can enhance the piece of pottery. “ Before I start working, the final look is already etched in my mind. I exactly know how the ceramic art will look after I complete my painting job. Depending on the size and shape of the pottery and intricacy of the design, it takes me anywhere between one to four days to complete the artwork,” says she. Fizzah, who has always been dabbling in creative pursuits, took up ceramic painting five years ago. She tells us why: “I took it up because painting makes me happy and of course it is challenging and interesting to paint on irregular / odd shapes, as against a canvas, and at the end, ceramic art does make a pretty picture!” she says. But to make a pretty ceramic canvas, Fizzah has to put in a lot ...