NEW DELHI — Reading should be practiced throughout one’s life. Good literature may teach you, illuminate you, and guide you. Learn about the most recent Penguin Random House’s publications, as well as the highlights from September to November 2023.
PAIN by Shweta Singh Kirti
No human is unacquainted with the concept of pain. It is an inescapable universal experience. Shweta Kirti’s pain has been, unfortunately, very public because of the death of her thirty-four-year-old brother, the Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
What she learned, however, is that while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. It is pain that can teach us how to rise above suffering and the limits we create for ourselves with our attachment to material goals like money, fame, success, and relationships. In this book, Shweta shares her learnings so that no one is alone on this hard but necessary odyssey.
Synthesising science, spirituality, and philosophy, Pain: A Portal to Enlightenment is an invitation to embark on a transformative journey to find inner peace and fulfillment no matter what life throws at you.
Another Sort of Freedom by Gurcharan Das
It is a funny, moving, and honest memoir of a man’s struggle to break free from expectations. Gurcharan Das was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, during World War II, when Hitler, Churchill, and Hirohito were bashing everyone around. His mother noted in her diary, ‘This is a restless baby.’ By age two he had become ‘a difficult child’, and by three she was calling him a ‘troublemaker’. He discovered one day that he could run, and he has been running ever since.
Candid, witty, and wry, the memoir is filled with moments of deep introspection at every turn alongside wise observations on the author’s encounters with history on four continents. This is Gurcharan Das as you have never seen him before.
Muslim Politics in India by Hamid Dalwai
Hamid Dalwai has been called a Muslim modernizer who relentlessly worked towards promoting reason and justice among Muslims. Historian Ram Guha writes, ‘(He) worked tirelessly to get Muslims to shed their social and religious prejudices. The pursuit of gender equality was of pre-eminent importance to him, and he waged a long battle against triple talaq.’
Dalwai’s Muslim Politics in India is arguably the most perceptive analysis of Muslim politics to appear in post-independence India. It retains the same freshness and relevance that it had when it was first published some three decades back. First published in 1968, an enlarged edition was later published under the title Muslim Politics in Secular India by Hind Pocket Books, Delhi, in 1972.
This translation, the first of its kind, is a product of numerous meetings that Hamid Dalwai had with noted poet Dilip Chitre, during which the latter made extensive notes and rendered them into articles in English. It combines his most evocative and fiery essays and emerges as a fine voice of reason relevant to our contemporary times.
The Perfect 10 by Yasmin Karachiwala
The brains behind the beauty of some of India’s biggest celebrities, Bollywood’s fitness instructor extraordinaire, Yasmin Karachiwala is all set to launch her upcoming release, PERFECT 10: 10-Minute Workouts You Can Do Anywhere. Yasmin is widely credited with bringing Pilates to India. Her list of certifications includes BASI (Body Arts and Science International) Certified Pilates Instructor, Balanced Body Comprehensive Master Instructor, and Balanced Body MOTR Master Instructor, among others. Her multidisciplinary approach to fitness includes weight training, HIIT, cardio, functional training, Pilates, and more, and can be accessed at the Yasmin Karachiwala Body Image (YKBI) chain of studios located both in India and internationally.
The Illustrated Masala Lab: Beautiful New Edition of the Bestselling Book on the Science of Indian Cooking by Krish Ashok
With its meteoric rise to bestseller status, Masala Lab has captivated readers across generations, and now returns as an irresistible collector’s edition, adorned with ingenious additions, illustrations, infographics, and charts: it’s the collector’s edition you know your kitchen-laboratory needs. Ever wondered why your grandmother threw a teabag into the pressure cooker while boiling chickpeas, or why she measured using the knuckle of her index finger? Why does a counter intuitive pinch of salt make your kheer more intensely flavourful? What is the Maillard reaction, and what does it have to do with fenugreek? What does your high-school chemistry knowledge, or what you remember of it, have to do with perfectly browning your onions? In this special edition, Meghna Menon’s vibrant illustrations effortlessly complement Krish Ashok’s light-hearted approach to the demystification of culinary science, making it the perfect vehicle to absorb the exhaustive testing, groundbreaking research, and scientific rigour that went into the making of this revolutionary book.
The Art of Habits by Gauranga Das
As the final book in the three-volume series (after The Art of Resilience and The Art of Focus), The Art of Habits presents forty simple stories filled with deep revelations. What will enthrall the readers is the engaging narration, the dynamics of the situations that manifest, and the deep learnings from such episodes. While The Art of Resilience presented ingredients for the reader to inculcate resilience in challenging situations manifested at the beginning of the pandemic, The Art of Focus inspired the resilient heart to develop a focused mind during the multiple Covid waves. Now, The Art of Habits provides ideas for the focused reader to cultivate conducive and sustainable habits to adapt to the paradigm shift created by the pandemic, instilling in the reader a resolute mindset to handle multiple such unexpected transformative events in the future.
Memoirs of Valmiki Rao by Lindsay Pereira
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.
Restless Lives by Harish Bhat
The modern age is characterised by speed, impersonality, and absurdity. It is easy to get caught up in the rush and forget the small, everyday things that string together to build the everyday.
Restless Lives offers an oasis of quiet contemplation. In this beautiful poetry collection, author Harish Bhat contemplates various aspects that make up daily life. At times pleasing, at others disturbing, the lines within these pages promise to give pause, inspire, and stir emotion. This is Harish Bhat as you have never seen him before.
