Biographical Memories Books

Sufi is the story of two boys who grew up in Dongri, Mumbai. One of them, Iqbal Rupani, aided and abetted by a corrupt policeman, is drawn towards criminal activities in his teens. As he becomes powerful and influential as a racketeer and smuggler, h

An incisive new biography of the great secularist who —alongside his spiritual father, Mahatma Gandhi— led the movement for India’s independence from British rule and ushered his newly independent country into the modern world. The man who would o

On a post-college visit to Florence, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri fell in love with the Italian language. Twenty years later, seeking total immersion, she and her family relocated to Rome, where she began to read and write solely in he

Ahmedabad is today India’s seventh largest city and also one of the subcontinent’s few medieval cities which continues to be prosperous and important. Soon after it was established, the royal city of Ahmedabad became the commercial and cultural capit

When the Country Calls is an inspiring saga of a patriotic soldier who left no stone unturned in serving mother India and the struggles of a prisoner-of-war and his fellow colleagues in enemy captivity, while upholding their pride in being Indians an

A little girl, Manikarnika, with an uncanny sense of her own destiny, grew up to be none other than the brave queen of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai. Trained in horse riding and the martial arts from an early age, Manu was married to Gangadhar Rao, the Mah

Born to a poor family in the village of Puttaparthi in southern Andhra Pradesh, Sathyanarayan Raju was a bright, talented and confident boy whose charitable nature and religiosity belied his tender age. Deeply suspicious of his spiritual precociousne

Sanduk Ruit was born into the lowest rungs of society in a tiny, remote Himalayan village in Nepal. After long and difficult treks to attend boarding school in Darjeeling and, later, the best of Indian medical colleges, he met the remarkable visionar

In this landmark work of reportage, Aman Sethi sets out to understand the life of Mohammad Ashraf, a daily-wage worker in Delhi's Bara Tooti Chowk. Spending the greater part of five years in 'the largely empty space between the backpacker haven of Pa

Vikram Sarabhai (1919-71), the renaissance man of Indian science, thought up the impossible and often made it happen. Founder of India's space programme (ISRO), Vikram dreamed of communication satellites that would educate people at a time when even

How do we judge a book cover? Are book covers like the clothing that we choose to wear? What do they say about us? And what is it like to have your clothing selected for you? These are the questions at the heart of this thoughtful meditation on th

A journalist's account of investigating Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his empire of exploitation How did a nondescript young man from a farming family become the head of a quasi-religious sect with a million followers willing to die and kill for their 'Pitaj

संसार को आध्यात्मिकता, राष्ट्र को राजनीतिक चेतना तथा समाज को समन्वय की संस्कृति का ज्ञान देकर जिसने हमारे सांस्कृतिक इतिहास तथा राजनीतिक चिंतनधारा को सबसे अधिक अलंकृत किया, उस व्यक्तित्व का नाम है—महर्षि अरविंद घोष। अरविंद ने भारत की आराधना माता के स

Cezanne is consumed with doubt about his success as an artist. Discover the ups and downs of cezanne’s artistic journey with Zola, cezanne’s best friend in this beautifully illustrated book on Paul Cezanne. Read more

Uttal Hawa , 'Wild Wind' in translation, is the second volume of Taslima Nasreen's autobiography. It depicts Taslima's tumultuous youth, between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, a period during which she not only pursues a long and strenuous MBBS

Manet meets his muse, victorine. He loves to paint her. What happens when one of the paintings shocks Paris? Will he lose her friendship? Find out in this beautifully illustrated book on The life and work of edouard Manet. Read more

The Shape of the Beast is our world laid bare by a mind that has consistently and unhesitatingly engaged with its changing realities and often anticipated the way things have moved in the last decade.In the fourteen interviews collected here, conduct

Through extraordinary first-hand accounts Amitav Ghosh presents a compelling chronicle of the turmoil of our times. `Dancing in Cambodia' recreates the first-ever visit to Europe by a troupe of Cambodian dancers with King Sisowath, in 1906. Ghosh lin

Degas has a deep attraction towards the beauty of ballet. He decides to paint the ballerinas. Will he get into trouble with the parents if they find out? Discover the answer as you browse through this beautifully illustrated book on The life and work

Frida friends call her ugly and stupid. Will she find her inner beauty and talent? Let’s find out in this beautifully illustrated book on The life and work of Frida Kahlo. Read more