There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
aapbeeti: Kale Pani ki Karawas Kahani by Bhai ParmanandMy rating: 3 of 5 stars The writer was a Professor of Modern European History at National College, Lahore and thus was a teacher of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev. This was his memoir of his days in captivity at the Andamans. The book was proscribed by the … Continue reading Review: aapbeeti: Kale Pani ki Karawas Kahani
Gandhi Benaqaab by Hansraj RahbarMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a brave book since many authors would shy away from exposing the 'Mahatma'. However in doing so Rahbar exposes his own prejudices. Nevertheless, it is a well-researched critique of Gandhi and his politics. First Line: Desh ki shashya shyamla bhumi par Shiv ka … Continue reading Review: Gandhi Benaqaab
Bandi Jeewan by Sachindra Nath SanyalMy rating: 4 of 5 stars The book which according to a British secret report sent "more young men to the jails and gallows than any other book" is a first-hand account of the revolutionary movement in India during the second and third decades of the twentieth century. Sachindranath Sanyal, … Continue reading A Revolutionary’s Life: Bandi Jeewan
A History of the Indian Nationalist Movement by Verney LovettMy rating: 2 of 5 stars A biased, often condescending look, at the freedom struggle of India. *First Line: An accurate knowledge of the conditions of the past is necessary for a right understanding of the problems of the present.Pub. Details: 1920. ND: Vishal Publishers, 1972.Pages: … Continue reading Review: A History of the Indian Nationalist Movement
My last read of 2016 was the Complete Tribunal Proceedings of the Lahore Conspiracy Case that had revolutionary Sukhdev's remarks in the margins. I am glad that the first book that I read in 2017 is about Sukhdev's closest friend: Bhagat Singh.M.M. Juneja's biography of India's most famous martyr doesn't add much to all that … Continue reading First Read of 2017: Biography of Bhagat Singh by M.M. Juneja
I love reading about the newest book acquisitions of others and recently there have been quite a few blog posts about this. TracyK set the ball rolling when she posted about her visit to the Planned Parenthood book sale: here and here; Prashant talked about his unusual restrain when visiting Books by Weight exhibition: here & … Continue reading A Baker’s Dozen: From the Delhi Book Fair 2016
MAKING HISTORY, edited by Peter Lambert and Phillipp Schofield is an interesting look at history as a discipline. Divided into five parts, the book looks at how the way history has been viewed, written, and taught has evolved over the centuries. With postmodernism and deconstruction both challenging the notion of past as we thought it … Continue reading Two Non-Fictional Books
We live in a time of terror where the war has come right to our doorstops. Thus, it was interesting to read this collection of essays which looks at the hydra of terror as a lived experience whether in its real or literary form. Divided into three parts, many of the essays in this book … Continue reading TERROR AND THE POSTCOLONIAL (Ed.) ELLEKE BOEHMER & STEPHEN MORTON
In 1928, the Colonial British government in India set up an all-White commission, headed by Sir John Simon. The task of the commission was to prepare the future constitution of India and yet not even a single Indian was part of this body. This insult was unacceptable to the Indians and all the major parties … Continue reading Reaction to Reading: Militant Nationalism in the Punjab (1919-1935) by Kamlesh Mohan
Besides Mysteries, I also read a couple of non-fictional books in February:BHAGAT SINGH: LIBERATION'S BLAZING STAR by P.M.S. GREWAL (2007)The author, P.M.S Grewal is Secretary, Delhi State Committee of the CPI (M), writes a thought-provoking introduction to his assessment of Indian Revolutionary Bhagat Singh but adds nothing new to the already existing scholarship on Bhagat … Continue reading Non-Fictional Reads in February
a hot cup of pleasure 