The Museum of the World
Christopher Kloeble
HarperCollins
Pp 464, Rs 599
Bartholomew is an orphan from Bombay. He’s 12 years old and speaks almost as many languages. That is why, in the year 1854, he is hired as a translator by the brothers Schlagintweit from Germany who, with the support of Alexander von Humboldt and the East India Company, embark upon the greatest expedition of their time, which takes them across India and the Himalayas.
The Bleeding Border
Edited by Joyjit Ghosh & Mir Ahammad Ali
Niyogi Books
Pp 504, Rs 750
The Bleeding Border is an anthology of 24 partition stories written by both prominent and lesser-known authors from West Bengal and Bangladesh. The poignant descriptions of various forms of violence, tension and anxiety at the porous border of two countries make these stories disturbing reading. They delineate the communal riots at various places and the trauma and disruptions of memory caused by them.
Also Read: On the shelf: Here are some of the e-books that you may find interesting
Babasaheb
Savita Ambedkar
Penguin Random House
Pp 336, Rs 599
Babasaheb: My Life with Dr Ambedkar is the first English translation of Savita Ambedkar’s autobiography and memoir of her time with her husband, Dr BR Ambedkar. Translated from Marathi by Nadeem Khan, this is a close-quarters account of Dr Ambedkar, adding a few more facets to a man known for his public work and mesmeric personality. This is a book that humanises Ambedkar as no other book has done yet.
Black River
Nilanjana S Roy
Westland Books
Pp 330, Rs 799
In the village of Teetarpur, a few hours from Delhi, Chand’s peaceful life is shattered as he is forced into a dangerous quest for justice. At the station house, the jurisdiction of which extends to Teetarpur and the neighbouring villages, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh, who has known Chand’s daughter Munia since she was born, wrestles with his conscience and the vagaries of his personal life.
The World
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Hachette
Pp 1,344, Rs 1,899
From the internationally bestselling author, comes the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family. The two-part book comes in a gorgeous slipcase edition for the Indian subcontinent. As spellbinding as fiction, it captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking narrative.
Ganesh Haloi
Edited by Natasha Ginwala & Jesal Thacker
Akar Prakar
Witness to India’s resilient culture, freedom and struggle for its secular modernism, Ganesh Haloi is among the artists of the generation who have played a significant role in the shaping of Indian modern art. With extensive essays by eminent art critics, this monograph documents Haloi’s earth-toned abstract vocabulary that has drawn overtime on a vast breadth of iconography, ideas, and movements.
All books available as e-books
