An exciting narrative of a leopard that spread terror through five hundred square miles of the hills of the United Provinces, The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag also takes a detailed look at life in the Garhwal region of India. Apart from Corbett's hair-raising pursuit of the leopard for almost a year, the book talks about the superstitions prevalent in the region, the beauty of the landscape, what turns a leopard into a man-eater and many other, often surprising facts and anecdotes, all told in Corbett's inimitable style. A worthwhile read for all ages, The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag is also an ode to the people who inhabit the hills, and the resilience with which they face the hardships that assail them.
Centuries before Goa became the epicentre of the counterculture of the hippie and flower power generation in the sixties and seventies, it was known as the Eldorado, the City of Gold, the prized possession of the Portuguese empire in the East. From the early 16th century onwards, its magnetic appeal drew scores of travellers and adventurers to its gleaming shores. Driven by ambition, wanderlust, proselytism, and its fabled wealth and beauty, these travellers came from across Europe from Holland, England, Germany, France, Italy and other nations. Many of them left behind vivid and riveting accounts of their journeys and sojourn in the Rome of the East . This anthology encapsulates the best of these writings spread over 450 years of Portuguese rule as well as accounts by the contemporary traveller. Goa Travels is an essential guide and companion for the curious visitor as well as resident Goans who have forgotten the land s rich, eventful and colourful heritage. It goes far beyond the glossy tourist brochure and will enable both historian and holidaymaker to turn back the pages and dwell on Goa s extraordinary past. The writings also reflect its fading lustre in the 18th and 19th century and its resurrection in contemporary times. An anthology unlike any in the market, Goa Travels serves the twin functions of a highly readable record of history and a useful product that directly caters to the lucrative tourist market of Goa.
Kingdom Lost is a sequel to Singha Durbar released in 2017. The urge and rationale for a book on the Rana regime arose on the belief that such a work, coming from one with ancestral links with the Rana family and political links with the democratic forces and Nepali Congress, will reflect an objective and balanced view of those times. As the work, starting sometime in 2006, progressed, the author was drawn into exploring the entire range of Nepali history, with a stress on the modern era.Singha Durbar covers the period till the fall of the Rana regime in 1951, and this sequel starts off then and ends in 2008. Kingdom Lost in particular relies heavily on one-on-one interviews with key political and military leaders of the country. The author’s uninterrupted involvement in the churning of political activities and extensive travels allows graphic depiction of the tumultuous sequence of history.
In An English Made in India, the author delves into the various aspects of Indian English— as lingua franca, colonial bequest, the language of the elite, and those who aspire to elite status. She explores the English language’s earliest influences on Indian languages (and vice versa), the evolution of Indian English after independence and the way the language is spoken today. She talks to people from different parts of the country to create a colourful portrait of the ways in which the English language has influenced different segments of Indian society. The book is an entertaining narrative about the myriad Indianisms to be found in the English used by a large percentage of Indians; the growing importance of Indian English in a world of many Englishes; the ongoing tussle between the elite who speak the King’s English and those who speak in their mother tongue or mother-tongue-accented English; the effect of the IT boom on global English; and the changing attitudes of young Indians towards a language introduced by the Raj hundreds of years ago.
