I just finished reading a book about economists and their theories that my aged father gifted me for my birthday this August in Goa. Looking at the title and reading the preface and introduction, it struck me immediately as mischief and meddling in publishing once again. The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L Heilbroner, published by… Continue reading Whirled-ly Philosophising
I just finished reading Salman Rushdie’s book of essays, Languages of Truth, that my father had bought last year. If it appears to be a timely read, considering the attack on his life in New York recently, so it is. If one thinks about why he attracts so much hate and vitriol even today, it’s… Continue reading Languages of Truth Coasts on the Surface
In the days, when there is hardly any news reported from on the ground, whether in print, or on television, and much of it not believable, one wonders whatever happened to reportage, as it used to be called. Now, I am not a journalist, though I do write – in my advertising and brand communications… Continue reading Reportage as News, History, Literature?
While I was still contemplating buying Amitav Ghosh’s newest book, The Nutmeg’s Curse, my father had already ordered it from Amazon India. Well, I’m not complaining. I greatly admire his writing, having owned and read several of his books, before I lost almost all of my books to termites at my parents’ flat in Goa.… Continue reading The Nutmeg’s Curse, of Colonisation and Capitalism
Minouche Shafik’s new book, What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract seems perfectly timed, with the world teetering between the 2008 financial crisis and a global pandemic. The book is not written for the general reader, but I think that they too might like it. They would like it for her astute observations… Continue reading A New Social Contract for a New Kind of Economy
The second book that my parents gifted me for my birthday this year, besides Amartya Sen’s memoir is Jhumpa Lahiri’s Whereabouts. I had already read about her attempt to write this book in Italian and then translate it back into English herself and one marvels at the author’s courage. Around three years ago I think… Continue reading Whereabouts, Context and Depth?
Having just accomplished one of my life’s aims, I ask myself whether it was really worth it. I have just finished reading The Laws of Manu. I can’t think of any endeavour more single-minded, more self-serving and more ruthlessly successful in its purpose. It tells us why we Hindus still have the caste system in… Continue reading Of the Priests, By the Priests, For the Priests
While dusting and spring-cleaning my father’s bookshelves at home in Goa, I happened to discover a book I had never seen before in his collection. When I opened it, I was even more surprised to see his inscription: Daryaganj pavement, Delhi, 1999. He did visit me in Delhi around then and we might have wandered… Continue reading Impressions and Sketches of Another Age
In recent days, we in India have been witnessing people throwing caution to the winds, in the name of religious fervour. This, even as the Covid-19 pandemic ravages the country, with the discovery of a new, highly transmissible variant first found in India, the B.1.617. Whether it is the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the celebration… Continue reading Reading Russell During the Pandemic
Since I haven’t been earning an income in years and am going broke, I have to be careful about buying books. Such a pity really, since I tend to devour them. Yours truly decided to read books that yours truly had gifted father on his birthday last year, instead. The master of spy fiction, John… Continue reading Cold War Ghostly Presences
Peripatetic Perch 