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HT Picks; New Reads
This week’s interesting reads includes a book that looks at the world through the eyes of an Artificial Friend, one that demolishes some myths of Indian cricket, and another that analyses why Hindutva is no longer anathema to many Indians
What does it mean to love?
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come into browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon chose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?*
Exposing the real story
Cricket around the world is built on myths and Indian cricket is no different. These myths have been repeated ad nauseam over the years till they have come to be accepted as fact and in the modern age get extra traction through social media.Gulu Ezekiel, one of India’s leading cricket journalists and authors with 40 years of experience and over a dozen cricket books to his credit, demolishes these myths. Using multiple historical sources and eye witness accounts, Gulu exposes the real story behind these tales in a fascinating, controversial and unique book which is sure to rock the cricket world. Complete with unique and rare photos, Myth-Busting is a cricket connoisseur’s delight.*
The shift from Nehruvian secularism to Hindutva
The first time Rahul Roushan was called a Sanghi, he felt deeply offended… Sanghi literally means someone who is a member of the right wing RSS or its affiliates, but the ‘liberals’ use the term liberally to deride those who differ with their political and ideological stand, or those who wear Hinduism on their sleeve. This book analyses why Hindutva as an ideology is no longer anathema and what brought about this change. Why did a country that was ruled for decades by people espousing Nehruvian secularism suddenly begin to align with the ‘communal politics’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party? The book is the story of this transformation. This is not an autobiography. It is the retelling of some historical events... The book looks at factors like education, media, technology and obviously, electoral politics, which played a key role in this transformation. It also touches upon some of the personal experiences of the author, both as a media entrepreneur and a journalist.*
*All text from book flap.
