HT Picks; New Reads

This week’s reading list includes a book on India’s relationship with China, the story of a man told by his eminent son, and a diverse collection of writing and photography that addresses the toughest challenges faced by humanity in the 21st century

Such a long journey

Books on the relationship between India’ and China, the story of a man, and the challenges facing humanity -- all that on HT’s list of good reads this week. (HT Team)

209pp, ₹599; Harper Collins

In 1946, Baloo Lal Panagariya, then 25 years old, arrived in Jaipur to join the editorial staff of the newspaper Lokvani, devoted to exposing the excesses of the British and princely rulers of Rajputana. Though unremarkable in itself, the story behind this event is one of the triumphs of human spirit over adversity.

Baloo Lal was born in a remote village in Rajasthan, in a family that could not scrape together two full meals a day. He lost his father at five and mother at 14. The village lacked even a primary school. Yet, thanks to the wisdom and sacrifice of his mother and his own perseverance, he completed his education, went on to serve with distinction as a civil servant in the newly formed state of Rajasthan and, after retirement, wrote the first definitive book on the history of the freedom movement in Rajasthan.

In a very real sense, Baloo Lal’s journey from the village of Suwana to the city of Jaipur was a long and arduous one, much more so than that of his own son, decades later from Jaipur to Washington, DC. His success led to more milestones in the next generation, with two of his children being honoured with Padma awards and another with a presidential award.

My Father; The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man adds a new dimension to the history of India. It is a reminder that post-independence India was built not just by a handful of leaders working at the top but numerous ordinary citizens who shaped its many contours from below.*

Why we are not friends

284pp, ₹599; Juggernaut

Why have relations between India and China, which comprise nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population, been troubled for over 60 years? A war in 1962 was followed by decades of uneasy peace, but in recent years a rising number of serious military confrontations has underlined their huge and growing differences.

This book examines these differences in four crucial areas: their perceptions and prejudices about each other; their continuing disagreements over the border; their changing partnerships with America and Russia; and the growing power asymmetry between them, which affects all aspects of their relationship. China demands deference as a Great Power and the dominant country in Asia, while India wants recognition and respect as an equal. With such a deep divide separating the two neighbours, what does the future hold?

In this lucid, informative and insightful book, a leading expert on the subject decodes the complex history of India-China relations and argues that the path ahead is a difficult one that could see more military confrontations, including violent border clashes. Crucial to the relationship will be India’s ability to reduce the enormous gap with China in economic, military, and even soft power.*

A plea for positivity

₹599; Pippa Rann

Anthropocene by Sudeep Sen offers a diversely rich collection of creative non-fiction, essay, prose, poetry and photography which addresses the toughest challenges faced by humanity in the 21st century – the pandemic and climate change. A literary and artistic response to the most urgent issues that face humanity now, Anthropocene tackles the complexities head-on with honesty and sensitivity, without any compromise. Simultaneously engaging multiple genres, the book interrogates our lives against the backdrop of a dangerously fraught and ever-changing landscape, on the emotional, physical, micro and macro levels.

Amid all the negative noise in the world, here is a quiet artistic offering — a testament to our fervent times where the ever-increasing ravages of climate change scar humanity, where Fascist politics overrides the silence of introspection, where the cleaving schism between the rich and poor becomes ever-widening, where racism peaks at an all time high, where toxicity among people proliferates, and fake news abounds.

Ultimately, the book is a plea for positivity and prayer — it urges us to slow down, to introspect, to consume less. It is time once again to learn how to love selflessly and embrace “Hope, heed, heal — our song, in present tense.”*

*All copy from book flap.