The ever-evolving dynamics of travel
The conditions of travel have long been dictated by the colours of passports and the colour of skin. For Shahnaz Habib, travel and travel writing have always been complicated pleasures. Tracing the power dynamics that underlie tourism, this insightful debut parses who gets to travel, and who gets to write about the experience. All the while, Habib threads the historic but ever-evolving dynamics of travel into her personal story as a child on family vacations in India, an adult curious about the world, and an immigrant for whom round trips are an annual fact of life.
Woven throughout the book are inviting and playful analyses of obvious and not-so-obvious travel artefacts: passports, carousels, bougainvilleas, guidebooks, trains, the idea of wanderlust itself. Together, they tell a subversive history of travel as a Euro-American mode of consumerism — but as any traveller knows, travel is more than that. As an immigrant whose loved ones live across continents, Habib takes a deeply curious and joyful look at a troubled and beloved activity.*
Standard-bearers of the national movement
The Indian national movement was never a monolith. Millions participated in it; there were many important streams and personalities that shaped it. Most accounts are dominated by Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar, and a standard set of events – the Government of India acts, the Round Tables and the mass agitations. But what becomes invisible in these retellings are actual people whose lives were indelibly changed by this great struggle and who left their stamp on it in their own ways. This brilliant book, by the critically acclaimed historian TCA Raghavan, is an ambitious attempt to tell the story of the freedom movement through five such characters.
At the centre is Asaf Ali, who figured in several of the movement’s seminal moments and whose perspective exemplifies many of the core ideas of the struggle that we still contend with today. Asaf ’s story illustrates the predicament of the moderate Muslim in the national movement – viewed with suspicion by many in the Congress and as a renegade by many in his own community. His controversial marriage to the firebrand Aruna Asaf Ali brought to the fore not only questions about Hindu-Muslim relationships but also the discussion on whether the path to change should be constitutional or revolutionary.
{{/usCountry}}At the centre is Asaf Ali, who figured in several of the movement’s seminal moments and whose perspective exemplifies many of the core ideas of the struggle that we still contend with today. Asaf ’s story illustrates the predicament of the moderate Muslim in the national movement – viewed with suspicion by many in the Congress and as a renegade by many in his own community. His controversial marriage to the firebrand Aruna Asaf Ali brought to the fore not only questions about Hindu-Muslim relationships but also the discussion on whether the path to change should be constitutional or revolutionary.
{{/usCountry}}Sarojini Naidu was pre-eminent in this circle, her vibrant personality, her passionate championing of Hindu-Muslim unity made her one of the earliest standard-bearers of the national movement. Syud Hossain and Syed Mahmud – the journalist and the politician – complete the circle. Through the eyes of Asaf and his friends we get a different perspective of events, not a ringside view but a view just beyond the ring. Written with empathy and deep insight, this is sure to become a classic.*
The German refugee who shaped modern Indian art
In the vibrant world of post-Independence Bombay, a German art critic named Rudolf von Leyden played a pivotal yet overlooked role in shaping modern Indian art. Arriving as a refugee from Nazi Germany, Rudi soon became a tireless champion of India’s emerging avant-garde painters.
The Catalyst captures the critic’s monumental influence on artists like Ara, Husain, Raza, and Souza — the audacious pioneers who rebelled against academic styles to forge a bold new artistic vision for a nation reborn.
Through his perceptive reviews, Rudi encouraged the raw talent and electrifying experiments of these artists, then struggling on the fringes. The guidance he provided along with his European compatriots, Walter Langhammer and Emanuel Schlesinger, introduced the Progressive painters to international modernism, inspiring them to break free.
Beyond critical advocacy, Rudi’s generosity and networking fostered patronage for impoverished talents like KH Ara. His vision helped establish seminal Indian art institutions. This incisive critic recognized the genius of the Progressives long before the world took notice.
Pieced together from extensive interviews and archival material, this book provides a ringside view into an efflorescent period that forever changed the course of Indian art. It reveals Rudi’s warm relationships with the artists, especially his profound friendship with Krishen Khanna.
An immersive narrative, the book paints a vivid portrait of a man whose legacy continues to inspire.*
*All copy from book flap.