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HIS DAYS WITH BAPU GANDHI’S PERSONAL SECRETARY RECALLS
0₹250.00About the Book:
His Days with Bapu is a book embellished with some interesting snippets about the tumultuous years just before and after India’s independence, some intriguing facts, some brutal home truths.
It is a riveting biographical sketch of a unique man who lived under fifteen Prime Ministers, some of whom he knew personally. Despite his frail health, this personal secretary of Bapu from 1944 – 1948, set his daily routine of gardening and cleanliness aside, and spent hours talking to the author. Divided into three parts, the book draws a picture of Bapu, seen through Kalyanam’s lenses. It will indeed be an invaluable treasure for every college and university library and is highly recommended for both, the young and old.
About the Author:
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HISTORY THAT INDIA IGNORED
5₹695.00About the Book
Who truly set India free from British rule? While historians often credit Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party, it’s important to remember that until 1930, their demand was limited to Home Rule or Dominion Status. It was revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, whose sacrifice compelled Congress to finally declare complete independence as India’s goal. Their martyrdom, along with the fierce resistance of the Indian National Army (INA), shook the very foundations of British rule. Even British Prime Minister Clement Attlee later admitted that Gandhi’s influence was ‘minimal’—it was the INA’s uprising, the naval mutinies, and the rebellion within the armed forces that ultimately forced Britain to withdraw from India. In History That India Ignored, veteran journalist Prem Prakash sets the record straight, restoring the revolutionaries to their rightful place in India’s fight for freedom and uncovering the untold stories that shaped the nation’s destiny.
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HOLY SMOKE, IT’S A GODMAN
0₹250.00About the BookHoly Smoke, It’s a Godman is a first person narrative delivered from a jail in Copenhagen. In autobiographical mode, it invites the reader to take a journey across India with Jogender Dutt alias Redney Yog, a boy from Rajasthan who runs away to Mumbai and due to a series of bizarre circumstances, lands up in an ashram in the Himalayas where spirituality is merely a cover for nefarious activities. And then onto Denmark, to marry a gorgeous blonde and merge into a 21st-century hippie community. Along the way, Yog has encounters with colourful characters like Sikh truck driver Rounak Singh, a Catholic gay Father Goodwin, slumdog Ali Murtaza and Aghori sadhu Baba Mastana. He is exposed to the best of Hindu philosophy and yet, in the same environment, plumbs the depths of human depravity.
Why does he thank President George Bush for changing his life? Why does he kill Chacha Imam, a Muslim fundamentalist in Copenhagen? With unexpected twists and turns, and a light-hearted questioning of politics, morality and drug laws, it offers a glimpse of how exciting our globalised lives have become.
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HOPE IN DESPAIR – STORIES OF COURAGE IN KASHMIR
0₹450.00About the Book
How can one establish peace and reconstruction process in Kashmir? The quiet and resolute efforts of some individuals have demonstrated that all is not lost in the Valley. By promoting qualities of tolerance, understanding, cooperation and mutual respect, these ‘rebuilders’ are gradually transforming young minds by identifying and dealing with problems constructively. While some of them are changing the patterns of thought through education, others are tackling poor economic development, mental and physical health, saving environment and resources, developing sports and fostering a literary and a cultural climate in the Valley. Post 1990, the separatists obliterated the shared history and mutual trust between the Muslims and the Pandits giving rise to a generation who are unaware of the rich, multicultural climate that once existed in the Valley. Presenting a historical perspective of the immense contribution of the first educationists and social reformers who laid the foundation of modern Kashmir in the early twentieth century, the author indicates how the tireless efforts of those reformers towards building the state starkly contrasts with the conflict today: a conflict with a heavy price tag. The small humble efforts of the protagonists today have shown the way of rebuilding a peaceful, progressive and stable society, bringing in winds of hope in the Valley.
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HORNBILL FESTIVAL VISUAL RENDERINGS THAT TELL
0₹1,000.00About the Book
This colourful book entitled The Hornbill Festival brings out the Naga festivities in their varied and vibrant moods, both ancient and contemporary.
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HOTEL SECURITY & EXECUTIVE PROTECTION
0₹495.00About the Book
The hotel sector in India is one of the fastest growing industries with annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent. It is worth US $ 17 billion, that is equivalent to approximately 91,800 crore at the September 2012 exchange rate. To safeguard and to keep the hotel industry secured from any external or internal threat, special attention is needed. Writers whose articles appear in this book Hotel Security & Executive Protection have given accounts and analysed the subjects that may help in providing protection to executives staying in hotels. The guests, at times, include visiting Heads of States, Presidents, Prime Ministers and Monarchs besides senior executives and corporate honchos from business and industry.
The book also deals with protecting hotels from accidents and terrorist attacks. Fire is a major cause for concern for the hotel industry. In recent times all over the world, several serious fire accidents have occurred in hotels, resulting in large-scale loss of life and property. As a result of this, the hotel industry is now alert to the need of extra protection.
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HOW TO CREATE MIRACLES IN OUR DAILY LIFE
0₹325.00About The Book
How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life is a first-of-its-kind collection of essays by spiritual gurus and thought leaders on the themes of Love, Life, Living, Giving, Forgiveness, Faith, Compassion, Happiness, Bliss, Peace, Positivism, Karma, and God and Us. Written in simple, crisp language, the tenor of the essays is positive and uplifting; the spiritual teachings are non-didactic and have been demystified. The book has an abundance of tips on practical spirituality that will help readers in day-to-day living.
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I AM A FLEETING MOMENT IN TIME: KATHAK GURU SHOVANA NARAYAN
0₹750.00About the Book
What do you get when a senior bureaucrat moonlights as a Kathak virtuoso? In Shovana’s case—raised eyebrows, dropped jaws, and the occasional—‘Files and footwork?’, ‘Do you sign files mid-spin?’ ‘Meetings in a lehenga?’, ‘Do your staff clap in tala when you walk in?’ Her answer: discipline, ruthless time management, and zero overlap… though the idea of a meeting with rhythmic tatkaar was tempting. But this isn’t just a story of multitasking—it’s about making ‘Why not both?’ a life motto. Shovana didn’t just juggle two demanding careers—she rewrote the rulebook. Passionate about dance, fascinated by physics and maths, she chose both and excelled. She married Austrian ambassador Dr Herbert Traxl on her own terms, balancing two cultures, two careers, and a long-distance marriage with equal grace. In the 1970s, she even broke taboo by giving mukhagni to her father—an act of fierce love and quiet rebellion. This book is more than her story. It’s a challenge to every ‘either-or’ in life, a celebration of passion and profession coexisting. The book asks the only question worth asking: Why choose, when you can have it all? It enters the tatva of classical traditions, where art whispers life’s philosophy and endures beyond fleeting glory.
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I WANT A BOY
0₹450.00About the Book
An estimated 4-12 million female foetuses have been aborted in the past three decades, and the brutal killings still continue. In an era of technological innovation and evolving social values, one would expect traditional biases to be a thing of the past. Yet, in this compelling narrative, Dr Aruna Kalra, a practising gynaecologist, reveals the persistent and heartbreaking desire for a male child among her patients, showing that deeply ingrained cultural norms still hold strong. Her autobiographical I Want a Boy captures the absurd lengths her patients adopt in their quest for a son. The plea for a male heir resonates everywhere, whether in upmarket maternity homes or in chaotic government hospitals where the author did her three-year residency at the start of her career. This powerful book, peppered with personal anecdotes, is also a commentary on the repeated pregnancies, selective abortions, and outdated rituals for a boy baby that our society endorses, all of which strip women of their self-respect, autonomy, and well-being.
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I WON’T GIVE YOU A LEG UP, MR DEATH
0₹295.00About the Book
Threatened by possible death from cancer, Kanu Chatterjee, a visual media expert in Amsterdam, wakes up one night dreaming about rats nibbling his corpse rotting unnoticed in his lonely room. Not wanting to languish alone in hospital beds or in his cheerless room dreaming macabre dreams while a secret about his wife’s death hounds him, he sets out on a journey back to India and the home he left decades ago.
Not exactly welcomed by his family he seeks refuge in Monabari. I won’t give you a leg up Mr Death traces Kanu’s journey to this quaint place by a river, with mountains within its view, where he finds care and affection. Here, when his time came, he wished to face death, without grovelling, in an open field, at high noon, with sunflowers around him. Meanwhile, as a photographer, he sets out to create enduring images of people’s rare smiles and happy moments. However, unexpected developments unsettle him.
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IDENTITY POLITICS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
0₹695.00About the Book
Highlighting the internal dimensions of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, the book deals with overlapping, multi-layered and multiple identity politics of this state. While focusing on identity politics of Kashmir, which remains at the root of conflict, it goes beyond its homogenized exterior and points to various internal tensions. More importantly, it goes beyond the Kashmiri identity politics and focuses on various other manifestations of identities including religious, regional and sub-regional identity politics within the State.
It seeks to draw attention to the socio-cultural diversity and political divergence within Jammu and Kashmir and talks about multiple contexts of deprivation and neglect including those defined by the categories of gender, caste and tribe. The book is divided into five sections: Identities and Politics in Kashmir; Religion, Identities and Inter-community relations; Exodus and Identity Politics of Kashmiri Pundits; Identity Politics of Women and Dalits and; The Other Kashmir.
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IFS BUTS GOING NUTS
0₹195.00About The Book
So, you hate oily food and Mom served parathas for breakfast…how could she! You just adore that little naval piercing that your friend has but your parents would get a heart attack if you want that, right? Also, that cute guy you saw at the school fest . . . does he really like you? Too many questions plague your mind which the world never understands, how would they? They’re adults after all.
Too many questions plague your mind which the world never understands, how would they? They’re adults after all.
So meet your new friend—Natasha. Studying in the tenth standard, living in a city with her mom and dad, her life is a royal mess that she is trying to sort out. What’s the meaning of friendship? Can parents ever be friends? Do friendships stand the test of time? Natasha is trying her best to understand life that is offering a new challenge every day. What kind of challenge? Well, she does not fall off a cliff and she does not meet a monster either—she just goes to school! But that’s adventure enough. You would know. It’s your story.
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IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE: STRONGER BODIES, SHARPER MINDS
0₹395.00About the Author
At Vitasta, we believe children’s books should be as meaningful as they are fun. This title is the result of a collaborative effort by our editorial team, who’ve poured in thoughtful research, imaginative storytelling, and a whole lot of love to help young readers discover the joy—and life lessons—hidden in sports.
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IN DEFIANCE: OUR STORIES -SHORT FICTION BY DALIT WRITERS
0₹450.00About the Book
The publications of Dalit writers have, for at least 20 years, posed a major challenge to the way mainstream literature has been positioned and perceived. In this setting, a collection of short fiction such as this, exclusively by Tamil Dalit writers, raises a strong regional voice against the discrimination and graded inequality unique to caste-bound India. With an Introduction from P Sivakami, the distinguished Dalit writer and activist, this anthology of short stories from 14 writers feeds into the flow of influences that both shape and change the language and poetics.
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IN HARM’S WAY
0₹195.00About the Book FBI special agent Nick Bradley has seen his share of kooks during his fifteen years with the Bureau, from the boy who insisted he had been abducted by aliens to the woman who claimed God had told her to assist the FBI by acting as His intermediary on difficult cases. But Rachel Sutton is an enigma. She seems normal when she shows up at the FBI office in St. Louis—until she produces a tattered Raggedy Ann doll she found and tells him it gives her bad vibes. Nick dismisses her—only to stumble across a link between the doll and an abducted infant, setting in motion a chain of events that uncovers startling connections…and puts Rachel’s life on the line. A fine-tuned suspense tale that incorporates elements of romance, relieving what might otherwise be a too-intense experience. -
IN SEARCH OF YAMUNA
0₹400.00About the Book
The crisis of river Yamuna is pronounced by a deep sense of loss afflicting the lives of riverfront people who were crucial in shaping the river’s many rhythms and cultures. In the present mood of transience and conflict, amidst the emerging riverfront politics, these communities seem to be caught in the eye of the storm. This book makes an effort to encapsulate this present conflict. Deconstructing the nature of claims and stakes that riverine communities have on the riverbanks today, it is an attempt to describe the current processes of marginalisation of certain groups, and disengagement with nature for the sake of ‘development’.
The author makes an attempt to capture this current reality of India by discussing it in the framework of one of its holiest rivers trapped in a modern city. It aims to respond to a mood of confusion about what Delhi symbolizes today and what the Yamuna has come to mean to this modern, yet historic city. Tracing the river from Yamunotri to Allahabad, the book delves into her cultural essence and the various meanings she symbolizes across time and space. The Yamuna comes out as a versatile fluid, a cultural mosaic and an emotional power that comprises infinite realities. The book describes the multiple ways in which communities have engaged with the river—religion and mythology, livelihood, recreation, and now, technology and economics.
It discusses the ideologies behind these different notions of the Yamuna and how these conceptions have come in conflict with each other and are now leading to contests over her terrains. The crisis of riverfront communities in Delhi is meticulously illustrated. Alongside, a debate on ecological democracy is unfurled with the lingering question of ‘how does one engage with nature today?’ Shedding new light on controversies that envelop the river today, this book is a sharp critique of the way the Indian government and economy have dealt with this situation in particular and the larger case of the environment and communities in general. While rooted in current and tangible realities, the narrative transcends that element and engages in a form of philosophical rumination. A personalised narrative with many poetic musings, it is an academic discussion laid out in a lyrical format.
