There is nothing more satisfying than a cup of your favourite hot beverage and a book to curl up with. This Independence Day happens to be a Sunday and perhaps the best way to appreciate the concept of freedom is to trace its evolution through the tumult of the 1857 Mutiny through the hail of Inquilab to the unfurling of the Tricolour. Freedom doesn’t come with one act of glory and there are several books that help one relive the forgotten chapters.
What has held India together, this country with a vast and conflicting cultural fibre, for 60-odd years? How does it sustain its democracy? If such issues make you curious, then pick Lord Meghnad Desai’s The Rediscovery of India (Rs 699). The author rewinds to the encounter between the east and west in the 15th century and discusses culture, politics, the Nehru-Gandhi ideology right up to 21st century India, connecting the past with the present.
For those more fond of the visual than the written word, History in the Making (Rs 5,000) is a fabulous book to take home. Filled with pictures taken by photojournalist Kulwant Roy that capture a changing India, right from the struggle for independence to the signing of the Indian constitution, the book is a peep into the changing course of the country’s history. Compiled by Roy’s close acquaintance Aditya Arya, History in the Making with its collection of rare photographs is for keeps.
Full report here Indian Express
No comments:
Post a Comment