Bibliofile

To mark the centenary of George Orwell’s birth, (June 25), two radically different biographies, one by D.J. Taylor (Orwell: The Life, Chatto) and George Orwell by Gordon Bowker (Little Brown) have been published. One book has discovered previously unpublished letters between Orwell and Malcolm Muggeridge and has these gems from the author of Animal Farm: "I’m trying to find a style which eliminates the adjective"; and to a lady: "I hope you will let me make love to you again some time, but if you don’t it doesn’t matter."

Back home, that old institution of Indological publishing, Motilal Banarsidass, celebrates its 100th year of existence. Started with just Rs 27, this library-turned-small bookstore in Lahore soon became synonymous with the best in Oriental, Indological, Buddhist and Jain texts. Among their contributions: the reprinted 1920s version of the Manusmriti edited by Ganganath Jha, Max Mueller’s Sacred Books of the East, A Linguistic Survey of India by George Grierson and Jacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology translated by Gayatri Spivak.

Finally, a note on freedom. Next time you want someone "free", read Bail Not Jail. Written by human rights lawyer Rakesh Shukla and published by Other Media Communications, Delhi, this handbook documents the rights enshrined in our Constitution with regard to bail. In a country where most people languish in jails as undertrials, this handbook should certainly be of immense use.