Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan
The One Who Had Two Lives | HarperCollins
The tale of Amba-Ambika-Ambalika, and that of Shikhandi, are among the most enticing of the Mahabharata—that supremely capacious of epics. In this age of mining it for retellings, Madhavan adopts a first-person voice for intimacy, ploughing the inner lives of Amba and Shikhandi. The result is finely drawn characters who drive the narratives, though more could have been done on vivifying an imagined ancientness.
Edited by Shreerupa Mitra
Energising India: Fuelling a Billion Lives | Rupa
As India marches towards economic superpowerdom, its energy needs have increased salience. This book, through its galaxy of contributors, deals with the subject threadbare: our energy challenge (Anil Kakodkar), a gas-based future (Dharmendra Pradhan), energy diplomacy (S. Jaishankar), role of LPG in household energy (Kirk R. Smith and Abhishek Jain) etc. Beautifully printed, with accessible graphs.
Robin Sharma
The 5 AM Club | Jaico
Sharma is one indefatigable collater of snackworthy anecdotes: bits of wisdom-laden goodies featuring the great (Picasso, Vonnegut, Seneca…) and framed by stock characters in earnest confab. The messages are as old as the hills (work detached from thoughts of gain, a disciplined, early-to-rise lifestyle), though the crispiness would appeal to those who approach reading cautiously.
