President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
- Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku: This book makes you think about the human race and its growing civilisation. Thanks to a single act of a Great Force, we have the right living conditions and capabilities to prosper. Of course, we can't be irresponsible, destroy the only known human habitat in the universe. I also agree with the author on the possibility of a Type I Civilisation flourishing on one of the planets by 2050 AD because of man's ingenuity and knowledge.
- Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World by Margaret J. Wheatley: I liked the central theme, that chaos and change are conditions for transforming society. It concludes beautifully: "Every moment requires that we stay together. After all is said and done, we have the gift of each other. We have each other's curiosity, wisdom and courage. And we have 'Life', whose great ordering powers, if we choose to work with them, will make us even more curious, wise and courageous."
- In Tune with the Infinite by Ralph Waldo Trine: I re-read this book (first published in 1897) often. It provides peace even to the hardened mind and heart and shows ways of leading a good life.
- The Oxford Book of English Verse: British PM Tony Blair gave me a 1901 edition when he visited us. I have read and re-read this book several times but I again delved into it. One of my all-time favourites in the book is Wordsworth's The Rainbow.
- I am currently reading Helen Keller's Story of My Life translated into Tamil by Mu. Sivalingam. Her life is indeed a role model for special people as well as others.
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Reading is one of the casualties of my job. I began reading many books this year but despite my best intentions wasn't able to finish any of them. The one exception is The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen. I've known him for a long time and have read everything he's written. It's a compelling and very relevant discussion of how our argumentative tradition is essential for democracy.
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Jean Dreze Economist
- Conversations With Three Russians—Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Lenin: A Systemic View on Two Centuries of Societal Evolution by Anatol Rapoport: An illuminating reflection on the fundamental issues of human existence and society, written in the lively style of Socratic dialogue.
- Ambedkar: Towards an Enlightened India by Gail Omvedt: A milestone in the rehabilitation of Dr Ambedkar, not only as a Dalit leader but also as one of the great Indian thinkers of the 20th century.
- Two Novellas: Praise the Lord and What News Pilate by Paul Zachariah: Zachariah's creative reinterpretation of the Gospel from the women's point of view in What News Pilate made a deep impression on me. As a feminist friend put it, "It's amazing that a man could write this.
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Sonia Gandhi Congress President
I love reading and usually get to read a lot. But this was a very hectic year. All my reading this year was backgrounders and other official documents.
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Khushwant Singh Writer-Columnist
- The Alchemy of Desire by Tarun Tejpal: I enjoyed the vivid descriptions, there are some very amusing passages and he has a lot of information about flora and fauna. But the sex from page one to page last gets boring. Tejpal certainly has the gift of writing even though he needs some discipline.
- Mira and the Mahatma by Sudhir Kakar: This was published last year but I read it this year. It's a fascinating blend of fact and fiction about the love affair between Gandhi and Madeline Slade. The love is mostly on her side but Kakar paints a very candid picture of Gandhi's fads along with his greatness.
- Diddi: My Mother's Voice by Ira Pande: A very deft mixture of Hindi writer Shivani's life and her stories of the people in her life. Extremely well done.
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Mani Shankar Aiyar Minister for Petroleum
And files to go before I sleep,
And files to go before I sleep!
In all of 2005, the only book I read cover-to-cover is The End of Oil: On The Edge of a Perilous New World by Paul Roberts. Thus do ministerships make philistines of us all.
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U.R. Ananthamurthy Writer
- The Last Wilderness by Nirmal Verma (translated from Hindi by Pratik Kanjilal): This is a very good translation. The novel has spiritual depth, it's deeply philosophical and yet sensuously vivid.
- The Beautiful Tree by Dharampal: This is an old book but I read it again this year. It has reoriented my perceptions in a big way. Most of us in India do not know that we had a more advanced school system before the British administration destroyed it. The book is a metaphor for me to understand the colonised mind.
- Pursuing Death by S. Settar: This again is an old book I was familiar with but which I read again—an extraordinary account of how to die. We all know that living is an art but dying is also an art for the Jains. This is a book of fundamental importance to all of us who have to die one day, even though the globalising, greedy world would like us to be unaware of death. How wonderful that the Jains could make what is inevitable desirable too.
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William Dalrymple Writer
- Edge of Empire: Conquest and Collecting in the Eastern Frontiers of the British Empire, 1750-1850 by Maya Jasanoff: A brilliant debut, this book is an object lesson in just how well academic history can read when a fine writer takes as much trouble with her prose as her research.
- Almost every page contained startling new insights and it made me look afresh at subjects and ideas I thought I knew well, notably her beautifully written account of the court of Tipu Sultan.
- Curry: A Biography by Lizzie Collingham and Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner: Two very fine books on the history of cooking and its ingredients.
- A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives by Richard M Eaton: He has yet again broken completely new ground with this startlingly original book.
- Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj by David Gilmour: It would be an understatement to say that I greatly enjoyed this elegant and laconic history.
- The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen: I loved this collection of essays which enjoyably mixes moments of real profundity with flashes of mischievous provocation. It's the best answer yet written to V.S. Naipaul's Islamophobic take on Indian civilisation, celebrating the sheer diversity of views and faiths and competing ideas that have always coexisted in South Asia and seeing in this diversity the source of India's cultural strength.
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Shyam Benegal Filmmaker
- The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh: Although this book was published last year, I'd rank this my top read this year. Amitav is a consummate storyteller and I got completely engrossed in the story. I love the simple elegance of his style and his books are always rewarding because you get to learn so much—in this, about river dolphins and ecology.
- Two Lives by Vikram Seth: Vikram writes very engagingly, it's almost like he's talking to you. I really enjoyed Two Lives.
- Million Dollar Baby: Stories From The Corner by F.X. Toole: I used to enjoy boxing as a kid and still enjoy watching the sport. So when I found this book—a collection of short stories on boxing—at Boston airport I picked it up and read it on the plane. He brings to mind the great American writers of the mid-20th century like Hemingway and Ring Lardner.
- The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen: I like reading everything he writes, especially this one because he's looking at aspects of India and what makes it tick. I think he has his finger on the pulse.
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond: I found it interesting because he's talking about how societies grow and what leads to their collapse.
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Vishwanath Anand Chess Wizard
- Angels and Demons by Dan Brown: The best among the Dan Brown collection. Extremely gripping till the end, although the last few pages tend to have infusions of Bollywood. I would rate it a notch higher than Da Vinci Code.
- The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer by Nigel Collett: A very big book, I read it over a few months. It's meticulously written and will surely be part of the collection of any Indian history lover. Of course it made me feel very sad reading about Jallianwala Bagh. But even the meanest people in history have a story.
- Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe by Simon Singh: A fascinating account of how it all began. Very well explained. Excellent for any amateur astronomer. In fact, I have just got the other two books by him.
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Ashokamitran Novelist
- Two Lives by Vikram Seth: A little overwritten but full of dignity and humaneness.
- At Home in the World, compiled by the iccr: The first volume contains the cream of contemporary Indian writing. The second is a reconstruction of the V.S. Naipaul colloquium at Neemrana. Both are expertly edited.
- Ilakkia Munnodigal (Literary Pathfinders) by Jayamohan: This is an incisive, modern and original appraisal of the pioneers of modern Tamil writing.
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Mandira Bedi TV Show Hostess
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon: It's a very poignant and telling story from the point of view of an autistic boy.
- The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay: I read this book at least once every year. It's about a young white boy in South Africa who learns to box to defend himself. A very inspiring book on overcoming obstacles.
- Out Of My Comfort Zone—An Autobiography by Steve Waugh: I am still reading this book, it's very fat, 800 pages!
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Geet Sethi Billiards Champion
- A Guide For The Perplexed by E.F. Schumacher: This book talks about the different levels of being and a methodology by which to go to a higher level of existence.
- The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters (translated by Moses Hadas): I liked this book for its command over the English language of the translator and for the supreme knowledge of Seneca himself.
- Man's Search For Meaning by Victor Franki: This is an incisive documentation of one man's experience during the Holocaust and his pragmatic interpretation of the psychology of man's search for meaning.
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Mark Tully Broadcaster/Writer
- The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco: Eco's visit to Delhi inspired me to re-read this masterpiece. Only a genius could turn a treatise on the medieval church—with its problems with the secular emperor and with zealots for the life of poverty—into a thrilling detective story with a surprise ending. I wish someone had made medieval history half as interesting when I read it at university.
- The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer by Nigel Collett: Nigel Collett has packed research into this book but he never loses the thread of the story and the interest never flags. His book gave me new insights into the ICS, the Indian army and the police of the Raj, the British community in the Punjab and the Punjabis of those times. It's a must for anyone interested in the history of the Independence movement.
- Soul and Structure of Governance in India by Jagmohan: I am convinced that one of the most serious problems facing India is the inadequacy of governance. So I have read with great interest three books this year written by former civil servants. All were highly critical of the way their country is governed at present. But Jagmohan has the advantage of also having political experience and his book is the most substantial of the three.
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Pankaj Mishra Writer
- Fortress Besieged by Qian Zhongshu
- War Trash by Ha Jin
- Patna Roughcut by Siddharth Chowdhury
- Jejuri by Arun Kolatkar
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Preity Zinta Actress
- How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend: A Training Manual for Dog Owners by New Skete Monks: I am a dog-lover so I really found this book by monks who have been raising and training dogs in their monastery for years very instructive and insightful.
- Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia by Carmen Bin Laden: This story of a European woman's stifling marriage with Osama's half-brother is the other book that stands out in my mind from the several I read this year.
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Kanimozhi Poet, Karunanidhi's Daughter
- Two Lives by Vikram Seth: Seth chronicles the two lives in a detached manner, letting the letters speak for themselves without giving them an emotional spin. He does not impose his authorial voice on the lives he reconstructs.
- The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek: This was a real experience for me...such a harsh look at human nature, especially significant in our culture where the line between fear and respect for elders is so thin. Because of this fear that elders impose there's so much suppression which leads to repression. Jelinek blows the lid off what we prefer to keep hidden.
- On Beauty: A History of a Western Idea edited by Umberto Eco: Eco here makes you rethink the existing paradigms of beauty. Drawing from various cultures, he questions what we have been cultivated into thinking of as beautiful.
- Koola Madari by Perumal Murugan: This Tamil novel provides an insight into the world of Dalit children, their exploitation, the way their childhood is deprived, and the pleasures they find even in that life.
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Lavanya Shankar Writer
- The Line Of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst: I enjoyed it for the prose that has an old-fashioned glow, like a Vermeer painting, each detail captured richly and astonishingly, revealing texture and mood with remarkable capability.
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: Mesmerising, gripping, wonderfully disciplined.
- The Victorians by A.N. Wilson: It provides an engaging, insightful bird's-eye view into a world not unlike my own.
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Vidya Balan Actress
- Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat: When you are busy shooting, it's nice to read something that doesn't tax you too much. This is such an interesting account of life in IIT and a very easy read.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon: Again, this is a very easy read. I also read Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell.
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Madhavan Actor and TV show host
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny by Robin Sharma: This book was gifted to me and I started it and got hooked. You know how it is when you know something but can't quite put a finger on it and explain it in words? That's what this author has done—explained something you inherently know but can't define.
He's given expression to your own feelings. It's a complex philosophy explained with great ease. I enjoyed and appreciated the book very much. Apart from that, I haven't had much chance to read anything this year except my cheque book and scripts.
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Amitabh Bachchan Actor
I've only been reading scripts and, on occasion, when I have had the time, my father Harivanshrai Bachchan's poetry and his autobiography, Atma Katha.
