By Amitav Ghosh

This is precisely what Ghosh has done. Eight years after the publication of Flood of Fire we have a book in which he has written about the key concerns that shaped the novels comprising the trilogy. As the narrative progressed from the first novel Sea of Poppies (2008)


Reviewed by: Amar Farooqui
By Dipsikha Acharya

Instead of getting into the long-drawn ‘Iron Age and Social Change’ debate, she makes a case for bringing up the different aspects of iron production and their relationship with the social formations in the context of early India.


Reviewed by: Srabani Chakraborty
By Brian C. Wilson

This is an unusual and innovative book that captures the history of Velha Goa through the lens of archeology as method, and urbanism as the heuristic category for understanding the Portuguese city as it was designed and constructed since the 16th century.


Reviewed by: Lakshmi Subramanian
By Susmita Mukherjee

Susmita Mukherjee’s book under reviewexamines the historical and sociological processes that resulted in the concentration of women doctors in India in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.


Reviewed by: Mridul Megha
By Fali S Nariman

Fali Nariman, now aged 94, is among the last of a generation of legendary lawyers whose ranks included the likes of Nani Palkhivala, Soli Sorabjee, Ram Jethmalani, and K Parasaran, and who effectively laid down the foundations of India’s postcolonial legal development.


Reviewed by: Abhik Majumdar
By Suresh Kumar

literary activism of women depended upon the influence of male intellectuals, it was only in the 1980s that Dalit women began writing to ‘externalize their pain, show their plight, demand their rights, spread social awareness and mobilize themselves for affirmative articulation’


Reviewed by: Somya Charan Pahadi
By Toby Walsh

This book’s thesis, in one line, is that Artificial Intelligence is artificial, different from human intelligence, and it is also about faking that human intelligence.


Reviewed by: Sevanti Ninan
Edited by Shams Afif Siddiqi and Fuzail Asar Siddiqi Translated from the original Urdu by Shams Afif Siddiqi

After all what is the purpose of the story, if it cannot help us leave time behind?’ asks Gocharan Ray, the signalman in Siddique Alam’s story ‘The Stopped Clock’.


Reviewed by: Nishat Zaidi
By S. Ramakrishnan. Translated from the original Tamil by PC Ramakrishna and Malini Seshadri

It was written as a year-long series in the well-known magazine, Ananda Vikatan and was well received by readers. The aim was ‘to introduce young readers to outstanding Tamil stories’ (p. ix). The collection has been translated with sensitivity by PC Ramakrishna and Malini Seshadri


Reviewed by: V Bharathi Harishankar
By Charu Nivedita. Translated from the original Tamil by Nandini Krishnan

The first point to note about this work, a fact that the ‘translator’ records in her Note, is that it is no straightforward translation of the original Tamil novel


Reviewed by: T. Sriraman
By Imayam. Translated from the original Tamil by Padma Narayanan

The harsh realities of the caste system and patriarchy are brought to light in this collection of 14 heart-breaking stories of Sahitya Akademi awarded writer Imayam (V Annamalai). They showcase his unparalleled storytelling skills, marked by a strong sense of justice.


Reviewed by: Malati Mukherjee
By K.R. Meera. Translated from the original Malayalam by J. Devika

The English translation of renowned Malayalam author KR Meera’s Assassin narrates the ‘story’ of a middle-aged protagonist,


Reviewed by: Asma Rasheed
Selected and translated by A. J. Thomas

‘After the action-dominated early stories, the short story was centred around, first, the specific outward expressions of life in the social-reformist stories, then the inner life of the individual and, finally, the abstract plane of indirect experiences full of paradoxes involving a philosophical outlook.


Reviewed by: Tulsi Badrinath
By Jonaki Ray

Firefly Memories contains poems written since 2010. It would be remiss of us to look at current Indian Poetry in English without paying attention to the publishing facilities that put out a book in print.


Reviewed by: Smita Agarwal
By Radha Chakravarty

A distinct symbolism underlines Radha Chakravarty’s debut collection of poems Subliminal.
The title hints at a presence which though unseen is palpable.


Reviewed by: Basudhara Roy