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One thing is apparent; the book, Mohammad Rafi: God’s Own Voice has been written by two earnest fans and ferocious defenders of the renowned playback singer Mohammad Rafi (1924–80).

Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, The Star is an almost heartbreaking account—of the fame, and untoward retirement and estrangement from the industry, the painful and premature aging of a once extremely popular and daring showman.

In the intense heat of the Indian summer of 1739, a Persian army could be seen heading in triumph away from the looted city of Delhi. Delhi was the capital of the great Mughals, the Muslim dynasty, originally of Central Asian origin, that had ruled much of India since the mid-sixteenth century.

Migration has been a part of human history from the earliest times. Millions of people are seeking work, a new home or simply a safe place to live outside their countries of birth. People migrated as manual workers, highly qualified specialists, entrepreneurs, refugees or family members of previous migrants.

As the title indicates this book is about the malleable boundaries between migrants, refugees and the stateless in a world where borders become indicators of freedom of movement. The regional focus is South Asia with all its geographical, historical, political and social complexities.

This book needs to be appreciated as a culmination of a three ecade engagement with the city of Madurai and a select set of residents who became the author’s respondents and very close friends. These close acquaintances’ lives, their troubles, travails, joys and everyday struggles are tracked in a way that they become the central cast…