Nilanjana Bhowmick

The issue of gender in India is a complicated one—a society that is marked by a dividual sense of individuality—the ‘woman’ may find herself diluted in the various roles and versions that threaten to drown her and her voice, and surely even her desire. The struggle for being acceptable, needed, and valued may be so intense that it is seen to be bargained for one’s own sense of self. It is going to be difficult to review a feminist writing without bringing in all the other authors who have so prolifically written on the subject, but I am going to stick to the book at hand.


Reviewed by: Surabhika Maheshwari
Natasha Lance Rogoff

In the year of the historic moon-landing, American children were gifted with the educational programme on television named Sesame Street. It revolutionized children’s television in the US and soon became one of the brands of ‘American Values’ in the polarized world. The affectionate muppets in the show were symbols of love, tolerance and cooperation; but above all, they were believed to have inculcated the spirit of individuals’ freedom and dignity amongst school children.


Reviewed by: Parimal Maya Sudhakar
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Mention ‘Dr Zhivago’ and people will recall the 1965 blockbuster movie, not Pasternak’s novel published in 1958. Not surprising, because the movie focuses on the emotive love story. The book, on the other hand, reveals the complexity of the events of that tumultuous period in Russia’s history (from 1905 to the Second World War) and their influence on human relationships.


Reviewed by: Kala Sunder
Sonya Surabhi Gupta

Autobiography is a genre of literature where an individual narrates his/her own life to others through the act of writing. Generally, this is done by the privileged to display their inherent superiority and worthiness to other members, less worthy. Even when personalities from minority or disadvantaged groups are recognized, the standards of evaluating the life of these individuals might be reinforcing the dominant group’s evaluative criteria. 


Reviewed by: Krishna Swamy Dara
Savita Ambedkar

Dr Sharda Kabir, better known as Savita Ambedkar, was Dr. BR Ambedkar’s second wife. There exist conflicting narratives among various circles of the Dalit public sphere, which is deeply suspicious of Mai Saheb’s (as she was fondly addressed) role in Babasheb’s life and more so in his death. I remembered an anecdote while reading this extremely engaging book under review.


Reviewed by: Arvind Kumar
Navtej Sarna

If we write novels so, how shall we write History?’ asked Henry James, the masterly American writer of the nineteenth century. The question remains pertinent each time one confronts a historical novel, especially in the context of India where the official narrative rendered by the colonial authority sketched only one side of events.


Reviewed by: Malashri Lal