Ever since his emergence on the political canvas in the early decades of the twentieth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), Father of the Indian Nation, has dominated politico-philosophical ideas and socio-cultural formations across space and time. Gandhi had become a legend in his own lifetime
Dancing peacocks, sinuous Kalpavriksha Trees of Life laden with fantastical flowers, fruits and birds…We Indian textile buffs have all feasted our eyes, either in person or in books, on the fabulous painted and printed chintz textiles that were produced on the Coromandel coast in India and their embroidered counterparts for the English and European market during the 17th and 18th century.
So, are mathematical models magical or mistakes? Neither is what Erica Thompson systematically demonstrates in her book. She quotes statistician George Box, who said, ‘All models are wrong’, but then, goes on to highlight its second part, ‘All models are wrong, but some are useful.’Mathematical models lie in a place somewhere between blind faith and total rejection—judicious application. The book explores the limitations and pitfalls of relying solely on mathematical models to understand complex systems.
It is not too often that one comes across a comprehensive book on Indian publishing. We grew up on A Career in Book Publishing and 15 Years of Indian Publishing by Samuel Israel, the doyen of India’s publishing industry. One of the earliest books on publishing is BS Kesavan’s (First National Librarian of independent India), History of Printing and Publishing in India in three volumes. We also have BG Verghese’s edited essays in Indian publishing titled Beyond the Headlines.
Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit’s book is primarily about the relatively lesser-known religious-literary figure, Sundardas (1596-1689 CE), a bhakti sant with primary allegiance to Dadupanth. For the author, however, Sundardas is not just a sectarian figure who should be viewed only within the boundaries of bhakti, but rather a momentous figure in the emerging vernacular intellectual culture and early modernity in 17th century Mughal India.
‘…his fans remained mute loyalists for want of an ecosystem to applaud… We have so far managed to build one museum for cartoonist Shankar…and the rest is history waiting to be made. We let our democracy and cartoons fend for themselves.’RK Laxman: Back with a Punch is expert cartoonist EP Unny’s tribute to a master of the art. Written in a succinct, racy style, it is a unique biography which looks at the shifting scenario of Indian politics through the eyes of RK Laxman’s cartoons.