Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers: The Heroes of Real IndiaS. Giridhar2019Westlandpp. 275 In this book, Giridhar has presented stories of teachers from across the country. The focus is on documenting the efforts made by teachers in rural India towards providing quality learning experiences for children in schools. These teachers, like ordinary people, probably took to teaching…
Seven Myths About EducationDaisy Christodoulou2014Routledge(Audiobook on Storytel)6 hours 6 minutes In this book by Christodoulou, some of the most popular beliefs about education are challenged. The author challenges the basic assumptions of these ideas and presents a well reasoned critique of the contemporary practices in education. The myths covered are (in the author’s words): 1….
Goodbye Things, Hello MinimalismMai Kurosawa 2019(Audiobook on Storytel) Goodbye Things, Hello Minimalism is a really short book on the phenomenon of minimalism. If you are still exploring whether minimalism is your life choice, you may go through this quickly, although I am doubtful if this will help you decide. The various kinds of minimalism covered in…
Kore Kagaz (Hindi)Amrita Pritam2007Bhartiya Jnanpithpp. 95 (audiobook on Storytel.in) Kore Kagaz, loosely translated as blank papers, is a novel by Amrita Pritam. The story starts with a young man who comes home to witness the death of his mother and discovering the mysteries surrounding his birth and life. He realises that he is not his…
Homeless in my HometownDeepak Nair2021Amazon Asia Pacificpp. 24 Homeless in my hometown is a novella based during the Corona pandemic. The story of the protagonist is situated in Delhi. The plot revolves around the life of a street smart young boy, who takes to crime to make ends meet. A victim of his circumstances, this…
Shanta: The Story of Rama’s SisterAnand Neelakantan2017Westlandpp. 34 Ravana’s Sister (Meenakshi)Anand Neelakantan2018Westlandpp. 14 The stories of Shanta and Meenakshi both by Anand Neelakantan are engaging and bring to fore thoughts and ideas that are documented in very few other domains. The trouble with reading popular works is that you are never sure of where these…
Bhali Ladkiyan, Buri Ladkiyan (Hindi)Anu Singh Choudhary 2016Eka/Hind Yugmpp. 228 I wanted the first read of this year to be a book by an Indian woman author. I had started reading other books simultaneously but this is the first one that I have managed to complete. With this beginning, it promises to be a good year….
Mindful Movements: Ten Exercises for Well BeingThich Nhat Hanh, Illustrations: Wietske Vriezen 2008Parallax Presspp. 39 I picked up this book to take ahead my journey into mindfulness. This is my first reading of Thich Nhat Hanh. I am inspired by his recommendations on mindfulness and fascinated by the idea of the Plum Village. The book is…
The Twentieth WifeIndu Sundaresan2002Harper Collinspp. 374 The twentieth wife covers the story of Nurjahan’s marriage to Salim. Somewhere in between is the story of deceit and strained father and son relationships, of Akbar and Salim and Salim and his sons. The hunger for power in almost all the men in the story is barely tolerable….
And miles to go… (10 years of a journey)2012 Noorjahan Diwan, Shabnam Hashmi, Sofiya Khan, Sayeda Hameed, and Zakia Soman Anhad pp. 150 This short book is one of the most powerful books that I have come across. I was a bit disappointed when the book began with a disclaimer on not having been proof read…
