Jagjit Singh was more than just the king of ghazals. He was a singer, composer, arranger, lyricist, all rolled into one. Besides which he was a brother, friend, husband, and above all a father. This biography of Jagjit Singh traces the evolution of the artiste from his Namdari Singh roots through his diverse musical influences to his recreation of the ghazal as a lively, contemporary form of music that could hold both the young and old in thrall. From the days of singing ad jingles to his breakthrough album, Unforgettables, to his soul searching music for Gulzar's Mirza Ghalib, from his love of music to his fetish for horses, from his marriage to Chitra Singh to his tryst with spirituality, this book tells the story of the most loved ghazal singer of our time with great sensitivity. Delving into Singh's personal triumphs and tragedies, Sathya Saran presents a man loved by many, revered by some and unsurpassed as yet in his chosen field.

Meet Ritu Nanda. As Raj Kapoor's daughter, she was part of the first family of Bollywood. Her marriage to Rajan Nanda of the Escorts Group led to her joining another illustrious family. Yet, she went on to carve her own identity as an insurance advisor and even got her name into the Guinness Book of World Records. Being Ritu is the story of a woman who shed her shyness and stepped into the limelight, taking on a variety of roles - entrepreneur, insurance advisor, author, negotiator and pioneer. It's about her quiet determination, grace and courage as she lived every moment to its fullest, even while battling a dreaded disease, and touched the lives of everyone around her. It's also about those who added colour to the kaleidoscope of her life - her family, friends, colleagues and well-wishers. With tributes from her sambandhi Amitabh Bachchan, family members Randhir Kapoor, Rima Jain, Kareena Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, as well as friends such as Karan Johar, Sonali Bendre, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Gauri Khan and many others, this is the story of a woman like no other. Meet Ritu Nanda. You will be happy you did.

S.D. Burman was singer, musician, composer and teacher all at once - a trailblazer in the truest sense of the term. He was a prince who lived a commoner's life, a singer who created tunes instead, a classically trained musician who composed for the lay listener. His incredible career in Hindi cinema spanned three decades - through all the years of which his spirit was as fresh and young as when he started. His compositions were filmed on succeeding generations of stars to unflaggingly wonderful effect. This chronicle of the life of S.D. Burman tells his story through a kaleidoscope of montages from the inner and outer worlds he inhabited. Fragmented memoirs of his days in the sylvan surroundings of Comilla, interviews, press clippings and archival material piece together the story of the man who created some of Hindi cinema's most enduring songs. Facts and records are knitted into a multidimensional narrative that carries the reader into the little-known world of a man whose contradictions made him unique and gave him a place all his own in music. Sun Mere Bandhu Re ... The Musical World of S.D. Burman is a biography unlike any you have read before.

What holds two people together for life, sometimes across continents? What drives them apart even as they share their lives under the same roof? What makes marriage the only socially acceptable goal of a relationship? Are women, and men, preferring other options to marriage these days? Why are more and more marriages failing? Is it to do with changing social norms or individual expectations? This anthology takes a hard look at marriage and tries to decode this age-old alliance.

Dancer, film actor, Hindustani classical singer - Lakshmi Shankar was all this and more. Starting her journey as a teenager in Uday Shankar's breakthrough troupe, she ventured into playback singing after a tragic illness cut short her dance career, going on to be the voice behind films such as Richard Attenborough's critically acclaimed Gandhi. But her ultimate artistry lay in Hindustani classical music. In this book, Kavita Das, who has known her since childhood, traces Lakshmi's fascinating story that culminated in a Grammy nomination in 2009. Poignant Song explores the journey of Indian music to the West through the remarkable life of a great artiste.

Fights, action, music, romance, secret trysts-renowned classical musician Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's life reads almost like a film script. Wrestler in the morning, student during the daytime and flute player in secret, he lived more than a double life through his early years, till he broke away from his wrestler father's watchful eye to join All India Radio as a flautist. His marriage, relocation to Bombay and his foray into films were events rich in drama. As were his meetings with other musical greats, including Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, his dearest friend and music partner, with whom he composed the music for films like Silsila, Lamhe and Chandni. His reminiscences about his journey as a student of the reclusive Annapurna Devi, daughter of the famed Allauddin Khan of Maihar, give deep insights into his nature as well as that of his guruma. Hariprasad Chaurasia has also been a guru to innumerable students in his Mumbai and Bhubaneswar gurukuls, and at the World Music Department, Rotterdam Music Conservatory, the Netherlands, where he is artistic director. His mesmerizing flute can be heard in some of Hindi cinema's most popular songs, in a composition by the former Beatle George Harrison, as well as in recordings with renowned musicians from across the world. A plethora of awards, including the Padma Vibhushan, sits lightly on the man, who has taken the humble flute to international renown as an instrument that can hold its own. Hariprasad Chaurasia and his Breath of Gold will inspire and amaze everyone who reads the life story of this much-loved flautist.

Drawing on conversations with hundreds of women about their genitalia, the author presents a collection of performance pieces from her one-woman show of the same name.

As the world is shaken by a virus, Shobhaa De – a writer who understands the human heart and how it beats – felt the need to document not just what she is going through personally but what the entire world is experiencing. And out of this need emerged many unique narratives ... Lockdown Liaisons is a collection of short stories, from the varying perspectives of both men and women – young and old, brave and cowardly, cheerful and weighed down – each story an unique offering from a writer who understands how very fragile human relationships can be as they break, suffer and are redefined under trying circumstances. Explore, read and understand the subterranean world of shifting emotions during Covid-19, through stories that will speak to you. There is a woman with a young child who discovers that she doesn’t love her husband after all, there is a migrant worker who has to make a tough choice as he gets ready to walk hundreds of uncertain kilometres homewards. And many more. But what binds these stories together is love. These are stories that show how Covid-19 is affecting the hearts of hundreds of people as they struggle to make sense of altered circumstances, of the ‘new normal’ that will emerge in a post-Covid world.

'Impossible things... It's only when you do impossible things that you grow, Cat. Things that turn you inside out, and make you wonder who you are at all in this vast and unending universe. Things that take you outside the frame.'Cat sets off on a walk up the starlit path, on a course only she can see. As she walks, others gather to her, some to share the journey, others ostensibly to help. Her youthful, ambitious, intuitive journey is now an enterprise. She must walk to a common pace, and she must lead a team that can only walk in the daylight on a trail that glows only in the dark. Above all, she must resist those who seek to subvert her journey.Still, walk Cat must. And she does - against an imaginary soundtrack of Beethoven's Sonata in C-minor, which even breaks into the rhythm of the prose.Walk in C-minor is an allegorical tale: of a vision, of holding a team together, of leadership, of finding the strength to assert one's voice. It is also an exploration of the creative process and the deepening of one's craft. Ultimately, though, it is the story of a dreamer, for great things come of strong dreams.

In 2009, Bharath Murthy took refuge as a lay Buddhist. Soon after, accompanied by his wife Alka, he set out on a pilgrimage to the historical sites in India and Nepal associated with the life of Siddhattha Gotama, The Buddha. This is an account of their journey through the ruins that mark the Buddha's life, the places where he lived and taught, lands from where all traces of the past have almost disappeared. As the duo wends its way from Sarnath to Lumbini, from Kudan to Bodhgaya, and many places in between, Bharath's pen brings alive the sights and sounds and smells of these places. Whether it is Buddhism you're interested in or travel, this is a journey you will find yourself drawn into.