Aizawl, 1942 The world that the young boy at the heart of this story is growing up in is filled with magic and the simple joys of life with his brother Kima. Even the British presence in the Lushai Hills, so resented by some, does not affect him, except as a source of interesting and different things and people. But as the Japanese prepare to invade their land, Kima joins up with the British Indian Army, and the days of simple joy are over . . . The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

Aizawl, 1942 The world that the young boy at the heart of this story is growing up in is filled with magic and the simple joys of life with his brother Kima. Even the British presence in the Lushai Hills, so resented by some, does not affect him, except as a source of interesting and different things and people. But as the Japanese prepare to invade their land, Kima joins up with the British Indian Army, and the days of simple joy are over . . . The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

Mysore, 1932 The rest of India is ablaze with the fervour of the freedom movement, but Mysore remains tranquil under the maharaja's benevolent rule. For twelve-year-old Leela, the movement feels distant, just words in the pages of newspapers—until Malathi Akka moves into her neighbourhood, bringing with her thrilling ideas, new perspectives, and . . . a gramophone! As Leela gets swept up by the winds of change, it dawns on her that participation in the freedom struggle can take on forms she hasn't even imagined . . . The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

Sarchi, 1921 When Dak Chacha comes to visit, Luxmi feels only joy and excitement. But this time, there is something dark underfootChacha is worried and there are policemen coming to search their house. Luxmi learns that both Dak Chacha and her mother are involvedin their own small waysin the struggle for liberation from the unjust laws and practices that the British regime forces on all of them. This makes her determined to be part of it too. Even if that means undertaking a risky mission which no one else is able to do . . . The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

Ranchi district, 1915 Sibu's life is changing as the Oraons who live in the forests of Chota Nagpur, are slowly moving to the Tana Bhagat movement, where they begin to protest the injustices that the zamindars and the British Raj perpetrate on the Adivasis. And by stories of German Baba, who will help defeat the British in the Great War and bring freedom to the Oraons and to India. Yet, though the Tana Bhagats follow the path of non-violence, violence is rearing its head in the world around them . . . The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

The ultimate anthology of Indian poetry from the Vedas to the present in all the major Indian languages These My Words is an anthology of magnificent breadth, ranging from Valmiki to Agha Shahid Ali, Aurobindo to Vikram Seth, Andal to Tagore, spanning Indian poetry in its myriad forms, styles and languages. The poems speak for themselves and to each other, as folk songs and tribal epics sit alongside classical Sanskrit and formal Tamil verse is a companion to contemporary Bengali or Dogri. There is Ghalib in praise of love, Tukaram on religious bigotry, Ksetrayya on divine love through the erotic, Gieve Patel on identity. In Eunice de Souza and Melanie Silgardo’s carefully curated selection, each poem illumines exquisitely the tradition of Indian poetry.

In the grip of lust, Raja Karan Vaghela abducts the beautiful Roopsundari, his prime minister Madhav’s wife. Fuelled by a desire for revenge, Madhav escapes to Delhi and persuades Sultan Alauddin Khilji to invade Gujarat and destroy Patan fort. This unleashes a dramatic chain of events that forever ends Rajput rule in Gujarat, heralding the dawn of a new age. Rich in psychological insight and imbued with a poetic vision, Karan Ghelo tells the spellbinding tale of a man who tragically failed his land and its people.

The Book Of Prayer Is A Multi-Faith Collection Of Prayers, Sayings And Devotional Poems, Brought Together As Inspirations And Reflections For Each Day Of The Year. Represented Here Are All The World Major Faiths And Traditions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism And Zoroastrianism. Prophets, Saints, And Ordinary Seekers, Some Known, Many Anonymous, Show Us The Way To A Celebration Of The Divine And A Sacred Connection With All Life. Contained In These Pages Is The Wisdom Of The Great Religious Texts, Among Them The Upanishads, The Bible, The Quran, The Dhammapada And The Adi Granth. There Are Verses By Mystics And Saints-Poets Like Kabir, Bulle Shah, Lal Ded, Meera Bai, Jnaneshwar, Aandal, Mahadeviakka And St. Francis Of Assisi, And Poems By Famous Literary Figures Like John Donne, Christina Rossetti And Gerard Manley Hopkins. Also Included Are Songs Of Hope Composed By People Coping With The Compulsions Of Everyday Life?Farmers, Sailors, Doctors And Students.

Born into the Muhammadzai tribe, from the Charsadda valley in the Pakhtun heartland, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a passionate believer in the nonviolent core of Islam and sought to wean his people-the fierce warrior Pakhtuns or Pathans of the North-West Frontier Province-from their violent traditions and fight for a separate Pakhtun homeland that would no longer be a buffer between Russia and Britain in the Great Game. In 1929 came Mahatma Gandhi's call for nonviolent resistance against British rule and Badshah Khan responded by raising the Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God), an army of 1,00,000 men who pledged themselves to the service of mankind and nonviolence as a creed. For this, and for his steadfast devotion to his principles, this towering figure was imprisoned for a total of twenty-seven years, first by the British and later by the Pakistani government. This is a perceptive biography that offers fresh insights into the life and achievements of an extraordinary man, drawing close parallels with the life of Mahatma Gandhi, his brother in spirit.The author looks at Ghaffar Khan 'with the spectacles of today rather than those of 1947', emphasizing that for people in the twenty-first century who live in the shadow of 9/11, Badshah Khan's unwavering commitment to nonviolence and Hindu-Muslim unity offers valuable lessons.

Like their penchant for clubs, cricket, and hunting, the planting of English gardens by the British in India reflected an understandable need on the part of expatriates to replicate home as much as possible in an alien environment. In Flora's Empire, Eugenia W. Herbert argues that more than simple nostalgia or homesickness lay at the root of this "garden imperialism," however. Drawing on a wealth of period illustrations and personal accounts, many of them little known, she traces the significance of gardens in the long history of British relations with the subcontinent. To British eyes, she demonstrates, India was an untamed land that needed the visible stamp of civilization that gardens in their many guises could convey. Colonial gardens changed over time, from the "garden houses" of eighteenth-century nabobs modeled on English country estates to the herbaceous borders, gravel walks, and well-trimmed lawns of Victorian civil servants. As the British extended their rule, they found that hill stations like Simla offered an ideal retreat from the unbearable heat of the plains and a place to coax English flowers into bloom. Furthermore, India was part of the global network of botanical exploration and collecting that gathered up the world's plants for transport to great imperial centers such as Kew. And it is through colonial gardens that one may track the evolution of imperial ideas of governance. Every Government House and Residency was carefully landscaped to reflect current ideals of an ordered society. At Independence in 1947 the British left behind a lasting legacy in their gardens, one still reflected in the design of parks and information technology campuses and in the horticultural practices of home gardeners who continue to send away to England for seeds.