The pages of this book are full of insightful little stories that reveal the simple truth about life. Asking questions that we usually do not stop to ask ourselves, and often coming up with answers that are surprising in their simplicity. Every story sparkles with insights on the human condition, and remain etched in the mind of the for a long time.

I always wanted to write a book where I call the general populace a bunch of limp dicks and desiccated pussies; however, my editor refused to publish anything so honest. Luckily, I am the master of work-arounds. So, in the guise of modeling hard-dickitude and wet-pussiness, I managed to trick my editor into publishing this memoir by concealing my recriminations inside stories. Follow me as I take Kerouac's On the Road beneath a table. Oddly enough, there were nearly as many drug dealers, sexpots, and weirdoes in an "empty" room at a reception hall as there were if you had hitchhiked across America in the late 1940s. While hiding from both management and low-lifes alike, I secreted myself behind the white shroud of a skirted table. Beneath this table, I found friendship, love and a workable philosophy on how to live life. Lying prone beneath a rectangular skirted table, I learned, ironically enough, how to think outside the box. Also, I've never actually had an editor.

Byomkesh Bakshi's appeal as the self-styled inquisitor, a detective not by profession but by passion, has found him a dedicated following among generations of readers. The present collection of stories, all set in Calcutta of the fifties and sixties, brings together four mysteries that put the sleuth's remarkable mental agility to the ultimate test. In The Menagerie (adapted by master film-maker Satyajit Ray for his 1967 film Chiriakhana) Byomkesh cracks a strange case involving broken motor parts, a seemingly natural death and the peculiar inhabitants of Golap Colony who seem capable of doing just about anything to safeguard the secrets of their tainted pasts. In The Jewel Case, he investigates the mysterious disappearance of a priceless necklace, while in The Will That Vanished he solves a baffling riddle to fulfil the last wish of a close friend. And in The Quills of the Porcupine, the shrewd detective is in his element as he expertly foils the sinister plans of a ruthless opportunist. Byomkesh's exploits just as it does Bandyopadhyay's remarkable portrayal of a city struggling to overcome its colonial past and come into its own.

Set against the backdrop of the Partition of Bengal by the British in 1905, Home and the World(Ghare Baire) is the story of a young liberal-minded zamindar Nikhilesh, his educated and sensitive wife Bimala, and Nikhilesh s friend Sandip, a charismatic nationalist leader whom Bimala finds herself attracted to. A perceptive exposition of the difficulties surrounding women s emancipation in pre-modern India, and a telling portrayal of the chasms inherent in the nationalist movement, Home and the Worldhas generated endless debate and discussion. This classic novel by Nobel Prize-winner Rabindranath Tagore, first published in Bengali in 1916, is now available in a lucid new translation.

A thrilling tale of swashbuckling adventure! When sixteen-year-old Sadashiv is forced to leave his village, he has no idea that he will shortly become part of a legendary band of soldiers, united under the most inspiring Maratha ruler of all time - Shivaji. As Shivaji and his men fight for the independence of their land from the invading rulers of more powerful kingdoms, Sadashiv learns how to fight against overwhelming odds for a leader who inspires love and trust.

In every corner of India, there is a wealth of folktales-funny, fabulous and fantastical. In this collection, Eunice de Souza brings together one hundred and one wonderful stories, both familiar and unknown. Their subjects are diverse - how the world was made, how kings should rule, the tales of wise and foolish men and women, and animal fables. Some stories are about well-known heroes – Akbar and Birbal, Vikram and Betal, Tenali Raman – while some introduce new ones, like Gulalla Shah, the brave man from the hills, and Parmanand, the reluctant guru from Andhra Pradesh. There are also sundry appearances by the devil, beautiful temptresses and supernatural creatures. This is a true collector’s item, encompassing the entire range and diversity of the oral tradition in different parts of the country, and with bold an vivid illustrations by Sujata Singh.

The Little Prince is a modern parable for our time, of equal appeal to children and adults. This much loved story is joined by the following classic titles: Black Beauty, Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Robin Hood, The Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, The Jungle Book and Peter Pan.