Gulzar is one of the best known and acknowledged poet lyricist and director, honoured for his sensitivity, best reflected through his writings and treatment of films. Saba Basheer is a poet, author and a translator. Her first book was a collection of poems, Memory Past (2006) brought out by Writers’ Workshop. I Swallowed the Moon: The Poetry of Gulzar (2013), is the analysis of the poetry of Gulzar, which culminated from her PhD thesis, and is now being translated in Hindi and Urdu.

Shakespeare and the Political: Elizabethan Politics and Asian Exigencies is a collection of essays which show how selected Shakespearean plays and later adaptations engage with the political situations of the Elizabethan period as well as contemporary Asian societies. The various interpretations of the original plays focus on the institutions of family and honour, patriarchy, kingship and dynasty, and the emergent ideologies of the nation and cosmopolitanism, adopting a variety of approaches like historicism, presentism, psychoanalysis, feminism and close reading. The volume also looks at Shakespearean adaptations in Asia – Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese and Indian. Using Douglas Lanier's concept of the 'rhizomatic' approach, it seeks to examine how Asian Shakespearean adaptations, films and stage performances, appropriate and reproduce originals often 'unfaithfully' in different social and temporal contexts to produce independent works of art.

At one level, Gulzar's Aandhi (1975) is a story of estranged love between two headstrong and individualistic personalities; at another, it is a tongue-in-cheek comment on the political scenario of the country. Through a close textual analysis of the film, this book examines in detail its stellar cast, the language and dialogues, and the evergreen songs which had a major role in making the film a commercial success. Gulzar's own insights into the making of Aandhi (from an interview) further enhances the readers' understanding of the film. Saba Bashir's book will delight those wanting to savour the duality and drama that befit life, or shall we say, cinema.

Tanushree is a self-confessed word-a-holic and a traveller. When not reading or writing books, she’s sure to be packing her bags and boots to zip around the world. A true maverick, she stumbled through many career choices before settling on writing. A chocolate addict with a penchant for the unusual, she has collected dozens of interesting certificates that range from a wine-master’s assistant at Australia, an international reindeer driving licence from Lapland, to one from ‘The School of Hard Knocks’ at Royal Selangor. No Margin for Error is her ninth novel. After leading a nomadic life for several decades, thanks to the Indian Army, she has finally grown roots at Pune. Tanushree can be contacted on her website – http://www. tanushreepodder.com.

A compelling story of a child born into unrest'.Aftab, a young Kashmiri boy, leads a double life. By day, he is a normal, bubbly teenager whose prime concerns are cricket, family and friends. The night holds the secrets of the life of a child, one who sneaks away to confabulate with Akram and his fledgling group of tearaway terrorists. Akram, so handsome, so exciting. But what Aftab doesn't realize, so dangerous. Aftab is in complete awe of Akram and is willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. And Akram is more than willing to send him there. Though set against the militancy in Kashmir, this novel could belong anywhere in today's world where violence is just a breath away. A brave story, never told in so raw a form, this is 'reality fiction'at its most real. A book for teenagers - and for adults of all ages - who live in a world where 'cops and robbers'is not fun any more, but a deadly game.

BollySwar is a decade-wise compendium of information about the music of Hindi films. Volume 8 chronicles the Hindi film music of the decade between 2001 and 2010. This volume catalogues more than 1000 films and 8000 songs, involving more than 2000 music directors, lyricists and singers. An overview of the decade highlights the key artists of the decade - music directors, lyricists and singers - and discusses the emerging trends in Hindi film music. A yearly review provides listings of the year's top artists and songs and describes the key milestones of the year in Hindi film music. The bulk of the book provides the song listing of every Hindi film album released in the decade. Basic information about each film's cast and crew is provided and detailed music credits are provided. Where available, music credits go beyond information regarding music directors, lyricists and singers, and include the names of session musicians, assistants, programmers, arrangers, mixers, recordists, etc. Where applicable, music related awards are listed. Interesting trivia is listed for most films, more than 1500 in all. This includes information about artist debuts, plagiarised or sampled songs, controversies and stories behind the making of the film and its music. This book is primarily meant as a quick reference for people looking for information related to a Hindi film or a song, but readers can also browse through the book to get an overview of the events that shaped Bollywood music in the decade. Given that Hindi films are a reflection of the Indian society, the reader can also glean insights about the country's socio-political and cultural environment from the book.

Story of Hori, a poor peasant who yearns to own a cow and to make the pious Hindu's traditional gift to a Brahmin when he dies. Through Premchand's vivid character portrayals we witness the efforts of Hori's family to survive the conflicts of village politics and the webs spun by colonial landownership patterns. Counterposed to the culture of rural connectedness but also constriction is the isolation but also freedom of the city. Here the rigors of industrialization and empty materialism only can be offset by the promise of Gandhian idealism.

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