Superstar Rajinikanth defies all conventional analyses—no one has reigned supreme for as long as he has in the world of Indian cinema. With over 150 films under his belt, many of them blockbusters, he still plays the hero at seventy, and the devotion of his legions of fans has not waned during the forty-odd years of his stardom. In a state that saw the Dravidian self-respect movement propagate atheism, fans worship his cut-outs and bathe them with milk and beer, as if he were their god. In a society famous for its pride in its language, it is curious that a Kannadiga whose family hails from Maharashtra, an outsider, should emerge as a ‘thalaivar’, or leader. With the death of the charismatic J. Jayalalithaa, a former actor, and M. Karunanidhi, who was a scriptwriter for films—leaders of the AIADMK and DMK respectively (the two main Dravidian political parties that have been ruling Tamil Nadu for more than sixty years)—Rajinikanth’s fans believed there was a political vacuum that only he could fill. While the actor has been dabbling in politics, by making pronouncements on certain issues, including Jayalalithaa’s policies, the Cauvery water sharing problem between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, bomb attacks in the state and so on, it was only in 2017 that he promised to form his own party and contest all 234 seats in the 2021 assembly elections. For decades, his fans had been awaiting this moment, believing that he could solve all their problems and give them a life free from strife and governance free of corruption. His fan clubs went into high gear to turn themselves into the foundation of their thalaivar’s political party, attracting more members and working on the ground all over the state. For three years, every utterance of Rajinikanth’s was analysed and debated even more vociferously than anything he has said in the past. Political opponents questioned his experience and pointed out that (even after forty years) he was an outsider who did not understand the undercurrents of Tamil Nadu politics; his detractors criticized the lack of a clear ideology behind his promise of ‘spiritual politics’; political analysts who saw that Rajini was close to the BJP anticipated that he might enter into an alliance with them, allowing the right-wing party a foothold in the state. Ultimately, however, the seventy-year-old superstar withdrew from the political arena citing health concerns. The fans were hugely disappointed but understanding. With their continuing support and excitement for the next Rajini-starrer, he remains a giant in the field of entertainment. Rajinikanth: A Life is the best account yet of the man who was born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad—once a coolie and a bus conductor in Bangalore and now virtually a god in Tamil Nadu.

In Reshaping Art, T. M. Krishna examines what art is and how we can harness its power to make ourselves and our communities open and sensitive. Well known for his attempts to break Karnatik music out of its high-caste confines, the author takes us through a journey of understanding what art means to different groups of people and the ways in which we all create and enjoy it. He then asks important questions about how art is made, performed and disseminated, and addresses crucial issues of caste, class and gender within society while exploring the contours of democracy, culture and learning.

When Mother Teresa, the Indian nun of Albanian origin, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta on 7 October 1950, was canonized by Pope Francis in September 2016, he formally acknowledged what millions around the world had always held—she was a saint who walked the earth ministering to the poor, the unwanted and the terminally ill. Raghu Rai, who photographed her for nearly five decades, from the early 1970s onwards, has taken some of the most iconic pictures of Saint Teresa that exist. He was present at the canonization ceremony in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican and the pictures he took there complete his pictorial biography. Divided into three sections, the book covers Mother Teresa’s canonization, her life and her work, and the legacy she leaves behind. Bringing together pictures that have never been published before as well as classical portraits and action studies this book is an extraordinary celebration of a latter-day saint whose simple message to all humanity was: ‘Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.’

In his new book, naturalist and conservationist Valmik Thapar gives us a bold yet considered plan to preserve and protect our dwindling forests, wildlife and wilderness areas. Saving wild India (whether we realize it or not) is of critical importance to the quality of life we lead today. It should therefore be a priority, both at the level of the state and that of the individual, to sort out the myriad problems that are leading to the destruction of our forests and the extermination of our wildlife—poaching, timber smuggling, illegal mining, flawed administrative policy and much much more. Drawing upon more than forty years of experience in the field, the author gives us a detailed blueprint on how to effect change, and revitalize and expand our forest cover. He argues for the repeal of archaic and ineffectual laws, the framing and passing of enlightened legislation, the revamping of our training institutes, the eradication of corruption, putting an end to the meddling of politicians and bureaucrats, the reorganization of the Indian Forest Service, enlightened wildlife tourism, an inclusive approach to conservation, public-private partnerships, as well as a variety of other measures that could check the ongoing damage to wild India.

Worshipped as a living goddess for centuries, the Ganga is one of the most important rivers in the world. From its icy Himalayan origins, the river winds its way eastward for 2,525 kilometres through five major Indian states before spilling across the Bangladesh border at the Bay of Bengal, creating the largest mangrove system on earth—the many-mouthed Sundarbans delta. Five hundred million people are sustained along its banks or eke out a living by tilling land that the river fertilizes. Its waters have spawned hundreds of towns and cities, foremost amongst them Varanasi, or Kashi, the city favoured by Lord Shiva himself—one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Ganga is the living threshold between the human and the superhuman, mythically originating in the Milky Way and extending to the underworld. Described in legend as the sacred river that yields gold, it is one of the most polluted rivers in today’s world. More than a billion litres of waste flow into the river every day. The Ganga River dolphin, once present in abundance, is severely endangered and nearly impossible to sight. In 2014, the Modi government launched their flagship programme, Namami Gange, to rejuvenate the holy river with a staggering budget of Rs. 20,000 crores. More than five years after Modi promised an ‘aviral, nirmal Ganga’, the river remains highly polluted and the ground realities show little or no progress. Will the Ganga ever be clean? For ten years, Bidisha Banerjee explored the Ganga from its source to the sea. The result is Superhuman River, a compelling and fresh perspective on every aspect of this extraordinary river.

In Talking of Justice, eminent jurist Leila Seth discusses several critical issues that she has engaged with in a legal career spanning over fifty years—violence against women; the nurture of the girl child; the need for a uniform civil code; women’s rights; prisoners’ rights; gender sensitization of the judiciary; and judicial administration, among others. From the landmark Justice Verma Committee (2012-2013), on which she suggested amendments to the law as well as speedier trials and more effective punishment for all those accused of sexual assault and violence against women, to her experience as a member of the 15th Law Commission of India (1997-2000), to her appointment as the one-member commission to enquire into the custodial death of Rajan Pillai (1995-1997), Leila Seth shares her insights on some of the most substantive and contentious matters facing the nation today. Keenly observed and elegantly argued, Talking of Justicegoes deep into the laws of the land that need to be reviewed and revised, and offers suggestions for protecting the rights of the people, especially those who are marginalized and vulnerable.

The first Anglo-Indian could well have been born not long after 20 May 1498 when Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, set foot on the shores of Calicut—a whole century before the British arrived in India. Today, after five centuries of ups and downs, twists of fate, and turns of destiny, the Anglo-Indian community is firmly established in its chosen homeland, India. The community has contributed beyond measure to the nation’s school education system; its soldiers and officers, teachers and sports stars have captured the imagination of millions. The Anglo-Indians’ love of yellow rice and ball curry, five-tier wedding cakes, and single-minded faith, rock ‘n roll, and railway institutes is well known. However, stereotypes and romanticized notions of the community aside, who really are the Anglo-Indians, and what is this community all about? Barry O’Brien, an Anglo-Indian with a ringside view and his finger firmly on the pulse of the community, delves deep into the heritage, culture, way of life, literature, social mores, and sheer dynamism of the community. There are four sections in this book: ‘A Country Is Colonized, a Community Is Born’ is a historical account of the arrival of the European maritime powers, the birth of the community, its natural ‘Britishification’, and the emergence of two of its greatest champions, Sir Henry Gidney and Frank Anthony; ‘Nationality: Indian; Community: Angle-Indian’ dwells on ‘identity and integration’ and the political transformation of the community through the lens of twentieth and twenty-first-century India and recounts the fascinating stories of those who left and those who stayed; ‘The Anglo-Indian Contribution to Nation Building’ is a chronicle of how Anglo-Indians contributed (and continue to do so) to modern India; and, finally, ‘The Way We Were, the Way We Are’ is a riveting narrative of the community’s culture, then and now. The social, cultural, and political history of the Anglo Indians in India and the diaspora has never before been told in such a comprehensive, clear-eyed, engrossing, and enjoyable way. Unarguably, The Anglo-Indians is the best account yet of one of India’s most remarkable and enigmatic communities.

The Arts of Seduction is a guide to having great sex in the twenty-first century. It seeks to make what has been largely reduced to an act of instant gratification a rather more pleasurable experience. Drawing inspiration from the Kama Sutra, whose groundbreaking attitudes towards sex remain relevant thousands of years after it was first composed, the book delves into numerous techniques and refinements that elevate sex to an altogether different level—whether it is innovative codes for love messages, the effects of applying perfume to different parts of the body, the many different types of kissing, where and how to massage your lover’s feet or what kind of jewellery to wear during lovemaking. Accessible, sensuous and full of surprises, The Arts of Seduction will forever change the way you think about love and lovemaking.

The Book of Indian Dogs is the first comprehensive book on Indian dog breeds in over fifty years. It features the twenty-five breeds that most breeders and dog fanciers agree constitute the country’s canine heritage. Divided into three groupings—working dogs, companion dogs and hounds—the book provides detailed background notes to each breed, along with information on its physical characteristics, behaviour, uses, origins and history. Along with popular breeds like Caravan hounds (or Karuvanis), Chippiparais, Mudhol hounds, Pashmis, Rajapalayams and Rampur hounds the book also features lesser known breeds such as the Alaknoori and the Jonangi. The fruit of several years of travel and research into India’s dog breeds, as well as S. Theodore Baskaran’s hands-on experience of raising various dogs, this celebration of our dogs is a book that no dog lover can do without.

Every community, tribe, and sub-community in India has its own ghosts. For centuries, the spirit world has captured the imagination of Indians. Some are believed to live near waterbodies and sneak up on passers-by; others roam around fields on summer afternoons, seduce lost men, and, in some cases, protect you from evil. From the north Indian chudails, who are said to prowl neighbourhoods in search of their victims, and the mechho bhoots from West Bengal that love fish, to the fearsome ghosts from Tamil Nadu called muni pei—the Indian ghost family is enormous, with no official headcount. Who are these shadowy creatures that haunt dense forests? What are the mysteries hidden beneath the surface of deep, calm waters? And how are we to understand these restless spirits who have permeated our memories, psyches, imaginations, and literatures? Riksundar Banerjee, an authority on Indian ghosts, investigates stories of creatures from the spirit world from all over India, in an effort to unravel the truth behind the legends, beliefs, superstitions, and experiences all of us are aware of. The result is The Book of Indian Ghosts—an authoritative, deeply researched, and spooky account of the otherworldly beings that haunt India and Indians.