Books

From the Bengaluru railway station at Baiyyapanahalli to engineering colleges and museums, there are many public places named after Sir M Visvesvaraya. And yet, historian Aparajith Ramnath explains, most of us today know little about man and the influence he had on the making of modern India.

Shashi Tharoor on 2026 Kerala Literature Festival: 'Literature is about illuminating the human condition'

The ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival will have delegations from 17 countries. At the Delhi curtain raiser, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor spoke about the power of translations and what to expect at Kozhikode Beach from January 22-26.

Indian science fiction has a long history. A new anthology of speculative writing from India takes the tradition forward

Gautam Bhatia on editing the annual 'IF' anthology series of Indian speculative fiction, speculative fiction vs science fiction, themes and timelines in Indian speculative fiction, why sci-fi is a genre of modernity, and how and when it came to India.

Book review: Architect who built Nirav Modi’s now-demolished seaside bungalow releases his memoir, and it’s gently funny

An architect's memoir: Over 30 years, Matharoo Associates founder Gurjit Singh Matharoo has worked with a wide cast of clients, to design luxury homes, temples, institutions. His memoir offers a peek into what's changed, and what's remained the same, in these decades.

Bhagavad Gita for Everyday Living author Swami Mukundananda: 'AI handles information, and the Gita guides intention'

Swami Mukundananda on his new book 'Bhagavad Gita for Everyday Living: Selected Verses with Key Takeaways', what the Bhagavad Gita teaches us, and its relevance for modern living in the age of artificial intelligence and more scientific discoveries.

How to end gold smuggling in India and negotiate better gold prices for Indian buyers, an IIM-A professor explains

IIM-A Professor and author of 'The Power of Gold' Sundaravalli Narayanaswami explains why curtailing gold imports to manage current account deficit does not work in India, and how - when it comes to buying gold in India - culture eats economists for breakfast.

Bharatanatyam practitioners across US, UK... India are giving the dance form a contemporary urgency: Leela Samson

Indian Classical Dance today: Dancer-choreographer Leela Samson unpacks histories and movements that have brought us to the present moment in Bharatnatyam, in 'Dance of Freedom: A Short History of Bharata Natyam'.

'There's nothing Urduish about Urdu. Urdu is about the world the writer is living in': Rakhshanda Jalil

An anthology of Urdu short stories attempts to bust stereotypes around who writes in Urdu, and for whom. Editor Rakhshanda Jalil explains why she chose to keep the subtitle - Stories by Non-Muslim Urdu Writers - even though it made her 'cringe'.

Book review: Source Code by Bill Gates is also the story of a computer revolution

Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Rick, and many others developed software that made computers intelligible to the common man. Bill Gates' Source Code is the story of that revolution, and that moment in tech history.

Book review: Arundhati Roy's candid memoir, about her relationship with mother Mary Roy, is unputdownable

Arundhati Roy shot to international fame after becoming the first Indian citizen to win the Booker Prize for her novel, 'The God of Small Things'. Her memoir, 'Mother Mary Comes to Me', is a moving account of her relationship with her influential mother.

The Power of the Pivot: Recognising and reversing organisational decay

Organisations, like individuals, can decline through small shifts -- mediocrity, procrastination, and failure to execute. Leaders must recognise these signs early, enforce standards, streamline decisions, and commit to disciplined execution for sustained growth

‘Hindustani music is not Brahmanical like Carnatic, which became so after 18th century’: Navayana publisher S Anand

Anti-caste publisher S Anand on co-founding Navayana, re-printing the memoir of Adivasi leader-Olympic hockey player-Constituent Assembly member Jaipal Singh Munda, rejecting Carnatic music for Kabir songs & seeing Kabir through the prism of BR Ambedkar in his latest book 'The Notbook of Kabir'.

Rujuta Diwekar: 'Home-cooking is the OG form of self-love and self-care'

Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar on her first book of recipes, the concept of Mitahara, mainstreaming forgotten foods, what to eat during monsoons, and her recipe for making goda masala at home.

10 Books guaranteed to improve your communication skills

While some are gifted with a natural flair for leaving an impression through their communication skills, there are others who struggle with it. However, several excellent books can equip you with the right tools to improve your communication and stand out from the crowd. Here’s a list of the top 10 books to help you do just that

How readers—and writers—are finding their book tribe

Book clubs, communities and events have persisted in the 21st century—albeit in different formats, and sometimes with the help of richer media that makes it possible to connect more deeply and quickly with favourite authors and fellow fans.

Vikram Sampath on how to train AI to translate idioms like 'Bhains ke aage been bajana'

NAAV.AI cofounder and author of 10 books Vikram Sampath on training agentic AI for translating books into Indian regional languages, and what the speed and ease of translating with AI could mean for content across Indian languages.

‘Exotica to be collected’: Indian plants in East India Company paintings, and a rare plant that fanned Europe's orchid-mania

An ongoing art show at DAG Delhi and a new book by Trinity College literature professor Sarah Bilston revisit two ways in which the British sought to collect plants as well as knowledge about plants from colonized countries.

Isabel Allende: 'The theme of refugees is in the air, in the news, in the collective consciousness. It cannot be ignored'

Novelist Isabel Allende on being 'eternally displaced', and why 1891 is a big year in her latest novel 'My Name is Emilia del Valle'.

The Goat Life author Benyamin: Jesus turning water into wine 'was a social transformation event'

Benyamin on why he thinks 'The Second Book of Prophets' is unlike anything he's written before, and translator Ministhy S. on why she had to read other books before taking up the Malayalam to English translation of Benyamin's latest novel.

Bharatnatyam adaptation of IFS officer Jeysundhar's 'Maalyada: Andal's Secret Garland' to open in Delhi on April 26

IFS Jeysundhar D and Bharatnatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan on their engagement with 8th century Bhakti poet-saint Andal's Tiruppavai, and the dance adaptation of 'Maalyada: The Sacred Garland'.

'Careless People' review: 'Darkly funny' is exactly right

Alleged sexual harassment, apathy and a ridiculous amount of navel-gazing and entitlement: Former Facebook global policy head Sarah Wynn-Williams' book about working at the social media giant from 2011-17 paints a hilarious but grim picture.

Gautam Bhatia: 'Any Constitutional document is essentially a power map of that country... India's Constitution has insufficiently democratized the colonial power map'

Lawyer and author Gautam Bhatia on what every citizen needs to know about the Indian Constitution, and spaces for public participation in our 75-year-old Constitution.

Dream Count review: A book about four West Africans that will keep the curious Googling

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Covid-era novel about mothers and daughters is also an introduction to West African culture, food and history. Look out for the para about Delhi towards the end of the book!

100 Indian stories in English translation: From Odia literature's Bamacharan Mitra to Rajasthan's Vijaydan Detha, the making of an anthology

From Bengal to Maharashtra and from the Hindi heartland to the four southern states, editor AJ Thomas has curated a sampling menu of short stories from different regions, languages, time periods and styles in '100 Indian Stories'.

7 new books for International Women's Day gifting

India’s International Booker Prize 2025 contender Heart Lamp, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s first novel in a decade and 5 more books to read and / or gift for International Women's Day 2025.