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      • Biography & True Stories
        2018

        Strike a Blow to Change the World

        by Eknath Awad (Translated by Jerry Pinto)

        ‘This is an inspiring book by an inspiring man and deserves to be widely read…A must-read for all those interested in Dalit politics and caste change.’—Hugo Gorringe, author of Untouchable Citizens Eknath Awad was a rare Dalit Mang activist from the Marathwada region of Maharastra, who fought for the rights of all underprivileged communities, irrespective of their caste or religion. In his compelling autobiography, Awad describes his rage against the humiliation of the Mangs by the upper castes; and his struggle to overcome caste prejudices as well as extreme poverty to get an education. He revisits his heady days of activism: rejecting caste-based labour and religious practices by cutting the Potraj’s dreadlocks; joining the Dalit Panthers; being at the forefront of the Land Rights Movement; battling to rename Marathwada University after Dr Ambedkar; and working with an NGO in Thane that helped free Adivasis from bonded labour. He writes about his decision to return to Marathwada, where he continued to fight against caste-based discrimination until his death. Awad doesn’t shy away from admitting his shortcomings, such as his tendency to resort to violence to settle disputes. He also recounts the casteism he faced from other Mangs, and his pain and disillusionment after some of them attempted to kill him. Originally published in Marathi as Jag Badal Ghaluni Ghaav, Jerry Pinto’s remarkable translation makes this inspiring book available in English for the first time.

      • Biography & True Stories
        January 2018

        Where the Peacocks Sing

        A Palace, a Prince, and the Search for Home

        by Alison Singh Gee

        ‘Like Eat, Pray, Love but with more heart…dazzlingly romantic and yet still very real; a unique and uplifting read that’s as much about traveling to India as it is about finding happiness.’—Library Journal How far would you travel for love? Alison Singh Gee was a glamorous magazine writer with a serious Jimmy Choo habit, a weakness for five-star Balinese resorts, and a reputation for dating high-born British men. Then she met Ajay, a charming and unassuming Indian journalist, and her world turned upside down. Traveling from her shiny, fast-paced life in Hong Kong to Ajay’s village, Mokimpur, not very far from Delhi, Alison learned that not all was as it seemed. It turned out that Ajay was a landed prince (of sorts), but his family palace was falling to pieces. Replete with plumbing issues, strange noises, and intimidating relatives, her new love’s ramshackle palace was a broken-down relic in desperate need of a makeover. And Alison could not help but wonder if she would be able to soldier on for the sake of the man who just might be her soulmate. Hailed as ‘Eat, Pray, Love’s down-to-earth cousin’, Where the Peacocks Sing takes readers on a cross-cultural journey from the manicured gardens of Beverly Hills to the bustling streets of Hong Kong, and finally, to the rural Indian countryside as Alison falls in love, comes to terms with her complicated new family, leaves the modern world behind, and learns the true meaning of home.

      • Biography & True Stories
        2018

        Manto-Saheb

        Friends and Enemies on the Great Maverick

        by Translated by Vibha Chauhan and Khalid Alvi

        ‘Saadat Hasan Manto has a good claim to be considered the greatest South Asian writer of the 20th century… [He] incarnated the exuberance, the madness, the alcoholic delirium of his time…’—Suketu Mehta, The New York Times This remarkable anthology brings together stories about Saadat Hasan Manto, essayist, scriptwriter, and a master of the short story, by his friends, family and rivals—among others, Ismat Chughtai, Upendranath Ashk, Balwant Gargi, Krishan Chander, his daughter Nuzhat and nephew Hamid Jalal. These are accounts of grand friendships and quarrels, protracted drinking bouts, cutthroat rivalries in the world of Urdu letters, and intense engagement with issues of that turbulent age. Together, they form an unprecedented portrait of the literary and film worlds of the time, and of the great cities of Bombay, Delhi and Lahore. They also offer a glimpse of the making of a legend even as they reveal Manto as a complex man of many contradictions. A devoted husband and father, he was as comfortable at home as he was at prostitutes’ quarters, seeking new material. Generous to a fault, he freely gave away his earnings and often put his family in financial jeopardy. Fiercely competitive and an outspoken critic of others’ writing, he brooked no criticism of his own, at times choosing to sever ties rather than have his words tampered with. And, for much of his adult life, right until the end, Manto was an alcoholic who fiercely defended his choice to remain one. Honest, frank and personal, at times sentimental, and critical—even gossipy—at others, the pieces in Manto-Saheb constitute an unparalleled, multi-faceted biography of a genius

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