The Hindu On Books: Recent Episodes
The Hindu
The Hindu on Books is a weekly podcast from India's national newspaper on the latest and the best from the world of literature.
This week we are discussing "Empire Building-The Construction of British India 1690-1860. The book traces the journey of East India Company, from 1690 when they occupied Calcutta to 1860 a little after the great uprising that led to their demise. There have been several books on the East India Company, but what sets this one apart is the emphasis on the granular details and taking a closer look the changes company brought both in terms physical infrastructures and intellectual outlooks. Listen in, for more details on the first Indian author to publish in West. On the first cantonment, the first hill station and many other firsts for the Indian subcontinent.
Author and journalist Samrat Choudhury’s third book comes at the time Manipur is front and centre of the national conversation. The current fault lines between hill and valley, ethnic loyalties that transcend borders inherited from the colonial state, attacks and reprisals are all a bequest of what he says are larger historical issues that have remained unresolved. Northeast India — A Political History is a “simple, readable, popular history” of the region that maps its long journey from isolation to integration.
In this episode, we are discussing the new book "The Importance of Shinzo Abe: India, Japan and the Indo Pacific", a collection of essays, edited by Sanjaya Baru, examining the legacy of the former Japanese leader who was the country's longest serving Prime Minister in history. Abe stepped down in 2020 citing health reasons, and his shock assassination in 2022 stunned the world. In this podcast, we discuss Abe's impact on Japan, its relations with India and the world. How did Abe transform Japan's security profile? What role did he play in the region embracing an Indo-Pacific strategy? Beyond his undeniable global role, what were some of the darker aspects of his legacy at home?
A lot of people love travelling. Typically, people travel for three reasons: to see new places, to experience new cultures, and to get away from their daily routine. There is a fourth kind of traveller, who is not talked about much -- the one who travels to eat animals and birds they’ve never eaten before, to drink brews and beers they’ve never drunk before, and then, to tell the rest of the world where and how to go about eating and drinking life forms they’ve never consumed before. As professional travel writer, Zac O’ Yeah belongs to the fourth category, but his latest book also offers much more than traveller’s tales – it is a hilarious take on the evolving food cultures and literature and travel in India, and is brilliant in the way interweaves books and writers with hotels and bondas. Zac O’ Yeah’s ‘Digesting India: A Travel Writer’s Sun-continental Adventures with the Tummy (A Memoir a la Carte)’ comes in the wake of several works of non-fiction and fiction, including the famous Hari Majestic trilogy that the Swedish-Indian writer is most known for in India. In this episode, we chat with Zac about his impressions, experiences and discoveries on his literary-culinary romp through the sub-continent. (00:00) Introduction (06:19) Travel writing (14:40) Bengaluru bookstores (18:31) Love-hate relationship with bondas (24:39) Experience in Bundi (27:53) The room in Rohet Garh (32:15) Encounter with RK Narayan (36:20) Kongunadu cuisine (41:57) Street food in Delhi (44:40) Best places for beer in India
In 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party that originated from a rare Dalit movement in North India in 1984, reached its lowest ebb winning just one seat and garnering merely 12.9 percent votes. With the general elections less than a year away, it raises an important question, what is the future for BSP and Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh. In this episode, we speak to the authors- Professor Sudha Pai and political scientist Sajjan Kumar about their new book - Maya, Modi, Azad- Dalit Politics In The Time of Hindutva. The book analyses the reasons for the BSP's decline, whether and why Dalit voters are attracted to the BJP. It also raises the all-important question - are we in a post-BSP phase in Uttar Pradesh and what is the future of Dalit politics in the state?
In this episode of On Book Podcast with The Hindu, we are joined by Arati Kumar-Rao, an artist, photographer and author of 'Marginlands', a book that chronicles a decade of travels to fringes of the subcontinent that journalism often leaves unexplored: the mangroves of the Sundarbans, the Thar desert and the tidepools of Goa.
In this podcast, Kumar-Rao talks about how she discovers a desert full of water, about the 40 names for clouds the people of the Thar have, how Tagore and Satyajit Ray inform her work, and her form of slow journalism.
‘Nation branding’ has replaced ‘nation building’ these days, Ravinder Kaur argues in her fascinating and provocative book, ‘Brand New Nation.’ She explains how India blends cultural and material factors to build its global identity, and how this branding efforts impact domestic politics.
As the title, Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age, suggests, Shruti Kapila’s latest book deals with fraternity, violence and sovereignty. Her core argument is that violence has not been as distant from India’s politics as we have been told. In this episode, Kapila talks about the role of violence in the making of the Indian republic. Zeroing in on the ‘power of ideas’ in instituting the political foundations of modern India, Kapila also looks at the role of Buddhism. Host: Varghese K. George
In this episode we are in conversation with the former chairman of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) Shyam saran about his new book, How China sees India and the world and the authoritative view of India-China relationship. Two years after the Galwan clashes on June 15-16, 2020, in which at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed, the government says it has still not ascertained why China amassed its troops in such large numbers at the border. In this episode, author Shyam Saran lists a number of reasons while also delving deep into the historic relationships between the two countries. With dates, events and personality, this book sums up volumes of Chinese history, giving it a very comprehensive and uniquely Indian perspective as well. In this episode of the On Books podcast, we discuss some of the history but most importantly talk about what we can learn from China that will help up deal with this challenge today and in the future.
In this episode, we are joined by Rahul Sagar, author of a new book that sheds light on how Indian thinkers in the 19th century viewed India’s place in the world and how their debates would leave a lasting impact on India’s strategic thought in the 20th century. “To Raise a Fallen People: How Nineteenth Century Indians Saw Their World and Shaped Ours” looks at the late 19th century as a critical but often ignored period in India’s intellectual history, but one that, as the author argues, would become a seminal moment in how Indians came to think about India’s place in the world as they wrestled with colonialism and other contemporary developments, from racism faced by Indians in South Africa to the devastating impact of opium trade on the economies of India and China. Guest: Rahul Sagar, author of “To Raise a Fallen People: How Nineteenth Century Indians Saw Their World and Shaped Ours” Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Edited by Reenu Cyriac
In this episode of On Book Podcast with The Hindu, we are joined by senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai author of “Leaders, Politicians, Citizens- Fifty Figures Who Influenced India’s Politics”. Mr. Kidwai has been a journalist for over three decades while writing political columns for multiple publications, he is also a visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation. This book is an unusual anthology of public figures and Mr. Kidwai goes beyond the usual cradle to grave narrative. He dredges up their quirks, fears, insecurities, ambitions, and disappointments. From a fascinating account of the hold astrologer, Chandraswami had on international leaders including former Prime Minister of UK Margret Thatcher, to the original political strategist of India Arun Nehru, the book brings in an interesting mix of characters, some well-known and a few forgotten ones. Guest: Rasheed Kidwai, journalist and author of “Leaders, Politicians, Citizens- Fifty Figures Who Influenced India’s Politics” Host: Sobhana K. Nair Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan
In this episode, we are joined by two distinguished scholars who have closely documented the changing social and political trends in India for close to half a century, Jan Breman and Ghanshyam Shah. The two of them have come out with a new book, titled ‘Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism’, published by Tulika Books. This book, a collection of essays written during the period of Hindutva’s growth in Gujarat and beyond, is an attempt to answer why majoritarian politics found fertile ground in Gujarat, of all places. In this edition of The Hindu On Books podcast, we speak with Breman and Shah about the history of communal politics in India, how it has evolved over the years, Gujarat’s role in its expansion, and whether it is changing the average India’s sense of nationhood and what it means to be an Indian. Guest: Jan Breman, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Sociology at the University of Amsterdam and Honorary Fellow at the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam and Ghanshyam Shah, retired Professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and was earlier Dr Ambedkar Chair Professor at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Reenu Cyriac
In this episode, we are joined by Shrayana Bhattacharya author of ‘Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and The Search for Intimacy And Independence’. She is a technocrat who works with the World Bank as an economist. The genre-bending book maps the economic and personal trajectories - the jobs, desires, prayers, love affairs and rivalries of a diverse group of women. Deep adoration for actor Shahrukh Khan is the only unifying factor among these women. It talks about the hidden tax that working women have to pay. Breaking all the social science rules, the book talks about the economic burden of being a woman through individual stories. The reader gets to see and feel first-hand of the emotional cost of pay disparity, skewed labour markets and simply lack of freedom to choose. It took Ms. Bhattacharya 15-years to cover this longitudinal journey from the slums of Ahmedabad in 2006 where, as a young researcher she had gone for her first field trip. Guest: Shrayana Bhattacharya, technocrat who works with the World Bank as an economist Host: Sobhana K. Nair Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan
Disturbed Afghanistan has always fascinated writers and journalists. Its history has drawn people in. The absence of Central control, the terrible civil war within, foreign intervention and a staging point for the cold war to defeat the Soviet Union. Afghanistan has seen it all. And you thought it might have ended. After the sudden withdrawal of American troops, Washington has left Afghanistan to the Taliban, a group that they were bombing after 9/11. Pakistan is back in focus along with its ally China – a country that looks set to influence the course of events in Afghanistan. Guests: Ananth Krishnan, Hong Kong-based China correspondent of The Hindu and Stanly Johny, Foreign Editor, The Hindu. Co-authors of ‘The Comrades and the Mullahs – China, Afghanistan and the New Asian Geopolitics’, Harper Collins, 277 pages, Rs. 599. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan
The story of Covid could not be told sitting in the studio, says journalist, anchor, columnist and author Barkha Dutt. What began as daily reporting of going to Delhi border and returning to the studio to put out the story of India’s fight against COVID after the 21-day lockdown was announced during the first wave, Ms. Barkha realised the story of the pandemic was not about policies, announcements and statistics. It was about reaching out to human beings behind the numbers. Her people-connect stories took her on a journey of 30,000 kms across 14 States in 120 days and became her new book: “Humans of Covid- To Hell and Back”, published by Juggernaut. Nothing was planned, in writing of the book. The poignant accounts of hardships that millions of ordinary Indians faced with courage during the carnage of COVID over the last two years just kept adding up. While writing about the migrants who were compelled to walk home after the first lockdown, to chronicling victims, survivors and heroes of the pandemic, Ms. Barkha herself became the story she was reporting. She lost her father to COVID and despite her privilege and connections, she could do nothing to save him when he called her to say, “I am choking; Treat me.” A devastated Barkha did not stop her journey because she realised what was unfurling was the story of India and her people, each of whose grief was personal but the nation was passing through a collective trauma. And it had to be documented. In this episode, she talks at length on the book and the people she met across the length and breadth of the country. Guest: Barkha Dutt, Journalist, anchor, columnist and author Host: Soma Basu Edited by Reenu Cyriac
In this episode, we are joined by Nalin Mehta, author of ‘The New BJP: Modi and the Making of the World’s Largest Political Party’, a book that looks at the factors behind the rise of the BJP to a position of hegemony in Indian politics. How did India become a BJP-centric polity, from first being ruled mostly by the Congress, to a period of coalitions drawn from regional players and socialists and then a bipolar system? Mehta examines all these templates. Guest: Nalin Mehta, Political scientist, author and journalist Host: Nistula Hebbar, Political Editor, The Hindu Edited by Reenu Cyriac
In this episode, we are joined by Isaac Stone Fish, author of America Second: How America's elites are making China stronger, a book that traces China’s growing influence on America’s elites and corporations — how this influence has grown, how Beijing wields it, and how America should respond, while not compromising on its values. From Henry Kissinger to the leading lights of Hollywood, the book explains how China cultivated key opinion shapers in the U.S. and traces the history of U.S.-China engagement in the 50 years since Nixon’s historic 1972 trip. While the focus is on China and the U.S., Fish explains how there are plenty of lessons for other countries engaging with China, including India, that are wrestling with similar dilemmas. Guest: Isaac Stone Fish Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Edited By: Reenu Cyriac
In "Whole Numbers and Half Truths", data journalist Rukmini S delves deep into a range of numbers to answer some of the burning questions India is dealing with, from crime and how India votes to how India handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on on-the-ground reporting and backed with data, the book questions some of the most deeply-held conventional wisdoms about politics and society in India.
Guest: Rukmini S, author, Whole Numbers and Half Truths Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Edited by: Ranjani Srinivasan
"Phenomenal Woman" is about Kamala Harris, the Vice-President of the United States. Chidanand Rajghatta not only talks about Kamala Harris, her links with India, and how she evolved through the rough and tumble of U.S. politics, but also through that narrative, he touches upon some of the fascinating and tectonic shifts that have been happening in U.S. politics. Guest: Chidanand Rajghatta, U.S. Bureau Chief, The Times of India Host: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Edited by: Reenu Cyriac
Kavery Nambisan belongs to a rare breed of writers – the doctor who writes fiction. She is a general surgeon – a domain where women are uncommon. Another uncommon thing about her career is that she is a rural doctor, having practised for the most part of her career in rural India. She has published seven critically acclaimed novels. "A Luxury Called Health: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Art, the Science and the Trickery of Medicine". A Luxury Called Health is her first book-length foray into non-fiction. This book is not easy to classify. At one level, it has strong elements of the memoir but it also contains social commentary, history, and feminist critique. She writes in moving detail about her late husband, the poet Vijay Nambisan’s battle with cancer and her unnerving experience with the hubris endemic in the medical profession. She also talks about her experience in treating hundreds of patients with Ivermectin, the drug’s remarkable efficacy against COVID-19, and why it hasn’t been more front and centre in the battle against the pandemic. A common thread running through the book is a desire to engage with fundamental questions about health, sickness and medical treatment. She speaks to The Hindu about her book, what prompted her to write it, and her concerns about the medical profession today. Guest: Kavery Nambisan Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by: Reenu Cyriac
The 50 anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation takes place on December 16. Much has been written about the Indian role and Delhi’s assistance to the Mukti Bahini. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, who served in India’s mission in Bangladesh soon after liberation, has provided a riveting, insider account of Delhi’s preparations for a free Bangladesh – by no means an agreed goal within the Indian establishment in the early part of March 1971 – in his new book “India and the Bangladesh Liberation War”. But the Pakistani massacre in Dhaka on March 25 and subsequent attacks by the Pakistani Army in East Bengal convinced everyone in the Indian establishment that Bangladesh was an idea whose time had come. Guest: Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, who was India’s ambassador to China (1993-1996) and the European Union (1996-2000). Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu
Saumya Roy speaks to us on her latest book "Mountain Tales". It is a gut-wrenching story of the poor and marginalised who work and live at Mumbai’s Deonar landfill to earn their daily bread. Journalist Saumya Roy, who spent eight years researching the impact of urbanisation, over-consumption and waste mismanagement in Maximum City, describes it as ‘discarded desires’ of the moneyed-people. Roy initially planned to write a magazine article but in 2016 after fire erupted in Deonar’s garbage mountains engulfing the city in its smoke and the pickers got arrested, her Mountain Tales took shape as she witnessed the unspoken trauma of the marginalised community. She speaks at length on the books and the people in it in this episode. Host: Soma Basu, Deputy Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In his memoir, "Stories I Must Tell, The Emotional life of an Actor", actor Kabir Bedi details his unique life experiences. In the barely 300 pages of the book, Kabir speaks candidly of his great successes (Sandokan, Khoon Bhari Maang, Octopussy) as well as his failures and mistakes. Writing through the prism of his relationships, Kabir reveals the agony and ecstasy of being a husband, lover, parent and son to unique personalities. Host: Mini Anthikad Chibber
Amitav Ghosh speaks to us on his latest work of non-fiction “The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables For A Planet In Crisis” Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu
Syed Akbaruddin speaks to us on his latest book ‘India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win’ Syed Akbaruddin was India’s Permanent Representative to the UN when India scored an unprecedented diplomatic victory in 2017 by defeating UK for a seat on the International Court of Justice. India’s Dalveer Bhandari was elected a judge of the ICJ. Mr. Akbaruddin’s recent book ‘India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win’ is an account of the contest in which all five permanent members of the UNSC united against India. Guest: Syed Akbaruddin, who is currently Dean, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad Host: Varghese K George, Resident Editor - Delhi, The Hindu
Prof Neera Chandhoke speaks to us on her new book, The Violence in Our Bones: Mapping The Deadly Faultlines Within Indian Society G. SampathOne of the big promises of democracy is that it would solve – to a substantial extent – the problem of violence. It is commonly held that one of the differences between barbarism and civilization is that barbarians tend to kill those they hate or disagree with, whereas civilized folks resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations – that is, by non-violent means. The highest form of such a civilized society is liberal democracy – the kind of democracy our freedom fighters had in mind when we got independence in 1947. But with independent India about to turn 75, we find that violence is endemic in Indian democracy. So how do we reconcile this story that we tell the world – of India being the land of Buddha, Ashoka andn Gandhi, of India being a civilization that practically invented non-violence, as it were -- with the widespread proclivity for violence, ranging from road rage and gender violence all the way to communal riots and encounter killings? It is this difficult question that Prof Neera Chandhoke, a political science scholar, explores in her new book, The Violence in Our Bones: Mapping The Deadly Faultlines Within Indian Society. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu
In this episode of The Hindu on Books, Pallavi Aiyer speaks to us on her latest book 'Orienting: An Indian In Japan'. Through the book, Pallavi Aiyer draws a comparative image between the life in India and Japan. She draws a contrast between the way of life, environment and the general state of India and Japan. She also raises the issue of race, caste and other arbitrary societal norms which are posted in the minds of Indians where no such exist in Japan. One of the key difference she draws in the safety of women and children in India when compared to Japan. Through her work, she tries to let the reader hope; Whether can India do and be better. Host: Kallol Bhattacherjee, Senior Assistant Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode of The Hindu on Books, we are chatting with one the most acclaimed investigative journalist Josy Joseph where we talk about his new book "The Silent Coup". The book answers the question "Is our democracy slowly being degraded?" He also talk about how people simply bend the rules of suits the wims of the ones in the power seats. Josy Joseph makes the reader ask where the democracy in India on the decline as the deep state uses the security apparatus for political ends? In what can be described as an "angry book", Josy Joseph take the creative non-fiction form to tackle this question. Guest: Josy Joseph, Journalist and Author Host: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode, we are joined by Sanjaya Baru and Suhasini Haidar to talk about the new book "A New Cold War: Henry Kissinger and the Rise of China” Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kissinger's historic 1971 visit that marked the start of the era of U.S.-China engagement, the book examines the legacies of the visit. We discuss in this podcast how the 1971 visit happened, its impact on the Cold War, and the evolution of U.S.-China relations in the years since. We particularly focus on the consequences for India, and ask what the lessons from history are as India navigates a new era of U.S.-China competition. The book is a collection of essays by 18 authors, and is edited by Dr. Baru and Rahul Sharma. Suhasini Haidar is among the authors. Guests: Sanjaya Baru, political commentator, author, and previously media adviser to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu
In this eposide of The Hindu on Books, we are sitting down for a chat with Nirupama Subramanian where she talks about her latest book "Murder on the Menu: The Sensational Story of the Tycoon who founded Saravana Bhavan" Twenty years ago, the murder case of Prince Santhakumar, a young tutor-turned-insurance agent, created a sensation in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere as it pointed to the involvement of P. Rajagopal, founder of what was once considered an empire in the field — Hotel Saravana Bhavan. Till the discovery of the murder, Rajagopal, who entered the fray with limited resources, was regarded as a model restaurateur as his chain of hotels became a byword for quality vegetarian food and employee welfare. At the same time, his story is an illustration of how a man, however successful he may be, can get caught out because of his own shortcomings. Through the book, Nirupama Subramanian tells the dark reality of the much-beloved vegetarian gormet empire. Host: Soma Basu, Deputy Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In their book, Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of The R.A.W and I.S.I, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark make several explosive revelations, including about the Pulwama attack and alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. The two foreign journalists seem to have enjoyed an unprecedented level of access to the intelligence establishments on both sides, even working as back-channel diplomats after the Pulwama attack. In this book, the duo seeks to document the inner workings of the RAW and the ISI. They also trace the career of NSA Ajit Doval through the past few decades, especially from the 1999 Indian Airlines’ flight IC-814 hijack, which the NSA describes as a “diplomatic failure”, to the 2000 Parliament attack, and more recently events in Kashmir, including the 2016 Pathankot and 2019 Pulwama attacks in which 40 personnel were killed, as well as the retaliatory Balakot strikes by the Indian Air Force. In this podcast, Adrian Levy speaks to Suhasini Haidar on the work that went into the book. Guest: Adrian Levy, Author Host: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
Malcom Gladwell says "The Bomber Mafia" marks a departure for him stylistically as a writer as he has never told a story before that was just one narrative with no social science. But there is a common thread across Gladwell’s books, which is his fascination with how the human psyche deals with conflict; and this book has that in spades. The Bomber Mafia follows the competition between the two men in “one of the grandest and consequential stages of the Second World War,” Gladwell says hoping the book will invite people to look at how society operates along similar lines of division now. Guest: Malcom Gladwell, journalist and author Host: Divya Kala Bhavani, Technology Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
Kavitha Rao tells the stories of six women, who in the 19th and early 20th century challenged societal norms, fought gender and caste battles to tread an unconventional path and become doctors in her famous work "Lady Doctor: The Untold Stories of India's First Women in Medicine" The book helps us to see what it was like for these six women who defied every obstacle, balanced work and family lives, and left a lasting impression and impact on their peers and especially on women who joined the field in the years after them. Memories of them, says the author, have been erased as history has been rewritten by men. And that is what prompted her to write about the motivating life stories of these women for all to know. In this podcast, Ms. Rao tells us how she put together the stories of Anandibai Joshi, Kadambini Ganguly, Rukhmabai Raut, Muthulakshmi Reddy, Mary Poonen Lukose, and Haimabati Sen, each of whom was a pioneer in her own way between 1860 and 1930. Host: Soma Basu, Deputy Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
‘The Braided River: A Journey Along the Brahmaputra’ is journalist-turned-author and Shillong native Samrat Choudhur's ode to his immediate neighbourhood. While the book pitches itself as travel, memoir and history rolled into one, it is in the latter two that it sparkles most. The book is yet another in a long line of academic scholarship and non-fiction that make a fervent plea against damming up the Northeast, a push triggered primarily by a hydropower race with China and as yet unfounded fears about it diverting Brahmaputra water away from the source channels. Choudhury highlights the short shrift given to green compliances, often in the face of protests by locals, in order to fast-track projects that would cut up the Siang, Lohit and Dibang. In this podcast, the author speaks to us about his experience writing the book. Host: Abdus Salam, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
Journalist Rasheed Kidwai's latest book “The House of Scindias - A Saga of Power, Politics and Intrigue” looks at the long-running Scindia dynasty whose story encompasses the Mughals, the British and the Gandhi dynasty in India. Whether on the same side or on opposing ideological poles, the Scindias have enjoyed long stints in public service and have seamlessly traversed the distance between royalty and democratic politics. Kidwai’s book profiles the family , and speaks about the difficulty of writing candidly about people still active in public life. He recalls his personal interactions with family members, and the roles they have played in post-Independence politics. Kidwai also reveals who he thinks is the most fascinating Scindia for him. Host: Nistula Hebbar, Political Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode, we are joined by Vijay Gokhale, a former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China, to talk about his new book “The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India”, which is being published on July 19, 2021. The book examines the history of how China has negotiated with India through the lens of six significant moments in the relationship, from India’s recognition of the PRC to the 1954 Tibet trade agreement to the Chinese recognition of Sikkim and the aftermath of the India-U.S. nuclear deal. We revisit some of those moments and more importantly, discuss what the lessons are for some of India’s contemporary problems with China. Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
We are joined by on this podcast by Manoj Kewalramani to talk about his new book "Smokeless War: China's Quest for Geopolitical Dominance". Kewalramani, a fellow at The Takshashila Institution who studies China, provides perhaps the first detailed and granular account assessing China's strategic and political responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book focuses on Beijing's geopolitical strategies as it looked to turn around a crisis at home and criticism abroad into an opportunity for China. Has that strategy succeeded? Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode, we are joined by Jairam Ramesh to discuss his new book, The Light of Asia: The Poem That Defined the Buddha. Ramesh, author, Member of Parliament, former Union Minister, and Congress leader, digs deep in his new book to bring out the fascinating story behind the epic 1879 poem, The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold, that took the world by storm and in some ways, brought the Buddha's storyto the world at the turn of the last century. Ramesh's book is a biography both of the poem and of the man who wrote it, an Englishman who briefly lived in India, became a scholar of Sanskrit, was a voracious translator and later poet in his own right, and a man of contradictions, who had a deep affinity for Indian philosophy and literature, but was also a defender of empire. We discuss how and why Arnold's work came to influence an extraordinary range of 20th century figures from Gandhi and Nehru to C.V. Raman, and its continuing relevance today. Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondant, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
Our guest today on the podcast is Ghazala Wahab, who's recently released book, Born a Muslim: Some Truths about Islam and India has created quite a stir, particularly in our present times. In contemporary politics, the debates and discussions around Hindus and Muslims are getting vitriolic and polarised and at the same time becoming more relevant. The author explains what it is to be a Muslim, a member of the largest religious minority in India today, and why the community lives in fear as prejudices persist. Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode of The Hindu on Books, we are chating with Vijay Gokale who was the Former Foreign Secretary of India. In his last work 'Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest', Vijay discuss the Tiananmen Square protest that shook the power seats of China. After 32 years, since the incident in Beijing, we are in conversation today with Vijay Gokhale, then a young diplomat serving in Beijing, who was a witness to the drama that unfolded. The events of that summer would not only set the course for China's politics but would also re-define its relationship with the world. Host: Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode of The Hindu On Books Podcast, we are joined by Vinod Kapri, filmmaker and author, who speaks about his new book '1232 km: The Long Journey Home', published by HarperCollins. The book tells the story of the March 24, 2020 lockdown and its impact on the lives of millions, told through the stories of 7 young men. Left for themselves in Delhi, they undertake a perilous journey home - the distance they cover on bicycles gives the book its title - as they encounter incredible obstacles on their way, from police brutality to insults, and rely on the kindness of strangers to survive. The book grew out of a documentary film project that followed their journey home last year, and through seven lives, paints a broader picture of how India - its government at every level, people and society at large - treat a group of people who are so essential in powering everyday life and industry in India's cities, yet face little gratitude for doing so. Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode, we are joined by Shivshankar Menon, former National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China, who traces the history and evolution of India’s foreign policy and place in the world in the new book, “India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present.” Going back into history, the book looks at the origins and evolution of India's foreign policy and view of the world, from how India's leaders, in the early years after Independence, crafted the foreign policy of a newly independent country, to how India navigated the Cold War and then the age of globalisation and rise of China. It also examines India's present foreign policy challenges and how they may be best tackled. The author tells us why the country is served best when interconnected with the world and not by turning inward, although he fears we may now be headed in the wrong direction. The world, he says, is facing a hinge moment, and he explains why India needs to be clear-eyed in its vision of what it seeks in the international order, and particularly in crafting a new modus vivendi with China after the 2020 border crisis. Also read | China tore up the modus vivendi in 2020, the LAC is now live: Shivshankar Menon Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In today’s episode we are in conversation with author Sanjaya Baru about his new book India’s Power Elite: Class, Caste and a Cultural Revolution. The ascent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national arena has disrupted politics as we knew it and the BJPs’ subsequent dominance over political discourse has led sociologists and political commentators to find new idioms through which to document the changes that this brought about on the political and social sphere. In his book, Mr. Baru, a former media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tries to capture not just the churn brought about by the 2014 general election and the decline of the Congress in the political sphere, but its impact on the social and cultural landscape, and the nuts and bolts that make up India’s elite. Host: Nistula Hebbar, Political Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode, we are in conversation with author and wildlife conservationist Neha Sinha about her new book Wild and Wilful in which she chronicles tales of 15 iconic Indian species which are in need of conservation. To celebrate nature’s beauty and to also highlight the trauma that humans are inflicting on animals and birds, is a requisite attribute for those who write about the natural world. Sinha does this with an equitable sense of wonder, grief and balance in this book that is a must read for any nature lover. Host: KC Vijayakumar, Sports Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
On this episode of the podcast we are in conversation with Krish Ashok, author of the fascinating new book Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking. In Ashok’s words, the book attempts to bring an engineering approach to Indian cooking, breaking down the physics and chemistry of some of its key processes and adopting an algorithmic approach to the combination of its vast array of ingredients. That may sound daunting at the outset and you may ask, why do we need a scientific approach to cooking? Isn’t it all skill and craft handed down and over generations and innate feel? That is where masala lab attempts to change your perception of Indian cooking. You can either spend years in the kitchen trying to master that innate feel, as all experienced cooks in our families did or you can follow recipe books that can give you a method but not even come close to conveying the craft. If you fall somewhere in between these two approaches, then Krish Ashok has a lot of lessons for you. Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
Suchitra Vijayan undertook a 9000 mile journey over seven years to India's borderlands to write Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India. India shares borders with a host of countries including Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and so forth. From the densely populated border that India shares with Bangladesh to the highly disputed one with Pakistan, she meets men, women and children who tell her how they live, struggle, fight and survive. She also offers notes on how the lines came to be and why some of them are arbitrary and still being contested. The award winning photographer -- there are some devastating black and white pictures accompanying the stories -- is founder and executive director of the Polis Project, a research and journalism organisation. Host: Sudipta Datta, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
On this episode of The Hindu On Books Podcast, we speak to Dan Moraine, author of Kamala’s Way, the bestselling biography of the current US Vice president Kamala Harris. Mr. Morain has covered California policy politics and justice related issues for more than four decades and has brought his deep knowledge to bear on this riveting narrative about the evolution of Kamala Harris from a county and then San Francisco prosecutor, to the California District Attorney, a harder to US Senator, a presidential race candidate, and finally, then candidate Joe Biden's pick as running mate. Hosted by Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode of The Hindu On Books Podcast, journalist and author Mohammad Zeeshan discusses his latest book Flying Blind: India's Quest for Global Leadership. He discusses not just India’s foreign policy as it is today but discusses foreign policy history, taking us back through the decades to get an understanding of where India should lead or what kind of a world India should look to build. He also asks the question, how can a proactive foreign policy help India be more prosperous. Host: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
In this episode of The Hindu On Books Podcast we talk to Chinmay Tumbe, professor at The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and author of two critically acclaimed books, India Moving (2018) and more recently, The Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How They Shaped India and the World. In his latest books, Tumbe chronicles the many facets of the cholera, plague and influenza pandemics, which claimed over 70 million lives between 1817 and 1920, with India being the epicentre in all these episodes. When we talk of Covid-19 as an unprecedented event therefore, are we forgetting a key part of our history that we could have learned from? These are the questions we address in this episode. Host: Anuradha Raman, Associate Editor, The Hindu
In this edition of The Hindu on Books Podcast, we talk to Audrey Truschke about her new book, The Language of History, in which she explains why Sanskrit histories of Indo-Muslim rule, ought to be acknowledged as crucial to the study of Indo-Persian political history. Truschke, who wrote a biography of the Mughal king Aurangzeb in 2017 for which she received both kudos and brickbats, takes us through cultural encounters through the ages, the importance of history, and her new project. Host: Sudipta Dutta, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
The crisis along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 2020 and the biggest loss of life of Indian soldiers on the China border since 1967 have put a large question mark on the future of India China relations. Subramanian Swamy discusses his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China and the Quest for Peace, in which he offers an intervention in this on-going debate on the future of relations and suggests a new way of engaging China — one that will involve, in his view, reassessing many of India’s fundamental positions on issues such as Tibet and the boundary. Swamy also discusses his long association with China, going back to his time at Harvard University in the 1960s, and his visits there in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he met with then leader Deng Xiaoping and helped push the post-1962 normalisation of relations. Host: Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in
We start the series with a freewheeling chat with Ramachandra Guha about his latest book The Commonwealth of Cricket. Mr. Guha wears many hats - as a historian, academician, social anthropologist, environmentalist - and above all, an old word lover of cricket in the true sense. His latest book juxtaposes his life with his abiding love for the game and this conversation could not come at a better time with India and Australia in the midst of an enthralling test series. Host: K.C. Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor, The Hindu Want to get more from The Hindu on books? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here (Newsletter Subscription) Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in