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Business Standard
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Hostile Homelands: Azad Essa's book traces India-Israel ties before BJP era
Chintan Girish Modi Mumbai Listen to This Article Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance between India and Israel Published by Westland Books 274 pages ₹599 India's support for the Palestinian cause has grown so feeble in the last decade that soon it might be hard to remember that India was the first non-Arab state to recognise the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Though the shift in India's foreign policy is often seen only through an ideological lens, the real picture is more complex. South African journalist Azad Essa talks economics in his book, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance between India and Israel. The author, who is based in New
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Sonal Holland, India's first Master of Wine, launches her memoir
In 2016, Sonal Holland become the country's first Master of Wine. The prestigious qualification is considered to be highest standard of professional knowledge in the field. After 20 years in the industry, Sonal has released her memoir, One in a Billion (Westland Books). The book charts her professional journey with personal anecdotes about family and motherhood. 'In these two decades I have walked an unconventional path,' Sonal says over a call from Mumbai. 'I believe my story is unique. My obsessive journey to get this title, and the sacrifices that went behind it... I wanted to chronicle it all.' Sonal says the book is aimed the three kinds of people: people in the trade who are curious about what a 'master of wine' is and how does one get to be one. 'Second is for consumers who want a glimpse into the industry, through my lens. As I call it, my rosé-tinted glasses.' And last, she says the book is for anyone who is looking to reinvent themselves and change paths. The book is dedicated to her father, whom she calls her 'first champion'. It begins on Ganesh Chaturthi of 2016, the day that the results of the Master of Wine exam are due. She is rightfully nervous. 'Consider this: way more people have scaled Mount Everest or travelled to space than have become Master of Wine (only about 512 since 1953).' 'The Indian wine industry then was nascent' Sonal grew up in Mumbai with her parents who had government jobs. 'The first 32 years of my life, I lived in a Reserve Bank colony in Mumbai. I had a very humble upbringing, a typical Maharashtrian childhood. I am a first-generation wine drinker in my family.' The book charts her rebel teen years, her initial career in hospitality, and how she met her husband. In 2006, she decided to leave her corporate job. 'Wine as an idea just came to me as a lightning bolt. The Indian wine industry then was nascent.' She looked up what was the highest qualification you can get and came across the Mater of Wine issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. At the age of 33, Sonal embarked on a journey to study wines. 'Alongside that was my parallel journey into motherhood. I had a lot of problems with pregnancy. In 2009, I adopted my daughter.' When she started her course in 2010, her daughter was one. 'I have missed so many important milestones.' One in a Billion goes into these vulnerable moments. The book has added inputs from her sister, her mother, her stepchildren and from the folks at the Institute of Masters of Wine. Writing the book, with her business, was hard. It took over a year to pen. But through her life journey, Sonal wants to inspire other people who are craving a second act. One in A Billion is published by Westland Books and is priced at ₹438
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Eternal Light': Dalai Lama's new biography to release in September
Marking his 90th birthday, publishing house Westland Books on Sunday announced a new biography of the 14th Dalai Lama . Written by senior journalist and author Arvind Yadav, "Eternal Light: The Life and Times of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama", scheduled to be released in September, chronicles the pivotal moments of the Dalai Lama's remarkable life -- from his childhood in Amdo and recognition as the 14th Dalai Lama, to the Chinese occupation of Tibet, his exile, and his emergence as a global spiritual icon. "I am grateful for Arvind Yadav's efforts in making this biography available. This book will allow more readers to gain insight into Tibetan history . It also sheds light on the ongoing challenges our people face, and more importantly, it carries the message I have always sought to spread - one of love, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, kindness, and the oneness of humanity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Unsold Container Homes in Batangas - Prices You Won't Believe! Shipping Container Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo "It is my hope that 'Eternal Light' will serve as an inspiration to all who seek to cultivate a more compassionate and peaceful world," said the Dalai Lama in a statement. Born on July 6, 1935, into a farming family in present-day Qinghai province, the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 along with many Tibetans following the Chinese military takeover of Tibet under Communist leader Mao Zedong . He later settled in Dharamshala, which he has since called his "adopted" home. Live Events Over the decades, he has become one of the world's most respected spiritual figures, earning a global following that transcends religious boundaries. In recognition of his steadfast dedication to peace, compassion, and nonviolence, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. According to the publisher, "Eternal Light" also captures the Tibetan people's persistent efforts to safeguard their culture, history, and religion while in exile under the Dalai Lama's leadership. "This biography marks a turning point... Yadav's biography is the result of years of research. He sets the record straight on the variances in the perception of the history of Tibet and by extension the Dalai Lama's journey as a global ambassador of peace," said Minakshi Thakur, publisher and editor at Westland Books.
Hindustan Times
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Review: Viewfinder – A Memoir by Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar and I live within a two kilometre radius of each other in Pune. I have often seen him at the walking track that he helped to build (incident mentioned in the book) accompanied by spouse and creative force behind this book, Sandhya Gokhale. He certainly doesn't know me. In my case and for many others, he has been the quintessential common man's actor who looked different and was more relatable than the usual Hindi film leading man. That's all thanks to the Basu Chatterjee films that bolstered that image and gave us an endearing middle-class hero. Those were confidence-boosting films for a whole generation of fairly ordinary looking men with ambitions of being a movie star. Amongst other things, Viewfinder unravels the construction of this screen persona, which Palekar essayed with such effortless ease. The book also affirms his strong ideological proclivities especially reflected in the films that he directed. Needless to say, the memoir is dedicated to 'those who believe in the power of resistance.' PREMIUM Smita Patil and Amol Palekar in Tarang (1984). (Film still/HT Photo) 332pp, Rs999; Westland Books I have often wondered about the purpose of a Hindi film actor's memoir, which is now a peculiar category unto itself often given to exaggerated self-praise or attempts to sanitize a life by presenting a narrative counter to existing popular gossip. Every attempt is made to hide the star's vulnerability; as if being vulnerable is a crime and actors are beyond the pitfalls of human life. Amol Palekar is not that sort of Hindi film actor; not if his body of work and public stances are anything to go by. His account is expectedly candid, reflective, and filled with introspection about the life he has lived both on and off screen. His films also found commercial success. Slotting him as a parallel film actor therefore would be historically incorrect. At the same time, he wasn't a mainstream Hindi masala film actor either. This is a very interesting quandary for film viewers and readers of the book to think about. But why are we so obsessed with categories? Let us just treat this as a delightful Hindi film moment which cannot be repeated in current times. The appearance of this book, however, presents a good opportunity to think about why mainstream Hindi cinema has completely abandoned this sensibility or genre of films. There's a lot in the book and perhaps in the public domain too about films such as Chitchor, Rajnigandha, Baaton Baaton Mein, Gol Maal and many more. But my favourite Amol Palekar performances are in Shyam Benegal's Bhumika and Kumar Shahani's Tarang. In both films, he plays characters with shades of grey. Not the usual boy next door. The facet of his life that many beyond Maharashtra may be unaware of is his extensive theatre work, which is discussed in considerable detail in the book. He mentions that the money he made from films would often be used for making plays. Theatre, perhaps, gave him the creative satisfaction that he craved for in films but didn't really find. Viewfinder also eschews a chronological rendition of his life. Really, can human life and especially a life like Palekar's conform to a linear narrative? The book begins with his extensive work in theatre and discussions on creative freedom and includes his fond memories of working and learning from two stalwarts of Indian theatre, Badal Sircar and Satyadev Dubey. These are not mere adulatory accounts. His appreciation for their genius is on full display. The reader learns that there were fierce debates and disagreements too that eventually led to a complete falling out with Satyadev Dubey. At every juncture, Palekar exercised his creative autonomy. This is an important takeaway for any aspiring art practitioner: don't give up without a fight whether you are pursuing creative work or social justice. The book makes no attempt to hide the actor's politics, which especially stands out in an era when divergent viewpoints are barely tolerated. The book also includes much material about Palekar's association with Hindustani classical exponent Kishori Amonkar and the music composer Jaidev. Asha Bhosale makes fleeting appearances too. Amol Palekar, Ranjit Chowdhry, Tina Munim and Pearl Padamsee in a scene from Baton Baton Mein (1979). (HT Photo) There is a constant tussle with stardom. Palekar says, at various points in the book, that he didn't want to be a star. He remained a misfit in the star-dominated Hindi film industry and never made a special attempt to blend in. He just wanted to be an actor. A good one. Was he successful? I think the mandate has been delivered. Kunal Ray is a critic and cultural commentator. He teaches at FLAME University, Pune.
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Voices from the margins: Dalit, women refugee accounts of the Bengal Partition
At the launch of The Last Bench (Ekada/Westland Books) in Kolkata last week, Adhir Biswas said his experience of untouchability as a child was painful, but also a treasure. With no one willing to play with him, and the village too boycotting his family of barbers, he had all the time to forage in the forests and discover a world of other beings, like mongooses and mynahs and a dog called Bhombol, invisible to most like he was. However, that is small compensation for the acute caste oppression forced on him, first in an East Bengal (then East Pakistan) village (Magura), and then when his family moved to West Bengal in 1967. Bengal prides itself on being largely caste agnostic, but Biswas's Dalit and refugee memoir flies in the face of it. Biswas did something about the societal slight — he got himself an education against all odds, began writing in magazines from the 1970s, and then launched a publishing house, Gangchil, in 2005 so that stories like his own could be told. 'It's enshrined in my memory — how it feels when you have no place in society — and I wanted to write about it,' he said. His heart-rending account — written as three separate slim books in Bengali — has been translated by V. Ramaswamy into English, giving it a wider readership. His life of hardship will be unimaginable to many, and the session to launch the book at Max Mueller Bhavan was aptly titled, 'Growing up Invisible in an Unjust World.' Just how invisible he felt is described in his classroom travails, when he was asked to sit at the back, far away from everyone; when he wrote every word being taught on his cracked slate, but never had the privilege of being asked a question; when the teacher on day one decided he should be called a 'Paramanik' (because he hailed from a family of barbers) and not Biswas, which was their surname. Caste violence and poverty Read together with Manoranjan Byapari's Interrogating My Chandal Life (Sage), Biswas's voice from the margins is an important addition to studies and understanding of Dalit and refugee life. Byapari has written about his migration to West Bengal, caste violence and poverty, and his itinerant life in his fiction as well, particularly in the 'Chandal Jibon' trilogy, comprising The Runaway Boy, The Nemesis and The Interloper (Westland Books), all translated by Ramaswamy. Scholars are now paying closer attention to the migration that happened from East Bengal/East Pakistan into West Bengal and looking at the afterlife of Partition. In the Foreword to Gargi Chakravartty's new book, Coming Out of Partition: Refugee Women of Bengal (Tulika Books), Tanika Sarkar writes that partition in Bengal was a very long-term process, violence was sporadic, and migration happened in a long, persistent trickle rather than in a single torrential movement. 'It is, in fact, difficult to put a definite closure on the process, which, Joya Chatterji argues [in her books on Bengal Partition] began and did not end with 1947.' Research has shown, notes Joya Chatterji in her book Partition's Legacies (Permanent Black), that in a myriad ways refugees drove change. 'In West Bengal, where landed elites resisted reforms, refugees threw themselves behind communist agitations, propelling the communists to power in 1969. They seized and then squatted on vacant land, demanded full rehabilitation as a matter of right, pushing and stretching the vocabulary of 'rights' in India's emergent democracy,' she points out. Radical social reorientation Chakravartty's family hailed from East Bengal, and several members had stayed back there. 'Listening to those who longed for the lost homeland and to those who remained there, she came to acquire a deep sense of identification with the land that she had not seen,' says Sarkar. Her mother, the novelist Sabitri Ray, has portrayed their life in a refugee settlement in West Bengal in her novels and short stories. Too often, writes Chakravartty in the Preface, women's experience of Partition becomes a story of loss and victimhood, of violence and oppression. 'While the focus is valid and deeply relevant, it does somewhat marginalise other areas of experience that are no less relevant.' Chakravartty points out that the women refugees of Bengal have not only played an important role in shaping the women's movement, but they have also been responsible for a radical reorientation of the social lives of Bengali women. Chakravartty traces the story of migration — how and why Hindus abandoned their ancestral homes and left East Bengal; and also about the lifelong yearning for the 'land of rivers' they had left behind. In West Bengal, refugees faced enormous problems. In that backdrop, Chakravartty reviews the transition in the lives of the refugee women who came out on the streets and plunged into political activism for survival, seeking shelter, food and employment. In due course, there were immense sociological changes in the lives of refugees living in the colonies, which Chakravartty documents. In his Introduction to Partition's Legacies, David Washbrook writes that Chatterji's Bengal is no less fractured and brutalised by colonialism, Partition, and the post-colonial state. 'However, it does not only stand as a field of negation and lament. [In several essays], she shows how even little people mattered, re-built their lives, challenged and re-made policies of the state, and acculturated themselves to new environments.' Chakravartty's book on the lives of refugee women and Biswas's on his own crushing childhood are an invaluable addition to books on Partition in the east.
