Author: P. M. Nityanandan
Pages: 88
Year of Publication: 2009
Price: HB Rs 150, FB Rs 100
ISBN:
HB 81-8157-883-9 (8181578839)
FB 81-8157-884-6 (8181578846)

About the Author:
P. M. Nityanandan is a mechanical engineer. He co-started an industry that manufactured gears and was the chairman of the committee for gears of the Bureau of Indian standards. He has published one novel, The Long, Long Days (Asia Publishing House) and two short story collections. He is also a professional flautist and has performed in several Indian classical music concerts. He has lived in France and is active with the Alliance Francaise in India. He is married to a cardiologist, has a son in the United States, a daughter in France and three grandchildren.

Teaser:
In his preface to the book, Nityanandan writes:

"In 1961, a group of Indian engineers went to France for a training course, arranged by the French government. The author was one of them.

These personal impressions were recorded at that time, and have deliberately been left unrevised, though obviously much change must have taken place since then."

Given below is an extract from his first chapter, "Paris":

"Geneva airport gleamed weakly below us. The plane dropped. The entire land was one sheet of white, and the runways were mere black paths with snow bundled upon either side, as though a giant rake had just been pulled through them. Soon we were taxiing up to the air terminal. Outside, the cold hit us. Coming from the tropics, this sub-zero temperature gave us the first hand-shake from Europe. Quickly we crowded into the main lounge, as our extremities had already cut off communication, notably the fingers and nose.

The lounge was our first glimpse of Europe, and the first impression was one of antiseptic cleanliness. Steel, glass, and plastic are excellent building materials to keep clean, and in addition the extreme cold excluded all types of insects, which all add up to the psychological feeling of contamination we experience so often in the warmer climes."

Contents:
Paris / 11
Cite Universitaire / 19
Montmartre / 25
Promenades / 32
Rambouillet / 38
Rhone / 44
Riviera / 50
Demonstration / 58
Pyrenees / 62
Basque / 70
Fourchambault / 77
Versailles / 80
Fin / 86

Author: Madan Gopal
Pages: 139
Price: HB Rs 200, FB Rs 150
Year of Publication: 2007
ISBN:
HB 978-81-8157-674-3 (9788181576743)
FB 978-81-8157-675-0 (9788181576750)

About the Author:
The author Madan Gopal is somewhat of a prodigy. He is often referred to as Munshi Premchand’s Boswell, and is known for his literary and political biographies. He has assiduously worked for fifty years to project Hindi and Hindi writers through the medium of English.

Teaser:

From the Preface

'Having written a dozen biographies and, in the words of a reviewer, “carved a niche” for myself in the field of literary biographies, I have no hesitation in admitting that, before I started writing, I had not read a single book on the art of writing biographies. Book writing or scholarship necessary for this purpose had not been a tradition in my family. I can’t remember having seen a book in the house until later in life.'

Contents:
16 Chapters

Title: Cactus, It, She and I
Author: Vida Rahiminezhad
Price: HB Rs 100, FB Rs 80
Year of Publication: 2007

Title: Jaanika: The Book
Author: Mona Sidhu
Price: HB Rs 150, FB Rs 100
Year of Publication: 2007

Title: Pretty Boy
Author: C.M. Nimbalkar
Price: HB Rs 300, FB Rs 200
Year of Publication: 2007

Author: Vimala Ramu
Pages: 115
Price: HB Rs 150, FB Rs 100
Year of Publication: 2008
ISBN:
HB 978-81-8157-745-0 (9788181577450)
FB 978-81-8157-746-7 (9788181577467)

About the Author:
Vimala Ramu was born on 27 October 1937 as the seventh child of N. Narasimha Iyengar (Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department in Mysore). She obtained a First Class in her B. Sc. from Maharani’s College (Mysore University) in 1955 and completed her B. Ed. in 1977 from MES Teachers' College (Bangalore University) with, not surprisingly, First Class marks once more. She married Flt Lt. B.S. Ramu, a tech officer in IAF in 1958 and has three children.

Teaser:

The Bird Call

"Being a voracious reader—not sparing even the children’s section in the newspapers, I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend GA’s name featuring in one of the issues of the latter. He had written a very informative article about the Egyptian Ibis. Looking at the name, I was thrown back into the labyrinths of memory when both of us were working for a software company."

Contents:

The Bird Call / 9
Cigarettes and Coffee / 11
Com-patriotism / 13
Dignity in uniform / 15
A hunch that came true / 17
Inherited integrity / 19
The memento / 21
Mystery of the peek-a-boo / 23
The NRI fire / 23
Panditji and me / 27
A Psychic Experience / 29
Teacher’s expectations / 31
Video! Video!! Video!!! / 33
A somnolent perspective / 35
The mystery of the vacillating thief / 38
The Pacific and the pranayama / 40
Requiem for the sparrow / 42
The sufferings of the creator / 44
Bidding a silent goodbye / 46
Debut of the decade / 47
The humming bee in the bonnet / 50
Automobilely challenged!!! / 52
The mateless sole / 54
The musical intruder / 57
The Maiden Drive / 59
Channels of Communication / 62
Ramanuja’s riotous rumpus on Raleigh / 64
The empowered sumangali / 67
Some say it with money / 69
Pinchability quotient / 71
The birthday fight / 75
Monsoon holiday / 78
The ultimate call / 78
Interview-DD style / 80
The nocturnal visitor / 85
Brahma’s bad boys / 85
The friendly postman / 87
The makings of a global manager / 89
Stringent musings / 91
Toilet travails / 93
The golden rip-off / 95
The answering machine / 98
A memorable birthday / 100
A white Holi / 102
The ethnic confusion / 105
Do I know you? / 107
Drumsticks in Hawaii / 109
Dys-communication / 111
Jackets and jaunts / 113

Author: Madhusree Gupta
Pages: 79
Price: HB Rs 120, FB Rs 100
Year of Publication: 2008
ISBN:
HB 978-81-8157-747-4 (9788181577474)
FB 978-81-8157-748-1 (9788181577481)

About the Author:
Madhusree Gupta grew up amidst the splendours and shocks of Calcutta -- a city of diversity, providing her uniquely different perspectives, which have helped her in her literary career. After completing both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English from Jadavpur University, she pursued a career in academics and is currently an honorary lecturer, associated with Ramakrishna Mission College.

Teaser:

1.

"Her hair was covered with dust and dirt and her clothes were torn and dirty. Her eyes grew misty as she gazed blankly before her. She knew not what to do. She was alone. She was frightened. A sense of utter helplessness engulfed her as she kept on waiting.
Sita was waiting. She was waiting for hours that seemed interminable. She was waiting for Jhantucharan. She needed money. She needed help and emotional support."

Contents:
32 Chapters

Title: The Cockroach Man
Author: K. Raghavendra Rao
Price: HB Rs 350, FB Rs 200
Year of Publication: 2007

Title: The Legend of Ramulamma
Author: Vithal Rajan
Price: HB Rs 300, FB Rs 200
Year of Publication: 2007

Title: Two Leaves and a Bud
Author: Renate B. Polastri
Price: HB Rs 300, FB Rs 250
Year of Publication: 2007