Fida-e-Lucknow Tales of the City and its People

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Author: Parveen Talha
Publisher: Niyogi Books, New Delhi
(Pp 197, ISBN 978-93-81523-70-4, Rs 250)

One look at the cover of the book and you are bound to pick it up for its very-Urdu like English font and its very Lucknawi-style design. This book is a collection of 22 short stories, each set in the city of Lucknow in the post-independence period. The stories recall the plight of Nawabs and other ordinary people of Lucknow who were affected by the India-Pakistan partition in 1947.

Each story has a hero who is a typical Lucknow-wala, whose affection and loyalty are not restricted to relationships between equals, and religion never comes in the way. The book is also about Lucknow’s women who were liberated in the truest sense of the world.

In all, it is a beautiful blend of history, relationships and vignettes of city life.

- Varsha Verma

Yoga for Daily Life

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Author: Krishan Kumar Suman
Publisher: Lotus Press, New Delhi
(Pp 296, ISBN 978-81-8382-108-7, Rs 295)

Yoga has always been a part of Indian lives. It is the science of right living and is important for all aspects of a person – physical, vital, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual. It is our Indian cult and way of spiritual life.

The book is divided into 11 main chapters like Yogi Postures, Controlling the life force, What is concentration, Yoga in office, etc. Each chapter describes various yogas for our betterment. Sketches and pictures simplify the yogas further. The book emphasizes on a routine daily practice for a healthy and spiritual well-being.

An easy-to-follow book, it would be a great help for people wishing to adopt yoga in their day-to-day-life.

- V Verma

Aziz’s Notebook at the Heart of the Iranian Revolution

Author: Chowra Makaremi
Translated by: Renuka George
Publisher: Yoda Press, New Delhi
(Pp 149, ISBN 978-93-82579-02-1, Rs 250)

Written by pious and non-political man and a desperate father, the notebook sheds new light on the events leasing from the Iranian Revolution to the Islamic Republic, through a vivid account under a regime of terror, the plight of women in prison, and the prison massacres of 1998. This notebook was found by Aziz’s granddaughter Chowra after his death.

In the book, Aziz has recounted the life of his daughters, who despite supporting the Iranian revolution, were arrested after the Shah was deposed and Khomeini became supreme leader, and were ultimately executed in prison.

Reader can actually feel the pain and agony Aziz must have undergone during that time, struggling to make his ends meet, besides going through the pain of his daughters in jail. A grim yet riveting book that questions the history.

- Varsha