Completing Vyasa’s Mahabharata

Embedded within the primary narrative of the Mahabharata lie numerous sub-tales known as upakhyaanas or upakathas. These lesser known stories play a vital role in completing the grand tapestry of the Mahabharata, thus giving this book its apt title. Unlike verse translations found in unabridged versions, the 67 upakathas presented here serve a different purpose. While they may appear as diversions, these narratives serve as vital threads, connecting the text and offering answers to lingering questions that readers may have. For instance, why did Ambaa, the princess of Kaashi, become the catalyst for Bheeshma’s demise in a later life? The Ambaa upakhyaana holds the answers. Similarly, the stories of Sage Parashuraama reveal why a brahmana like him possessed warrior-like qualities. Two upakhyaanas shed light on this enigma. Additionally, the Yayaati upakhyaana elucidates the reasons behind the Kurus descending from Puru, Yayaati’s youngest son, rather than the eldest. Moreover, the intriguing dialogue between Duryodhana and Shalya, where Duryodhana persuades Shalya to become Karna’s charioteer, is also explored in these Upakathas.

Confidence Cures: The Art of Self-Wellness

Confidence Cures: The Art of Self-Wellness offers an integrated and experience-based approach to aid you in attaining wellness by focusing on the physical, mental, existential and spiritual aspects of your being. Based on the personal experience of Lieutenant General S.B. Sehajpal, a former dental surgeon in the Indian Army, who practised the wellness way of life and recovered from acute depression, hypertension and diabetes, and Mrs Kiran Sehajpal, an educationist, this book serves as a comprehensive guide in reinvigorating yourself and putting your health at topmost priority. No fancy diets, no fads, no herd-hounding, just intent and a karmic commitment with yourself.

Design: A Business Case Thinking, Leading and Managing by Design

How to stimulate innovation in your organization as a constantly ongoing process? How to bridge the complementary skills that exist in your organization? What leads to an integration of mind, matter, image and identity? Design: A Business Case can lead you to the answers of all of this and more. It combines the intellectual frameworks of Design Thinking, the operational and implementing mechanisms of Design Management as well as the skills of Design that embody these two. 

 

Design Thinking inspires, Design Management enables, Design embodies. This book aims to reconcile the three and encourage organizational and professional environments in which their combined forces can thrive and succeed.

Gods Dancing Among Men

Theyyam, an ancient tradition of North Malabar, is a captivating blend of folk art, religious ritual, and profound spirituality. Gods Dancing Among Men: The Mystical World of Theyyams of North Malabar delves deep into the rich history of theyyam, exploring its roots and relevance in contemporary belief and worship. This book sheds light on both the luminous and shadowy facets of this tradition as well as the enigmatic grey areas that define it.

 

Every aspect of the theyyam cult, from the vibrant and intricate costumes to the wild and transcendent dances, is fascinating. The practitioners of theyyam display astonishing abilities, including clairvoyance, prophecy, and the power to fulfil wishes. The pantheon of theyyam includes Shaivite and Vaishnavite manifestations alongside a diverse array of Bhagvathy theyyams. Popular deities such as Muthappan, Muchilot Bhagavathi, Thee Chamundi, Gulikan, Kuttichathan, and Pottan Deiyvam hold a special place in the hearts of the people. Additionally, the theyyam tradition incorporates animals into its repertoire with performances featuring monkeys, tigers, buffaloes, crocodiles, bees, and snakes. One of the most astonishing aspects of theyyam is the fearless interaction with fire. Performers nonchalantly walk on embers and even hurl themselves onto immense mounds of fire, known as meleri, repeatedly. Despite the influence of Aryanization, the sanitizing impact of British colonial rule, the teachings of social reformers, the remarkable literacy rates, and the prevalent communist ideology in the region, the sanctity of the theyyam tradition remains unblemished. Theyyams are living gods, cherished and revered by the people of North Malabar, and their blessings hold immense significance.

Grit to Glory

‘Raising a regiment is like riding bareback. The struggle is harder; the sweat, toil and tears unending. The reward is confidence in our own abilities, an understanding and respect for the esprit de corps of the cavalry, and regimental pride.’

 

From the annals of Indian military history comes the glorious tale of the raising of 13 Armoured Regiment — India’s only armoured regiment raised with a unique class composition of Sikh, Rajput and South Indian Classes. Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta, a veteran of the 1971 war, was reverted from RAW by General A.S. Vaidya, then Chief of Army Staff, to raise 13 AR. The regiment was raised in December 1984, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, a time of national turmoil and security concerns in India. Through an engaging narrative, this book weaves together the many personal and professional challenges undertaken by the unit’s officers and its first commandant, Brigadier B.S. Mehta, for the unit to be declared fit for war and assigned to an infantry division. In January 1987 while two of its squadrons participated in the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi and Allahabad, 13 AR was mobilized at short notice and inducted into a Strike RAPID Formation deployed in the desert for Exercise Brasstacks under General Hanut Singh. Pakistan’s nervous response led to President Zia-ul-Haq deploying his Army Reserves opposite Punjab, creating a warlike situation that led to a moment of truth for the leadership in politics, diplomacy and the armed forces of both nations.

Hindus in Hindu Rashtra

To those who claim we are now living in a totalitarian, fascist, Hindu Rashtra, one must ask: What kind of a Hindu Rashtra is this where a billion-strong Hindus have been, through our parliament, through our courts, our education system, and our constitution, reduced to not just second-class but, rather, eighth-class citizens? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Durga pooja processions, and even Garba celebrations, are attacked and stoned with impunity? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where a sitting Prime minister says minorities have the first right to resources? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Hindus are forced to be refugees in their own land, where one can settle 40,000 Rohingya Muslims but not 700,000 Kashmiri Hindus, the land’s original inhabitants; where the judiciary says it is too late to prosecute those who raped, murdered, and ethnically cleansed lacs of Hindus? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Hindu temples are exclusively controlled by the State, where Hindus must beg for Waqf land to celebrate their festival while the government usurps hundreds of thousands of acres of temple land and is responsible for more than 100,000 temples losing lakhs of crores in rental income? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where the Right to Education Act discriminates only against Hindus and their schools, forcing tens of thousands of them to shut down? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where monsters like Aurangzeb and Tipu who perpetrated large-scale Hindu genocides are eulogised through State sponsored publications, naming of roads and cities, and organising of festivals? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where a law was about to be enacted through with only the Hindus would have been held guilty in a communal riot even if they were in a minority for example in Kashmir? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where court judgments like the Sabarimala and legislative enactments like the Hindu Code Bill purport to reform only Hindu religious practices but dare not touch practices of other religions, and if they do, the decisions are promptly reversed like in the Shah Bano case? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where The Places of Worship Act continues to deny the Hindus their legitimate right to correct historical injustices and reclaim thousands of demolished temples? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where the Waqf Act gives overarching powers to Muslims to declare a 1500-year-old Hindu temple to be on Islamic land when Islam is only 1300 years old? If this is how a Hindu is rewarded in a Hindu Rashtra, he’d much rather be in a Muslim Rashtra because then at least there’d be no pretence of equality – a Kafir will get what he deserves. In this searing commentary penned with clinical precision, the author shreds to smithereens once and for all the guilt-tripping, self-loathing fake narrative that Hindus have been duped with since Independence. There is no pretence, no political correctness, only unvarnished truth – that the Hindus are living under State-sanctioned Apartheid.