Download or read book Lakshmi s Secret Diary written by Ari Gautier and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The novel straddles multiple genres and modes of writing, including novel, diary, fantasy, surrealism, mythology, historical writing, and philosophy. It is primarily set in Pondicherry, the former capital of the French Empire in India, and is narrated through an anthropomorphic perspective, from the point of view of a temple elephant, Lakshmi, and a three-legged stray dog named Tripod Dog Baba. The various animals of the novel embody human experiences and provide insight into the Indian caste system and its oppression. The novel constitutes a powerful and moving philosophical narrative with moments of both tragedy and comedy, revealing vivid human and animal interactions and their psychology. Interwoven into the fabric of the narrative are also Dalit (oppressed caste) reinterpretations of the ancient Sanskrit epic The Mahabaratha; the work casts light on the suffering of oppressed castes in India, but additionally asserts and liberates their culture"--

Download or read book Lakshmi s Secret Diary written by Ari Gautier and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2024-09-10 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seeking to escape captivity, Lakshmi the temple elephant sets out on a stirring journey toward freedom. On her way, she briefly experiences life as a film star and encounters a colorful cast including a three-legged dog named Tripod Dog Baba, other elephants in the Bandipur Forest, a chameleon facing an existential crisis, a moon who dances with an elephant, and a flying fish called Alphonse. Lakshmi’s Secret Diary is a remarkable Indian Francophone novel set in Pondicherry, the former capital of French India. Blending philosophical meditations, retellings of Sanskrit mythology, and social critique, Ari Gautier tells the story of Lakshmi’s attempt to escape her fate. From the point of view of animals, the novel explores concepts of destiny, freedom, and identity. It illuminates the paradoxes of animal-human relations in India, where animals are both abused and worshiped, and provides an imaginative critique of the caste system. Gautier’s vivid portrait of Pondicherry brings to life the religious, cultural, culinary, and visual diversity of the city’s districts and sheds light on the little-known history of French colonialism in India. An afterword explores issues such as reincarnation and Indian translation traditions in relation to the novel. At once tragic and comic, satirical and surreal, Lakshmi’s Secret Diary is a surprising, compelling, and moving novel from a gifted storyteller.

Download or read book Dirty River written by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and published by arsenal pulp press. This book was released on 2016-01-04 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lambda Literary Award finalist In 1996, poet Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha ran away from America with two backpacks and ended up in Canada, where she discovered queer anarchopunk love and revolution, yet remained haunted by the reasons she left home in the first place. This passionate and riveting memoir is a mixtape of dreams and nightmares, of immigration court lineups and queer South Asian dance nights; it reveals how a disabled queer woman of color and abuse survivor navigates the dirty river of the past and, as the subtitle suggests, "dreams her way home." Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's poetry book Love Cake won a Lambda Literary Award. This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

Download or read book Devi written by The Mindful Word and published by . This book was released on 2015-11-18 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lakshmi is one of the most common deities found in India. To Hindus she's known as the goddess of wealth and fortune. Lakshmi is known by several different names as she has incarnated in many different forms, including Sri, Padma, Vaishnavi, Ambika, Indira, Vani, Sita and many others. Lakshmi is the focal point for prayers and dedication on Diwali, the festival of lights and one of the largest festivals on the Indian subcontinent. This journal features: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) 5.25 x 8 inches 60 pound (90 gsm) white-colored paper Perfect bound glossy softcover (10 pt stock) Ten percent of book sales go towards enabling youth in developing countries to access better educational opportunities. This money is being donated to Build to Learn, an initiative started by The Mindful Word.

Download or read book The Diary of a Snake Charmer written by Sandeep Saxena and published by Notion Press. This book was released on 2016-06-06 with total page 746 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “‘Utthisht Bharat,’ he said, and in that magical moment I felt that the river, the trees, and the sky…were saying, ‘Utthisht Bharat.’ I got up, never to look back or have doubts again.” Just as the Bharata of yore responded to the Lord’s call to rise up from dejection, to fulfill his glorious destiny, this modern day Bharat too rises up from the pits of despair and defeat, to set out steadily on his appointed path of duty. Bharat, an IITian, with a management degree from IIM, had a ‘successful’ innings in the corporate world, with overseas postings too. Having acquired a substantial bank balance, he has the urge to set up a business in rural India, which will bring greater profits to the farmers. Predictably, he is ruthlessly pushed out, and systematically ruined by the vested interests that feel threatened. Deep in despair, he gets help from a most unexpected quarter, a poor tribal snake charmer, known as Nagbaba… A gripping tale of how he comes out from the mires of debt and ruin, to rise up again, wiser but undeterred from his chosen path… A story of modern India, the two Indias of the cities and the villages… the urban, educated, elite youth with modern knowledge from science and technology, and the illiterate people of the forests, who have the wealth of wisdom passed down from centuries… the development of cities, which takes place at the cost of the proliferation of slums… the two different cultures that coexist in mutual wariness and mistrust…

Download or read book The Thinnai written by Ari Gautier and published by Hachette India. This book was released on 2021-08-25 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If there was anything our neighbours envied us, it was our thinnais. The working-class district of Kurusukuppam is not the Pondicherry of tourist brochures. Here, residents are a bewildering mix of Creoles, colonial war veterans, proud communists and French citizens who have never left India's shores. It is a place of everyday tragedies, melodramatic occurrences and stubborn, absurd hope. But life in Kurusukuppam is upturned by the arrival of a curious tramp, Gilbert Thaata, a wizened Frenchman who has clearly seen hard times. Settling down on the narrator's verandah, his thinnai, Gilbert Thaata begins to earn his keep by recounting the tale of the rise and fall of his family's fortunes as the custodians of a mysterious diamond, the Stone of Sita. The fanciful story that unfolds is one that stretches across centuries and encompasses the history of France's colonial legacy in India. As entranced as they are by the raconteur, his listeners cannot help but ask - just who is this old man and how did he fall on such misfortune? Masterfully translated from the French original by Blake Smith, Ari Gautier's The Thinnai offers a panoramic view of Pondicherry's past, the whimsical eccentricities of its present and shines a light on the quirks of history that come to define us.

Download or read book Red Planet Blues written by Robert J. Sawyer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating the Hugo & Nebula award–nominated novella “Identity Theft” The name’s Lomax—Alex Lomax. I’m the one and only private eye working the mean streets of New Klondike, the Martian frontier town that sprang up forty years ago after Simon Weingarten and Denny O’Reilly discovered fossils on the Red Planet. Back on Earth, where anything can be synthesized, the remains of alien life are the most valuable of all collectibles, so shiploads of desperate treasure hunters stampeded here in the Great Martian Fossil Rush. I’m trying to make an honest buck in a dishonest world, tracking down killers and kidnappers among the failed prospectors, the corrupt cops, and a growing population of transfers—lucky stiffs who, after striking paleontological gold, upload their minds into immortal android bodies. But when I uncover clues to solving the decades-old murders of Weingarten and O’Reilly, along with a journal that may lead to their legendary mother lode of Martian fossils, God only knows what I’ll dig up...

Download or read book Diary Of A Trillionaire Traveller written by Hargovind Pant and published by Invincible Publishers. This book was released on 2021-03-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About The Book “Eko Aham Dwitiyo Nasti, Na Bhuto, Na Bhavishyati.” “I am the only one, there is no other like me, neither in the past, nor will there be another in the future.” A personal sounding email in the midst of so much unsolicited junk, announcing “Your friend passed away” captures the author’s attention and takes him to a flashback mode. A long-lost friend with whom he had spent hours in deep, animated conversations, his views on varied topics ranging from the Universe, Origin and evolution of life to the Gods up there in the sky, and many others flashed past the mind. And then, the next day a parcel containing the dear departed friend’s writings, arrives with a note from his son that Mr. Shrestha had wished all this to be sent to his friend - the author, for his keepsake, and as a reminder of the good times spent together engrossed in such stimulating conversations. About The Author Hargovind Pant, after completing his Masters in Life Sciences, chose to be an educator and had a fulfilling career spanning forty-eight years as teacher and Principal of schools in India and Kenya. Having spent his almost entire life with “young Homo – sapiens” ( as he prefers to call his students ), he has immense faith in the capabilities of youth. He is firm in the belief that in the next two hundred years (only eight generations from today) humanity will have achieved much more than the cumulative achievements of almost half a million years Homo -Sapiens have been in existence. But all this with a caveat, if only we and our future generations would prove ourselves worthy of the gift of Prometheus. An avid reader, and too young to retire, Hargovind Pant gives motivational talks to students in schools and colleges. He lives in the beautiful hill station of Nainital (India) with his wife of fifty years.

Download or read book Joseph Anton written by Salman Rushdie and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-09-18 with total page 670 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY San Francisco Chronicle • Newsweek/The Daily Beast • The Seattle Times • The Economist • Kansas City Star • BookPage On February 14, 1989, Valentine’s Day, Salman Rushdie was telephoned by a BBC journalist and told that he had been “sentenced to death” by the Ayatollah Khomeini. For the first time he heard the word fatwa. His crime? To have written a novel called The Satanic Verses, which was accused of being “against Islam, the Prophet and the Quran.” So begins the extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team. He was asked to choose an alias that the police could call him by. He thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names; then it came to him: Conrad and Chekhov—Joseph Anton. How do a writer and his family live with the threat of murder for more than nine years? How does he go on working? How does he fall in and out of love? How does despair shape his thoughts and actions, how and why does he stumble, how does he learn to fight back? In this remarkable memoir Rushdie tells that story for the first time; the story of one of the crucial battles, in our time, for freedom of speech. He talks about the sometimes grim, sometimes comic realities of living with armed policemen, and of the close bonds he formed with his protectors; of his struggle for support and understanding from governments, intelligence chiefs, publishers, journalists, and fellow writers; and of how he regained his freedom. It is a book of exceptional frankness and honesty, compelling, provocative, moving, and of vital importance. Because what happened to Salman Rushdie was the first act of a drama that is still unfolding somewhere in the world every day. Praise for Joseph Anton “A harrowing, deeply felt and revealing document: an autobiographical mirror of the big, philosophical preoccupations that have animated Mr. Rushdie’s work throughout his career.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “A splendid book, the finest . . . memoir to cross my desk in many a year.”—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post “Thoughtful and astute . . . an important book.”—USA Today “Compelling, affecting . . . demonstrates Mr. Rushdie’s ability as a stylist and storytelle. . . . [He] reacted with great bravery and even heroism.”—The Wall Street Journal “Gripping, moving and entertaining . . . nothing like it has ever been written.”—The Independent (UK) “A thriller, an epic, a political essay, a love story, an ode to liberty.”—Le Point (France) “Action-packed . . . in a literary class by itself . . . Like Isherwood, Rushdie’s eye is a camera lens —firmly placed in one perspective and never out of focus.”—Los Angeles Review of Books “Unflinchingly honest . . . an engrossing, exciting, revealing and often shocking book.”—de Volkskrant (The Netherlands) “One of the best memoirs you may ever read.”—DNA (India) “Extraordinary . . . Joseph Anton beautifully modulates between . . . moments of accidental hilarity, and the higher purpose Rushdie saw in opposing—at all costs—any curtailment on a writer’s freedom.”—The Boston Globe

Download or read book Love Loss and What We Ate written by Padma Lakshmi and published by Ecco. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vivid memoir of food and family, survival and triumph, Love, Loss, and What We Ate traces the arc of Padma Lakshmi’s unlikely path from an immigrant childhood to a complicated life in front of the camera—a tantalizing blend of Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone and Nora Ephron’s Heartburn Long before Padma Lakshmi ever stepped onto a television set, she learned that how we eat is an extension of how we love, how we comfort, how we forge a sense of home—and how we taste the world as we navigate our way through it. Shuttling between continents as a child, she lived a life of dislocation that would become habit as an adult, never quite at home in the world. And yet, through all her travels, her favorite food remained the simple rice she first ate sitting on the cool floor of her grandmother’s kitchen in South India. Poignant and surprising, Love, Loss, and What We Ate is Lakshmi’s extraordinary account of her journey from that humble kitchen, ruled by ferocious and unforgettable women, to the judges’ table of Top Chef and beyond. It chronicles the fierce devotion of the remarkable people who shaped her along the way, from her headstrong mother who flouted conservative Indian convention to make a life in New York, to her Brahmin grandfather—a brilliant engineer with an irrepressible sweet tooth—to the man seemingly wrong for her in every way who proved to be her truest ally. A memoir rich with sensual prose and punctuated with evocative recipes, it is alive with the scents, tastes, and textures of a life that spans complex geographies both internal and external. Love, Loss, and What We Ate is an intimate and unexpected story of food and family—both the ones we are born to and the ones we create—and their enduring legacies.

Download or read book Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet written by Padma Lakshmi and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Find a dazzling variety of recipes from around the world in this entertaining cookbook that combines life lessons and delectable meals—written by the host of Bravo's Top Chef and Hulu's Taste the Nation. Inspired by her travels to some of the most secluded corners of the planet, Padma Lakshmi shares the origins and secrets of her latest recipes for simple to prepare, international cuisine. She makes it easy to delight your guests with savory and sweet dishes such as Keralan Crab Cakes, Fresh Green Beans with Lentils and Coconut, Krispy Fried Chicken, BBQ Korean Short Ribs, and Chocolate Amaretto Ice Cream. By introducing a host of enticing flavors and spices, an everyday kitchen is transformed into a global one. Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet is both a culinary and personal scrapbook of Padma's life, highlighted by dazzling photography and evocative personal stories about her lifelong connection to food and cooking. From appetizers to entrées, soups to desserts—Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet is perfect for anyone who wants cooking to be easy, elegant, and unforgettable.

Download or read book Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife written by Niamh Greene and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2007-10-25 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Susie's maiden aunt gives her a housekeeping journal, she expects Susie to use it for jotting down nutritious recipes and planning household budgets. But Susie has more important things on her mind ... ... Like how to keep sane while trying to control a four-year-old diva who thinks she's Judy Garland, as well as a thrill-seeking toddler with a death wish. Not to mention managing a demanding husband who expects a home-cooked meal at least once a fortnight and inconsiderate parents who seem to think luxury spa breaks are more important than spending time with their grandchildren. On top of that, there's the small matter of the Lone Father at the children's play group who is clearly smitten and Susie's passing interest in Posh'n'Becks, Wayne and Colleen, Brad'n'Jen'n'Angelina ... Susie's journal chronicles a hectic year in the life of a stay at home mother, whose one ambition is to possess an outfit that is free of snot stains.

Download or read book Why is My Hair Curly written by Lakshmi Iyer (Banker) and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Avantika brushes and brushes, but there's no keeping her curly hair down. How she wished her hair was straight and smooth like Amma's and Appa's and her brother Avnish's. Their parents had adopted the two of them when she was three-and-a-half years old and Avnish a six-month-old baby. Avantika often wonders if their birth mother had curly hair. There are so many questions in her head, the school year has started with hair-raising troubles and Amma is busy at work. Avantika finds a confidante in the mysterious paati she meets in the park. Why Is My Hair Curly by Lakshmi Iyer is a delightful celebration of curly hair and the courage it takes to be yourself. Interspersed with exquisite black-and-white illustrations by Niloufer Wadia, this chapter book explores genetics, family dynamics and adoption identity through a light-hearted and sunny tale.

Download or read book KarmaSutra written by Ankur Bagga and published by Ankur Bagga. This book was released on 2021-08-14 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What should have been a simple employment interview for Aadhya Mhann, a middle-class Punjabi lady in her early twenties, turned into a gruesome gang rape by 6 men, 4 of them being part of the most influential circles in Mumbai. Aadhya had the opportunity to seek for legal help and she had enough evidence to make sure all 6 men were locked up for years, but she chose to do things her own way. The justice system always had a soft spot for rich and influential people and even when it didn't, the culprits of the crime enjoyed minimal sentences compared to the torture and trauma they put their victims through. Aadhya didn't want her rapists to be let off that easy. She had to make all of them suffer… But she couldn't do it alone. Aadhya finds and recruits 5 other girls that have been raped at some points in their lives. Manju, Sudesha, Palakh, Sathya and Lakshmi. They all came from different backgrounds, castes, and social classes, but they all had the same objective: To make the fuckers that had raped them regret ever having dicks! They were willing to step out of the restrictions of the law and make sure that these vile men get the punishment they deserve for their atrocities. Creating an elaborate, covert operation with Aadhya at the helm, they combine their resources and talents and go on a revenge rampage. One by one, the girls target the 10 men that had raped any one of them, and kill them off in the most gruesome and blood-curling way possible. They leave the most psychologically draining death for Akash Rathore, the biggest and richest pervert of them all. The murders and the elaborate ways in which they are carried out shakes the core of Mumbai. What is more mysterious is that no one has any idea who the killers are as the girls are always careful to keep their identities secret. As time goes by, the painful pasts of the girls are revealed and they create the most unlikely of bonds with each other. They become pillars for each other, and the deaths of their rapists becomes the glue that brings them together.

Download or read book Drive Here and Devastate Me written by Megan Falley and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2018-09-26 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Megan Falley’s much-anticipated fourth collection of poetry shocks you with its honesty: whether through exacting wit or lush lyrical imagery. It is clear that the author is madly in love, not only with her partner for whom she writes both idiosyncratic and sultry poems for, but in love with language, in love with queerness, in love with the therapeutic process of bankrupting the politics of shame. These poems tackle gun violence, toxic masculinity, LGBTQ* struggles, suicidality, and the oppression of women’s bodies, while maintaining a vivid wildness that the tongue aches to speak aloud. Known best for breathtaking last lines and truths that will bowl you over, Drive Here and Devastate Me will “relinquish you from the possibility of meeting who you could have been, and regretting who you became.”

Download or read book The Final Puzzle written by Juhi Ray and published by Juhi Ray LLC. This book was released on 2019-12-22 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set in 16th century Hindustan (the modern-day Indian subcontinent), Emperor Akbar discovers an incomplete astrological chart. It may hold a secret that could threaten his life and the Empire. He assigns the sensitive task of uncovering the chart's mystery to his brilliant adviser, Mahesh Das. This journey takes Mahesh to the heartland of Hindustan. Mahesh however, was not expecting to fall in love. He is torn between his heart and his loyalty. Why did Emperor Akbar bestow the title of Raja Birbal on Mahesh Das? His closeness to the Emperor and meteoric rise spark jealous enemies to target him.Amid the backdrop of religious tensions in the Empire, Akbar moves forward to promote religious tolerance and root out corruption. Rebellions against Akbar and personal attacks against Raja Birbal become more common. After multiple attempts on Birbal's life, his enemies believe they are successful. In 1586, while battling the hilly tribes of the Northwest frontier, Raja Birbal is declared dead. But his body was never found. What really happened?

Download or read book Only Connect written by Guy Amirthanayagam and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: