Description When Swadesh Deepak-celebrated Hindi playwright and short-story writer- arrives at PGI, Chandigarh, after having tried to set himself on fire, the doctors don't know if he belongs in the burns unit or in the psychiatric ward. He's living a 'curse'. A dangerous seductress-his Mayavini-is taking revenge for his insulting rebuff at her wish to visit with him the famous lovers' palace in Mandu. She comes to him at night, sometimes with three white leopards, and she leaves the smell of her body in his nostrils. When he tries to kill himself, she tells him he will not die. He is firmly in her clutches, but he will tolerate anything for her, from humiliation at the hands of acquaintances to carnivorous worms under his skin. This fractured, shattering narrative-among the most unusual books ever published in India-records Deepak's descent into madness and his brief, uncertain recovery. Shortly after it was published, he left home for a walk one morning and never returned. As the translator, Jerry Pinto, writes in his introduction: '[Deepak's] words carry all the scars of who he was and what his illness had made of him... His voice echoes from the bottom of a well.'

This book contain four important writings of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

This book was the end product of life experiences, thoughts and intellectual wanderings of the author, who through his career and for the last twenty years was always serving all the three aspects of a Psychiatrist: He is a clinician, a researcher and an academic teacher. The book includes a comprehensive history of Psychiatry since antiquity and until today, with an emphasis not only on main events but also specifically and with much detail and explanations, on the chain of events that led to a particular development. At the center of this work is the question ‘What is mental illness?’ and ‘Does free will exist?’. These are questions which tantalize Psychiatrists, neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, patients and their families and the sensitive and educated lay persons alike. Thus, the book includes a comprehensive review and systematic elaboration on the definition and the concept of mental illness, a detailed discussion on the issue of free will as well as the state of the art of contemporary Psychiatry and the socio-political currents it has provoked. Finally the book includes a description of the academic, social and professional status of Psychiatry and Psychiatrists and a view of future needs and possible developments. A last moment addition was the chapter on conspiracy theories, as a consequence of the experience with the social media and the public response to the COVID-19 outbreak which coincided with the final stage of the preparation of the book. Their study is an excellent opportunity to dig deep into the relation among human psychology, mental health, the society and politics and to swim in intellectually dangerous waters.

In 2012, Jerry Pinto published his debut novel, 'Em and the Big Hoom', which drew upon his experience of living with a mother who was bipolar. It touched thousands of readers, among them many who had similar experiences-of living with someone with a mental illness or infirmity. Some of these readers shared their stories with him, and agreed to share them with the world. 'A Book of Light' collects these harrowing yet moving, even empowering, stories-about the terror and majesty of love; the bleakness and unexpected grace of life; the fragility and immense strength of the human mind.

Offers a perceptive critique of the universalized model of psychiatry and its apparent exportation from the West to the developing world. Rooted in detailed analysis of the problems this causes, the book proposes new suggestions for advancing the field of mental health and wellbeing in a way that is ethical, sustainable and culturally sensitive.

Autobiography of a social activist from Maharashtra.