Kabir in his possession has a magical emerald green prism. It was gifted to him by Mighty Maya, King of Tataal. Kabir gathers that the prism is no ordinary stone. Once white light enters the prism the light breaks in to seven distinctive colours. Each colour represents a different land. The Inky Indigo gatekeeper, Neel tells Kabir that he (Kabir) has been chosen as the current prism keeper and the seven worlds shall be his to explore. Each world shall throw open a quest for him and he must rise to the challenge. For now the Inky Indigo seas need his urgent help. Their princess Matsya has been captured by the evil sea monster Kapatraja. He beseeches Kabir to help rescue her. Soon Kabir and his friends, Nimki and Latooriya embark on a journey of a lifetime – their visit to the Inky Indigo seas is nothing short of spectacular. On their mission they encounter creatures they had only heard of – gigantic whales, benign sea turtles, vain starfish, haughty crocodiles and the rather whimsical sea Goddess Varuni. The children have to race against time and collect all that is needed to rescue the sea princess Matsya from the monster Kapatraja. Just as they are inching closer to their final destination the submaboat comes to a halt and they find themselves trapped in the ghost infested Strip of the Living Dead. Will the children succeed in rescuing Matsya? And will they prove to be any match for the avaricious sea-monster, Kapatraja?

For eleven-year-old Gopal and his family, life in their rural Indian village is over: We stay, we starve, his baba has warned. With the darkness of night as cover, they flee to the big city of Mumbai in hopes of finding work and a brighter future. Gopal is eager to help support his struggling family until school starts, so when a stranger approaches him with the promise of a factory job, he jumps at the offer. But Gopal has been deceived. There is no factory, just a small, stuffy sweatshop where he and five other boys are forced to make beaded frames for no money and little food. The boys are forbidden to talk or even to call one another by their real names. In this atmosphere of distrust and isolation, locked in a rundown building in an unknown part of the city, Gopal despairs of ever seeing his family again. But late one night, when Gopal decides to share kahanis, or stories, he realizes that storytelling might be the boys' key to holding on to their sense of self and their hope for any kind of future. If he can make them feel more like brothers than enemies, their lives will be more bearable in the shop—and they might even find a way to escape.

Revised and featuring a new foreword by the author, this uncompromising novel returns, more powerful than ever: "A portrait of a country ravaged by vendetta and graft, its public spaces loud with the complaints of religious bigots and its private spaces cradling unspeakable pain." (Hilary Mantel, New York Review of Books) An Obedient Father introduced one of the most admired voices in contemporary fiction. Set in Delhi in the 1990s, it tells the story of an inept bureaucrat enmired in corruption, and of the daughter who alone knows the true depth of his crimes. Decried in India for its frank treatment of child abuse, the novel was widely praised elsewhere for its compassion, and for a plot that mingled the domestic with the political, tragedy with farce. Yet, as Akhil Sharma writes in his foreword to this new edition, he was haunted by what he considered shortcomings within the book: almost twenty years later, he returned to face them. Here is the result, a leaner, surer version with even greater power.

In the early years of the 21st century, China and India have emerged as world powers. In many respects, this is a return to the historical norm for both countries. For much of the early modern period, China and India were global leaders in a variety of ways. In this book, prominent scholars seek to understand modern China and India through an unprecedented comparative analysis of their long histories. Using new sources, making new connections, and re-examining old assumptions, noted scholars of China and India pair up in each chapter to tackle major questions by combining their expertise. What China and India Once Were details how these two cultural giants arrived at their present state, considers their commonalities and divergences, assesses what is at stake in their comparison and, more widely, questions whether European modernity provides useful contrasts. In jointly composed chapters, contributors explore ecology, polity, gender relations, religion, literature, science and technology, and more, to provide the richest comparative account ever offered of China and India before the modern era. What China and India Once Were establishes innovative frameworks for understanding the historical and cultural roots of East and South Asia in the global context, drawing on the variety of Asian pasts to offer new ways of thinking about Asian presents.

Memoirs of an Indian freedom fighter and social worker.

A River Sutra Is A Seminal Book. -The Illustrated Weekly Of India A River Sutra . . . Is A Lyrical Series Of Interlocking Stories That Transport The Reader To A Contemporary India That Is Also The Living Present Of Myth. -Vanity Fair Gita Mehta S Book . . . Emphasizes Even More The Mysteries Of The East That Need No Confirmation From The West. A Self-Contained Chain Of Stories, Complete, Sparkling, Romantic . . . The Writer Has Clearly Reached A Higher Level Of Conscious Story-Telling. -Sunday Observer '. . . The Way They (The Stories) Are Told-The Seamless Flow Of The Narrative Mirroring The Flow Of The Sacred Narmada, The Variation Of The Tales Reflecting The Changing Seasons-Puts The Book Leagues Ahead Of Any Other. -India Today Gita Mehta S Consummate Novel Reflects The Depth And Complexity Of India S Spirituality Like A Diamond Reflects Light. . . Each Bewitching Tale Is A Rivulet Pouring Its Truth Into The Long River Of Life. A Quiet Masterpiece. -Booklist