A biography of Savitri Bai Phule, a 19th century matriarch of feminism whose efforts paved the way for educating and empowering millions of Indian women.

Almost all of the essays collected in this volume were written for and first published as monthly instalments in Next Future, the e-journal of the Sri Aurobindo Society Pondicherry. The 47 instalments ended with the passing of Dr. Nadkarni in September 2007, and cover Savitri Book by Book, Canto by Canto, from the beginning up to the climactic point in the middle of Book Eleven, where Savitri is offered four boons of merger with the Supreme, and asks instead for the Supreme Peace, Oneness, Energy and Bliss ‘for Earth and Men’. Dr. Nadkarni has written other essays on Savitri as well as giving many other talks, but this collection represents a masterly ‘Introduction’ (as he modestly called it) to the revelatory poem which he loved so much and understood so well. It has been compiled and published at the request of his family, and we feel sure that it will be welcomed by Savitri readers and students all over the world, and to a certain extent make up for the great loss that his many admirers experienced when he passed away in September 2007 at the age of 74.

Study of Savitri, a philosophical poem, by Aurobindo Ghose, 1872-1950.

Guru Brahmanand was born Vikas Chand Patekar in a small village near Pune, as the only child of a small-time farmer. Compelled to flee after molesting his mentor’s daughter, who financed his education, Vikas found himself at the ashram of Guru Rameshwaranand at Rishikesh, where he mastered the scriptures. His exceptional oratory skills brought him to the forefront and into the notice of Guru Rameshwaranand, who elevated his position and christened him Swamy Brahmanand. Rising up the ranks, he became the youngest head of Nandanvan Ashram at 25 years, after the demise of his Guru. Immediately after accession, he incorporated revolutionary changes in the ashram, including opening the doors of the ashram to women and allowing sex. With rising international popularity and bank balance, Guru Brahmanand was being branded as an addition to the Galaxy of Gods by his devotees. But destiny had something else in store. The young, attractive, admired intellectual found himself deeply attracted to the graceful Savitri, the 18-year-old daughter of a disciple. With intensifying love came the mounting desire to possess her and with it the hatching of an anti-spiritual, devilish plan that twisted the course of his affluent celebrated status and life.

Sri M. P. Pandit goes through Sri Aurobindo’s epic poem Savitri: a Legend and a Symbol and provides us a systematic prose summary of the poem with its key issues, points and organization, opening up Sri Aurobindo’s master work in a useful and concise way.

An encounter with Elephants with Headlights is a collision between east and west, modernity and tradition — between driverless cars and ancient lore — and a world that needs revolutionary reappraisal. In this world, Savitri, named after a Goddess, refuses outright to marry anyone. Her brother, Neel is intent on marrying an Australian girl called Mae, much to the displeasure of their mother, Tota, and father, Siddarth. But do they have the power to command love or destiny? Only the family astrologer, Arunji, knows, yet his truth is tempered by obligations to the family that transformed his life. Characters we come to love and care for teeter on the brink of a radically altered future, leaving questions in their wake. What is the generative legacy of tradition? Can spiritual values survive amidst personal challenges, the tragedy of a death foretold, and the momentous changes of our times? A warm and engaging novel touched with love, wisdom and soulfulness, Elephants with Headlights is a breathtaking story for the threshold era we all navigate. ‘Bem Le Hunte is quite simply, a wonderful novelist.’ — Geraldine Brooks

Anushka Parashar is a doctor with a private practice in the field of infectious diseases. She is busy with her life, and happy with her aspiring-model-and-gym-trainer boyfriend, Yash. Aneri Shah is a happy-go-lucky plastic surgeon, recently relocated from Mumbai to Delhi, as life goes on with her boyfriend and techie Abhinav, in tow. A chance encounter changes their lives – but the changed lives aren’t just the four of theirs. They embark on a journey that would change the course of the future of their nation and of the people. They take on a fight that is beyond the armchair, and call in question one of the world’s oldest criminal legislations.