Bala dreams of making Tamil films and directing his favourite actor Rajnikanth ? a dream that leads him naturally to study engineering in college. This earns him his father's approval and the opportunity to export himself to America. As Director of Design at Flexit Inc., thinking up new ways to help Americans shed the excess weight around their middles and in their wallets, he is at least some kind of director. Bala loves America, and America it seems loves him even more. He has everything he needs to be happy: a green card, a satellite dish to watch cricket and a companion to share his home ? albeit one with a very limited vocabulary. But he is now less than a year away from the big 30, and if he doesn't act fast he might have to settle for whichever bride his Amma chooses. So begins Bala's quest for romance as he meets both American and Indian women. Some who are too old, others too young, and yet others just too stuck up. Will he ever find someone just right for him ? and good enough to inherit his mother's Corelle dishes?

All roads do not lead to Rome! Some branch out, meander, ascend and wait to be explored by a traveller. A group of middle-aged friends, tired of the mundane, come together to explore the roads high in the hills of North Bengal on motorcycles. In their endeavour, they are spurred on by Balaji Devanathan, the Co-Founder of Red Panda adventures. While riding through the hills is a challenge in itself, a bigger challenge lay in first convincing themselves that they could ride a motorcycle once again after twenty years. High on the Hills is as much about their journey to achieve self-confidence as about the breath-taking locales they discover, tucked away in the Hills of Bengal.

I'm nothing but a bonsai kitten! thought Divya despairingly. Bonsai kitten ? a pervert's contention that just as plants can be stunted, so can living beings.And wasn't that the guiding principle behind procuring a suitable girl? Catch her young when she is malleable like playdough, so she can be twisted and mangled to your liking. This way, she knows her place and stays there. At the lowest stratum. But little does Divya suspect that the Cosmic Jester ? that celestial imp who specializes in tripping up humans ? has other plans for her. Plans that include a roller-coaster ride from Delhi to Mumbai to Singapore, with tears and laughter, betrayal and friendship, loss and rebirth, as her companions. And through it all, she would have to fence with that master puppeteer to reclaim her destiny. Lakshmi Narayan makes a spunky literary debut with a novel that will find Äseveral echoes and resonances, not just with women but also from men who want to understand us a little better. Shobhaa De

When I first began to plan this book, I thought that I would begin the preface with the words ―the purpose of this book is.‖ I am glad to present this book, especially designed to serve the needs of the students. There are so many listeners of Gangubai Hangal who knows her as a renowned classical vocalist but through this work, I tried to show Gangubai Hangal as a role model of humanity whether it is as a daughter, mother, grandmother, or friend. No one walks alone in the quest of attaining knowledge and I am no exception, I must start by thanking all those who joined me in my journey, those who walked beside me, those helped me along the way by continuously urging me to write this thesis and to put my thoughts down. My thanks to all the people who I have met and worked with and shared my insights and problems. This Book and its pages are thanks to all my near ones who have helped me shape it. Sometimes words get limited when it comes to express deep and hearty regards for an inspirational experience of life. I feel myself lucky to come near the milestone which I desperately wanted and finalizing this research is one of those rare beautiful moments of my life.