Book Review: The Dancing Girls of Lahore by Louise Brown

I have not come across a more in depth narration of the living conditions of the inhabitants of the Shahi mohallah of Lahore. The writer stays at Iqbal’s (a professor of National College of Arts) place in the Shahi mohallah and closes observes the lives of the people around her. Brown writes about her interaction with Maha and her daughters. Maha’s miseries and her financial conditions are brought to surface. When Maha was young she earned better...

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Book Review: Lest We Forget: Gujarat 2002 Edited by Amrita Kumar and Prashun Bhaumik

Gujrat saw genocide and economic massacre in 2002. This happened when the BJP had gained marked popularity throughout many areas of India. This includes UP, Uttaranchal, Manipur and Punjab. Gujarat a BJP stronghold in the elections was yet to experience the worst.  On 26 Feb 2002 the election results were announced and on the 27th of the same month Godhra was set ablaze. Later the rest of Gujarat was engulfed in this fire. The impact...

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Book Review: Night Train to Turkistan by Stuart Stevens

With three companions Stuart Stevens sets on a mission to retrace the renowned journey undertaken by Peter Fleming and Ella Maillart across Chinese Turkistan in 1934. In this journey by Stuart he is accompanied by a triathlete, a Kung Fu expert and a female rower. This group travels by bus, donkey cart, truck and bicycle and aeroplane. During this journey they face numerous challenges. Many of the challenges are political but the physical challenges...

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Book Review: Readings in Liberalism by Detmar Doering

Detmar Doering, the Director of Liberal Institute in the introduction of the book argues that liberalism represents the finest of western tradition and the greatest of what constitutes modernity. He has very smartly summarized the main ideas discussed in this book. He writes that there is no complete definition of liberalism. One reason that he suggests is that politics continuously brings new challenges that require new liberal answers. This...

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Book Review: The Golden Days of Greece by Olivia Coolidge

Olivia Coolidge has written this simple yet interesting book on the glorious days of ancient Greece. This book is divided on seventeen chapters. Greece was a small rocky country. Greeks had been great sailors. They ate raisins. Olives, bread, goat’s milk cheese, fish and vegetables. They drank wine mixed with water. The Greeks gave names to their Gods. Zeus was the god of the sky and the father of all. Poseidon was his brother and was the god...

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