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The Hardy Boys, Before Exile
Read more here: The Hardy Boys, Before ExileFor Outlook | June 25, 2001 Lives of an inimitable people, documented in inimitable Khushwant style If I am not mistaken, Khushwant and Raghu had done a small book on the Sikhs as an introductory primer long ago. This is a much more ambitious effort for the coffee tables, away from the Punjab, particularly beyond India.…
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Another Nostalgic Masterpiece
Read more here: Another Nostalgic MasterpieceThe Tribune, Chandigarh | June 17, 1981 RETURN TO PUNJAB, 1961–1975, by Prakash Tandon. Vikas, Delhi. PP 227. Rs. 50. Prakash Tandon is a remarkable and lucky Punjabi. Born near the Bullokee headworks, within hearing of the music of “Ravi dian chhallan”, he spent his childhood in Punjab. His father worked as an irrigation engineer,…
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Shahjahan’s Fascinating City
Read more here: Shahjahan’s Fascinating CityThe Tribune, Chandigarh | May 16, 1981 Delhi Between Two Empires, 1803-1931 by Narayani Gupta. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Pp 260. Rs. 90. This is an absorbing book, of excellent and meticulous scholarship, something one does not come across often in our publications. I had seen the young Cambridge historians, men like Baker and…
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The great martyr
Read more here: The great martyrThe Tribune, Chandigarh | May 2, 1981 SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH by K.K. Khullar. Hem Publishers, New Delhi. Pp 154, Rs. 50. It is 50 years since Bhagat Singh made the supreme sacrifice for India’s freedom. His memory has not faded with time. On the contrary, it has been reinforced and re-invigorated. He remains the beau…
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A Fascinating Land
Read more here: A Fascinating LandThe Tribune, Chandigarh | November 22, 1980 HERMIT KINGDOM – LADAKH by Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia.Vikas, New Delhi, Pp. 186. Rs 295. In her book on Kulu, Pamila Chetwode has referred to its ancient name Kulanthapura, the end of the habitable world. The ancients had a valid reason for giving this name to the rich, well-watered…
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The Prince Who is Best Forgotten
Read more here: The Prince Who is Best ForgottenThe Tribune | November 7, 1980 QUEEN VICTORIA’S MAHARAJA – DULEEP SINGH, 1838-93, by Michael Alexander and Sushila Anand. Vikas, New Delhi, Pp. 326. Rs. 150. MAHARAJA DULEEP SINGH first impinged on my consciousness in our village gurdwara. Occasionally Giani Sohan Singh Seetal came there, with his famous “dhadi” jatha to sing stirring ballads about…
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Managing the district
Read more here: Managing the districtFor The Tribune, Chandigarh | September 27, 1980 DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA by S. S. Khera. National Publishing, New Delhi. Pp. 359. Rs 100. This source book, compiled with great care and thoroughness, should be made compulsory reading in all public administration Institutions. The author has described at length the evolution of district administration, as…
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The lure of mountains
Read more here: The lure of mountainsFor The Tribune, Chandigarh | December 8, 1979 INDIAN MOUNTAINEER SPRING NUMBER, 1979. Indian Mountaineering Foundation. Pp 135. Rs 6. The Himalayas are nature’s greatest gift to the subcontinent. Indians in the past, apart from a limited amount of pilgrimage travel, largely ignored them. It was the Europeans, particularly the British, who went out to…
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A rambling compendium
Read more here: A rambling compendiumFor The Tribune, Chandigarh | June 9, 1979 PORTRAIT OF A POLITICAL MURDER by H. S. Bhatia. Deep & Deep Publications, New Delhi; Pp 178. Rs 35. The sleek Boeing 707 came to a halt. The yellow Presidential flag, embossed with a scimitar fluttered, outside the pilot’s window. Soon the door opened and a tall…
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The history of Everest
Read more here: The history of EverestThe Tribune, Chandigarh | April 16, 1978 FACES OF EVEREST by Major H. P. S. Ahluwalia. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Pp. 238, Rs. 225. Since it was pinpointed on a map in the middle of the 19th century, Everest, the highest point on this little earth of ours, has continued to fascinate man. The…
