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Maus (Complete Part I and II)  by  Art Spiegelman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended How difficult it is to write the review of a book acclaimed worldwide by critics? It is the only graphic novel to have won a Pulitzer Prize.  Between moral weight and artistic expression, one struggles to find words that do justice to a depiction of quiet lives being lived alongside a loud and brutal sweep of history. "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting," -  Milan Kundera   “A human being survives by his ability to forget. Memory is always ready to blot out the bad and retain only the good.” - Varlam Shalamov Both these quotes hold profound significance in understanding the dynamics of power struggles, history, and human agency. Yet some memories refuse oblivion; they persist through narrative as a warning and a plea to the humanity. This memory has been itched in a book touching the lives of many and showing all the importance of bea...

तीन ताल के सभी साथियों को जय हो, जय हो, जय हो! मेरी चौथी चिट्ठी आप सबके मानसिक स्वास्थ्य को समर्पित है!  किसी तीन तालिये  ने कहा था "तीन ताल के घाट पे, भईया, बकबक की भीड़, गपशप के लिए जुट गए, राजा, रंक, फकीर" ! राजा, रंक, फकीर के साथ इस बार कुछ लिबरल्स ने तीन ताल को सुना। उनको बहुत बहुत साधुवाद।  यह विविधता हमारे समाज की जटिलता को दर्शाती है, जहाँ हर आवाज़, चाहे वह राजा हो या आम आदमी, संवाद की साझा धुन में एक साथ जुड़ती है। आज मैं  बात करूँगा उस चउतरफा चर्चा की, जहां मानसिक स्वास्थ्य की व्यथा और चिंतन ने ताऊ-वादी दर्शन और उदारवादी विचारों के बीच टकराव को जन्म दिया!  कमलेश ताऊ, आसिफ़ ख़ांचा और कुलदीप सरदार मेंटल हेल्थ पर चर्चा कर रहे थे  और  ताऊ ने  दीपिका पादुकोण को भारत की पहली मेंटल हेल्थ एम्बेसडर बनाए जाने पर तंज कसा कि यह सब एक बड़प्पन दिखाने का तरीका है, और थेरेपी को अमीरों का स्टेटस सिंबल बताया। इससे सोशल मीडिया पर लोग इतने खफा हुए जैसे किसी ने रंगदारी नहीं दिया हो! लिबरल्स ने शर्मनाक घोषित क़िया, एपिसोड कैंसिल कराने और बायकॉट की धमकी ...

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World  by   Peter Frankopan ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ Worth Reading “ The age of empire and the rise of the west were built on the capacity to inflict violence on a major scale. The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason, the progression towards democracy, civil liberty and human rights, were not the result of an unseen chain linking back to Athens in antiquity or a natural state of affairs in Europe; they were the fruits of political, military and economic success in faraway continents .” The Silk Roads  by  Peter Frankopan  challenges conventional Eurocentric narratives by revealing how global history, trade, and exchange formed the bedrock for the modern world.    This perspective challenges the notion of Western progress as an isolated or inevitable phenomenon, situating it instead within the interconnected histories of empire, trade, conquest, and genocide.   The Silk Roads is a deceptive title for a profound book. While th...

Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud by   Peter Watson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended The past is an inheritance, a gift and a burden. It can’t be shirked. You carry it everywhere. There’s nothing for it but to get to know it. - Jill Lepore Crisis makes radical ideas relevant. Radical ideas inspire social movements. Social movements amplify crisis. In a crisis, shovel-ready ideas can win support quickly.  History is full of deeply flawed  ideas adapted rapidly by civilization and also burial ground of the ideas applied with the best of intentions.  We must look at history and to understand that change never, ever, ever comes about in a brief period. It's the gradual accumulation of knowledge as ideas to historical change that lead to the historical changes. All the  current knowledge has been built on past insights, and a book is devoted for the cause.  Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud by Peter Watson, has c...

" The Seen and the Unseen " is India's premier long-form podcast hosted by Amit Varma. The podcast, which has been running since 2017, features long-form conversations with intellectuals, writers, economists, historians, and thought leaders from India and around the world.  I am only sharing the books recommended related to Journalism & Media: 1. The New New Journalism — Robert Boynton This book offers deep insight into the craft and practice of modern journalism. It features interviews with 19 leading journalists who bring facts to life in compelling ways, making stories engaging and impactful. It inspires journalists and writers to improve storytelling techniques essential for today’s media landscape. 2. The Power Broker — Robert A. Caro This is a multi-dimensional portrait of American power and political influence. Through Robert Caro’s detailed biography, readers learn how power is gained, wielded, and its impact on ordinary people. It is a masterclass in politic...

Full Spectrum: India's Wars 1972–2020  - Arjun Subramaniam ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ Worth Reading In his book ' Assignment Colombo ', J.N. Dixit argues in favour of India's strategic dilly-dallying, stating that adhering to absolute principles of morality is the safest and most non-controversial stance in foreign relations. This policy, however, rarely serves any purpose in the inherently amoral nature of international relations .  Today, national security and foreign policy of India have gradually represented the departure from the past. The story of evolving Indian stance in geopolitics can be usually understood at the level of the conflicts faced by India, while the primary bulwarks of defense—the role of military —get overlooked. Hence, "Full Spectrum: India's Wars 1972–2020" is a worth reading for a gripping exploration of wars and conflicts shedding light on strategies, operational steps, and political consequences.  The book "Full Spectrum: India's Wars 1972–...

A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport  -  Ramachandra Guha ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended Our inability to understand and tell sociological stories is one of the key reasons we are struggling with how to respond to social transitions. Without embedding social narratives, we miss understanding who benefitted, who was left behind, and what kind of society we were building. The idea that we could somehow eliminate casteist mindsets, religious differences, and racist discrimination by ignoring such identity question under the veil of secular cricket leads to formation of a veil of ignorance.  Social history of Indian cricket suffers from one enormous disadvantage: that we as a people, have criminal indifference to written records. The history of Indian cricket is indeed amazing because it reveals much more than just scores and statistics. It reflects cultural exchanges, colonial legacies, social struggles, and identities across South Asia. The history o...

Beyond A Boundary - C.L.R. James ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended The essence at the core of culture, writes Byung-Chul Han, is ornamentation. Culture sits beyond functionality and usefulness. The ornament dimension, emancipated from any goal or use, is how life insists that it is more than survival.  The book was written in an era when British have the illusion of the racial superiority even in the game of cricket while tradition and history of the game were part of the British culture.   “ Time would pass, old empires would fall and new ones take their place, the relations of countries and relations of classes had to change, before I discovered that it is not quality of goods and utility which matter, but movement, not where you are or what you have, but where you have come from, where you are going and the rate at which you are getting there. " This statement from C.L.R. James’s classic book shows role the game of cricket has played in the making of the history of Caribbe...

Time of Parting  - Anton Donchev  Time of Parting | Goodreads Time of Parting - Complete Book - Internet Archives ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommended A nation is shaped by its shared memories. In literature, we can see the elements that make up a collective memory—often rooted in a common pain —that influence national identity. Newly independent countries often seek a fresh start, breaking away from their historical past. Anton Donchev's Time of Parting (Bulgarian: Време разделно, Vreme razdelno) dives deep into a time when a nation, Bulgaria, survived by enduring humiliation under Ottoman rule. The Balkans, including Bulgaria, were subjected to centuries of Ottoman rule starting in the late 14th century, which brought significant social and religious transformation. Catholic powers (Papacy and Habsburgs) were often perceived as foreign and adversarial.  The Ottoman conquest and the subsequent division between Catholic and Orthodox spheres of influence in the Balkans gave rise ...

India's Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971  - Arjun Subramaniam ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ Worth Reading A new generation of I ndians are rediscovering their military history, realizing that the popular narratives often fail to reflect the complexities of the truth. Today, India's military remains resource-constrained, overstretched, and increasingly aware of the dual-front threat posed by China and Pakistan. Its strategy and preparedness are shaped by a mix of historical conflicts, and contemporary geopolitical realities.  For anyone genuinely interested in understanding the historical wars with our Pakistan and China, "India's Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971" by Arjun Subramaniam is an indispensable read.  The book offers a compelling examination of India’s military evolution post-independence, with detailed accounts of pivotal wars, including the Indo-Pak Wars (1947-48, 1965, and 1971) and the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Battles into contested regions like Pakistan-occupied Kashm...

" The Seen and the Unseen " is India's premier long-form podcast hosted by Amit Varma. The podcast, which has been running since 2017, features long-form conversations with intellectuals, writers, economists, historians, and thought leaders from India and around the world.  I am only sharing the books recommended grouped  into broad thematic categories that align with traditional library and academic classification systems in philosophy, psychology, ethics, and literature: Psychology and Cognitive Science The Elephant in the Brain  — Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique  — Michael S. Gazzaniga Thinking, Fast and Slow  — Daniel Kahneman Ethics, Morality, and Philosophy of Goodness The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People — Michael Shermer Better Never to Have Been — David Benatar The Difficulty of Being Good — Gurcharan Das The Expanding Circle: Ethics, Evolution, and Moral Progress — Peter Singer On ...