HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is an intimate and objective picture of a nation that has managed to withstand American sanctions for over six decades, a story of how a publisher and editor loses himself trying to find Kabir, and a memoir about a life spent studying India’s birds and landscapes and fighting for endangered species
Will the revolution endure?
In 1982, when Ullekh NP was still a schoolboy in Kerala, he first came across Cuba and Fidel Castro in political discussions at home and on the streets. Kerala’s active communist movement and high literacy rates had made Castro a recognizable name in the state, and Cuba was idolized as a repository of ‘communist’ values.
While growing up in the north Kerala district of Kannur ― a bastion of Marxist politics ― Ullekh delved into Cuba’s history, culture, literature and political legends in Leftist journals and through Malayalam translations of Cuban works. The great strides the tiny Caribbean nation made in biotechnology, public health, pharmaceuticals and agriculture despite American sanctions were seen as a testament to the power of public-sector-led growth.
Ullekh was finally able to travel to Cuba in 2023 on a journalist visa. Mad About Cuba documents his visit and observations. Through conversations with senior bureaucrats, scientists at Cuba’s fabled pharma research institutes, youth beginning their careers, students and many others, he paints an intimate and objective picture of the nation that has managed to withstand American sanctions for over six decades.
Will the Revolution endure? What does the future hold for this island? How will its remarkable transcontinental bond with Kerala pan out? This wonderfully written book attempts to provide answers.
A pursuit with no end in sight
Kabir is the most alive of all dead poets. He is a fabric without stitches. No centres, no edges. Anand threads his way in.Over the years, as a publisher and editor, Anand immerses himself in the works of Babasaheb Ambedkar and other anticaste thinkers. He gives up his practice of music and poetry, blaming his disenchantment on caste. One day in Delhi, Anand starts looking for Kabir. He finds him here, there, everywhere. He begins to pay attention to the many ways in which Kabir’s words are sung, and translates them. Soon, Kabir starts looking out for Anand.The songs of Kabir sung by a range of singers — Prahlad Tipaniya, Fariduddin Ayaz, Mukhtiyar Ali, Kumar Gandharva, Kaluram Bamaniya, Mahesha Ram and other wayfarers — make Anand return to music and poetry. He translates songs seldom found in books. Along the way, he witnesses Kabir drawing on the Buddha, often restating ancient suttas in joyous ways.The Notbook of Kabir is the result of this pursuit with no end in sight. This is the story of how Anand loses himself trying to find Kabir.
A memoir that’s also the story of India’s conservation movement
One of India’s greatest ornithologists, Asad Rahmani’s memoir is about a life spent studying India’s birds and landscapes, fighting for endangered species and shaping the country’s fledgling conservation movement. From Salim Ali and Humayun Abdulali to young biologists – Rahmani has worked with them all. His tale is the story of India’s conservation movement, and the landscapes that he worked so hard to document and protect. From long days in the field and engaging encounters in the wild to working with governments and institutions, the book charts what conservation work in India entails.
All copy from book flap.