Reliving the memories of an Indian forester: Memoir of S Shyam Sunder
₹450.00
Editor: Shiv Someshwar
Shyam Sunder’s memoir is a series of vignettes, from numerous comedic to a tragic few. The life narrated is varied and never short of excitement – being ten yards from a charging tusker or a foot away from a King Cobra; defying orders of the chief minister; being hauled up for contempt of the high court, and discussing with Indira Gandhi the best way to eat avocados. Possessed of wit and passion, the narration lays bare the hubris of popular discourse on noble forest livelihoods, and unflinchingly narrates neglect of rural communities, as well as of forests, at times by the callous imposition of rules and regulations.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Categories: | Biographies/ Memoirs/ Festschrift, General Interest |
---|
Format | |
---|---|
Author |
Related products
-
Pot of Butter and other short stories
Author: Sunanda Belgaumkar Translator: Sa Usha, Vaijayanti Suryanarayana
Pot of Butter and other Short Stories is a collection of nine short stories, originally composed by Sunanda Belgaumkar in Kannada, handpicked and translated from her collections – Kajjaya and Koduvudenu Kombudenu. The bulk of her literary work including the stories in this book are inspired by the experiences in her early life, in the rustic and robust atmosphere of Dharwad. Her stories are predominantly semiautobiographical, laced with a liberal dose of artistic freedom.
This collection weaves together her writings on the underprivileged and marginalized as seen from the comfort of her palatial home, but rendered with compassion and empathy. Often, we find her narrative infused with self-directed questions such as, “What if I was in her shoes? ” or “Could that have been me? ” These stories are reflections on human nature, suffering, and destiny. There is hope, there is despair. There is love, there is longing. There is defeat, and there is triumph. In her stories, an oft-recurring metaphor for picking up one’s life after loss is a scorching summer followed by a torrential downpour and subsequently a plant springing to life.
As a translation, this book attempts to introduce Sunanda Belgaumkar’s literary and artistic creations to the non-Kannada reader, retaining as much of the indigenous elements of the original writings as possible. In doing so, it seeks to preserve the cultural climate of North Karnataka as it was around fifty years ago.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Post Googlism and Other Short Stories
Author: R C Natarajan
This collection of short stories is for the fast-paced millennials, whom the author calls “The Post Googlist Generation” who want everything hastily, at their finger-tips and on the go. The language has also shrunk in size to allow the pace. The world-view of this generation is that what cannot be done through an app cannot and should not be done. Their expectations of a story are a striking start, a quickly built middle and an interesting end. Stories in the collection seek to meet these expectations of this generation talking to them in their own language. They also echo the changing lives and changing aspirations of the time.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Defiance
Defiance is a captivating tale of the march of globalization and its impact on the lives and times of the Santher Guthu family in Ombathkere, a village located between Mangaluru and Kasaragodu. Set in the picturesque Malabar coast of Karnataka in the late 20th Century, the novel takes the reader through four generations of the family. Ambakke, the protagonist, along with her brother Sankappa Hegde, the third-generation descendants of the family form the lifeblood of this story of human relationships in the midst of time and change. The novel is born out of deep contemplation of a community in the face of transition. There is anxiety that grips this part of Karnataka in the wake of modernity. The vast canvas of the novel and the depiction of folk culture provides a unique touch to the saga of the community. Defiance is a novel about traditions and the fear of losing out to modernity. It is about change and the desire to remain rooted.
-
A Bond So Sacred
A Bond So Sacred tells the story of Raman, a satyagrahi, who adopts Kokila, an orphan. He leaves the five year old in the care of his mother while he plunges into the freedom struggle. His nationalist fervour, however, clashes with his love for Amina, his charming neighbour who wants parental approval to their marriage. Raman’s mother is as staunch a Brahmin as Amina’s father is a Muslim. Will Raman be able to get their consent? The joy of India becoming an independent nation is marred by Gandhiji’s death. Raman’s fellow satyagrahis have gone their ways and he finds himself with no role to play in a rapidly changing country. Meanwhile, Kokila, his protégée, has her own battles to fight. As the years bring them together again, Kokila discovers truths about Raman that she would never have imagined. She is forced to confront the ghosts of the past, his and hers.
-
Capturing the Cosmic Light – A Handbook of Astrophotography
Author: Sathyakumar P M Sharma
The Handbook of Astrophotography is the first book dedicated to Astronomical Imaging through modest equipment, and the first to be published in India. It is a chronicle of the techniques learnt and employed by the author and is by no means proprietary. It is assumed that the reader is equipped with the basic knowledge to use a digital camera. After showing the many methods to capture the Cosmos, the book shows how to process these images. It is designed to be a handbook and not a user manual. The author hopes that the reader will be confident in astronomical imaging and develop his/her own techniques after reading the book. Sathyakumar started Astrophotography in January 2006 with a homemade wooden star-tracking mount and a camera borrowed from a friend. He later used his homemade Newtonian reflector telescope and an inexpensive digital camera to capture photos of the Moon. With an MSc in Aerospace engineering from the University of Salford, Manchester, he joined Opticstar Ltd, as a design engineer. There he was trained on the latest of astronomical instruments available for the amateur astrophotographer and eventually purchased the Celestron C8 Schmidt cassegrain telescope and the CG-5 Equatorial mount. Currently, he uses a GSO 6 inch RC telescope and an HEQ5-PRO computerized mount as well as an Orion 80ED Apochromatic telescope for astrophotography. He also owns an Astrotrac to take wide field vistas of the Cosmos. He is now employed as a Scientific Officer at Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of Karnataka.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Mukha Mudre – Kyamaradalli Kannada Sahitigalu
Author: A N Mukunda
ಪೋರ್ಟ್ರೇಟ್ ಅಂದರೆ ಕೇವಲ ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಅದೊಂದು ‘ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರ’ ಅಥವಾ ‘ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವ ಚಿತ್ರ’ ಎನ್ನುವ ಮುಕುಂದರ ನಿಲುವು ಈ ಛಾಯಾಚಿತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರ್ತವಾಗಿ ವ್ಯಕ್ತವಾಗಿದೆ. ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯ ಮುಖವೇ ಅವನ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವದ ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಬಲವಾದ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಹಾಗೂ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸಗಳನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಮುಕುಂದರು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸಂಯಮದಿಂದ ಏಕಾಗ್ರತೆಯಿಂದ ಕಾದು ಸೆರೆಹಿಡಿದ ‘ಮಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಕ್ಷಣ’ಗಳಿಂದಾಗಿ ಈ ಎಲ್ಲ ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಏಕಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ಅಧಿಕೃತತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಆಪ್ತತೆ ಲಭ್ಯವಾಗಿವೆ. ಇಂತಹ ‘ಫೋಟೋ ಪುಸ್ತಕ’ವೊಂದು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಇದೇ ಮೊದಲು.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
The Ramayana of Valmiki (A condensed version of Valmiki’s epic)
The world’s greatest epic poem Valmikiramayana, composed over 2,500 years ago, is loved by countless millions of men and women of all religions. The present book is the first condensed version in English of the most reliable version of Valmikiramayana, the Critical Edition prepared by Baroda Oriental Research Institute, India.
-
Just a few pages: Some Memories of Saraswati Bai Rajwade
Author: Vaidehi, Translator: Deepa Ganesh
This book is a coming together of two women writers of modern Kannada literature; one from its early period, the other, a contemporary. Saraswati Bai Rajwade, the early writer, became a fable, a mythology, leaving behind only the shadows of her writing. Vaidehi, the contemporary writer, reinvents Rajwade from the folds of history and gives her a life in the present. Saraswati Bai Rajwade was born into a poor family in the Dakshina Kannada of yore. By chance, she stepped into theatre and later into films. But all the glory that came to her unexpectedly, vanished just as suddenly. She later became the wife of a rich and high official, travelled abroad and underwent immense suffering. In her pain and loneliness, she took to books and also began to write and attained glory as a writer. In the last years of her life, she returned to a life of austerity and anonymity. Vaidehi has collected bits and pieces from her life and writing, presenting before us a unique tapestry. In this tapestry, Vaidehi?s perceptions criss-cross with Rajwade?s life and writing. Art does not reside in the object, but in its close encounter with life. This work unfolds before us as a grand illustration of such twin narratives.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.