Indian Preview: Our Top New Releases from August

1. Because He Is by Meghna Gulzar

Because He Is… explores the journey of Gulzar – poet, film-maker, lyricist and author – in the words of his daughter. Meghna documents the life of her father, transcending the patterns of a conventional biography to present a touching account of the legend’s life, career, personal joys and sorrows, profusely illustrated. This updated edition, containing substantial new text and never-before-seen photographs, offers a personal insight into the bond between a father and a daughter and the tremendous respect they have for each other.

2. My Beta Does Computer Things by Sanjay Manaktala

If you’ve picked up this book, you and I are probably pretty darn similar. We grew up in humble circumstances, listened to our parents and the society, graduated and joined the IT industry. So, why read a book that’s going to explain an industry you might already be a part of? Well, frankly, to work smarter and not harder. To make sure you know what you’re getting into and what lies ahead. You want to make money and travel the world. You want to date and enjoy your twenties and thirties. Your work does not need your youth as a sacrificial offering. My goal here is to get you to realize that. Corporations can suck but they can also be awesome. Many of us make money. Many of us enjoy our lives. Few do both. Let’s try and join the latter, shall we?

3. Cold Truth by Nikhil Pradhan

When ten-year-old Sakshi goes missing from the slums of east Delhi, no one, including the police, seems too concerned.

Until a curious journalist begins to ask questions. Soon, she’s burst open a can of worms, and what started as an innocuous investigation about corruption and systemic apathy begins to reek of a larger and terrifying conspiracy. Pieced together using police reports, interviews, leaked emails and WhatsApp conversations, this extraordinary debut takes you from the by-lanes of Delhi and the communist bunkers of Russia, to the frozen grounds of Antartica.

4. The Island of the Day Before by Zuni Chopra

With The Island of the Day Before, Zuni Chopra takes the readers on an extraordinary and consistently unpredictable voyage. Boldly experimental in terms of themes and forms, these whimsical tales – prose, poetry, flash fiction – of the everyday and the extraordinary, the fantastical and the mundane, will keep haunting you long after you have read them.

This is a work of exceptional imagination from a young, prodigious talent – a rising star in the literary firmament.

5. The Leapfroggers by VP Sandlas

‘We are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, and the courage to leapfrog to state-of-the-art engineering and technology pursuits rather than step-by-step scientific developments.’ The famous words of Dr Vikram Sarabhai propel every initiative at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Leapfroggers too is an outcome of the same spirit.

Ved Prakash Sandlas was one of the first engineers to join the agency in its formative years. He reflects on the ISRO culture: the styles, values and characteristics of its people; their aspirations and ambitions; and their limitations. Among those featured is Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the first Project Director of SLV-3, whose core team Sandlas was part of and from whom he eventually took over in 1980. The Leapfroggers is an insider’s account of one of India’s most iconic institutions.