The Queen of Indian Pop

FOR an entire generation of music lovers, Usha Uthup, with her legendary bindi and silk sarees, was the first gust of pop music, that too in their own language. ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ (1971) catapulted her to instant fame. Fifty years on, Uthup, who embodies a unique liveliness, is still enthralling fans. In this authorised biography, originally written in Hindi, journalist Vikas Kumar Jha captures the journey of her career — from her childhood days in Mumbai and gigs with jazz bands at Chennai’s glitzy nightclubs to her meteoric rise and philanthropic work.

THE story of Gujarmal Modi is not that of rags to riches — he was born into a wealthy family. This story is about the man who took his family business to unfathomable heights, making it India’s seventh largest business empire in the 1960s. It is a pity then that he is today better known as the grandfather of Lalit Modi, the discredited former IPL chief. As part of a series, ‘Entrepreneurs Who Built India’, Sonu Bhasin chronicles the life of Gujarmal, born in Patiala, banished because he refused a drink to the royal, and then set up his own township, Modinagar, on the outskirts of Delhi.

IT is easy to say that those living in human-animal conflict zones need to learn to co-exist. But ask Akshu Atri, the protagonist of conservationist Nitin Sekar’s ‘What is Left of the Jungle’, who, along with his community, has long been tormented by giants of the jungle — they have busted into his kitchen, knocked down his store, trampled and devoured his crops, and killed his neighbours. While the book unravels the complex relationship of rural Indians and the wildlife, it also gives a picture of the power hierarchies and complications that come with conservation work and research.

WHAT is inanimate may not necessarily be lifeless, for, within them reside memories, histories, secrets. In his new book, ‘A History of Objects’, Italian author Carlo Pizzati explores the nuances of the human experience as objects of sentimental value, nostalgic appeal or cultural significance. A candy box reveals a son’s true feelings for his mother. A fish sculpture creeps into a building and relationships. A splint on a music teacher’s finger threatens to expose a secret. Author of seven books of fiction and non-fiction, Pizzati takes us from India to America and Italy through this book.

A DOCTOR who loves walks and PG Wodehouse, an anaesthesiologist who has turned his focus to palliative care, Dr MR Rajagopal shares his journey in humanity in healthcare in this book. It is peppered with several stories that show how understanding the patient and his pain is as important as administering medicines. He shares how he took a patient waiting to be operated upon to meet her son because she feared she would die during the surgery. How he took needles off a young leukaemia patient whose father couldn’t see him like that. How he convinced a patient about amputation by sharing inspiring life stories...