Sense and nonsense

NEW RELEASES

The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense
Edited by Michael Heyman, Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar
Penguin Books India
Rs 295

For the last eighteen hundred years Indian arts have been seen in terms of strictly classified emotional effects known as the nine rasas.

The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense celebrates what Sukumar Ray called the "spirit of whimsy", or the tenth rasa, through the topsy-turvy, irreverent, melodic genre of nonsense literature.

This selection of poetry and prose, brilliantly translated from seventeen Indian languages across India, includes works by Rabindranath Tagore, Sukumar Ray, Vinda Karandikar, Gulzar, Dash Benhur and Manoj Das. In forms as varied as stories and songs for children and adults, lullabies, folk tales, Bollywood song lyrics and medieval court verse, the writers open doors to wildly imaginative worlds populated by peculiar characters and fantastical creatures, where only nonsense makes perfect sense.

Woman on Top: How to Get Ahead at Work
Seema Goswami
Random House India
152 pages

With more and more Indian women taking up full-time careers, it has become increasingly important to address the many issues they face at the workplace "" from what to wear to work to how to deal with sexual harassment, from how to negotiate a pay rise to how to handle a difficult boss. Journalist Goswami has written this "practical bible for all Indian working women, giving them both career advice and tips on how to balance their home and work life". The writing is sharp and no-nonsense, though the book's production is strictly functional: it has the look of a school textbook, and even the chapter titles ("Looking Good", "Bedroom or Boardroom", "Staying Healthy") reflect this.

Reflections in a Sacred Pond
Murad Ali Baig
Tara Press (an imprint of India Research Press)
Rs 295
220 pages

This book is billed as " a voyage through the ages to the present through a provocative series of 80 question and answers reflecting and informing the reader about Indian mythology and religion from a historical perspective". Baig does not question the importance of faith but outlines how religions have been altered by vested interests of professional priests, rulers and the rich, and the impact on the Indian polity. The questions he raises include: did free India's leaders fail their country or did the British exploit India's wealth? These are addressed in the present context of the global economy.