Murder, intrigue and Byzantium

The Snake Stone (Faber and Faber, Rs 475)
by Jason Goodwin is the second book in the Yashim, the Ottoman Detective series and employs the union of scholarship and mystery writing that made its predecessor, Goodwin’s The Janissary Tree, an international bestseller. As Sultan Mahmud II, the great Ottoman reformist, lies dying, a French archaeologist visits Istanbul in search of lost Byzantine treasures. Amid the rumours and confusion triggered by the visit, Yashim Togalu, Goodwin’s eunuch detective, is called upon to investigate the matter. However, after the archaeologist is found dead near the French embassy, the clues seem to point to Yashim himself. Goodwin’s historical references come through layers of meaning found in the text. He also recreates a 19th century Istanbul laden with temporal and spatial delights as in the account of the murder at the hour of the evening prayer or in the description of the spice bazaar.

Community-based Natural Resource Management: Issues and Cases from South Asia (Sage, Rs 450) by Ajit Menon, Praveen Singh, Esha Shah, Sharachchandra Lélé, Suhas Paranjape and K.J. Roy studies the work of NGOs in community-based natural resource management with reference to current critiques of the dominant discourses of development. The authors use six cases of CBNRM initiatives such as the Yashwant Vikas Sansthan integrated watershed development programme in Maharashtra or the Tarun Bharat Sangh water harvesting initiative in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. Attempts are made to estimate the impact of agencies on CBNRM and to investigate fresh insights their efforts produce. Despite the contribution of NGOs, the authors find access to the benefits to be limited and the sustainability of resources doubtful.

In the Shadow of the Taj: A Portrait of Agra (Penguin, Rs 295) by Royina Grewal uses myth, history and the author’s conversations with diverse residents to explain the disintegration of the favourite city of many a Mughal emperor. Lucidly written, the book nevertheless suffers in the juxtapositions of Agra’s past and present. Although Grewal simplifies history well, she often resorts to clichéd images and phrases while describing the present, particularly those individuals who visit, and, perhaps, destroy the sanctity of the monuments and gardens.