Married but Available, that’s a book, written by Abhijit Bhaduri, an HR employee with Microsoft. No, the book is not about promiscuity. It deals with HR management. Bhaduri, in fact, has a thing for titles. His first book, of which this is a sequel, was called Mediocre but Arrogant.

An intriguing title draws readers. The book launch at Crossword on September 29 had event manager Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee conversing with the author. For someone who works backstage arranging such book launches, it was novel to have Chatterjee taking centrestage, exchanging notes with the author on studying “Eco honours” and following it up with management degree, which both the HR manager and the event manager seemed to have done.

Home’s where the art is

Another book on the grand old zamindar houses of north Calcutta. These edifices of 19th century Bengal that still stand today in varying states of decay were built by the landed gentry of Bengal , who had access both to Western education and limitless wealth. The result is a unique coming together of traditional Bengali customs and rituals practised in the four walls of the domestic space and the increasing influence of Western sensibilities.

Most of these zamindar houses are marked by traditional architectural influences as seen in the common square open-to-air courtyard that formed the central shared space for the family, with rows of rooms surrounding the four sides.

The western influence was most noticeable in the living rooms, in the elaborate Victorian furniture, crystal chandeliers, oil paintings, marble statuettes and other collectibles.

Kamalika Bose, a faculty of the School of Interior Design, Ahmedabad, and author of Seeking the Lost Layers, An Inquiry into the Traditional Dwellings of the Urban Elite of North Calcutta, looks in detail at three such houses: Ramdulal Dey’s house at Beadon Street, Khelat Chandra Ghosh’s house at Pathuriaghata Street and Nandalal and Pashupatinath Bose’s house in Bagbazar Street. But the book costs a hefty Rs 1,500 plus postage.