Exotic men and dishes
CHILLIES AND PORRIDGE: WRITING FOOD (HarperCollins, Rs 499) edited by Mita Kapur makes up for the lack of serious literature on culinary habits and practices. It brings together a number of noted scholars, journalists and writers in an effort to reconsider the ways in which food affects our lives. Bachi Karkaria shows how food is used to define the identities of communities, as of Parsis or Bengalis. Chitrita Banerji's delightful piece on the Bengali bonti is sure to change the way we think about this quotidian kitchen instrument. Saleem Kidwai recounts his traumatic childhood experience of being forced to participate in the 'manly' sport of hunting while he grappled with his sexuality. Janice Pariat's piece on porridge is an ode to this humble dish that has, surprisingly, found a place in the writings of several authors, including Forster, Brontë and Blyton. The book ends on an ominous note. Tara Deshpande Tennebaum warns us about the socio-cultural impact of Western-style junk food, that is slowly but steadily replacing our traditional cuisine.
GURKHA: BETTER TO DIE THAN LIVE A COWARD: MY LIFE WITH THE GURKHAS (Little, Brown, Rs 499) by Kailash Limbu constitutes the author's memoirs. Limbu is a soldier of the Royal Gurkha Rifles of the British army. The book starts with a nostalgic account of his childhood days in the hills of Nepal and then moves to a rather bone-chilling description of the Now Zad campaign against Taliban insurgents in Southern Afghanistan. What was planned as a 48-hour campaign lasted for nearly a month, in which the Gurkhas found themselves fighting the dreaded Talibans. By the end of the siege, Limbu's regiment had killed almost 100 insurgents without any casualty on its side. The book is an illuminating, day-to-day account of one of the most intense periods of the ongoing war in Afghanistan. It shows what magic can be woven by friendship, loyalty and courage even in the most hostile circumstances.
PRIMARY GREATNESS: THE 12 LEVERS OF SUCCESS (Simon & Schuster, Rs 499) by Stephen R. Covey is yet another addition to the burgeoning list of self-help books. Acutely sanctimonious, this do-it-yourself manual teaches us first to rethink the meaning of greatness and then to achieve it by internalizing 12 principles followed by highly successful people. Covey, a celebrated motivational speaker and leadership expert in America, addresses the young executives of the corporate world. Given the rumours of corruption and worryingly low standards of ethics prevalent in corporate America, that country should give Covey a patient hearing.
ALL ABOARD! (Penguin, Rs 250) by Kiran Manral is the perfect antidote for all those suffering from an overdose of serious fiction. This feel-good tale of a broken-hearted girl finding love on a cruise ship is sure to go down well with women who believe that there is still a bit of romance left in this cynical world. When Rhea Khanna, a freelance copy editor, is dumped by her boyfriend, Samir Dasani, days before their wedding, she is invited by her aunt, Rina Maasi, to go an all-expenses-paid Mediterranean cruise. Enter Kamal Shahani, a delectably gorgeous ex-student of her aunt, and Rhea does what is expected of her in the situation - she falls in love. After a number of twists in the tale - which include the failed attempts of a drug-dealer to peddle drugs through Rhea and the sudden arrival of Kamal's ex-girlfriend, Sonia, hell-bent of winning her lost love - the star-crossed lovers are finally united. So far as literary merit is concerned, it is best not to get into that when Manral gives the reader a book filled with stunning men and even more stunning descriptions of exotic places.
