Author Dhruba Narayan Ghosh at the book launch

He was the chairman of the State Bank of India and several leading companies, a professor at IIM-Calcutta and the author of two books. Yet, Dhruba Narayan Ghosh said that his third book, Business and Polity – Dynamics of a Changing Relationship, was the attempt of a novice.

“My book will be appreciated better by a novice,” he added at the launch at the Oxford Bookstore on July 19.

The book, published by Sage Publications, is the result of a lot of research. Ghosh traces the relationship between economics and politics right from the Graeco-Roman civilisation 2,000 years ago to present-day globalisation.

“Politics has to help the growth of business. But it can’t interfere with business. In most cases that thin line is transgressed. I tried to explore this balance in various regimes,” Ghosh told a packed house.

In conversation with Rudrangshu Mukherjee of The Telegraph, Ghosh admitted his book had a small “deficiency”. While he had covered several foreign civilisations, there was no mention of 17th or 18th century India and of its powerful industrialists and bankers, such as Jagat Seth of Bengal, and their influence on politics.

“My focus was on globalisation. In the greater context, some civilisations had to be left out,” he explained.

The author also mentioned how those in power usually dabbled in business, even though it was not always ethical. “Roman senators weren’t allowed to trade but they violated the law and garnered vast amounts of wealth. This is still happening in India,” Ghosh said.

The author also spoke of his professional experience and how he had witnessed business houses and industrialists in India manipulating political decisions at times.

Nicobar after Tsunami

The half-submerged Indira Point lighthouse near Nicobar Islands, a year after the 2004 tsunami

A former surgeon commander of the Indian Navy, Tilak Ranjan Bera, has been extensively exploring remote areas of India and penning his experiences. His ninth book, A Journey through Nicobars, published by Woodland Publishers, was launched at the Oxford Bookstore on July 20. The launch was followed by a discussion and a brief presentation.

The book charts the history of the Nicobar Islands, termed as a “little-known” territory of India, and how it changed after the tsunami of December 2004. There are photographs, too, some taken by the author and others collected by him, to illustrate the extent of damage.

“I wanted to record the effects of the tsunami on the Nicobar islands and its people,” said Bera.

Filmmaker Goutam Ghosh, who was the chief guest at the launch, felt such a documentation was very important.

“People know about the Andaman islands but few visit Nicobar because of its inaccessibility. There is more to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands than the cellular jail,” said the director.