Winged Fire Posts

Diwali 2017!

In June 2017 while inaugurating the National Reading Mission programme the prime minister of India said that instead of presenting bouquets people should gift books. A great idea! During Diwali, festival of lights associated with the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity, folks gift presents to each other. Why not books?

Here are my recommendations of some beautiful books. It is an eclectic list of books meant for readers of all ages. Diwali is an excuse to indulge oneself. Why not buy delicious books as gifts?!

Dayanita Singh: Museum Bhavan   An extraordinary publishing achievement is to package the mind-blowing exhibition curated by photographer Dayanita Singh into this nifty, limited edition, box. Every piece is unique. A timeless treasure!

The Illustrated Mahabharata This has to be one of the most scrumptious books ever available. It is a retelling of the Hindu epic with beautiful illustrations and layouts.

The Chocolate Book

Scholastic Book of Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Hungry to Read

Diwali Stories

Bloomsbury Academic’s Object Lessons list is fantastic. For instance, BookshelfVeil, Dust, Cigarette Lighter, Silence etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikas Khanna’s richly produced collection of recipes My First Kitchen 

Rehearsing Freedom : The Story Of A Theatre In Palestine 

Words from the Hills  A beautifully illustrated diary combining the talents of Ruskin Bond’s remarkable words with the stunning watercolours of Gunjan Ahlawat. A must have!

World Wildlife Day, 3 March 2016 / Some books

On 20 December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided to proclaim 3 March, the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as World Wildlife Day. In its resolution,[2] the General Assembly reaffirmed the intrinsic value of wildlife and its various contributions, including ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic, to sustainable development and human well-being.

Winged Fire -Photo Credit Dhritiman Mukherjee

Winged Fire -Photo Credit Dhritiman Mukherjee

Winged Fire -Photo Credit Nirav Bhatt

Winged Fire -Photo Credit Nirav Bhatt

To commemorate this day, I am posting pictures of some of the wildlife books that I have enjoyed. The absolutely scrumptious trilogy published by renowned wildlife conservationist Valmik Thapar lead the list. The books are– Tiger FireWild Fire and Winged Fire. These are a “must have” not only for the stupendous production, quality of photographs but also for the amount of research that has been presented. It is probably the first time such an ambitious task has been undertaken in India wherein an extensive selection of historical accounts in writing and paintings, brilliant photographs with never before seen images of wildlife ( much like the pioneering work done by Jacques Cousteau’s photo-documentation of ocean life) and an overview of the conservation efforts made by governments with an informed and critical understanding by Valmik Thapar.

Winged Fire -Photo Credit Arpit Deomurary

Winged Fire -Photo Credit Arpit Deomurary

 

 

Jim Corbett

Jim Corbett 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking Tiger too has republished a couple of books by Jim Corbett.

Last year Hachette India published Vivek Menon’s IMG_20160303_103545incredibly detailed guide to Indian Mammals which even game wardens consider as their Bible! A fact we discovered while on a trip to a wildlife sanctuary last year. It was being sold at the entrance of the park and the guides were encouraging the tourists to buy it for its authentic and accurate information.

There are also a bunch of books for children discussing wildlife conservation by not demonising the unknown, instead respecting other species and learning to live in harmony. ( Finally!) We need many more books like these given how there are hunts organised as new tourism packages. I am posting pictures of a few examples from National Book Trust ( NBT) and Puffin but there are many more available in the market now.

Arefa Tehsin

IMG_20160303_103608

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 March 2016 

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