Aleph Book Company Posts

“Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India” by Karan Madhok

. This is so perfect. Romesh Bhattacharji , former Narcotics Commissioner of India, reading #KaranMadhok‘s book, “Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India”.

Aleph Book Company

Upon spotting this picture on Facebook, Karan Madhok shared it on his wall saying, “This is a wonderful full circle moment: I quoted India’s former Narcotics commissioner Romesh Bhattacharji in my book – glad to see he’s got his hands on a copy.”

Cannabis, or ganja, is practically as old as recorded Indian civilization, with references to the plant being found in some of India’s earliest written texts and myths. Native strains of the plant are as common as rice or millet in many Indian states, and can often be found growing wild in the countryside. In scriptures and in the opinion of enthusiasts, ganja is said to provide ananda (bliss) or vijaya (victory) over the cares and ills of the world. Cannabis is best known as a recreational drug but it has a myriad other uses as well.

In this lively, well-researched, humorous, and occasionally trippy account of ganja, Karan Madhok looks at every aspect of the cannabis plant: botanical, spiritual, medical, and recreational. Madhok hits the road in search of cannabis strains around the country, including a visit to the Himalayan hamlet that is home to the world-renowned Malana Cream (which has inspired various counterculture movements); looks for the mythical Idukki Gold in Kerala; seeks the Sheelavathi variety in the Andhra/ Orissa region; portrays the travails of addicts, and details the shadowy world of gangsters and suppliers; hangs out with devotees who openly consume bhang and other derivatives of ganja; and visits hospitals and clinics which use the drug for a wide range of therapeutics.

Besides the factual and eye-opening research into every aspect of the narcotic, the author contemplates the concepts of freedom, creativity, spirituality, and paranoia associated with the drug, and examines the upside and problems of decriminalizing ganja in India. Ananda, the first major study of cannabis in India, is entertaining, and enlightening—it is the perfect introduction to an integral aspect of the country that has often got a bad rap and is imperfectly understood.

Read an excerpt from the book on Moneycontrol.

Karan Madhok’s debut novel, A Beautiful Decay, was published in 2022. His creative work and journalism have appeared in Epiphany, Sycamore Review, Bombay Review, SLAM Magazine, Fifty Two, The Caravan, Scroll, among others.

Karan is the editor and co-founder of the Indian arts and culture website The Chakkar. He is a graduate of the MFA programme from the American University in Washington D.C.

10 May 2025

“The Mindfulness Survival Kit : Five Essential Practices” by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Five Mindfulness Trainings, also known as ‘Precepts’, form the foundation of ethics and morality in Buddhism: not to kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, or consume intoxicants. In The Mindfulness Survival Kit, revered Zen Master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh discusses the deep relevance of these simple yet profound principles in both our personal lives and in the world around us.

Describing the precepts as a ‘diet for a mindful society’, he shares insights into their value and meaning and teaches how embracing each mindfulness training can nurture a society grounded in care, harmony, and mutual respect. In his poetic and lucid style, Hanh presents a practical and secular vision for building and sustaining a way of life that is healthy, compassionate, and doesn’t harm or disrupt peace.
Thich Nhat Hanh was one of the best-known Zen Buddhist teachers in the world. He was the author of numerous bestselling books. He lived in Plum Village, in southwest France, where he taught the art of mindful living. He passed away in Hue, Vietnam, in January 2022.

Read an excerpt from the book on Moneycontrol.

10 May 2025

“The Tamils: A Portrait of a Community” by Nirmala Lakshman

Nearly 90 million people around the world identify as Tamil, a proud and ancient community with a unique language, history, and culture. The Tamil people have given India and the world some of its most iconic revolutionaries and political leaders, industrialists, philosophers, sportspeople, scientists, and mathematicians (including winners of the Nobel Prize), and celebrated writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and actors. The influence of the community on science, culture, religion, philosophy, art, architecture, literature, film, and politics has endured across millennia. While the majority of Tamils live in South India, the diaspora is to be found in countries around the world—especially in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, the UK, and USA, where Tamil traditions thrive and assume new and interesting forms. A people of immense resilience, intellect, and creativity, the Tamils continue to leave an indelible mark on the world.

But who are the Tamils, really? How have they preserved a distinct cultural heritage while evolving across time and geographies? And what is the Tamil ‘gunam’ or identity? How has Tamil culture endured even as it has evolved and mutated over centuries?

In The Tamils, author Nirmala Lakshman draws from a wealth of historical information, original research, and her own keen observations of the community that she is part of to craft a rich and expansive exploration of Tamil history, society, and culture. The book has been published by Aleph Book Company.

Today’s Tamil Nadu largely corresponds to ancient Tamilakam and is bound by the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, with tracts of dry red earth, green paddy fields, and pebbled riverbeds in between. This book traces the remarkable journey of the people of this land, starting from the Stone Age (1.7 million years ago) all the way up to the epic Sangam era (300 BCE to 300 CE), whose literature highlights the influential role of dynasties like the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas, and Cheras, and the thriving Jain community of that time; it then examines the evolution and spread of Tamil culture through the Bhakti movement, and the arrival of Christianity and Islam. In parallel to the cultural, philosophical, and religious influences that shaped Tamil society, the book examines the medieval and modern political history of the region, and describes the setting up of the sultanates of the south, the rule of the Nayaks, the Vijayanagar dynasty, the Marathas, and the coming of the British. Thereafter, it goes deep into the freedom struggle, and the Non-Brahmin movement before describing the distinctive attributes of the Tamils in the modern era, especially the changes that are taking place in the twenty-first century.

Through incontestable scholarship and lucid analysis, the book delves into the complex intersections of politics, religion, caste, economics, and gender in Tamil society, while also capturing the spirit of Tamil creativity in art, architecture, handicrafts, dance, music, sports, mathematics, IT, and more. It studies the opposites that mark the community—the refinement and heights of Tamil culture, but also the violence stemming from centuries of prejudice. It explores the ways in which Tamil culture continues to evolve—through migration, debate, acculturation, and social upheavals. Accessible and comprehensive, The Tamils is a compelling portrait of one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures—in an ever-globalizing world, it reflects on what it means to be Tamil today.

Nirmala Lakshman has been steeped in Tamil culture by virtue of being Tamil and observing Tamil society through her years in journalism. She is currently Publisher and Chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications and was earlier Joint Editor of the paper. She founded and edited The Hindu Literary Review, conceptualized and created Young World, India’s only children’s newspaper supplement, and developed several other feature sections of The Hindu. She launched The Hindu’s annual literature festival and continues to curate it. Nirmala has a PhD in postmodern fiction, and has written a book on Chennai, Degree Coffee by the Yard, and edited an anthology of contemporary Indian journalism, Writing a Nation.

Read an extract from the book published on Moneycontrol.

10 May 2025

“Our Living Constitution: A Concise Introduction & Commentary” by Shashi Tharoor

Our Living Constitution: A Concise Introduction & Commentary by Dr. Shashi Tharoor is a slim hardback, an essential commentary on the workings of the longest written constitution in the world. It is published by Aleph Book Company. Our constitution is truly a visionary document. A fact that Dr. Tharoor chooses to spell out in the nine chapters.

The opening passages of the prologue encapsulate the arguments laid out in this slim treatise.

On 26 November 2024, Parliament held an unprecedented special session to celebrate the day seventy-five years earlier, on 26 November 1949, when the Constitutent Assembly, the indirectly-elected 299-member body in charge of the task, finished its daunting task and agreed on a Constitution that was to be formally adopted two months later, on 26 January 1950.

That day, 26 November 1949, marked the conclusion of a long process of Constitution-making. The nationalist movement that gave our Constitution its legitimacy and sanctity had itself used many arguably non-constitutional methods in its struggle against imperial rule — non-cooperation, civil disobedience, satyagraha. Yet, it culminated in a democratic Constitution, the world’s longest written Constitution for any nation and (or so many thought at the time) its most imperilled. Handwritten exquisitely in both English and Hindi by calligraphist Prem Behari Narain Raizada, each page adorned with intricate artwork inspired by Indian culture and heritage and designed by famous artists led by Nandlal Bose, the Constitution was not merely a legeal document: it was a work of art. In its pages, to borrow Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous metaphor, the soul of a nation, long suppressed, had found utterance.

On that occasion, Dr B. R. Ambedkar, chairman of the Drafting COmmittee of the Constituent Assembly, rose in what is now the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan (the old Parliament House) to address his colleagues, his fellow Founding Fathers, with a prescient warning to the nation, ‘Howveer good a Constitution may be,’ he said, ‘it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be a good lot. The working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution.”

It was a sobering reminder that the Constitution we celebrated then, as we celebrate it today, can be distorted and misused by ‘wrong-minded’ people in power.

As a staunch defender of democracy in both principle and practice, Dr Ambedkar anxiously wondered whether Indians would place ‘the country above their creed’. He recalledd the history of the Buddhist Bhikshu sanghas, which were known to have observed rules of modern-day parliamentary procedure, and added: ‘The democractic system India lost. Will she lose it a second time? I do not know. But it is quite possible, in a country like India . . . there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. Iti s quite possible for this newborn democracy to retain its form but give place to dictatorship in fact. If there is a landslide [victory], the danger of the second possibility becoming actuality is much greater.’

p. ix – xi.

Later, in the chapter “The Vision of the Founders” the context behind the Constitution’s adoption is detailed. Read an extract published on Moneycontrol ( Friday, 16 May 2025). It is a sobering reminder of the incredibly diverse history of this sub-continent. This diversity was represented in the constitutent assembly and is apparent even today, in modern India. It is at the very heart of this nation that we call India.

The book is being launched on 10 May 2025 in New Delhi.

9 May 2025

“The Competent Authority”

This is one of those days when truth is stranger than fiction, or is it? In 2013, the late Shovon Chowdhury published an extraordinary novel called The Competent Authority. It was his debut and in his inimitable style, tongue-in-cheek humour. A decade later, voila!, we have an official letter stating that “as desired by the Competent Authority”, Cow Hug Day has been withdrawn.

Happy Valentines Day!

14 Feb 2023

“A New History of India: From its origins to the twenty-first century” by Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Shobhita Punj and Toby Sinclair

. “A New History of India: From its origins to the twenty-first century” by noted historians Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Shobhita Punj and Toby Sinclair, published by Aleph Book Company .

A single-volume history of India such as this is sorely required. It is also beautifully illustrated with photographs and maps. History books on the trade list sell exceedingly well. These books access different communities of readers. But “A New History of India” will work tremendously well for ordinary readers, supplementary reader in middle and senior schools, prescribed text for schools that are not using state published textbooks or are affiliated to the NCERT or SCERT school boards, job aspirants taking various competitive exams including the Holy Grail — to join the hallowed portals of Indian bureaucracy, and many more. As a hardback, proced at Rs 999, it is a tad too expensive for many of the aforementioned readers but if a low-priced paperback, albeit published on poorer quality paper, this edition will sell like hot cakes. It also needs to be available in Indian languages. It will have a much larger reach. It is critical that it is made available since more than 50% of the Indian population is below the age of 25 and more than 65% is below the age of 35. This time period coincides with an astonishing lack of history about India’s history. This is exactly the lack of ignorance of the youth that is being preyed upon by Machiavellian individuals for their immediate political gains. It is a very worrying trend. Hence, books like this that are easy to consult and provide clear snapshots of our magnificent history are very welcome.

12 Feb 2023

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan’s school visit, 27 Jan 2023

On 27 Jan 2023, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan visited my daughter’s school. It was an author interaction organised for eighth graders. Apparently, the conversation revolved around poetry and writing. I am not surprised since Shobha’s debut book — It’s Time To Rhyme ( Aleph Book Company) — is a delicious collection of poems. My daughter too loves poetry and is musically inclined. For instance, when is in a foul mood or when she was an infant throwing a tantrum, the only way to get across to her was by playing music or speak to her in a sing song manner. So, the kid was thrilled to meet Shobha and talk poetry. And then the author very sweetly inscribed the book for Sarah.

29 Jan 2023

“Blue Sky, White Cloud: Three Novellas” by Nirmal Ghosh

I enjoyed reading Blue Sky White Cloud by Nirmal Ghosh. So much so, as soon as I finished reading it, I tagged a friend, tea-estate owner and an ardent conservationist, who has created an elephant pathway through her tea gardens in Nuxalbari, West Bengal. This is what I wrote on Facebook:

Sonia Jabbar, I kept thinking of you while reading Blue Sky White Cloud. The first novella, “River Storm” is gorgeous. It is about a tusker whose natural habitat is being encroached upon by humans, especially tea plantations in the North East of India. Whereas, in recent years, you have managed to reverse this trend and created elephant corridors through your tea estate. Someday, I hope, you will be in conversation with the author, Nirmal Ghosh, about wildlife conservation.

23 April 2022

“Miracle at Happy Bazaar” by Ruskin Bond

Although this book has been announced in the inaugural list of Aleph Book Company’s children’s literature imprint, it was first published in 2020. At that time, my then ten-year-old daughter, Sarah Rose, was asked to record this video by the publishing firm. It was to celebrate Ruskin Bond’s birthday in May 2020.

Enjoy! It is a fabulous book!

3 May 2022

“It’s Time to Rhyme: Poems for Kids of All Ages” by Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan

What is not to like in this book! It is utterly brilliant. Stupendous!

With offerings from sonnets in iambic pentameter, to limericks, acrostics, and villanelles, It’s Time to Rhyme is the perfect introduction to the joys of poetry for readers of all ages. Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan should consider writing a long poem for children. A story well told is heard far and wide. Format does not matter. The few poems collected in this slim volume are a guarded taster of what she is capable of! It is high time publishers broke shackles of the staid expectations of educators and parents and brought the fun back in storytelling. Let it be wild. Let it be nonsensical. Let it be joyous!

3 May 2022

Web Analytics Made Easy -
StatCounter