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Archives: Books

We Are the Champions: 40 Iconic Moments in Indian Sports | Inspiring Stories from Cricket, Olympics & Beyond | Biographies of India’s Legendary Athletes | Ages 13+

‘We needed such a book to document some of our greatest sporting moments’—Kapil Dev

From India’s first Olympic hockey gold in 1948 to Kapil Dev’s World Cup triumph in 1983, from Mary Kom’s world titles to Neeraj Chopra’s javelin glory, this book brings to life the victories that put India on the global sporting map.

Celebrate the athletes who changed the game—icons like Sunil Gavaskar, Mithali Raj and Pankaj Advani, as
well as barrier-breakers like Avani Lekhara and Sumit Antil. Their courage, sacrifice and will to win lit the path for today’s generation of sporting stars.

Packed with inspiring stories, dramatic comebacks and edge-of-the-seat finishes, We Are the Champions
is more than a collection of great victories—it is the story of how India learned to dream big and turn
those dreams into glorious reality!

Sewa Hi Sankalp Rashtra Pratham Hi Prerna : Narendra Modi / सेवा ही संकल्प राष्ट्र प्रथम ही प्रेरणा : नरेन्द्र मोदी

सीमित संसाधनों में पला-बढ़ा एक बालक, जो आगे चलकर भारत का प्रधानमंत्री बना और पूरे वैश्विक पटल पर अपनी एक अमिट छाप छोड़ दी।
ये कैसे हुआ, प्रेरणाएं कहां से मिलीं। इस असाधारण उपलब्धि के पीछे कौन सी सोच काम कर रही थी, वो कौन से अनुभव थे जिन्होंने एक बालक को असाधारण बना दिया, इन्ही जिज्ञासाओं से इस पुस्तक संग्रह (बॉक्स सेट) ‘सेवा ही संकल्प, राष्ट्र प्रथम ही प्रेरणा — नरेन्द्र मोदी’ का जन्म हुआ है।
दुर्लभ फ़ोटोग्राफ़्स और अनसुनी घटनाओं से सजी यह पुस्तक संग्रह प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी के जीवन की अनदेखी झांकी है। चार पुस्तकों और तीन भागों में विभाजित, यह नरेन्द्र दामोदरदास मोदी की कहानी है। ये गुजरात के वडनगर में जन्मे और पले-बढ़े एक कौतूहल से भरे युवा की यात्रा है, जो अपने जन्म-प्रदेश का मुख्यमंत्री बना। लाखों लोगों को प्रभावित करने वाली ये यात्रा, भविष्य में करोड़ों-अरबों लोगों के जीवन में संभावनाओं का सूर्य बनकर चमकने वाली थी।
इस संग्रह की पहली पुस्तक ‘Seeds of Service – सेवा के बीज’ आपको युवा नरेन्द्र मोदी के प्रारंभिक वर्षों, शुरुआती अनुभवों और उनके जीवन पर पड़ने वाले प्रभावों में गहराई तक ले जाएगी और उनके संवेदनशील बचपन, युवावस्था, स्वयंसेवक के रूप में यात्रा जैसे विविध पहलुओं से जोड़ेगी।
दूसरी पुस्तक ‘Dedication and Duty – समर्पण और कर्तव्य’ में आपको उनके भारतीय जनता पार्टी में अभूतपूर्व उत्थान, सांगठनिक पुर्नगठन, तबाह हो चुकी मातृभूमि में एक मुसाफिर बेटे की वापसी जैसे कई विषयों की जानकारी होगी। भारतीय जनता पार्टी के सबसे सफल रणनीतिकारों में से एक के रूप में यह उनकी वो यात्रा है, जिसने पार्टी, प्रदेश और देश का युग परिभाषित कर दिया।
इस संग्रह की तीसरी पुस्तक ‘Nagrik Devo Bhava – नागरिक देवो भवः’ एक मुख्यमंत्री के तौर नरेन्द्र मोदी द्वारा गुजरात में बद‌लाव और प्रगति की एक अद्वितीय गाथा है। लगातार चार कार्यकालों में व्यापक बहुक्षेत्रीय और बहुआयामी परिवर्तनों की ये कथा अपने आप में प्रेरणा का ज्योति पुंज है।
संग्रह की चौथी व अंतिम पुस्तक ‘यादगार स्मृतियां – Memorable Glimpses’ उनके जन्म से लेकर गुजरात के मुख्यमंत्री बनने तक के विविध क्षणों को चित्रों के माध्यम से सामने लाती है।
इस पुस्तक संग्रह में जनमानस के उन अनुभवों को समाहित किया गया है, जिन्होंने मिलकर 140 करोड़ भारतीयों के लोकतांत्रिक रूप से निर्वाचित नेता को गढ़ा है। यह पुस्तक संग्रह उस ऐतिहासिक मोड़ पर समाप्त होता है, जब नरेन्द्र मोदी, 1947 के बाद पैदा हुए पहले प्रधानमंत्री के रूप में, बतौर सरकार के मुखिया, दुनिया के सबसे बड़े लोकतंत्र के मंदिर, भारतीय संसद की सीढ़ियों पर झुके थे।

Gods, Guns & Missionaries

When European missionaries first arrived in India in the sixteenth century, they entered a world both fascinating and bewildering. Hinduism, as they saw it, was a pagan mess: the worship of devils and monsters by a people who burned women alive, performed outlandish rites and fed children to crocodiles. But soon it became clear that Hindu ‘idolatry’ was far more complex than white men’s stereotypes allowed, and Hindus had little desire to convert.

But then, European power began to grow in India, and under colonial rule, missionaries assumed a forbidding appearance. During the British Raj, Western frames of thinking gained ascendancy and Hindus felt pressed to reimagine their religion. This was both to fortify it against Christian attacks and to resist foreign rule. It is this encounter which has, in good measure, inspired modern Hinduism’s present shape. Indeed, Hindus subverted some of the missionaries’ own tools and strategies in the process, triggering the birth of Hindu nationalism, now so dominant in the country.

In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, Manu S. Pillai takes us through these remarkable dynamics. With an arresting cast of characters—maharajahs, poets, gun-wielding revolutionaries, politicians, polemicists, philosophers and clergymen—this book is ambitious in its scope and provocative in its position. Lucid and exhaustive, it is, at once, a political history, a review of Hindu culture and a study of the social forces that prepared the ground for Hindu nationalism. Turning away from simplistic ideas on religious evolution and European imperialism, the past as it appears here is more complicated—and infinitely richer—than popular narratives allow.

City Limits

Part of the acclaimed Rethinking India series, the volume deals with the issue of unplanned and unchecked urbanization in Indian cities that has worsened the quality of life and widened the socio-economic divide. Through essays by some of our leading experts in policymaking and urban development, this book addresses the major problems and offers necessary solutions—serving as a guidebook on how to build sustainable and inclusive cities.

Get Hooked to Pets (Hook Books)

Celebrate the joy that animals bring to our lives!

Hey Diddle Diddle! by Anushka Ravishankar
Illustrations by Priya Kuriyan

A horse may be able to jump over the moon. Can a cow do it? Hey diddle diddle.

I Want a Pet by Arundhati Venkatesh
Illustrations by Reshu Singh

Jasbir has always wanted a pet, not a sibling. Then one day, a buffalo walks into his life and does not want to leave …

Puppy Trouble by Bijal Vachharajani
Illustrations by Rajiv Eipe

Amit wants a puppy. But when a pokey-bitey-chewy-peeing pup turns up, he is not sure he wants a dog any more …

Passepartout, Is That You? by Menaka Raman
Illustrations by Jemma Jose

Thatha has asked Shyam to keep an eye on Passepartout, a rescued tortoise. But now Passepartout has disappeared. Where can Shyam and Kannamma find him?

About the Hook Book Series

In a world where children’s books often feel cut from the same cloth, Hook Books stand out as a vibrant blend of imagination, humour, and heart. Crafted as a bridge between picture books and early chapter books, this series delivers stories that spark joy and wonder, while remaining rooted in age-appropriate learning.

Hook Books keep the fun going with:

  • Short, digestible bits of text (perfect for budding readers)
  • Bright colour illustrations that pull kids into the story
  • Themes that speak to the everyday lives of children—plus a sprinkle of whimsy!

From fantasy tales to those that touch on more advanced ideas, Hook Books ensure that young readers are always in for a treat, no matter their reading level. Even better, these books take children on journeys through different parts of India, giving them a taste of the rich diversity of our world through local flavours, landscapes, and cultures. Whether the story takes place in bustling cities or quiet villages, Hook Books make every setting feel like home.

Tan Ki Haar / तन की हार

‘कैलाश तुम्हारी पत्नी है। तुम्हारा कर्तव्य उसके लिए भी होना चाहिए। प्रत्येक संबंध अपनी जगह पर स्थिर रहना चाहिए। प्रत्येक संबंध को प्यार, स्नेह और सहृदयता दीजिए, जिसका यह अभिलाषी है। विवाहित जीवन में तुम्हें बदलना भी पड़ेगा। तुम्हारी ख़ुशी उसकी ख़ुशी है। उसकी ख़ुशी तुम्हारी ख़ुशी है और यही जीवन है।’

A WhOle Lot of Petu Pumpkin (hOle Books)

Join the merry adventures of the Awesome Foursome as they try to stop their friend Petu Pumpkin from polishing off their tiffins and worse, heading towards a life of crime—and helping him lose a tooth (mainly to trade it for a football and win the big match).

The well-loved award-winning books are now in one hilarious package, with a special note by the author for this edition.

A WhOle Lot of Chumki (hOle Books)

Chumki is brave and gutsy and faces all challenges with gusto (and some self-doubt), whether it is saving a pangolin, looking out for some runaway elephants, helping her grandmother who forgets everything, or dealing with people who think she is unlucky.

These funny adventure books are now in one delightful package, with a special note by the author for this edition.

Think Big! (hOle book)

Geet is full of amazing ideas. But are her ideas enough to win at the October Bazaar when (really) she does not have the skills?

When It All Began

In the 1980s, the streets of Dongri, Pydhonie, Nagpada, Agripada and Byculla witnessed some of the bloodiest gang wars and reigns of terror India had ever seen. These neighbourhoods became the battlegrounds of crime. But when did it all begin?

Tracing it back to the 1930s, when Abdul Karim Sher Khan Pathan, aka Karim Lala—considered one of the first feared dons of Bombay—arrived in the city. He soon mastered the tricks of the trade with the Pathan lords Babul Khan and Jumma Khan, thus gradually establishing his dominance. As the Pathans grew in power, resentment against them simmered among the Pathans. Petty criminals from the city’s streets and markets began to evolve into ‘dadas’ and ‘bhais’, forming gangs of their own.

This gave rise to the first generation of dons—figures including Karim Lala, Haji Mastan and Dilip Aziz—who built empires through smuggling, extortion and other rackets. Over time, these groups diversified, regrouped and expanded into larger syndicates of organized crime.

But the next generation of gangsters were ruthless. Power struggles turned volatile, and many began to pose serious threats to one another. Dawood Ibrahim and his allies too emerged during this time. What followed was an era of bloody rivalries, gangsters eliminating their rivals with impunity, openly defying the police.

Rakesh Maria, the veteran Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who led some of India’s most high-profile investigations, reflects on the tumultuous history in this extraordinary book, When It All Began. Replete with rare information, landmark cases and the full arc of gang wars at every turn, the account captures the rise and fall of Bombay’s underworld like never before. With its authoritative voice and an insider’s perspective, this book will grip you to the very end.

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