Bücher veröffentlicht von Speaking Tiger Books

A beloved tale of genies, a magic lamp, an evil villain, and the remarkable adventures of a boy called Aladdin.Fifteen-year-old Aladdin is befriended by a stranger who says he is Aladdin's uncle. Charmed by his generosity and friendliness, Aladdin accompanies the man to a cave somewhere in the wilderness outside the city. From the cave, Aladdin gathers all kinds of astonishing jewels-and a lamp that looks old and ordinary. But when the stranger reveals himself as a magician, and locks Aladdin in the cave, the boy discovers there is magic everywhere, including in the old ring he is wearing on his finger. From here start the extraordinary exploits of Aladdin. Will he be able to become a rich man with the help of the genie of the lamp? Will he win the hand and heart of the Princess Badroulboudour? And how will he rescue her when his lamp is stolen from him by trickery?An everlasting story of genies and enchantment, love and deceit, a poor boy and a beautiful princess, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp will capture the hearts of readers once more, in this beautiful edition introduced by Ruskin Bond.

Janice Campbell Paul was just an ordinary American woman, not particularly religious or spiritual, when she was stricken with fibromyalgia, an illness so inexplicable that even the doctors were left puzzled. Slowly, as the sickness took over, she lost the life she had known. As friends and family eased their way out of her life, she was left alone, completely dependent on a wheelchair as she struggled to adjust to her new world.It was then that she discovered love. First, the love of God, which, she believes, created a series of miraculous events that set her life on a different course completely, and enabled her to walk again. The other love, no less powerful, was for a young man, many years her junior, in faraway West Bengal. Their long-distance relationship gave her the courage to dream again. It also gave her the courage to follow her calling and, equipped with a Bible and a heart full of faith, she travelled to the remote village of Bhat Bandh in Bengal. Together, she and the young man built a church, worked with an orphanage and struggled in a culture that would never accept their love or secret marriage.The couple moved to Kathmandu, where Janice lived for many years, though the struggles and challenges they faced eventually destroyed their marriage and their faith in their purpose together. Now 64, Janice is still walking...a bit slower but still determined to go out and tell the world about her healing, about a God that lives in a most imperfect woman and to show others that there is hope in a very dark world.

'The memoirs of a self-confessed maverick wildlife biologist, full of fascinating information, and stories told with Rauf's inimitable caustic humour. A must for wildlife lovers and all who enjoy a unique read.'-Mark TullyBeginning with his interactions with Dr Salim Ali, the legendary ornithologist-who was also his grand-uncle-wildlife biologist Rauf Ali takes the reader on a journey through India's natural history and the beginning of ecological studies in India.Rauf was one of the first Indians to complete a PhD in wildlife biology-he researched the social behaviour of bonnet macaques in the forests of Mundanthurai region in Tamil Nadu. In the late 1980s, he was instrumental in setting up one of India's first Masters programmes in ecology, and later, as an ecologist, Rauf undertook the task of delineating Protected Areas in the Palani Hills of the Western Ghats. He was also among the first to conduct environmental research in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and in this book, he provides eye-opening information on the environmental damage caused by the introduction of chital and other species alien to the region.Enlivening the narrative are anecdotes drawn from a career spanning over three decades: of encountering wild elephants; dealing with red tape; and whiskey-laced brainstorming sessions with students and Nobel laureates alike.Through these personal accounts, Rauf reveals the state of environmental conservation in India, and the complex relationship between locals, wildlife researchers and forest officials. He also emerges as a person who was influential in creating policies for the conservation of the environment and who had little patience for the corruption and bureaucratic processes that came in the way. Quirky, candid and informative, Running Away from Elephants is an invaluable addition to writings on natural history in India.

Jim Corbett, ace hunter and inimitable raconteur, was also a gifted observer, not just of the jungle but also of the people around him. In the seventeen sketches included in 'The Hunter's Friends', readers will meet the men and women Corbett lived, hunted and worked with, both in Kumaon-Corbett's stomping grounds for most of his life- and in Mokameh Ghat, where he was employed by the Railways.'Kunwar Singh', intrepid poacher of the Kaladhungi jungles, tells young Corbett the cautionary tale of his friend, who was taught a harsh lesson by a tiger because he couldn't climb trees; in 'Putli and Kalwa', Corbett befriends a brave young girl leading a bullock to her uncle's house even as the man-eater of Muktesar prowls about in search of a victim. And, in 'Adventures with Magog', Corbett's delightful and touching profile of his hunting dog, he describes the terrifying yet funny consequences of disturbing a sleeping tiger.Compassionate, insightful and witty, 'The Hunter's Friends' is a book to read and to keep returning to.

The Fortunate Tiger and Other Close Encounters selects the most thrilling adventures of Jim Corbett of Kumaon, legendary hunter and author. Corbett, who bagged his first leopard at ten, with a rifle won in a marksmanship competition, ranged far and wide across Kumaon and Garhwal for much of his life, rescuing villages terrorized by man-eating felines. And, in the stories of his exploits-'The Fortunate Tiger', which seemed to enjoy divine protection from his bullets; 'The Man- eating Tigress of Chowgarh', who stalked Corbett even as he went looking for her; 'The Talla Des Killer', which he was forced to track while nursing a burst eardrum; and 'The Final Man-eater' of Corbett's career, a tigress which he lured and shot using himself as bait-Corbett gives us some of the greatest shikar tales ever told. Nature and adventure writing at its very best, The Fortunate Tiger and Other Close Encounters is a classic for all time.

This feeble blemished light, this dawn mangled by night, This is not the morning we had all so longed for... -Faiz Ahmed FaizIn the two decades since the early 1990s, when India confirmed its allegiance to the Free Market, more of its citizens have become marginalized than ever before, and society has become more sharply riven than ever.In Looking Away, Harsh Mander ranges wide to record and analyse the many different fault lines which crisscross Indian society today.There is increasing prosperity among the middle classes, but also a corresponding intolerance for the less fortunate. Poverty and homelessness are also on the rise-both in urban and rural settings- but not only has the state abandoned its responsibility to provide for those afflicted, the middle class, too, now avoids even the basic impulses of sharing. And with the sharp Rightward turn in politics, minority communities are under serious threat-their very status as citizens in question-as a belligerent, monolithic idea of the nation takes the place of an inclusive, tolerant one.However, as Harsh Mander points out, what most stains society today is the erosion in the imperative for sympathy, both at the state and individual levels, a crumbling that is principally at the base of the vast inequities which afflict India. Exhaustive in its scope, impassioned in its arguments, and rigorous in its scholarship, Looking Away is a sobering checklist of all the things we must collectively get right if India is to become the country that was promised, in equal measure, to all its citizens.

Nandita Haksar's magnum opus traces the tortured history of Kashmiri nationalism through the lives of two men: Sampat Prakash, a Kashmiri Pandit and Communist trade union leader who became active in politics during the Cold War years, and Mohammad Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri Muslim who became active in the early days of the Kashmir insurgency. The ideas and deeds of many other individuals and groups are woven into this twin account which tries to examine how Kashmiri nationalists are caught in the web of international intrigue, as they negotiate the rivalries between the old and new superpowers and also the competing nationalisms of India and Pakistan, which invariably translate into Hindu-Muslim antagonism. Both Prakash and Guru refused to give up the idea of a more inclusive Kashmir, with space in it for all faiths and nationalities. Their paths crossed at a juncture of history when both believed that their vision of Kashmir was possible. But their dream has been all but destroyed by the forces of history, leaving Prakash and his comrades alone and isolated, and leading to the hounding and execution of Guru. This nuanced, multi-layered book combines personal and public narratives, political analysis and the rare insights of an activist who led the campaign to save Mohammad Afzal Guru from the gallows. Singular in scope and focus, and spanning a period of over eight decades, from the 1930s until 2015, this is an unprecedented examination of the history of modern Kashmir.