Bangaliyana

Evocatively titled, Of Newtons and Apples: Insights into 50 Great Minds in Human History does exactly what it promises. It gives us a glimpse into the professional and personal lives of 50 great personalities whose names, in some cases, are a part of everyday conversation, while in others, they are familiar names about whom we know little.

Just the way the falling of an apple led to major discoveries by Newton, this work tries to identify sources of the genius of the personalities across human history. These men and women were either creators or those who redefined the course of history in their field of work. Interestingly, each article focuses on a major achievement and one aspect of their personal lives. Such sharpness makes the articles short, engaging and, in many cases, poetic.

The classification of personalities into Building, Doing and Thinking gives us new eyes to look at them once again and debate within ourselves, the fuzzy boundaries that exist between these three primary human activities.

This book is a significant addition to the growing body of literature on Sri Aurobindo. Dr. Singh delves deep into the works of Sri Aurobindo to present a compelling and fascinating collage of the philosopher’s multifaceted and multidimensional genius: Sri Aurobindo as seer and mystic, as visionary and poet, as writer, translator, linguist and critic, and as India’s first spiritual nationalist. Sri Aurobindo, as this book declares, a true fountainhead of India’s literary renaissance, needs to be discovered and better appreciated not just in India, but globally, and Dr Singh has given an incredible tribute to the saint with this exceptional book.

Compulsive Nose-Picking and Other True Tales is a collection of short stories that touches upon subjects ranging from love to loss to survival and unbelievable coincidences, including some wild ones. The anecdotes, written in an accessible style and laced with dollops of humour, are sure to inform, entertain and inspire readers.

The Collector’s Mother is a story of grit and perseverance. An ‘unwanted’ woman from an underprivileged background is attacked and, along with her husband, dragged on the village road and humiliated, and the family’s land grabbed by a local land mafia. In the godforsaken village deep into the hinterland, such excesses are not uncommon, but her steely resolve makes her stand out. How she weathers through such soul-sapping encounters to beat all odds and inspires his son to become a collector is at the heart of this extraordinary story set against the backdrop of abject caste oppression, absence of rule of law, persistent traditional power structure, pitiable education system, food insecurity, drought, famine, lack of health care and communication, hatred and domination by fellow villagers.

This book delves deep into the works of Sri Aurobindo to present a compelling and fascinating collage of his multifaceted and multidimensional genius, who is not only one of the greatest political leaders of modern times but a supreme visionary, thinker par excellence, great scholar and writer, spiritual guide and statesman, and a leader of all humanity.

The author presents perspectives on his vast oeuvre as a darshanik and shares his exalted dream and aspiration for India and humanity, his horizonless ranges that are their own skylines, his lights, and his snow-capped peaks.

It gives a glimpse into Sri Aurobindo’s pragmatic integral philosophy that is unique in being Vedantic in essence yet modern in expression and outlook.