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Book Reviews

Who and Why?

Rajshree Chandra

The players, plots and the movement that led to Gandhi’s murder

The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis /
The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis
Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh: The Forecaster

Amitav Ghosh’s new book is a parable for a planet in crisis. He speaks to Nandini Nair about the cruelties of colonialism and the violent trajectory of the nutmeg

An Economic History of India 1707-1857 /
An Economic History of India 1707-1857
Tirthankar Roy
The Birth of Modern India

Nationalist tropes and imperial assumptions miss the Raj’s real economic impact

Indian Botanical Art: An Illustrated History  /
Indian Botanical Art: An Illustrated History
Martyn Rix
Floral Folios

A cultural canvas for Indian plants

The Elephant in the Womb /
The Elephant in the Womb
Kalki Koechlin | Illustrated by Valeriya Polyanychko
Kalki Koechlin: Dragon Queen

Kalki Koechlin’s mommy memoir is like her: candid, creative and full of truths that the merchants of bliss don’t reveal

Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition /
Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition
Uday Mahurkar
The Restoration of Savarkar

How relevant is his muscular national security vision today?

False Allies: India’s Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma /
False Allies: India’s Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma
Manu S Pillai
The Quiet Patriotism of Ravi Varma

Funded by maharajahs, admired by moderates while also welcoming the extremist vision, in his domain, the artist manifested a nationalism of his own

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