Pavan K. Varma's Books

The Great Indian Middle Class

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Examines the evolution of the Indian middle class during the 20th century, especially since independence. This book is an useful read with an introduction analyses the transformation of the middle class.

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288

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Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0143103253

ISBN 13

9780143103257

Ghalib

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Ghalib

By: Pavan K. Varma

A Brilliant Biography Of Nineteenth Century India S Greatest Poet Mirza Mohammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib Began Writing Poetry In Persian At The Age Of Nine And The Pre-Eminent Poet Of The Time, Mir, Predicted A Great Future For The Precocious Genius When He Was Shown His Verse. But Success And Material Rewards Did Not Come To Ghalib Easily For The Times Were Against Him, And He Did Not Suffer Fools Gladly Even If They Occupied Positions Of Importance. Ghalib Was At The Height Of His Powers When Events Took A Turn For The Worse. First Came The Decline Of The Mughal Court, Then The Rise Of The British Empire And, Finally, The Revolt Of 1857. Though Ghalib Lived Through The Upheavals And Purges Of The Revolt, In Which Many Of His Contemporaries And Friends Died And His Beloved Delhi Was Irrevocably Changed, He Was A Broken Man And Longed For Death. When He Died, On 15 February 1869, He Left Behind Some Of The Most Vivid Accounts Of The Events Of The Period Ever Written. In This Illuminating Biography Pavan K. Varma Evocatively Captures The Spirit Of The Man And The Essence Of The Times He Lived In.

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384

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Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0143064819

ISBN 13

9780143064817

The Book of Krishna

By: Pavan Kumar Varma

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The Book of Krishna

By: Pavan Kumar Varma

Of all Vishnu's avatars, Krishna is regarded as the purna avatar, the complete incarnation, for he encapsulates in himself the entire gamut of emotions and attributes that constitute the ideal human personality. He is the most accessible of gods, and bridges the gap between the mortal and the immortal. In this book, Pavan Varma, the best-selling author of Krishna: The Playful Divine, succeeds brilliantly in communicating the exuberance, the charm and the complexity of this popular deity. Drawing upon the Puranas, classical literature, bhakti poetry and folklore, he has painted a rich and varied portrait of the blue god-as the delightfully mischievous child, the uninhibited lover, the formidable warrior, the wise and pragmatic philosopher, and the Supreme God.

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127

Publisher

Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

9351181456

ISBN 13

9789351181453

The Greatest Ode to Lord Ram: Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas Selections and Commentaries

By: Pavan K. Varma

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The Greatest Ode to Lord Ram: Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas Selections and Commentaries

By: Pavan K. Varma

AN EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND BUT LAYERED INTRODUCTION TO LORD RAM AS A GOD AND AS A MAN The Ramcharitmanas is undoubtedly one of the greatest lyrical compositions in Hindi literature. Writing in the sixteenth century, Tulsidas chose to pen verses in Awadhi rather than Sanskrit, thus breaking with literary tradition and importantly making Lord Ram more relatable to the layperson. Pavan K. Varma, author of the best-selling Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker has selected some of the most evocative stanzas—offering a succinct commentary for each—that capture the very core of the original. While centring the philosophical aspect of the Ramcharitmanas—the immutability of the soul over the merely corporeal; the transience of worldly pleasures; the placing of wisdom above knowledge—The Greatest Ode to Lord Ram describes a devoted son, a loving sibling, a committed lover, an ideal ruler and also a human, almost bereft of divinity. Indeed, Ram is a god and a man; he is comprehensible. Tulsidas’s seminal work employs a unique poetic linguistic tool that unravels even the most profound concepts with utmost simplicity, blending philosophy with breath taking verse. Varma’s compelling new selection and commentary achieves this effect by combining the aesthetics, romance and imagery of the original work with the unadulterated spirituality that sparkles through the conduct of a great god.

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339

Publisher

Westland Non-Fiction

ISBN 10

9357764747

ISBN 13

9789357764742

Becoming Indian

The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Becoming Indian

The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity

By: Pavan K. Varma

Those who have never been colonized can never really know what it does to the psyche of a people. Those who have been are often not fully aware of or are unwilling to accept the degree to which they have been compromised. Till just a few decades ago, much of the world was carved into empires. By the mid twentieth century independent countries had emerged from these, but even after years of political liberation, cultural freedom has eluded formerly colonized nations like India. In this important book, Pavan Varma, best-selling author of the seminal works The Great Indian Middle Class and Being Indian, looks at the consequences of Empire on the Indian psyche. Drawing upon modern Indian history, contemporary events and personal experience, he examines how and why the legacies of colonialism persist in our everyday life, affecting our language, politics, creative expression and self-image. Over six decades after Independence, English remains the most powerful language in India, and has become a means of social and economic exclusion. Our classical arts and literature continue to be neglected, and our popular culture is mindlessly imitative of western trends. Our cities are dotted with incongruous buildings that owe nothing to indigenous traditions of architecture. For all our bravado as an emerging superpower, we remain unnaturally sensitive to both criticism and praise from the Anglo-Saxon world and hunger for its approval. And outside North Block, the headquarters of free India's Ministry of Home Affairs, a visitor can still read these lines inscribed by the colonial rulers: Liberty will not descend to a people, a people must raise themselves to liberty. It is a blessing which must be earned before it can be enjoyed.

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288

Publisher

Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0670083461

ISBN 13

9780670083466

The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias And The Way Forward

By: Pavan K. Varma

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The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias And The Way Forward

By: Pavan K. Varma

About the Book A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF THE HINDU CIVILISATION AND ITS CURRENT CRISIS What do we mean by the Hindu civilisation? What are the texts and legacies that moved it forward from one century to another? How much of it has to do with inherited religious beliefs and how has the politicisation of these beliefs changed the prism through which Hindus view themselves and others, especially those identifying with different belief systems? These are the questions the author sets out to answer with this potted history of the Hindu world, in the context of changing empires and leaderships, through colonisation and conquest, leading up to the present challenges presented by the proponents of Hindutva. Direct, hard-hitting and wise, this is an invaluable treatise for our times.

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Page Count

434

Publisher

Westland

ISBN 10

9395073284

ISBN 13

9789395073288

Being Indian

The Truth about why the Twenty-first Century Will be India's

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Being Indian

The Truth about why the Twenty-first Century Will be India's

By: Pavan K. Varma

Misconceptions About India And Indians Abound, Fed By The Stereotypes Created By Foreigners, And The Myths About Themselves Projected By Indians. In Being Indian, Pavan K.Varma Demolishes These Myths And Generalizations As He Turns His Sharply Observant Gaze On His Fellow Countrymen To Examine What Really Makes Indians Tick And What They Have To Offer The World In The 21St Century. Varma S Insightful Analysis Of The Indian Personality And The Culture That Has Created It Reaches Startling New Conclusions On The Paradoxes And Contradictions That Characterize Indian Attitudes Towards Issues Such As Power, Wealth And Spirituality. How, For Example, Does The Appalling Indifference Of Most Indians To The Suffering Of The Poor And The Inequities Of The Caste System Square With Their Enthusiastic Championing Of Parliamentary Democracy? The Book Also Examines India S Future Prospects As An Economic, Military And Technological Power, Providing Valuable Pointers To The Likely Destiny Of A Nation Of One Billion People. Drawing On Sources As Diverse As Ancient Sanskrit Treatises And Bollywood Lyrics, And Illuminating His Examples With A Wealth Of Telling Anecdotes, Pavan Varma Creates A Vivid And Compelling Portrait Of Indians As He Argues That They Will Survive And Flourish In The New Millennium Precisely Because Of What They Are, Warts And All, And Not Because Of What They Think They Are Or Would Like To Be. This Book, Which Will Stimulate Reflection, Discussion And Controversy, Is A Must Read For Both Foreigners Who Wish To Understand Indians And Indians Who Wish To Understand Themselves.

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250

Publisher

Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0143033425

ISBN 13

9780143033424

Yudhisthir and Draupadi

By: Pavan K Varma

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Yudhisthir and Draupadi

By: Pavan K Varma

IN THE FOREST, IN THE STILLNESS OF HTE MORNING, YUDHISHTAR, CUSTODIAN OF MORALITY, OBLIVIOUS TO SCALE OR BALANCE, UNTHINKING, MADE LOVE TO THIS WOMAN, HIS WIFE DRAUPADI. A long poem in rhymed sonnets, Yudhishtar and Draupadi is and imaginative retelling of the encounter between the Pandavas and the Yaksha of the pool, which finds Yudhishtar, the eldest Pandava, answering fundamental philosophical questions about existence and the lives of his brothers hang in the balance. Unknown to him, also at stake is his relationship with Draupadi, who is still furious with him for having wagered her at the game of dice with Kauravas (‘he hadn’t won her; she wasn’t his to lose’). This marvellous poetic interpretation of a key episode from the Mahabharata has now been translated by renowned poet-lyricist Gulzar, and is re-published in a bilingual edition.

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177

Publisher

Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

8184757271

ISBN 13

9788184757279

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

By: Pavan K. Varma

About the Book A COMPREHENSIVELY RESEARCHED BOOK ON THE LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY OF ADI SHANKARACHARYA What is Brahman? What is its relationship to Atman? What is an individual’s place in the cosmos? Is a personalised god and ritualistic worship the only path to attain moksha? Does caste matter when a human is engaging with the metaphysical world? The answers to these perennial questions sparkle with clarity in this seminal account of a man and a saint, who revived Hinduism and gave to Upanishadic insights a rigorously structured and sublimely appealing philosophy. Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya (788–820 CE) was born in Kerala and died in Kedarnath, traversing the length of India in his search for the ultimate truth. In a short life of thirty-two years, Shankaracharya not only revived Hinduism, but also created the organisational structure for its perpetuation through the mathas he established in Sringeri, Dwaraka, Puri and Joshimatha. Adi Shankaracharaya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker is a meticulously researched and comprehensive account of his life and philosophy. Highly readable, and including a select anthology of Shankaracharya’s seminal writing, the book also examines the startling endorsement that contemporary science is giving to his ideas today. A must-read for people across the ideological spectrum, this book reminds readers about the remarkable philosophical underpinning of Hinduism, making it one of the most vibrant religions in the world.

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300

Publisher

Westland

Published Date

ISBN 10

9395073764

ISBN 13

9789395073769

The New Indian Middle Class

By: Pavan K. Varma

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The New Indian Middle Class

By: Pavan K. Varma

For the first time in our history, the Indian middle class has emerged as an important player in the elections, both in terms of numerical size and the influence it wields. For the first time, a pan-Indian class, largely homogeneous, mostly educated and universally angry, is a factor in the war rooms of almost all political parties. In the era of the global middleclass revolution, will the Indian counterpart emerge as a credible game changer? Does it have a wide and inclusive agenda, strong organization, effective leadership and an alternative vision that shows up political discrimination? Or will it be mere cannon fodder for calculating, manipulative, cynical politicians? In this important and timely book, Pavan K. Varma - the most respected analyst of the middle class in India - looks at the 2014 elections as a watershed in the evolution of this class. Crucially, he argues that what the middle class does now and the choices it makes will shape the future of India, for better or for worse.

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Harper Collins

Published Date

ISBN 10

9351362523

ISBN 13

9789351362524

The Last Song of Dusk

By: Pavan K Varma

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The Last Song of Dusk

By: Pavan K Varma

A Tale Of Exquisite Friendships, Immense Sacrifices And Dangerous Desires Pirouetting Between Laughter And Tears, Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi S Technicolour Debut Tells The Story Of Four Extraordinary Lives. Of Anuradha Gandharva, Gifted With Astonishing Beauty And Magical Songs; Of Her Husband, Vardhmaan, Struggling With Secret Losses; Of Nandini, A Deviously Alluring Artist, With A Penchant For Panthers And Walking On Water; And Of Shloka, The Gandharvas Delicate, Disturbingly Silent Child. As Their Fates Unravel In An Old Villa In 1920S India, They Learn To Navigate The Ever-Changing Landscape Of Love, And In Doing So Encounter A Host Of Eccentrics: Mr. Bunkusdaas, The Father Of Bollywood Cinema; Stella Dimm, England S First Ever Tit Girl ; Libya Dass, Rarely Seen Out Of Her Porcelain Bathtub; And Percival Worthington, The Aristocratically Limp Son Of The Governor Of Bombay, On Whom Nandini Rashly Sets Her Sights. Told With Tenderness And With Dazzling Wit, The Last Song Of Dusk Will Haunt You Long After You Have Turned The Final Page.

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308

Publisher

Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0143033417

ISBN 13

9780143033417

Being Indian

The Truth about why the Twenty-first Century Will be India's

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Being Indian

The Truth about why the Twenty-first Century Will be India's

By: Pavan K. Varma

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250

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Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0143033425

ISBN 13

9780143033424

The New Indian Middle Class

By: Pavan K. Varma

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The New Indian Middle Class

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Harper Collins

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9351362523

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9789351362524

Chanakya's New Manifesto to Resolve the Crisis Within India

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Chanakya's New Manifesto to Resolve the Crisis Within India

By: Pavan K. Varma

Chanakyas New Manifesto: To Resolve theCrisis within India Acclaimed author Pavan K. Varmas new book analyzes themultiple challenges facing the country today and proposes clear andunambiguous solutions to them. Chanakya (c. 270-380 BCE) was classical Indias greatestthinkerand teacher. Through his unparalleled ability to deviseresult-oriented military, political, and administrative strategy, heoverthrew one king, crowned another and paved the way for theestablishment of Indias first great empire. His seminal work, theArthashashtra, arguably the worlds first comprehensive treatiseonstate craft and governance, was written approximately twothousand years before Machiavellis The Prince. What would Chanakya do if confronted with the various crisesthat beset contemporary India? Using this question as the startingpoint for his new book, celebrated writer and thinker Pavan K.Varmahas drawn up a practical and detailed plan, modelled on theArthashashtra, to bring about reform and change in five key areasthat require urgent attention-governance, democracy, corruption, security, and the building of an inclusive society.Whether it is laying the foundation for an independent andeffective Lokpal, ordecriminalizing politics and successfullyweeding out the corrupt, the solutions he proposes are substantive, well within the constitutional framework, and can make all thedifference between intent and action. Chanakyas New Manifesto is both a call to action as well as adeeply insightful account of the challenges facing thecountrytoday. It is a book that should be attentively read byeverybodywith a stake in Indias future. About Author: Pavan K. Varma Pavan K. Varma studied history at St Stephens College, Delhi, andtook a degree in law from Delhi University. He has been presssecretary to the president of India, official spokesman of theForeign Office, director general of the Indian Council for CulturalRelations, and Indias ambassador to B

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248

Publisher

Rupa Publications

Published Date

ISBN 10

9382277099

ISBN 13

9789382277095

Ghalib

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Ghalib

By: Pavan K. Varma

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384

Publisher

Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0143064819

ISBN 13

9780143064817

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

By: Pavan K. Varma

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Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

By: Pavan K. Varma

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300

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Westland

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ISBN 10

9395073764

ISBN 13

9789395073769

Book's by Pavan K. Varma

The Great Indian Middle Class

The Great Indian Middle Class

Ghalib

Ghalib

The Book of Krishna

The Book of Krishna

The Greatest Ode to Lord Ram: Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas Selections and Commentaries

The Greatest Ode to Lord Ram: Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas Selections and Commentaries

Becoming Indian

Becoming Indian

The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias And The Way Forward

The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias And The Way Forward

Being Indian

Being Indian

Yudhisthir and Draupadi

Yudhisthir and Draupadi

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

The New Indian Middle Class

The New Indian Middle Class

The Last Song of Dusk

The Last Song of Dusk

Being Indian

Being Indian

The New Indian Middle Class

The New Indian Middle Class

Chanakya's New Manifesto to Resolve the Crisis Within India

Chanakya's New Manifesto to Resolve the Crisis Within India

Ghalib

Ghalib

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduisms Greatest Thinker

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