Of finance, mystery, myth and wisdom (IANS Books This Weekend)

Learn to read balance sheets and deploy funds smartly, flick through the mysterious story of a murder, read the interesting story of Ramayana told from Sita's perspective and gain ancient wisdom for modern-day living. There's varied fare on the IANS bookshelf this weekend.

1. Book: Romancing the Balance Sheet; Author: Anil Lamba; Publisher: Collins Business; Pages: 238; Price: Rs 750

There is no such thing as a non-finance person. It is an error to think that finance management is limited to the finance department. In fact, it is happening right through the organization as every action you take impacts your company's bottom line.

Read this book to understand what profit really means and how inventory and sales impact it. Make the most efficient use of your working capital and discover the simple secrets of marginal costing, leverage and fund flows.

2. Book: Penumbra; Author: Bhaskar Chattopadhyay; Publisher: Fingerprint; Price: Rs 250; Pages: 206

A mysterious letter arrives for Prakash Ray, an out-of-luck journalist, inviting him to a quaint, suburban bungalow, to celebrate the 60th birthday of an uncle he has never heard of. When Prakash reaches the venue, he is introduced to a motley group of people, all gathered there for the old man's big day.

As a storm lashes on through the night, one person in the bungalow is murdered. In a cat-and-mouse game that follows, Prakash soon finds out that under the surface of apparent warmth and friendliness, nothing is as it seems and the bungalow holds one shocking secret after another.

In a bid to save his own life, Prakash hunts for the truth, which lies in a mysterious penumbra of shadows and lights, covered in a sheath of deceit and guile, only to realize that the worst is yet to come.

3. Book: The Liberation of Sita; Author: Volga; Translators: T. Vijay Kumar and C. Vijayasree; Publisher: Harper Perennial; Pages: 127; Price: Rs 199

Valmiki's Ramayana is the story of a triumphant king -- Rama -- who will always do right by his subjects.

In Volga's retelling, it is Sita who, after being abandoned by Purushottam Rama, embarks on an arduous journey to self-realization. Along the way, she meets extraordinary women who have broken free from all that held them back: husbands, sons and their notions of desire, beauty and chastity. The minor women characters of the epic as we know it -- Surpanakha, Renuka, Urmila and Ahalya -- steer Sita towards an unexpected resolution. Meanwhile, Rama too must reconsider his role as the king of Ayodhya and as a man deeply in love with his wife.

A powerful subversion of India's most popular tale of morality, choice and sacrifice, The Liberation of Sita opens up new spaces within the old discourse, enabling women to review their lives and experiences afresh. This is Volga at her feminist best.

4. Book: Open Eyed Meditations; Author: Shubha Vilas; Publisher: Fingerprint; Pages: 279; Price: Rs 250

Open Eyed Meditations is a compilation of thoughts wherein each meditation takes you on a journey to the past, bringing a secret herb to heal a problem of the present. A true distillation of ancient wisdom tips for modern lives, this unique self-help book uses the wisdom of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata to solve your everyday problems.

Beyond the story line, something deeper is waiting to be discovered from these ancient texts. This book uncovers the hidden layer of wealth that is cleverly packaged within the commonly-known story lines.

--IANS

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