Of mother, marks and survival (IANS Books This Weekend)

Discover the touching fictional tale of a joint family at the centre of which is "mai" or the mother, who holds the entire family together; flick through a manual that lists steps to securing good marks in examinations, and finally read about the historic force that is shaking our world. There is nothing more diverse that the IANS bookshelf could offer this week.

Book: Mai: Silently Mother; Author: Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Nita Kumar; Publisher: Niyogi Books; Price: Rs 395; Pages: 223

Behind the walls of a house in a North Indian town, a whole world of the joint family, their attendants and visitors thrive. Three generations of women and their men live different strategies of adjustment and achievement to accommodate patriarchy. At the centre is mai, the mother, seemingly weak and silent, but it is she who holds together the subtle patterns of relationships and agencies, and quietly carves out a life for herself as also for those around her. Profound stories of love and loss are lightly delivered in this wonderful offering.

2. Book: 13 Steps To Bloody Good Marks; Author: Ashwin Sanghi and Ashok Rajani; Publisher: Westland; Price: Rs 150; Pages: 142

The Indian education system is a minefield. Negotiating this minefield and emerging with flying colours is a source of great strain and anxiety for Indian pupils and parents alike. Who can guide students to develop good study habits and thus get better results?

After the stupendous success of "13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck" and "13 Steps to Bloody Good Wealth," bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi (along with co-author, Ashok Rajani) presents a power-packed little book that provides simple, straightforward and effective steps that are a sure-fire way to obtain Bloody Good Marks!

3. Book: The Seventh Sense; Author: Joshua Cooper Ramo; Publisher: Hachette India; Price: Rs 499; Pages: 343

All around us now we are surrounded by events that are difficult to understand. But every day, new figures and forces emerge that seem to have mastered this tumultuous age.

In this groundbreaking new book, Joshua Cooper Ramo, author of the international bestseller "The Age of the Unthinkable", introduces a powerful way of seeing the world. It is the story about what today's successful figures see and feel -- forces that are invisible to most of us but explain everything from explosive technological change to uneasy political ripples. The secret to power now is understanding our new age of networks -- not merely the Internet but also networks of trade and DNA and finance. Based on his years of advising generals, CEOs, and politicians, Ramo takes us into the opaque heart of our world's rapidly connected systems and teaches us what the victors of this age know -- and what the losers are not yet seeing.

--IANS

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