Book chronicles 70 years of India's independence

A book seeks to sum up the logs of India's independence through bite-sized information, fun facts, illustrations and detailed maps to capture snippets of each of these 70 years.
Puffin Books' "India at 70: Snapshots Since Independence", written by Roshen Dalal, provides glimpses of the country's vast and rich culture, its diversity and many languages, its eminent personalities and its achievements in all spheres.
From Partition to the Sino-India war, from the Emergency to the Kalam years, from the Jan Lokpal Bill to the recent demonetisation move, the book touches almost all important topics.
Dalal says she wrote this book in a short and easy-to- read format, to provide youngsters with an overview of India after Independence.

Culture is the main focus of the book.
"In India, one can see a gradual cultural revolution taking place, with the use of new media and new types of literature, art, music, dance, food and more. India's politics may see many ups and downs in the coming years, but for India's varied culture, there is no looking back as it continues its progress," Dalal says.

In literature, the book provides accounts of various authors, poets, and works in many of the 22 languages recognised in the Constitution. In cinema, select actors, film and directors have been chosen out of hundreds, again across various languages.

Then there are details of television and tele-serials, artists, musicians, dancers, and types of art, music and dance. The book also indicates how tradition is gradually giving way to new forms of culture, and showcases some of the latest trends.
According to the author, from ancient times, India had a rich tradition of literature, dance, music, art, sculpture and crafts of all kinds.
"By 1947, there were new trends in culture, with further innovations after the migration of artists and writers from across the border. As this book will show, India has achieved a lot in its first 70 years of being a nation. However, more remains to be done to ensure health, education, sanitation and welfare to every citizen," she says.

This book contains snapshots of each of these 70 years.
Each chapter begins with a brief account of the main political events of the year. It then looks at select personalities and cultural events that are key to that year.
At the end of each chapter is a short timeline of some additional events of the year.
Dalal says the eminent personalities for the book have been chosen from the many award winners of every year or because of their extraordinary contribution.
She says the most significant achievement in these years has been that India has remained a stable, functioning democracy, having followed the Constitution that was created soon after Independence.