Off the shelf

Bhimani was a familiar face during ESPN-Star Sports8217; heady monopoly of all the cricket telecasts that were worth watching. He would clamber on to a helicopter to catch the action from high above, he8217;d cheer the lads along with Bollywood8217;s heroes, he8217;d jump into the pool beyond the boundary for water-to-surface commentary. It was always worth a laugh. But it did more. It confirmed the specialness of the spectator, that otherwise ignored factor in tele-vised matches. Here, Bhimani marks long overdue gratitude to the faithfuls in the crowd, those who keep tryst in the stands.

Brideless in Wembley

SANJAY SURI

Viking India, Rs 495

Suri, for long a London-based correspondent for Indian publications, journeys the British isles to capture a variety of Indian lives. To his credit, he leavens the sociology with enormous wit.

Praramabh

GANGADHAR GADGIL

NBT, Rs 240

Translated from the Marathi by Arvind Dixit, it traces the transformation of Mumbai between 1818 and 1869. Prarambh is already considered a classic of Marathi literature.

The Believers

ABDUL SULTAN AND PARTHA SENGUPTA

Phantomville, Rs 150

The graphic novel goes indie. In neat drawings, The Believers tells the story of Hamid, moved by his grandmother8217;s life to leave his student life in Edin-burgh and try to know his native Kerala. Well worth a leisurely read.

Management of Cerebral Palsy

KATE TEBBIT

Sage, Rs 330

Catering to children with special needs is never easy. But evolving scholarship, like in this volume, makes the task more focussed for teachers and par-ents. It comes with lots of case studies.