On the Shelf

The story is told through the tragic love affair between Habib and Mohini, both of them idealists yet made acutely conscious of familial opposition to their union. Yet, in its detail, the novel somehow strikes a parallel to Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column, about another young woman in Lucknow who too faces the choice between India and Pakistan, and chooses differently.

The Heart Divided is simultaneously a well-told take, as well as handy raw material for anyone seeking understanding of the politics of the 1930s and 1940s.

MUSIC MAKERS: LIVING LEGENDS OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC
By Ashok Roy
Rupa

LAVISHLY illustrated with photographs old and new, this is an accessible guide to a constellation of music greats, from M.S. Subbulakshmi to Gangubhai Hangal, from Bismillah Khan to Zia Fariduddin Dagar. Would sit well on the coffee table and the music lover’s bookshelf.

BIRDS OF WESTERN GHATS
By Satish Pande, Saleel Tambe, Clement Francis, Niranjan Sant OUP, Rs 995

More than 1700 photographs and rapid write-ups on the birds that inhabit some of India’s lushest stretches.