On The Shelf

First Proof: The Penguin Book of New Writing from India
Penguin Price: Rs 295
The future looks good,” exult the editors of this collection of work by writers they believe have not enjoyed as much acclaim as they deserve. It is a mixed bag, with some extremely promising work squeezed between some very ordinary — and in a few cases pretentious — samples in this plump volume. Jerry Pinto’s chapter from a work in progress the vamp in Indian cinema is particularly recommended.

Tiger!
By Kailash Sankhala
Natraj Price: Rs 450
Now that the gains of Project Tiger are literally disappearing, it is instructive to rewind to the moment when it all began. Sankhala played a leading role in the Project from the moment it took shape in 1972. This posthumously published “autobiography of a tiger addict” covers an introduction to the tiger’s unique characteristics and a study of its interaction with man.

A Social History of Indian Architecture
By VS Parmar
Oxford University Press
Price: Rs 995
Contemporary architecture in India often seems to be developing in such confused isolation that V.S. Parmar’s study drops a welcome anchor. Surveying the expanse of the subcontinent and delving way back into antiquity, the author studies settlement patterns in Gujarat, individual houses and residences in western India, funerary monuments in northern India and religious structures throughout the region.