Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller

A "must read" for Hindus all over the world! Dr Anand Ranganathan explains in his meticulously researched book that far from being the "Fascist Majority in a Hindu Rashtra" Hindus in India are really victims of wrongs that have been followed for decades -even after Independence in 1947. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even to this day, over 75 years after India gained freedom from British Rule, one of the architects of the fight for freedom, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, remains shrouded in mystery. This book by Maj. Gen. M K Paul, Indian Army (Retd), about one of the greatest sons of India, is a captivating and informative account of the life and times of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Many books, especially biogra...

One of the most fascinating books about the Second World War. A collection of essays that covers the entire duration of the War from how it started in 1939 to how it ended in 1945. Personal accounts from those who lived through the events described intersperse the contributions from well-known historians and scholars. This makes the book all the more readable and interesting.  Hosted on Acast...

The economic growth of India is being propelled by digitalisation. It has made our lives easier in many ways. This is the first in a series of podcasts I hope to do on what Digital India means to the people of India.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Lownie's 2019 book is an eye opener on the lives of two people who were very much in the public eye for most of the 20th century in Britain:  Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and his wife, Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Lownie writes about aspects of their lives which were not commonly known.  We follow Mountbatten's career in the Royal Navy from 1916...

Wouldn't you like to write better? May be you aren’t able to make time for writing, may be you are not satisfied with your output, or may be you are not motivated to write as you once were. Here I share my thoughts and those of some famous writers to budding and seasoned writers alike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We got the opportunity to listen to many talented writers speak about their books and work on Day 2 of the XI Bangalore Literature Festival, 2022.  I was delighted to interview authors Raghu and Pushpa Plat on their new historical novel, " Destiny's Child" in one of the sessions today. A most enjoyable experience.  My mind goes back to the inaugural #BlrLitFest held in 2012 which I had a...

The Bangalore Literature Festival held on December 3 and 4, 2022 drew a galaxy of writers who spoke about their books and related subjects. In this podcast, I share my take on the some of the sessions I enjoyed on Day 1, December 3.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My impressions of the XIth edition of the Bangalore Literature Festival held on December 3 and 4, 2022.  Over two warm winter days, the bibliophiles of Bengaluru, where I live, enjoyed attending the Bangalore Literature Festival- one of the premier literature festivals in India. We were fortunate to listen to a galaxy of authors and speakers who spoke of their books, and topics related to lit...

This book is about TCS- one of India's greatest success stories in the world of business. It is the first in a series to be called The Shapers of Business Institutions building on the authors’ theme that Shapers of Institutions are institution builders in the true sense of the term. They are several notches above the conventional leaders of organisations. The book lays considerable emphasis on the...

This book tells the absorbing story of a remarkable lady, Parukutty Neithyaramma, set in the kingdom of Cochin in the South of India in the first part of the 20th century. She was the Consort to the reigning King - Raja Rama Varma XVI- whom she had married when she was just 14. He was then the Heir Apparent and aged 31 at that time. He was struck by her strong personality and character. Over the y...

The Indo-China Conflict in the winter of 1962 thrashed many reputations and left a deep scar on millions of Indians including me. There have been many books written over the decades on the infamous events of those tumultuous days. Shiv Kunal Verma's " 1962: The War That Wasn't" is, in my opinion, the most objective of the lot. It is, I feel, a "must read" for students of military history and polit...

This is the heart warming and inspiring story of Lt Col Ajit V Bhandarkar, Shaurya Chakra, of the 18 th Battalion (Mysore) of The Madras Regiment of the Indian Army. He was killed in action in October 1999 while serving with the 25 Rashtriya Rifles in the Poonch area of Jammu & Kashmir. He was the second in command of his battalion and volunteered to lead a Quick Response Team  when intelligence g...

My personal tribute to a close friend whom I knew for 63 years! Many knew him as a film personality- an actor, a director etc but I remember him most from our schooldays together at The Lawrence School, Lovedale in the beautiful Nilgiri Hills in Tamilnadu in India. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A definitive biography of a man who is always in the news these days- Elon Musk. Most recently, his bid of $44 billion to buy Twitter hit the headlines the world over. Such a move is not unexpected of Musk. When you read this book by Ashlee Vance titled, " "Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" you will understand why! From his earliest start up to his growth as an entrep...

" A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership" by James Comey is a comprehensive account of his professional life, especially as the 7th Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was appointed to this office by President George W Bush in 2013. The author shares his views on key personalities he came across in the Bush administration and later in the Obama administration.  He wa...

They say that writing short stories calls for special skills on the part of the writer. Not every writer can do this with the elegance of Jhumpa Lahiri, who excels in this form of writing. "Unaccustomed Earth" is a collection of eight short stories, written in her distinctive style. All of them have characters who are immigrants to the United States. They speak of the many issues that they face as...

The story of a middle class girl from Chennai, India who made it to the top echelons of corporate America. The story of Indra Nooyi- former Chair and CEO of PepsiCo in her own words. An inspirational account of her life, and the challenges she faced in reaching the highest pinnacles of the business world in the United States.  A story told with candor and simplicity, it reflects her world vie...

Styled after the iconic, "Humans of New York" by Brandon Stanton, Karishma Mehta's "Humans of Bombay" brings you slices of life in India's commercial capital- Bombay, now called Mumbai. Here you meet people from different walks of life, cutting across age, gender, and religion. Each has a story to tell. The delightful pictures that accompany each story add to the warmth of the story, be they just...

This fast paced book by the British author, Simon Conway, published in January 2017, takes you deep into the world of undercover agents, espionage and terror attacks in locations in the United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.  Conway established his credentials by winning the British Crime Writers Association's  Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for the best thriller of the year in 2010....

History and World War buffs who love stories about spies and spying will enjoy this book. This is an exciting, visual-rich documentary on the tools of the trade for spies during the Second World War. Coming as it does from The National Archives of the UK, the material is authentic and gives you deep insights into the equipment used by spies. These were specially devised for spies based on field re...

Mr J B West was the Chief Usher at the White House from 1957 to 1969. Before that he was the Asst to the Chief Usher from 1941 to 1957. This places him in a perfect position to recount events at the White House. Here, he served six US Presidents and First Ladies, starting from FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt; then Harry and Bess Truman; Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower; John and Jacqueline Kennedy; Lyndon an...

Madalyn Morgan's book, " 9.45 To Bletchley" is set in Britain in the initial years of the Second World War. At that time, there were fears- real and exaggerated- of the presence of a large number of active spies and saboteurs in Britain whose sympathies lay with Nazi Germany.  Ena Dudley is entrusted with carrying important components made by the firm she works in to the secret defence establ...

This is a fascinating story of a secret agent during World War II. He was no ordinary agent. The author, Mihir Bose calls Bhagat Ram Talwar: the Most Remarkable Secret Agent of World War II. This is because at various points in time, Talwar, also known as Rahmat Khan, and also codenamed Silver spied for the Italians, the Germans, the Russians, the British, and the Japanese!!  Hosted on Acast....

 This is the story of General Larry O. Spencer USAF (Retd.) It  is truly an inspirational story of a man who came up the hard way. He succeeded in his chosen profession despite having to face many challenges due to his being an African-American. The book is written with considerable candor and life lessons summarized by General Spencer are invaluable.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...