Living in harmony with nature

The book opens with a story of an 18th century massacre in which as many as 363 Bishnois were beheaded by men who worked for the king, Abhay Singh, as they tried to protect trees that those men wanted to cut down for the king. More Bishnois were in the queue for sacrifice, but the news reached the palace, and the killing stopped. Such a story has never been told, and it is unlikely to be ever repeated. It remains the bravest act of nature conservation ever seen. The martyrs of village Khejarli in western Rajasthan were all Bishnois, led by a woman named Amrita Devi, who stood for the community commitment to live in harmony with nature. 

Who were the Bishnois? What had got them together to stage such a mass sacrifice? The Bishnois who laid down their lives were only following their guru Jambhoji who, during the 15th century unprecedented drought, had called them to live in harmony with nature. “A tree covered in greenery is my temple and my home.” In telling the extraordinary story of this desert-dwelling community, Martin Goodman, a professor of creative writing at the University of Hull, presents the Bishnois as the most ecologically conscience community in the world.   

The Bishnois have persisted with such a conscience ever since, following a life lived in harmony with nature. It is perhaps the only religion or the religious practice in the world that has environmental protection in its core. Their founding guru declared his place of divine residence to be ‘A tree covered in greenery is my temple and my home.’ The spiritual leader declared twenty one rules which are religiously followed till date, most famously followed by the woman who had led 363 villagers to lay down their lives while chanting ‘my head for a tree’.

Times have changed but not the values that remain dear to them. They do protect living beings at any cost, however, in modern times they have evolved into eco-warriors to ensure that the laws of the land are forcefully endorsed to protect all lives. To a Bishnoi, killing a monitor lizard is as hideous a crime as killing a tiger. Salman Khan learnt it the hard way. Charged for hunting a protected species of the blackbuck, the actor was booked for violation under a criminal offence. 

Goodman provides details of the case, highlighting how the Bishnois patience and perseverance was tested against Khan’s popular image and power. It took no less 68 appearances in the court 

over a period of twenty years to pronounce the verdict. In the years between the blackbuck killings and the actor’s guilty verdict, the Bishnois’ Tiger Force had teamed with law enforcers in perusing the case. The force has maintained information networks to bust illegal activities, so that a repeat of the 1998 blackbuck incident does not recur.   

My Head For A Tree is a story about the incredible relentlessness of the Bishnois. Their commitment to a cause isn’t time sensitive, it becomes their life. They see the natural world as a vital entity with rights of plants and animals equal to us, the humans. A Bishnoi woman breast-feeding an orphaned gazelle, chinkara, could be a common sight. And it is not done to create an identity for themselves, but to present what they firmly believe in. Their love for chinkara is profound, with 85 percent of its global population endemic to south-west Rajasthan.  

The Bishnois is an inspiring story that offers not only wisdom, but a concern to forge non-violent action. It is a book about people saving the planet, the message is embedded in what they do to safeguard nature. Goodman has been to their farms, their schools, their temples, and even animal shelters in narrating the ecological commitment and empathy. Pictures by Franck Vogel in the volume are relevant to the context. For people facing unprecedented challenge of rising temperature and desertification, the book has a subtle message for survival. 

My Head For A Tree is an engaging book that connects our glorious past with an uncertain future, in relating an extraordinary group of people and their practices to the impending climatic challenges. It is a book that fills a gap in the ongoing environmental debate. Within the incredible ongoing story about an amazing community lies the future story of human survival. The story of first eco-warriors, which now number no more than a million people, hold a strong message for the teeming millions.  

It is an essential reading for those who are concerned about our collective future. The Bishnoism holds a future that is dear to all of us. The Bishnois are born, and their practices can be followed to confront our present crises. 

My Head For A Tree
by Martin Goodman
Profile Books/ Hachette, New Delhi 
Extent: 270, Price: Rs. 699.

First published in New Indian Express on 9 Feb 2025

People are a mystery

Nita Prose has picked up from where she had left her debut murder mystery The Maid. The hotel remains the venue for Molly Gray, the maid, to clean up a murderous mess yet again. Known for keeping the guest rooms in a state of cleaning perfection, the hotel’s reputation has been sullied again by the death of a famous mystery writer moments before he gets up to address the press. That the teacup was laced with some poison seemed apparent but the motive and the person executing the sinister crime offers a pitch-perfect plot that is intriguing and enthralling. It is a slow but tasteful whodunnits rendering of any vintage. 

Devil is in the details, more so in a murder mystery that remains loaded with both innocuous and obnoxious but in which none is above suspicion. Having been relieved of any suspicion in the past, Molly remains concerned that despite being diligent in their work, the maids are assumed to be delinquents, murderers and thieves. Why is the lowly maid always to be blamed? The words carry layers of meaning that leave the reader seething and feeling sad about the society we have morphed into. Prose’s writing functions as mirrors for our internal landscapes.

The Mystery Guest makes for slow reading of an immaculately crafted narrative, which makes it hard to discover clues lying amidst what gets thought as kept asides. Not without reason was Molly surprised when the world-renowned celebrity author had missed noticing her dominating presence in the team making arrangements for the event. It unfolds later in the story that Molly knew the dead guest during her younger days and remembers some of the secrets which may hold the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past.   

It is not only the gentle observational quality of author's prose but her aphoristic brilliance that shines through the story. The control over language and choice of words helps create a visual imagery to unlock the mystery. A segment of Molly’s past flashes before her eyes to remind her of the idiosyncrasies of the celebrated author as she accompanied her granny for domestic work at his sprawling mansion. Much later it occurred to her that the celebrated author used talents of others to palm them off his own. The difference between a fraud and a predator is hairline.     

It goes without saying that making a choice between what is morally right and what is economically beneficial is tricky. At times, the choice gets set in the wrong place, focusing on one’s weaknesses instead of strengths. For making a lucrative choice, the celebrated author had to pay a price with his life. Prose reminds her reader that at the end of it all, people are a mystery that can never be solved. That is what makes The Mystery Guest truly enthralling. 

Molly’s take on life is enjoyable and reflective. The mystery is not about events that disturb people but the judgements concerning them. Nita Prose has evolved a style of her own in making the genre exquisite and enchanting. Every sentence is a treat to read, even when it is plumbing the bleakest truths of society and humanity. It is rollicking and emotional, tender and sharp, absurd and relatable. The writing is packed with sharp observations on the most eccentric human behavior, all propelled by a story that is slow-paced but addictive. Let it be clear that the mystery is not solved, till it gets solved. There are many a slip between the celebrated author’s lips and the poison-laced teacup.

The Mystery Guest
by Nita Prose
HarperCollins, London
Extent: 327, Price: Rs. 499.

First published in Deccan Herald on Feb 16, 2025.

Bishnois have message for everyone

Martin Goodman, a professor of creative writing, tells the extraordinary story of a desert-dwelling community of western Rajasthan who live in complete harmony with nature. The story dates back to 11 September 1730, in which 363 villagers led by Amrita Devi were beheaded by men who worked for the king and had wanted those trees to be logged. The massacre only stopped when the news reached the king, Abhay Singh. The martyrs of village Khejarli were all Bishnois, who were only following their guru Jambhoji who, during the 15th century unprecedented drought, had called them to live in harmony with nature.  

The Bishnois have persisted with such a conscience ever since, following it as a religion (perhaps the only one) that has environmental protection at its core. Their founding guru, Jambhoji (1451-1536), received a world-changing vision while in meditation under a tree. ‘A tree covered in greenery is my temple and my home.’ The spiritual leader set out the twenty-one rules in the sixteenth century which are religiously followed till date, most famously by a woman who had led 363 villagers to give their lives while chanting ‘my head for a tree’.

Times have changed but not the values that have remained dear to them. World over, men die for woman or for money. The same doesn’t hold good for Bishnois, who instead lay down their life to protect animals and trees. They do protect living beings at the cost of their lives, however, in modern times they have evolved into eco-warriors to ensure that the laws of the land are forcefully endorsed to protect all lives. The Bishnoi Tiger Force protects trees from loggers and animals from poachers. Even screen celebrity Salman Khan couldn’t escape their die-hard protective commitment. 

I have to say that Goodman’s timing with this release is timely, the story is steeped in ecologicsl issues and history. Despite its rich legacy, the story of the Bishnois has remained perhaps ‘a greatest story yet to be told’. Not anymore, the story about a community committed to protect the environment is out for the wider public. Its historical legacy notwithstanding, facts and values may have remained exclusive for Bishnois but their dedication to protect the trees and the animals can no longer remain confined.   

My Head For A Tree is a story about the incredible relentlessness of the Bishnois. Their commitment to a cause isn’t time sensitive, taken as a break from their regular lives; it becomes their life. They see the natural world as a vital entity with rights at least equal to ours. And that natural world includes other people as well as plants and animals. No wonder, a Bishnoi woman can be seen breast feeding an orphaned chinkara, a gazelle. And they don’t do it to create an identity for themselves, but to present what they believe in and practice.  

The Bishnois’ love of chinkara is profound. Around 85 percent of its global population live in the south-west Rajasthan. They flock to any waterhole but can also find enough moisture from plants and dew to survive days without drinking. Chinkara is now rightfully protected, not only in India but other countries like Pakistan and Iran. Khejri, the state tree of Rajasthan, is protected by law. The 363 martyrs at Khejrali weren’t forgotten while enacting such a law. What is more, if one tree is illegally felled then ten must be planted. 

It is an inspiring story that offers wisdom, concern and commitment. Spread across eighteen chapters, Goodman has been to Bishnoi’s farms, their schools, their temples, and animal shelters in giving the book a humbling touch of ecological commitment and empathy. Generous spread of pictures in the volume are not only relevant but enrich the narrative. If people across several countries face the unprecedented challenge of rising temperature and desertification, the Bishnois hold with them the message of survival not for themselves but for the community.

My Head For A Tree is an engaging book that connects our glorious past with an uncertain future, in relating an extraordinary group of people to the future climate collapse. Within the incredible ongoing story about a community lies the future story of survival of the mankind. The story of first eco-warriors, which now number no more than 6 lakh people, hold a message for all of us.  It is an essential reading for those who are concerned about our collective future, the Bishnoism that holds a future that is dear to all of us.                                      

My Head For A Tree
by Martin Goodman
Profile Books/ Hachette, New Delhi 
Extent: 270, Price: Rs. 699.

First published in The Hindustan Times on Feb 6, 2025.

Three things' women can only do

It was in 1758 when Linnaeus came up with two simultaneous new terms –mammalia and Homo sapiens – which effectively linked women to animals and men to a higher intelligence. Linnaeus thought women lacked rational thought and opposed educating his daughter because he wanted women to be ‘hearty, strong housekeepers, and fashionable dolls.’ Not only him specifically but menfolk in general were convinced. It never occurred to them that women can do ‘three’ big things that men can never imagine they could – ‘create life, give birth, and breastfeed’. Women have to do proclaim that power rather than be ashamed of it

Many biopsies and after a double mastectomy, sociologist Sarah Thornton decided to write Tits Up, the book about the history, cultural significance, and social valuing of breasts. Written with candor and humor, the book is grounded in research to provide the reader with a nuanced understanding of its intersectionality. Thornton tells the stories of sex workers, milk bankers, and cosmetic surgeons, without missing on society’s obsession with boobs. Negative views on breasts are so common that any attempt at improving women’s esteem is taken lightly. Unless the breasts could be seen anything but erotic playthings, these will remain in dominant patriarchal system.  

With more than 700 expressions of mammary glands in English language, it loses nomenclature when it is not in divine bodies in time and space. Yes, the spiritual significance as an alternative to the breasts represented in the media is altogether different. In scriptures and religious practices, the elemental feminine energy is the prime source and sustainer of the universe. However, unlike other religions, the continuous goddess tradition in Hinduism do not extend any material benefits for Indian women. Are the goddess mere protagonists who have miraculous capacity to save life?

Central argument of the book is that women’s breasts is unnecessarily sexualized and trivialized. Whatever be its size and shape, breasts give women distinct identity and dignity. The sexual difference thus constructed is universally accepted, and along with it comes the fear of anatomy that makes women perpetually susceptible. Curiously, it is this distinction between ‘physical sex’ and ‘social gender’ that is only widening.   

Tits Up does not allow easy dismissal of breasts as shallow or superfluous organ. Thornton aims to protect women by exploring business opportunity and empowering possibilities around breasts. Women’s chest surely means business, but critical is to ascertain how much of this business is in woman’s own control. Come to think of it, breast is as much a site of empowerment as divinity. The core idea is that if planned and positioned properly, breasts can help women create a new vision for themselves. It seems a tall undertaking!

Without breasts, humans could not be humans. Homo sapiens is distinguished by the superlative communication skills that develop as a result of the lengthy dependence of human babies on their mother’s milk. Infants need to solicit love and, in turn, develop interactive ability to adore. Every child experiences it but that this experience doesn’t last long. As a result, women are left to decide on what she decides on her body. ‘I hope it will be get considered that a woman will exercise her right to choose what she does to her own body’. 

Sarah Thronton wants to hold the power of the women to elevate the status of their breasts, because that in itself makes her weak. Imagine, the world would be like if she insists on owning them and exercises right on the choices they make on their own chests. The cornerstone of women’s subordination hinges on the lowly status of her breasts, and it is time these are given the necessary Tits Up.

Tits Up
by Sarah Thronton
Pan Macmillan, London
Extent: 320, Price: Rs. 899.

First published in Deccan Herald

Getting down to business

The central thesis of John Kay’s book on corporations is that “business has evolved but the language that is widely used to describe business has not.” It is a fact that the relationship with business has become more ambivalent. Factories no longer represent the commanding heights of business; the modern business environment, he writes, is characterized by radical uncertainty.

It is a world where companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, Apple rule, and is a world which can be navigated by “assembling the collective knowledge of many individuals and by developing collective intelligence.” Thus, relationships in these modern businesses cannot be “purely transactional: they require groups of people working together towards shared objectives,” and Kay says such an activity has a social as well as a commercial dimension.

Kay carefully examines the change through the years from pure manufacturing to new ways of doing business in The Corporation in the 21st Century. Taking a deeper look at the shifts, Kay thinks that the term ‘capital’ itself means more than just financial capital. New technologies and processes are transforming the manner in which products are being produced. The products that are produced in the process, like smartphones and internet applications, are items that conveniently fit into the pocket. What the consumer ends up paying is towards the collective intelligence in the product design, rather than the transformation of raw material into finished goods. Twenty-first century business needs little capital, mostly does not own the capital it uses and is not controlled by the people who provide that capital, argues Kay.

According to the economists Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake, modern business is best described as “capitalism without capital”. Amazon best illustrates it: its market cap over is over $2 trillion and its assets on the balanced sheet totals $585 billion. If you think that Amazon requires large warehouses and vehicles, think again. Its property assets are largely rented from real estate investors and financial institutions. On top of that, Amazon sells its goods before it even pays for them. The change in the corporate landscape is providing a comparative advantage in business methods.

Kay’s book is aimed at the lay reader, but in effect it has been turned into a thoughtful business document. He underscores the point that though capital requirements of new businesses may be relatively modest, the relationship between hard financial capital and soft intellectual capital need to be properly understood. Kay has detailed important factors that are fast transforming businesses. Clearly, business is more than mere profit-making. “What we call ‘profit’ is no longer primarily a return on capital but ‘economic rent’ – which is used to describe the earnings that arise because some people, places and institutions have commercially valuable talents which others struggle to emulate,” writes Kay. ‘Economic rent’ is earned by Taylor Swift or by the enthusiasm of fans of Manchester United, he points out.

In addition to redefining capital, Kay raises two concerns. First, he debunks the notion that business means profit maximization, and second, that shareholder profit is only central to business. Ignoring stakeholders, profit maximization, and reduced capital infusion are not easy issues to grapple with. These three issues put together will contribute significantly to running future businesses.

The modern business hinges around cerebral leaders. “The asset is the capability of individuals and teams within the business to solve problems, to devise and deliver new products and to win the commitment of suppliers and the trust of customers,” says Kay.

The book is a work in progress, and it seems a sequel is already in the works. The factory was once the frontline of the class struggle with trade unions leading the demand for better wages and condition. The class struggle is far from over, and new businesses cannot overlook the question. The economic system Kay favors is a “pluralist economy” where people are free to do new things and fail, without requiring the approval of some central authority.

The Corporations in the 21st Century
by John Kay
Profile/Hachette Books
Extent: 441 pages, Price: Rs. 799.

First published in The Hindu on January 24, 2025.

When relationships turn sour

Set in Texas, this is a story of an Indian immigrant family of four, each of whom has broken free of the shackles of so-called happy co-existence called a family. Suresh and Lata have drifted after decades of marriage, and their grown-up kids Priya and Nikesh have set their sails in search of finding themselves. Navigating online dating, Suresh meets an attractive woman while Lata finds a professor at the college flirting with her newfound independence as a librarian. Nikesh pretends a seemingly perfect marriage whereas Priya harbors a clandestine affair. Each to their own, but not entirely as each one keeps a close eye on the other. Though the family is turned upside down, the glue of relationship still sticks. 

When relationships turn into rituals, lack of imagination triggers their downfall. Even in togetherness, there remains a strong sense of loneliness. Under such conditions, a part of everybody remains hidden in such failed relationships to act like a virtual time bomb ticking to rip things apart.  Feeling suffocating in each other’s company, a part of both Suresh and Lata hoped that there was actually someone out there in the world capable of making them feel joy, maybe even love. In divorce, they found a perfect opportunity for self-reflection and re-valuation. 

A bad relationship may be a two-way street, but divorce isn’t a bad marriage at the end. In this bighearted debut, Deepa Vardarajan pitches the narrative on the premise that every arrangement in life carries with it the sadness, and that there is a space and scope for reigniting relationships all over gain. Nothing is lost till it is lost. In this witty family tale the question that runs through it is: will the loyalty that once rooted the family be strong enough to draw them back together? Will the family members rise above their personal fulfilment, family entanglements, and reignited dreams?

One cannot fail to admire the layered complexity of this beautiful novel about a flawed yet unforgettable family—the interlocking ironies and wounds and strivings for love and clarity and accomplishment and growth, all so deeply embedded in the cultural milieu of the immigrant family. Every character in this engrossing story is as distinct as real, and one can easily draw similarities from daily life. Late Bloomers is a work of delightful, engaging reading.

In a moving narrative, Deepa Vardarajan details the internal predicaments of its characters as they come to terms with the stark realities of life. Their coming together is no less dramatic, the whole family gets to uncover one another’s secrets, confront the limits of love, and explore life’s second chances. The truth of life is unraveled to each one of them in its own little way. Late Bloomers may not have a happy ending to the story, but a promising beginning for sure.

There is a collective learning, and acceptance of common follies as a family. Everyone is found guilty of telling untruths – if not to one another, then to themselves. Certainly, everyone in family is found guilty of that. But probably everyone in the whole world is. Most of the time, what we think of as truth is threaded with self-serving distortions. Late Bloomers has everything you may ask for in a novel. 

Late Bloomers 
by Deepa Vardarajan
Random House, New York 
Extent: 352, Price: Rs. 650.

Commissioned for review by Deccan Herald.

For Mughals the Britishers were an underdeveloped society

It may now be difficult to understand, but the English considered themselves unfortunate to have settled in India much later than other European powers. Strangely, the Portuguese, the French and the Dutch too had similar qualms and of course, all of them squabbled with each other. The Mughal rulers, meanwhile, presided over an expansive, efficient, and fabulously wealthy realm.

Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire in 1525, was as wealthy as the Ming emperor of China. But unlike those who came to plunder India of its incredible riches, his descendants sought to make it their home. Consequentially, the governance of this immense and expanding kingdom was characterized by a central bureaucracy with the emperor as a central authority. After the initial turbulent phase, the empire lasted until 1707. The Alamgir, also known as Aurangzeb, was the last of the Mughal emperors.

Unlike the Europeans who mastered the sea, the Mughuls held sway on land, and as long as they ruled, the former waited at the sea route. Indeed, the English had to wait for the eclipse of the Mughal empire in 1757 before they could advance into India after winning the Battle of Plassey. Internal strife led to the undoing of the empire. In the process, the treasury dropped from a high of 90 million rupees to just about 10 million. The symbolic loss of material possession was a grim indication of how far the Mughals had fallen.

India used to be a place of sweet frag­rances and flavors of spices, an earthly paradise of gems and diamonds. Some of the most lucrative commodities were traded from here. Its share of the world’s GDP was 22.6 percent whereas that of England was a paltry 1.8 percent. During Mughal rule that lasted 200 years, India became one of the largest and most prosperous centralized states in pre-modern history. Nothing which the English traded evoked interest among the Mughuls, who saw little gain in trading with a small, cold island on the other side of the world.

Frustrated that they were making no headway, the English attacked the Mughal entourage to Mecca in 1695. Pilgrims were looted, raped and killed. Most of the attackers were captured and beheaded. Al-Azami argues that while the English approach was built on loot and murder, in the grand scheme of things, it was the Mughals who mattered. Their influence was so great that the English monarch sent ambassador after ambassador to woo the Mughal emperor, who couldn’t be bothered with sending a counterpart.

Mughal history hasn’t been interpreted and written quite like this before. Al-Azami does an appreciable job of revisiting the dynasty through a playful but serious lens. She is particularly mesmerized by the Mughal description of 17th-century England as underdeveloped island nation.

Travellers in the Golden Realm seeks to retrieve forgotten perspectives and to unveil the early picture of England vis-a-vis Mughal India. In the end, what this work does very well is make the reader realize that history is complex and full of nuance.

Travellers in the Golden Realm

by Lubaaba Al-Azami

Hachette, New Delhi

Extent: 302 pages, Price: Rs. 799.

First published in Hindustan Times, January 3, 2025.