The book authored by the  two leading scientists of the country, Seyed  Ehtesham Hasnain and Arun Tewari,  focuses  on the  Covid 19  pandemic, with  all its  dimensions and hues and  forms.  A book review by Humra Quraishi

This  book  authored by the  two leading scientists of the country, Seyed  Ehtesham Hasnain and Arun Tewari,  focuses  on the  Covid 19  pandemic, with  all its  dimensions and hues and  forms.

Yes, as I read through this book, it got writ large that every aspect to the Covid 19 pandemic seems to be focused on. Written for the common man, it answers all those queries that we often think aloud: Why the infection hit the vital organs of one patient but spared that of the other? Why only minor symptoms surfaced in some whilst others were down by more than one symptom? What if in future a pandemic of this nature strikes? What is our collective future vis-à-vis this virus still hovering around …lurking? What are the chances of it striking yet again? Who all are to be blamed for this level of health disasters hitting this planet, destroying lives and livelihoods?

Actually this book has to be read to get answers to all possible doubts and apprehensions and the ground realities that exist today in the context of the virus and the dilemmas and tragedies spread around.

Besides  addressing the various aspects to the pandemic, what I found rather interesting is the  fact that the  authors  have taken the trouble of  researching and  brining to the fore, all aspects and details about the  past pandemics that hit mankind. “Though there had  been many  endemics in the 20^th  century —Manchurian  plague in 1910,  United  States poliomyelitis in 1916, Russian Typhus during  1918-22, Indian Smallpox in 1974, West  African  meningitis in 1996, Malaysian Nipah  virus in  1998 — none of them crossed  national  boundaries,  leave aside  international boundaries…”

What makes this book very readable is that webbed and inter-webbed in, are many details of the human happenings. To quote one such ‘happening’ from the book – “In 1939, American journalist Katherine Anne Porter (1890 – 1980) published a novel ‘Pale Horse, Pale Rider’, brilliantly capturing the  human tragedy of the pandemic. The novel narrated a love story between a soldier of an occupying army and a woman who sold newspapers in the street with 1918  Influenza pandemic in the backdrop. The woman, Miranda, got infected and was cared for by the soldier, Adam. During her illness the woman ran high fever and got disoriented. By the time she recovered, Adam had succumbed to the infection, which most likely he got  while nursing her.”

Title of the book – DECODING THE PANDEMIC

Authors – Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain and Arun Tiwari

Publishers – Sakal Publications

Pages –  254

Price –Rs 599

Dehra Dun-born and naturalized American research scientist Neerja Raman has now assumed a new avatar as an iconic storyteller. Her latest book The House on East Canal Road has been widely praised both by the critic and the literati alike. A book review by Raj Kanwar

THIS historical novel tells the story of three generations of the Chand family from 1905 onward when its hometown Dehra Dun with the rest of the country was in rebellion against the imperialist rule of the British government.  The businesses owned by the family patriarch Kishan Chand were then the largest employer in the valley. His forte was in the designing and construction of canals particularly in consonance with Dehra Dun’s unique topography and ambience. His own expansive house on East Canal Road that sat on two lush acres was both a source of envy and admiration in equal measure.

A lingering tragedy in Kishan Chand’s life was the death at child birth of his dearest wife, Radha. The son born was named Ishaan, but there was no happiness in Kishan Chand’s life. He lost interest in business, and listlessly spent his days. Unable to live without Radha, Kishan Chand left Dehra Dun to spend some time with his friend Moti Lal, a leading Allahabad lawyer who had just then become father of a girl named Leela. Then there in Allahabad, the two friends became prospective in-laws; Moti Lal agreeing to marry his newly-born daughter to Kishan Chand’s son who was then just about four. The Gauna was to be performed several years later when the daughter is physically and emotionally mature enough.

Raman has written a fast-paced story with many twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing what happens next. The family’s personal struggles are seamlessly woven into the turbulent landscape of emerging India from 1900-1947 and the historical context is a perfect background on how to overcome challenges by staying true to yourself. Raman has also captured the emergence of the Indian educated middle class and its role in bringing together people of different ethnicities and religions. There is a lot to learn in this slim novel and even more to love.

Neerja was born and raised in Dehra Dun. Her father Prof. KC Gupta had taught Chemistry both at the DAV College and the Doon School. Neerja too has had her education at the Doon School, and later at the Delhi’s famed Miranda House. Essentially, a research scientist, Neerja was inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame for her leadership and mentoring women in workplaces. Her debut fiction Moments in Transition had garnered awards in the Literary Fiction category. She had retired from Hewlett-Packard Labs as a Director in 2006, and as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University in February 2022. She and her husband Vasan Raman now live in Los Altos Hills in California.

Title:                The House on East Canal Road

Author:            Neerja Raman

Publisher:        ARCHWAY Publishing

Pages: 174

Price:   $13.99 /Rs.939