Books published by Bloomsbury India

India and the subcontinent stimulated the curiosity of the British who came to India as traders. Each aspect of life in India - its people, customs, geography, climate, fauna and flora - was documented by British travelers, traders, administrators, soldiers to make sense to the European mind. As they 'discovered' India and occupied it, they also attempted to 'civilise' the natives. The present volumes focus on select aspects of the imperial archives: the accounts of "discovery" and exploration - fauna and flora, geography, climate - the people of the subcontinent, English domesticity and social life in the subcontinent, the wars and skirmishes - including the "Mutiny" of 1857-58 - and the "civilisational mission".Volume 3 Domesticity, the Social Scene and Leisure shifts the focus to the English home and social life. Domesticity, often a fraught exercise for the 'memsahib', carried on with the assistance of a retinue of Indian servants, meant tackling corruption, inefficiency and the all-pervasive social hierarchy of the colonised. Advice books were produced to aid the memsahib for this purpose. The Steel-Gardiner guide to housekeeping, which was a bestseller in its day and is excerpted here, was indispensable in the length and breadth of its coverage, from the care of children to the right wages for the servants. Diver's text, likewise, also demonstrates how running the home was difficult and has a resonance with the (male) dominion of running the Empire. These texts exhorted the English woman to practice thrift, control and managerial skills, to be aware of the natives' penchant for dirt and indolence and the caste-community dynamics that inform the servant-class.

After a brief interlude following the Cold War, nuclear weapons have regained their prominent place in world affairs. Yet our current nuclear age will not be a replay of the Cold War. New technologies, changing political contexts and the death of old arms-control agreements mean that today's nuclear strategists have to navigate unchartered waters filled with fresh perils. Unfortunately, the consequences of failure in the nuclear world can be catastrophic. The immediate imperative today is to lower the possibility of nuclear weapons use during a crisis or conflict involving nuclear powers. While deliberate or pre-emptive nuclear use is less likely, the rising danger of our time is that nuclear weapons will be employed due to some combination of miscommunication, misjudgment, misperception and sheer accident.The Sheathed Sword: From Nuclear Brink to No First Use is a collection of essays by leading scholars and practitioners on the role of nuclear weapons in global security. The contributors examine how individual states view nuclear weapons, the devastating effects of nuclear war on the world's climate and the issues around nuclear no first use. They also debate the feasibility and desirability of a global no-first-use (GNFU) agreement.

The New Normal explores the relation between the subject and the state after the events of 9/11 that left the world stunned. It looks at this relation through the lens of trauma for the mind, biopolitics for the body and visuality for the body politic. This interpretive frame helps examine how the 9/11 violence created a moment where the mind, body and body politiccould be redefined after 9/11. In an important theoretical intervention into 21st-century American Studies, it asks what the relation between the state and those it expels from its citizenry is. It makes a special mention of sites of incarceration such as Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib as 9/11 phenomena. While referring to sources as diverse as 9/11 poetry, political and presidential speeches, journalistic accounts, atrocity photographs, and theories of trauma, biopolitics and visuality, the book argues for the presence of a new normal.

Creativity is considered one of the most valuable skills to possess in today's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. However, it is also often thought of as a skill or talent a person is born with. Dispelling this myth through a compelling narration that combines personal anecdotes with history and neuroscience, the author helps us understand that creativity is well within the reach of each and every one of us. Not stopping at that, this book offers a powerful method of enhancing creativity through simple step-by-step practices of mindfulness meditations and methods. A guide, a workbook and a manual rolled into a simple, easy-to-follow and practical format, Creativity Unleashed is an essential read for professionals from different fields, students and, in fact, anyone who wishes to expand their creative potential. With an engaging and playful narrative, this is a faithful companion, a fantastic bedside read and a guide that works to unleash your hidden talent well beyond the 48 days of the programme in the book.

Naina is back from America, after four years of living on her own. A natural rebel, she has had some fairly life-altering experiences which Mum and Dad would not approve of at all if they get to know. But will her spirit and her stand be enough to fight the forces of parental pressure and heckling aunties baying for her nuptials?Back in the bosom of her conservative family, Naina cannot even begin to imagine the turn her life is going to take. It's wedding season, and she must now be married. Because every self-respecting upper-middle-class family in India do that, right? Marriage at the 'right age' to the 'right family'.whether she likes it or not.Naina's worst nightmares are about to come true. What hits her within a week of being at home completely changes her world and her life as she embarks on a journey that will define her and provide her an education that only life can. Ayaan, Rohan, Akshay, Shiven. Who will it be? Will she even have a shot at romance, being with someone she loves, irrespective of his caste, respectability or bank balance? She will have to summon all the chutzpah within to fight for herself. For her notions of love and living. Will she succeed? Like a chrysalis unfolding, will Naina, too, emerge with her wings unscathed?

There is no one else in the world like you. Your personal brand has been registered in your name and patented with your persona even though there may be hundreds of people carrying the same name. Creating, building, and developing your personal brand is entirely in your own hands. Conversely, destroying or diminishing your brand is also only in your own hands. Your brand is the essence of your own unique story. The key to this is reaching deep inside yourself and pulling out the authentic, the unique 'you', from within your own self. What we do with our own brand name could be the difference between being very successful and not so successful. This is as true for personal branding as it is for business branding. The Brand Called You outlines how critical it is for each one of us to understand the power and vulnerabilities of our brand and invest wisely and consistently in our persona and our name. Remember, the only legacy you will leave behind in the world is your name.

How do you deal with life's challenges? What is the secret of living a simple and happy life? How do you strike a balance in all your relationships - whether in love, in work or in life? When and how can universal energies work for you? How can you learn to analyse every situation correctly? And ultimately, how can you attain soul realisation? The book, Here and Beyond, articulates the answers to all your existential queries, helping you to learn and evolve as a spiritual being with each step. With easy and identifiable anecdotes from life - ranging from dealing with a neighbour who calls you names to witnessing a child dying of a life threatening disease - the book offers a comprehensive understanding of life's basic principles. The book, Here and Beyond, strives to help you secure a blissful life, free of disease and disquiet.

This book is an attempt to open up the supposedly secret world of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by someone with an insider's knowledge of the philosophy, organisational structure and workingof this huge cadre-based organisation. As a senior member who has managed various responsibilities in the RSS over the years, Ratan Sharda has achieved his intent ably in this book.It has long been acknowledged that the best way to know the RSS (or the National Volunteer Organisation) is to join it. Perhaps this is why there is very little literature on how the RSS functions. This vacuum has been skilfully filled by the author through his book, RSS 360º - Demystifying Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.There is generally a set format for writing about organisations, especially national level ones such as the RSS. Ratan Sharda has not, however, followed the beaten path. The intent behind his book is to lift the allegedveil of secrecy from the organisation. He presents a comprehensive view of the Sangh's philosophy, its workings and its humungous reach through various affiliate organisations across India, in a simple and easy flowing manner.