One country, two faces

Maharaja (Hind, Rs 295) by Diwan Jarmani Dass resurrects princely India in all its opulence and grandeur. Dass served as a minister in the states of Kapurthala and Patiala. Hence his rendition of the “day-today lives” of these blue-blooded men is both authentic and entertaining. Some of the anecdotes are fascinating and capture the colourful lives of the rich, pampered princes. Maharaja Sir Ranbir Singh Rajendra Bahadur, a deaf, old man, would wake up for bed tea with his English Maharani pressing his feet and chanting soft melodious tunes.Bhupinder Singh of Patiala was renowned for his notorious tantrik orgies and summer parties, while the Nawab of Jaora only listened to the counsel offered by lunatics. However, the tales are not only about Darbars, tiger hunts and harems. They, perhaps inadvertently, depict the prevailing asymmetry in social ties as well as the exploitation of the poor people. The black-and-white photographs represent some of the princes in flesh and blood, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Cool Cut (Picador, Rs 195) by Sharad P. Paul is the story of the pain and the joy that binds childhood to adolescence. Kumar, Raman and Lakshmi spend their time playing by the Kaveri and listening to the yarns spun by the peanut-seller. Nothing, it seems, can change their lives. But then something terrible happens, tearing the three friends apart, bringing their idyllic lives to an abrupt end. Turmoil brews in the land as well, as an enigmatic superstar unites the Tamil people for the sake of an ancient, beautiful language. And amidst the despair and the confusion emerges a pattern, leading to a joyful redemption.

The elephanta suite (Hamish Hamilton, £4.50) by Paul Theroux brings together a motley group of characters who “lose — or find themselves” within the subtle ironies of modern India. Each individual is on a journey here, searching for different things — truth, happiness or peace. Their quest transforms them into heroic figures who have veered away from the well-trodden path, overcoming unimaginable hardship and tumult on the way. Some of the stories have a surreal dimension, like the one about a young woman befriending an elephant in Bangalore, or the tale of a “buttoned-up” lawyer from Boston finding relief amidst the squalor of a Mumbai slum.