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Hillary Clinton-Louise Penny political thriller ‘State of Terror’ to be out in Oct

Hillary’s collaborator, Penny, is best known for her Quebec-based mystery novels centered on the work of her fictional character, Francophone chief inspector Armand Gamache…reports Asian Lite News

Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, following in the footsteps of her husband, has embarked on her journey as a thriller writer.

‘State of Terror’ is Hillary Clinton’s upcoming international political thriller, set in the “Byzantine” world of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. It takes off with a “baffling text from an anonymous source” received by an Indian American Foreign Service Officer (FSO), Anahita Dahir.

Hillary, who was trumped in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has co-authored the book with the ‘New York Times’ best-seller Canadian novelist, Louise Penny.

The uncannily timed book, published by Simon & Schuster, is set to release on October 12.

According to a preview of the novel available on the Simon & Schuster website, the story begins with the election of a new U.S. President, who appoints his political rival, Ellen Adams, as his Secretary of State (Hillary, remember, had contested in the Democratic Party primaries against Barack Obama in the run-up to the 2008 elections).

And then comes the text message to Anahaita (who could be modelled after one of Hillary’s closest aides, Pakistani American Huma Abedin), which was actually a coded warning.

What follows is a series of terrorist attacks on American targets and the start of “an international chess game involving the … Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons in the region; the Russian mob; a burgeoning terrorist organisation; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena.”

The last bit sounds too much like the present state of the Biden administration.

Pitted against this “intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy” are three individuals sucked into this explosive situation: the “passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state”.

Will they be able to save the world? To find the answer, one has to wait for the book to be out.

Hillary’s collaborator, Penny, is best known for her Quebec-based mystery novels centered on the work of her fictional character, Francophone chief inspector Armand Gamache.

Former US president Bill Clinton’s last book as a thriller writer was ‘The President’s Daughter’, about a former president and ex-Navy SEAL, whose daughter is m which followed ‘The President is Missing’ (2018), both in collaboration with James Patterson, one of the world’s biggest-selling authors. It was released in June 2021.

Patterson, the former president’s collaborator, has written chart-topping books such as ‘Alex Cross’, ‘Michael Bennett’, ‘Women’s Murder Club’, ‘Maximum Ride’, and many other books spanning across genres, from romance to thrillers and non-fiction.

Hillary, like her husband, has been a prolific writer, whose first book was the best-selling ‘It Takes A Village’ (1995), followed by many others on different subjects, including her account of her tenure as the 67th US Secretary of State, ‘Hard Choices’.

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‘Devil’s Daughter’: An expression of identity

She says that while externally our problems may be different, but inside we all feel anxiety, nervousness, depression…writes Sukant Deepak.

Indrani’s surviving daughter Vidhie Mukerjea released her memoir Devil’s Daughter recently. In 2015, on the eve of her 18th birthday, everything changed for Vidhie Mukerjea, as her mother Indrani Mukerjea was arrested for allegedly murdering her daughter Sheena Bora. A few months later, media baron Peter Mukerjea met the same fate.

Vidhie went to Regent’s University London, and over the next few years, maintained a low profile in the media and ‘blocked’ the incident in her mind.

But with her recently released memoir ‘Devil’s Daughter’ (Westland Books), she assures that now she does not operate from a place of fear anymore as she breaks off layers of her conditioning and past trauma.

“Public scrutiny had its place in my mind as I have memories of how both my family and I were treated by the media. However, this book was merely an expression of who I am as person, an author, and an artist. It highlights my struggles, adventures, and essentially sharing who I am with the world in a raw and authentic form. I was incredibly nervous about having a public presence, but my narrative has given me confidence to be out there and speak about it,” she tells.

Vidhie recalls that writing ‘Devil’s Daughter’, which also talks about her anxiety and panic disorder, started as a cathartic release into her laptop with many moments of deep introspection, reliving her past, and going through diverse emotions.

“While also challenging preconceived notion many have about mental health being a taboo topic. Towards the end of writing the book I couldn’t stop thinking about various tough situations people are going through with Covid and otherwise, what their headspace was like at the time and realising finally we are all essentially going through the same thing internally,” Vidhie says.

She says that while externally our problems may be different, but inside we all feel anxiety, nervousness, depression.

“I wrote it so people felt they could relate to me and I to them.”

Stressing that once she started writing, there was no holding back, the author says that her story and journey began to empower her and her purpose.

“Of course, there were moments of doubt, but I was I was reassured by people close to me — my partner, friends and family,” she says.

For Vidhie, writing the book was also therapy. While for the first two years after her parents’ arrest, she was constantly escaping her reality, pretending things were entirely normal and that she was an anomaly and would not need to feel those things.

“The longer I deflected, the bigger the hit was. So yes, writing this was like months of intensive therapy for me,” she says.

Recalling the media trial that followed, she says it was not just awful and damaging but also draining. “They were ruthless and invasive. It haunts me still because I really kept wondering how people could behave like that. But you know, they tried to ruin us, and they almost did; but because of them I am so much better prepared today. When stuff like this happens, you call them out and hit back. Simple.”

Admitting that reliving the past while writing was scary sometimes, Vidhie says that there were days when she felt she would mentally collapse.

“I could not sleep, eat or talk. But I truly believe there is always a deeper lesson or truth to be found in any tough situation. After I went through these moments, I would come out of them feeling so relieved and content.”

Adding that it was “inevitable” for her to talk about her anxiety and panic attacks, she feels that we all want to live in a bubble, pretending all is bright eyed. “We are afraid to let people know we are hurting. I wanted to break that chain, life is about being raw and authentic and writing about it just felt incredible.”

When the author told her mother about the book, and gave her a brief disclaimer of what to expect, both discussed the context. “I kept pushing and delaying the conversation, but she was quite proud of me when I told her what I would be writing. Frankly, she gave me the last bit of confidence I needed.”

The author writes in the book that she does not understand her mother’s actions — “Of course, it’s nothing short of tough. But we all make blind decisions, and get lost. I hope to understand her more as time passes.”

Currently working on her next book on how to travel sustainably — backpacking, living in hostels, not having a fixed itinerary, discovering places on the go, cheap transport, immersing oneself in the culture, and understanding what it means to be a local, she adds, “It is about how exposing oneself to a diversity of experiences, people, and perspective can go on to broaden your horizons, and serve as a mechanism for self-reflection and discovery.”

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Penguin to publish Amitav Gosh’s ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse’

“Ghosh challenges readers to reckon with war, empire, and genocide in order to fully grasp the world-devouring logics that underpin ecological collapse…reports Asian Lite News.

Amitav Gosh is one of the most accomplished Indian writers. Before the 18th century, every single nutmeg in the world originated around a group of small volcanic islands east of Java, known as the Banda Islands. As the nutmeg made its way across the known world, it became immensely valuable – in 16th century Europe, just a handful could buy a house. It was not long before European traders became conquerors, and the indigenous Bandanese communities – and the islands themselves – would pay a high price for access to this precious commodity. Yet the bloody fate of the Banda Islands forewarns of a threat to our present day.

Amitav Ghosh argues that the nutmeg’s violent trajectory from its native islands is revealing of a wider colonial mindset which justifies the exploitation of human life and the natural environment, and which dominates geopolitics to this day.

Written against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, and interweaving discussions on everything from climate change, the migrant crisis, and the animist spirituality of indigenous communities around the world, “The Nutmeg’s Curse” offers a sharp critique of Western society, and reveals the profoundly remarkable ways in which human history is shaped by non-human forces.

“What do you do when the subject matter of life on this planet seems to lack . . . life? Your read ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse’, which eschews the leaden language of climate expertise in favour of the re-animating powers of mythology, etymology, and cosmology,” says Harvard University’s Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the History of Science.

“Ghosh challenges readers to reckon with war, empire, and genocide in order to fully grasp the world-devouring logics that underpin ecological collapse.

It’s widely recognized that the climate crisis is multi-dimensional, yet American cultural conversations about it are mostly stuck in its scientific, technological, and economic dimensions. In this tour de force, Amitav Ghosh defiantly moves the conversation into the realms of history, politics and culture, insisting that we will never resolve our planetary crisis until we acknowledge that the “great acceleration” of the past fifty years is part of a larger historical pattern of omnicide.

“For centuries, the dominant global powers have seen Earth — its plants, its animals, and its non-white peoples — as brute objects: mute, without agency, and available for the taking and killing. The solution to the climate crisis, Ghosh insists, is not injecting particles into the stratosphere to block the sun, or even to build a bevy of solar farms (as important as the latter is). Rather, the solution lies in re-engaging with the vital aspects of life, in all its capaciousness, and in doing so move past our long history of destruction and into true sustainability,” Oreskes adds.

Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta in 1956. He grew up in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. He studied at the universities of Delhi and Oxford and published the first of eight novels, “The Circle of Reason”, in 1986. The first novel in his Ibis trilogy, “Sea of Poppies”, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He received the Jnanpith Award in 2018.

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The pain of being displaced

Mr Rajeev Shukla, a veteran name in Indian Journalism and politics, pleasantly surprises with his understanding of the diaspora and their roots in his novel – Teen Samundar Paar published recently during the pandemic this year …. Review by Manish Tiwari

One of my most memorable trips was to Fiji where once out of the airport, I had a pleasant surprise to see a Hindi newspaper prominently displayed in the local newspaper corner. Further, as I embarked from the airport, the taxi driver spoke ‘Shudh Hindi’, the kind no one speaks in urban India anymore and we talked about his Indian roots culminating in a discussion about Ramayana.

It was beyond me that this man who had not even visited India in his lifetime, had a Ramayana at home which was not just an ornamental book to be revered but read daily. The struggles of life and politics in Fiji was evident in how the divide between black community and Indians defined the nation as predictably Indians were the business community and the divide was economic as well as cultural. The food was as close to home with the taste still lingering in my mouth and not what goes by Indian food in the restaurants across the globe and the sugarcane juice mixed with Indian masala and lime was exactly like India but without the grime and hygienic.

 It was like a paradise for me where you got everything Indian but also clean air and natural bounty without the pollution and population.

Little did I know about the pain and separation and the journey for many to keep that ‘identity’ as a people displaced not by choice and desire to be global but rather born out of abject poverty a century or more ago.

Rajeev Shukla, a veteran name in Indian Journalism and politics, pleasantly surprises with his understanding of the diaspora and their roots in his novel – Teen Samundar Paar published recently during the pandemic this year.

The heartbreak and the pain of being displaced centuries ago and the struggle to keep that identity and connection in spite of all challenges beautifully creates the backdrop of the novel though eventually it becomes a feel good novel about a women taking what is rightfully hers in a world where her family has been wronged.

Mr Shukla has a style which is a rare combination of serious journalistic impulses mixed with racy narrative style which makes this novel a potboiler but without losing its sensitive moorings in the pain and journey of a diaspora wronged in many ways but strong enough to survive it all and still retain that Indian ness which defines the people from the subcontinent.

Vishwanath named after the famous deity from Benaras, becomes the Prime Minister of Trinidad and eventually betrayed by his own kin is the central plot of the novel and how Sylvia his daughter eventually returns to avenge the wrongdoing, forms the second half of the book. There are too many parallels close to real life figures as Rajeev frequently draws from his extensive foray into Cricket and life of politics to create characters who I am sure he has met along his way. He tries to thinly disguise them but quite often spells them out in an effort to make the narrative relevant and believable. The narrator – Prashant comes close to real life election psephologist – Prashant Kishore and Shukla makes him, his alter ego for the purpose of the novel. I am sure his close friends will find other characters whom they identify.

Author Rajeev Shukla with Manish Tiwari

This is a new phase of writing in Hindi with a global backdrop but with great comfort and understanding of the people and culture and how the new Indians who are rich and can afford ‘luxury cruise’ are still struggling with sexual morality and the inherent hypocrisy embedded in the Indian way of life. Shukla’s writing wades through this in the backdrop of holidaying Indians on the global luxury cruise while keeping his narrative focused on the story of Silvia in a racy way and that is the strength of the novel that its immensely readable and likeable but it doesn’t pretend to be literary and is rather a happy story.

The love story of Silvia and Smith is another area which has not been touched upon by Indian writers as a love story between an Indian and a black African origin West Indian.

 Living in the UK, I have often come across highly educated and well to do Indians who are almost traumatised by the thought of their son or daughter getting married to a black boy or girl. They consider this possibly as the worst outcome and secretly dread it even if they are not able to voice it in the age of politically correct mores of public life. Rajeev Shukla deftly deals with this subject and shows great sensitivity in bringing out the nuances of a love affair between an Indian girl who is never expected to fall in love with a black man. However, at times this becomes too simplistic and too good to be true. Nevertheless, Rajeev deals with a social taboo which the Indian diaspora needs to look at. Even a man as educated and well-heeled as Rajat Gupta who led McKinsey found it difficult for his daughter to marry an African American as he talks about in his book. The political and racial divide between South Asian diaspora and the black communities abound and is a proof that Indians are as racist or perhaps more than their white counterparts.

That said, this is a great read for the diaspora and I wish Mr Shukla, success with this novel which doesn’t have a precedence in Hindi literature and is actually quite contemporary and doesn’t have any pretensions to be literary and hence is a great read. It starts with a storyline much like Akhilesh’s acclaimed Hindi novel Nirvasan (Exile) and eventually becomes a racy feel good story more in the tradition of Hindi thrillers.

 The references to London makes you relook at this city and one can’t help but notice that the writer has a great love for this city and its Indian denizens who make this city an all-out Indian affair. He perhaps knows more about the city and its secrets than many of us and he should certainly do a novel based in London and its Indian characters.

Rajeev Shukla is both a politician and a journalist of a rare kind who retains his humanity above all but he is equally a keen observer of the diaspora and a great story teller as is evident with this book. I am sure this novel will capture the imagination of the diaspora if translated in English and available to the young readers, a challenge in our oversubscribed digital age. Needless to say it will also make for a great Netflix series.

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‘By My Own Rules: My Story in My Own Words

Her book ‘By My Own Rules: My Story in My Own Words (Penguin), which recently hit the stands bares it all-her lessons, beliefs, inspiration and the rules that define her life…reports Asian Lite News.

It had been more than three decades away from the camera glares, scandalous interviews, the dramatic rise and fall of Rajneeshpuram in the US, her fall-out with spiritual teacher Osho Rajneesh, and those 39 months in jail… But it just took two documentaries — ‘Wild Wild Country’ and ‘Searching for Sheela’, and her visit to India in September 2019 after 35 years, to make the media go in a tizzy again.

Sheela had not lost her spunk. Just that this time, it was the next generation that was behind the cameras.

“For three I have spoken it and answered all questions. I have been generous in explaining my reality and my truth. In fact, it was my father who motivated me to speak of my wide and rich life’s experience. He felt that what I have lived and learned from Bhagwan should be shared with full intensity with the world. Such treasure cannot be locked up in one’s heart. Such love must be passed on to all,” Sheela Birnstiel, personal secretary to Rajneesh from 1980 to 1985, and former manager of Rajneeshpuram in Oregon in the US tells.

Her book ‘By My Own Rules: My Story in My Own Words (Penguin), which recently hit the stands bares it all-her lessons, beliefs, inspiration and the rules that define her life. “Looking in the past and remembering some recent events of the last 30 years were pleasant moments and grateful feelings. I felt I have been fully supported and cared for by ‘Existence’,” she adds.

For someone who has been subjected to sharp criticism, she believes that the world is a victim of undesired, extreme negativity. “Criticism comes from persons who are based on their personal negativities. Their focus is on scandals, therefore they miss out on my experience and creativity. Bhagwan had offered once in lifetime wisdom and techniques to overcome our shortcomings in life. If we waste it no one else is responsible,” says Birnstiel, originally from Gujarat, who was 16-years-old when she met Rajneesh for the first time.

Birnstiel feels that people are afraid of her honesty and scared of their own truth. “I have spoken about my time in prison, the accusations, etc. for a long time now. I have generously tried to explain and confront. Now I have put a full stop to it. There is nothing more to say on this subject.”

Talk to her about what she thinks of the Rajneesh movement in contemporary India, and she asserts, “I do not have any idea of the movement now. I have an interest in Bhagwan and I hold his teachings to my heart.”

Currently running two care homes in Switzerland and one in Mauritius, she would like to set up one in India too. “Yes, something that is manageable from Switzerland, with capable persons in India. I have the experience and know-how to set up homes. Of course, I cannot move to India permanently,” she signs off.

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Exploring the complexity of human psyche

Asked how she conceptualises the story and the protagonists, who often tread in the grey area between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, Tandon told…writes Siddhi Jain.

In an engrossing new anthology of 13 contemporary short stories by debut author Bindu Tandon, titled ‘Of Beasts & Beauty’, what shines through the undertones of crime, conflicted relationships, power hierarchies and gender dynamics is the raw human experience that connects us all.

In the recently-released title, Tandon explores the complexity of human psyche and experience in the Indian context through powerful, intense storytelling that simultaneously packs a punch and provokes thought. The ‘shorts’ weave an intriguing narrative dramatizing the everyday Indian life. They are published by Rati Books, an imprint of Garuda Prakashan.

In the book, the author goes beyond the distinction of vice and virtue, and leaves this decision open-ended for the reader.

Asked how she conceptualises the story and the protagonists, who often tread in the grey area between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, Tandon told:

“As I unravel ‘behaviour’ — mine and that of others — I often find that it’s not just the deed, but also the ‘intent’ behind the act, that changes how I define the act. That is the ‘grey area’ you refer to. And in erasing or in not recognizing this distinction, I think we become hypocritical and we go down the slippery slope of labeling behaviour as good or bad. Do I believe that there should be ‘no consequences’? Not at all, we have to be ready to take the consequences of our actions.”

Tandon adds: “I want my reader to recognize people in their world in my stories. And find that dimension in them that might have eluded them in real life. I want my stories to bring alive the modern, flawed, beautiful young and old distinctly contemporary Indian, that is present in very few stories.

“These stories are about the wide world that interests me. Drawn from travels and a global perspective largely devoid of prejudice. I guess my desire to not judge, not condemn and not arrive at quick everyday conclusions, which is a part of me is revealing itself to you as ‘layered thought’.”

After being in the management of a leading media organisation and managing a publishing house, the Mumbai-based author continues her tryst with black ink on white paper in her first book of short stories.

“I want you to feel pain, exultation, agony, hate and joy, as you read these stories. Feel, viscerally, to the very core of your being, a common thread of humanity that runs through each of these 13 stories. Acts of violence make beasts of us all, whether you live in a big city or a small town or village. I have written to understand the hearts and the minds of people scarred by such acts, whether as victims, perpetrators or merely as innocent bystanders. I want you to decide who is a beast, and which act represents beauty,” says Bindu.

The author is also working on her first novel which she expects to complete by the end of 2021.

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Post Pandemic Era: Must-Read Books For July

If you are reading this, then we have something in common…. Whether it’s a love of getting crafty, meticulously organizing or making fun-shaped snacks! …writes Siddhi Jain.

There is no speculated time for reading, but the pandemic era is surely a chance. As the world unlocks, there is a need to upgrade and upskill oneself. Let these books be your companions and coaches in a post-pandemic world.

‘Keep Sharp: How to Build a Better Brain at Any Age’ by Sanjay Gupta

An exciting new science-driven guide to protecting your mind from decline. This book includes a 12-week brain training program. An essential guide to keeping your brain young, healthy and sharp from neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta. Keep Sharp is the only owner’s manual you will need to keep your brain young and healthy at any age!

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

With an IKIGAI like magic, Matt Haig’s reflections on hope, survival, and the messy miracle of being alive wraps around us like a warm blanket on an ice-cold night. The book is a collection of life rafts that have kept the author afloat and he hopes with utmost sincerity that some of them would carry us to a dry land too.

‘You Can Coach’ by Siddharth Rajsekar

Currently ranking in the top Amazon Book Bestsellers, You Can Coach aims to redefine the education system by creating a new breed of teachers, coaches, and mentors who will be implementers. The book decodes all the steps for experts to successfully plan, launch, and grow a digital coaching business to six-figures a month. Siddharth is one of India’s top digital coaches and wants to change the way we learn after his own experience as a student. Filled with practical strategies and principles, this information has already helped over 11,000 experts from across the world and created numerous success stories. Apart from his own experience in digital coaching, the book also draws on the experiences of the world’s best coaches and mentors through interviews with Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Blair Singer and Dr Demartini among others.

‘Tap to Tidy: Organising, Crafting and Creating Happiness in a Messy World’ by Stacey Solomon

If you are reading this, then we have something in common…. Whether it’s a love of getting crafty, meticulously organizing or making fun-shaped snacks! I find it hard to sit still but losing myself in a craft project or tidying a drawer is my form of meditation. It’s a chance for me to forget about the things going on in the world around me for a minute. I hope this book helps you to lose yourself for a moment, too — and that you enjoy reading it and even having a go at some of the bits inside.

‘Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviour’ by Mark Goulston and Philip Goldberg

In Get Out of Your Own Way, authors Goulston and Goldberg unmask deep-seated self-defeating behaviours rooted in our childhood experiences of being alone and defenceless. The underlying causes of self-defeating behaviours are explained with simple action tips to achieve the victory of impulse over awareness, immediate gratification over lasting satisfaction and relief over resolution. While it may not be easy to recognize or admit that we get in our own way, and harder still to take responsibility for getting out of our way, if we are smart, resolving life issues can be achieved with simple, yet powerful and proven strategies without visiting an expensive therapist!

ALSO READ-Five books for your summer reading list

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Five books for your summer reading list

‘The Rape Trial’ begins with the revelation that, many years ago, Rahul Satyabhagi had indeed raped Avni Rambha…writes Siddhi Jain.

Reading is one of the most joyous activities to the people especially during the pandemic era. From poetry on the vibrance of ‘letting go’, a reference guide on married lives, and a sprinkle of self-love and even mythological fiction, these five books by forthcoming authors are on our bookshelf this summer.

‘Ceasing to Disown’ by Sunny Ramesh Sadnani

‘Ceasing to Disown’ is the very persona of the similar antithesis that life is. It is a collection of poetries that serve as a reminder of what we have found solace in or maybe continue to hopelessly endure, not for a few moments or days, but for perhaps years and decades and what we choose to not let go regardless of the consequences. Maybe even feel vibrant about it! In this book, Sunny has attempted to relay his emotions with respect to family, parents, romantic alliances, failure, redemptions, loneliness, anger, sex, the natural environment, diversity. And then some more.

‘The Rape Trial’ by Bidisha Ghosal

‘The Rape Trial’ begins with the revelation that, many years ago, Rahul Satyabhagi had indeed raped Avni Rambha. Rahul has long since been acquitted and Avni had left the country for her peace of mind. Now, it looks like he’s about to get away with it again. Rhea, Amruta and Hitaishi are beyond furious. What unfolds is a thriller worth a read.

‘The Last War and Other Stories’ by Sambhit Daspatnaik

‘The Last War and Other Stories’ is a collection of science fiction stories written by Sambit Daspatnaik. In the main story “The Last War”, the author takes his readers back to a time of post Mahabharata War era, featuring the descendants of the Pandavas, a mammoth invasion by the Gandharvas and a desperate attempt by the protagonists Senapati Agrasen and princess Charulata to save the city of Moenjo and Hariapa. The rest of the short science fiction stories cover different genres of sci-fi from space travel, solar systems to alien planets.

‘Love Your Wife’ by Soumitra Singh Thakur

An insightful reference manual to have a joyous married life. This companion of love and devotion will invoke deep thoughts in you. It will reveal the true husband inside you, a husband, who you don’t show to anyone, not even to your wife, maybe. This book will share such an insightful perspective of human relations between a husband and a wife that will give you an outcome of joyous married life in this materialistic world. If used effectively, this book will serve as a lifelong practical reference manual and a workbook for all the world’s erring husbands and all eligible bachelors to efficiently handle all the difficult phases of their married lives.


‘Self Love — The Power Within You’ by Aaira Kaurr

This book makes you aware of a miracle ingredient necessary for your flowering and becoming the best version of yourself, self love. If you don’t love your own self first, you can’t love anyone else, be it a person , a profession or anything else. No matter, how much effort you put in or how good or brilliant you are, you will be disappointed in the end in all your ventures, in spite of your high achievements. Without self love, others will enjoy and exploit your talents, you won’t. This book not only explains the concept of self love, but gives you a systematic framework for imbibing it in your life. In fact you already have it in you, you just need to turn it on.

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Books COVID-19 Fashion

Global battle reflects on fashion magazine covers

Baishali Chatterjee, ex-Managing Editor of Femina, India believes that magazines today are taking this “bold” step to cater to the changing perspective of the consumers…writes Puja Gupta.

The whole fashion world is stuck with Covid, but the efforts to boost it back are on the way by the people in the field. Glossy and glamorous — this is how we usually describe a fashion magazine cover that was until last year. Traditionally, a fashion magazine features a supermodel or a celebrity face — most often a Bollywood, Hollywood, or sports star dressed in sensational clothes, with hair and make-up on point.

But ever since the world was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, things have changed. The global battle against the virus has been overwhelming mentally, physically, emotionally and has taken a toll on frontline workers in every nook and cranny. Popular magazines like Vogue, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar among many, chose to the unconventional route — they became more inclusive with their covers and echoed the sentiments of the people.

Most recently, the cover of British Vogue’s July 2021 edition features Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. For the all red cover, the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate, Malala, is styled in a red shirt dress and headscarf by Stella McCartney.

“Fashion has long been a reflection of the times. Be in personal, political or economic,” says Nonita Kalra, former Editor of Harper’s Bazaar, India. Adding, “The pandemic has not just highlighted this, it has also brought into sharp focus the fact that all communication must be sensitive to the current environment.”

Here’s a look at all the covers we can’t get enough off, which are from tone deaf in these tough times:

In April 2020, Vogue Italia released a blank white cover that imD,,Nagined a life in a post pandemic world. Similarly, Vogue Portugal in the same month released a cover of two models kissing while wearing face masks to represent life in the times of social distancing.

In August 2020, all 26 editions of Vogue united to release the Hope Issue. Interpreted in their own way, it focused on the future of the world.

This month, Cosmopolitan India introduced ‘The Hope’ issue on Instagram, it features a series of six covers dedicated to real-life heroes who have shown tremendous courage and kindness during these difficult times.

Nandini Bhalla, Editor of Cosmopolitan, India tells: “Our decision to break the mould was driven by a need to amplify the real heroes around us: the ones who are making a difference, driving change, and inspiring millions of women and men. At its core, Cosmopolitan is a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine for young women. But it has also always been a magazine that champions equality, courage, and kindness.”

She adds: “Last year has been devasating for many of us, and at this time, what we want to feel is a sense of hope. A light at the end of this dark tunnel. Cosmo India’s illustrated covers come with this message of hope… a reminder that there is goodness in the world, through these voices that help restore our faith in humanity.”

The six covers feature: India’s healthcare workers, Harteerath Singh from the Hemkunt Foundation who provided ‘oxygen langars’ and assistance to thousands of people, ASHA workers in rural India and good samaritans — from auto rickshaw drivers who converted their autos into makeshift ambulances, to police officers, teachers and animal-rights workers.

Baishali Chatterjee, ex-Managing Editor of Femina, India believes that magazines today are taking this “bold” step to cater to the changing perspective of the consumers.

She says: “When I was working in the magazine three years ago, Bollywood was still a big seller no matter what content we wanted to do. We had to cater to what our audiences wanted. But now, maybe the pandemic has shifted people’s perception, and made people realise that it’s the people who are actually making a difference. So people like Malala are finding themselves on the covers of magazines. And people are realising that their idols need to shift from just Bollywood and entertainment to the real people who are making a difference and saving people’s lives.”

Chatterjee adds: “I think that it is very brave for magazines to be taking the stand and showcasing this change. This speaks well of us as an audience. It’s like a vicious cycle of foresight, we create the kind of content that audiences want, and then audiences stream the kind of content that is given to them.”

Also, the whole digital revolution that print media has undergone gives the opportunity to play around and experiment. “You reach so many more people, your audience is far more diverse. One single outlet can have multiple covers in one month, unlike earlier when we had to close the magazine cover three three months in advance,” she says.

Asked if this is going to be the future, Kalra, who is currently serving as Editor-In-Chief, Tata CLiQ Luxury, answers: “Going forward, I think covers will have to be symbols of solidarity, messages of hope, and signals of optimism. Largely because the reader wants to be treated with sensitivity and intelligence.”

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