This charming memoir of a scholar-turned-institution-builder traverses a wide arc, geographically and thematically. His idyllic boyhood in the Himalaya, his journeys across the country and overseas, his encounters with friends, mentors, and colleagues, his nurturing of a pioneering library-cum-research centre, are all narrated with affection and insight.

Monsoon and Other Poems’ is a collection of poems by Rachna Joshi. There are many dimensions to her poems in this volume. Coming from a close knit family, she has poems that not just talk of relationships but take in the beauty of the Kumaon hills from where she hails.

It is quite remarkable that in her very first volume, Serpents Under my Veil, Asiya Zahoor sounds like an accomplished poet with reams of poems behind her. From Medusa to Yusuf and Zulekha she cherrypicks what she wants from Greek or West Asian myth, and moulds it to her heart’s desire.

This book is about the incredible journey of Emergency Management and Research Institute in pioneering India’s first systematic emergency response service.