The Hindu On Books newsletter: Countdown to The Hindu Lit for Life begins, reading Teltumbde’s Ambedkar and more

Welcome to this edition of The Hindu on Books Newsletter. The countdown to The Hindu Lit for Life, to be held in Chennai on January 18 and 19, 2025, has begun with a sneak peek in Hyderabad where journalist-writers Rajdeep Sardesai and Neerja Chowdhury joined B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, a member of the Telangana Legislative Council and president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, for a discussion on ‘A Political Circus’, moderated by journalist Swathi Vadlamudi. In his review, G. Sampath writes that in a meticulously researched book, Teltumbde shows that the ‘real’ Ambedkar was a man of contradictions, a flawed individual who made errors of judgement, and did not always transcend the prejudices of his time, all of which not only do not detract from his greatness but rather add to it by rendering him as an all too human figure that ordinary people could relate to. “Potta Thuruthu, the isle of reeds, is untouched by development, with life cruising along, similar to the nameless river skirting it — slowly, at times quickly, sometimes changing course and often throwing a dark surprise or two.” Carvalho contends that the non-linear narrative oscillates between the local stories — happenings on the island, the complexities of village life, the little joys, struggles and tragedies — and reality and mysterious myths, reminding one, inevitably, of some tales of Malayalam novelist O.V. Spotlight In his new book, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, Yuval Noah Harari explores the breadth of history, and writes about how clay tablets, stories, the printing press, and computers have all helped humans communicate with one another.