Being Global
The Cosmopolitans by Zubin Shroff
(Veenman)
Launched at Bombay Electric, in tandem with Matthieu Foss Gallery, photographer Zubin Shroff questions the notions of being cosmopolitan and a global citizen, through his formal, studied portraits, in this book. Seventy eight seemingly disparate portraits have been connected, with images from six continents, ranging from pilgrims and artists to construction workers and actors.

Stars and Stripes
Iconic America by Tommy Hilfiger with George Lois
(Rizzoli Publications)
Neatly described as A Roller-Coaster Ride Through the Eye-Popping Panorama of American Pop Culture, the coffee-table book promises to be visually stimulating even without the addition of Hilfiger and legendary graphic designer George Lois. It is Mickey Mouse and Monopoly and Sinatra and Fred Astaire in surprising juxtapositions and clever visual presentations. Over 350 people, places and things of importance in the history of the country have come together in this entertaining and stimulating interpretation of the melting pot of American pop culture.

Lyrically Powerful
Selected Poems by Gulzar
(Penguin Poetry)
Simple evocative verses with underlying metaphors grab you immediately in Gulzar’s bilingual edition of poems. Translated from Hindi by writer and diplomat Pavan K. Varma, you can believe Gulzar when he remarks in the foreword that, ‘he has transferred not only the meaning, but also the diction or lehjaa of the poems so aptly and beautifully.’

The ‘Middle’ Order
Boxwallah And The Middleman by Raj Chatterjee
(Penguin Books)
Forty years ago, a ‘burra sahib’ at a British firm, retired prematurely to take up a hobby – freelance writing. It has since then become a full-time occupation for Raj Chatterjee, who believes that ‘selling words was far more exciting than selling cigarettes,’ which he did for 30-long years with the Imperial Tobacco Company. But what makes this anthology an interesting read is the various anecdotes from Chatterjee’s ‘boxwallah’ days – the sights and sounds he came across while travelling the vast expanse of pre-independence and undivided India.