Tag Archives: Autobiography

In My Hands Today…

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Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye: My Life Story – K.J.S. ‘Tiny’ Dhillon

He has extensively served in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and the North-East of India. He has the distinction of commanding the elite Chinar Corps (15 Corps). And, his last assignment before superannuation was the Director-General Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence) under the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General KJS ‘Tiny’ Dhillon (Retd) opens a window to his life in this book.

From the fascinating tales and the toughest challenges he has encountered in his career, including those from his multiple tenures in J&K since 1988 to the responsibility of maintaining a balance between counter-infiltration and counter-terrorist operations on one hand and the use of military soft power on the other in Kashmir, in this book Dhillon unfolds his journeys from a young boy to the Commander of Chinar Corps. With Kashmir being an inseparable part of this story including the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, barbarous attack on the convoy of Indian security personnel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district, killing 40 CRPF personnel, Balakot to the abrogation of Article 370 and its impact on the socio-political, economic and law and order, among others, the book takes us behind the scenes to bring out the nuances of various intriguing developments at a critical juncture in the history of the erstwhile State of J&K.

In My Hands Today…

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Madam Commissioner: The Extraordinary Life of an Indian Police Chief – Meeran Chadha Borwankar

The incredible memoir from one of India’s most uncompromising police officers.

Meeran Chadha Borwankar graduated from India’s National Police Academy as the sole woman of its 1981 batch. From there, she would go on to investigate a long string of sensitive and controversial cases, fighting crime together with corruption and discrimination, never compromising on her integrity.

Meeran’s steadfast efforts saw her become Maharashtra’s first female district police chief as well as its first woman police commissioner. She also held senior roles at the Central Bureau of Investigation and Mumbai’s crime branch, eventually retiring as Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the National Crime Records Bureau. All through she remained unafraid to critique the country’s criminal justice system, challenging even those in the highest echelons until the rule of law prevailed.

In this candid account of her thirty-six years in Indian law enforcement, Meeran details the sensational cases that defined her from the Jalgaon sex scandal to jewellery heists, highway dacoities to communal riots, brutal murders to gang rapes, port thefts to financial frauds, and brushes with notorious criminals such as Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar.

As the state prisons chief, she navigated intense media and government pressure while overseeing Sanjay Dutt’s imprisonment and the executions of Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon, thereby outlining both the significance and challenges of donning the khaki. Gripping, thought-provoking and always inspiring, Madam Commissioner is as honest a memoir can get about life as a woman officer of the Indian Police Service. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the uniform and indeed for concerned citizens everywhere.

In My Hands Today…

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Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer – Sunil Gupta

What is life like inside Asia’s largest prison?

What happens when a man is hanged, but his pulse refuses to give up even after two hours?

Did Nirbhaya’s rapist, Ram Singh, commit suicide or was he murdered?

For the first time we have a riveting account from an insider who has spent close to four decades as an officer at Tihar Jail during some of the most turbulent times in Indian political history.

For the first time he breaks his silence about all he’s seen – from the first man he met in Tihar, Charles Sobhraj, to the controversies surrounding former CBI head, Alok Verma.

Responsible for carrying out ‘Black Warrants’, Gupta witnessed 14 hangings, the most recent and his last, being that of Afzal Guru. Joining him is award-winning journalist Sunetra Choudhury whose recent book Behind Bars is a bestseller and took her deep inside the maze of prisons. Read this book for the most intimate and raw account of India’s judicial and criminal justice system.

In My Hands Today…

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Sultan: A Memoir – Wasim Akram, Gideon Haigh

For twenty years, Wasim Akram let his cricket do the talking – his electrifying left-arm pace, his explosive left-handed striking, his leadership and his inspiration. For another twenty years he kept his own counsel about those days, full of drama, controversy and even mystery, in a country, Pakistan, that to outsiders is a constant enigma. Until now.

Sultan tells the story of cricket’s greatest left-arm bowler, and one of its greatest survivors, who was chosen from the streets of Lahore and groomed by Imran Khan to become champion of the world – man of the match in the final of the 1992 World Cup. Along the way were unforgettable rivalries with the greatest of his time, from Viv Richards and Ian Botham to Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne. Along the way, too, a backdrop of conspiracy and intrigue over ball tampering and match fixing about which Wasim finally sets the story straight.

But there’s more: Sultan goes frankly into the crumbling and rebuilding of Wasim’s private life, marred by the tragedy of his first wife’s death and the torment of addiction. The result is an unprecedented insight into the life of a cricketer who revolutionised the game with his speed and swing, and a patriot buoyed and burdened by the expectation of one of the game’s most fanatical public.

In My Hands Today…

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The Third Gilmore Girl – Kelly Bishop

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, from winning a Tony Award for her turn in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line to her memorable performance as Jennifer Grey’s mother in Dirty Dancing. But it is probably her iconic role as matriarch Emily in the modern classic Gilmore Girls that cemented her legacy.

Now, Bishop reflects on her remarkable life and looks towards the future with The Third Gilmore Girl. She shares some of her greatest stories and the life lessons she’s learned on her journey. From her early transition from dance to drama, to marrying young to a compulsive gambler, to the losses and achievements she experienced—among them marching for women’s rights and losing her second husband to cancer—Bishop offers a rich, genuine celebration of her life.

Full of witty insights, The Third Gilmore Girl is a warm, unapologetic, and spirited memoir from a woman who has left indelible impressions on her audiences for decades and has no plans on slowing down.