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Six books offer six routes into India and Indian life: conversations about contested history, journeys by rail, stories of Mumbai’s changing communities, an artist’s writing, the city’s foodways, and a Bombay entrepreneur’s career. The list was published by Scroll.in on December 6, 2025, with descriptions sourced from publishers; it is a guide to each book’s subject, not a set of independent reviews.
Six books, six ways into the subject
| Book | Author or creator | Approach | Geographic focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speaking of History: Conversations about India’s Past and Present | Romila Thapar and Namit Arora | Conversations on history and its interpretation | India broadly |
| The Social Life of Trains: A Journey | Amitava Kumar | Travel writing connected to railway history | Indian railways |
| Mumbai: A Million Islands | Sidharth Bhatia | City history and urban change | Mumbai |
| Chitrakar | Benode Behari Mukherjee; translated from Bengali by KG Subramanyan | A collection of four pieces | Artist’s life and work |
| In the Beginning there was Bombay Duck: A Food History of Mumbai | Pronoti Datta | Food history shaped by communities and migration | Mumbai |
| Tatyasaheb: The Story of a Bombay Entrepreneur | Tejaswini Apte-Rahm | Business and family biography | Bombay and its industries |
The subjects range from India-wide questions of history and identity to accounts rooted in Mumbai and Bombay. The books also vary in form: some follow a journey or a life, while others collect conversations or shorter pieces.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
India: A History. Revised and Updated | $12.15 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World | $15.19 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
A CHILDREN'S HISTORY OF INDIA (PB) | $17.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
A NEW HISTORY OF INDIA: From Its Origins to the Twenty-First Century | $19.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent | $20.97 | Buy on Amazon |
History as argument and interpretation
Speaking of History: Conversations about India’s Past and Present
Romila Thapar and Namit Arora’s book is presented as a series of conversations about how history is written and interpreted, and why accounts of India’s past become entangled with present-day politics and identity. The publisher-sourced description identifies caste, gender, religion, mythology, and nationalism among the subjects discussed. It may suit readers interested in the making and contestation of historical narratives, rather than a single chronological survey.
Rail journeys and the meaning of trains
The Social Life of Trains: A Journey
Amitava Kumar’s book combines journeys—including travel on the Himsagar Express and the Darjeeling mountain railway—with reflections on railway history and the place of trains in India’s national imagination. The Scroll.in roundup, drawing on publisher information, describes the Himsagar route as 2,335 miles from Kashmir to Kanyakumari; that figure is reported here as the roundup gives it, not as independently checked route data.
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The framing also places trains in everyday life, including travel for work and leisure. It offers a way to approach railway history through movement and personal journeys rather than treating the railway only as infrastructure.
Mumbai through urban change and food
Mumbai: A Million Islands
Sidharth Bhatia’s account considers how displacement and redevelopment reshape Mumbai. The publisher-sourced description emphasizes class divisions and the erosion of community memory and social connection, making the book’s central concern not simply the city’s physical growth but what change can mean for the people who live through it.
In the Beginning there was Bombay Duck: A Food History of Mumbai
Pronoti Datta traces Mumbai’s food cultures through the communities and migrations that have shaped them. The description names Kolis, Pathare Prabhus, Sindhis, people from the Kanara coast, Parsis, and Muslim communities. Vada pao serves as an example of cultural mixing: the roundup points to the Portuguese introduction of the potato and the Goan tradition of baking pao as elements in the snack’s story. The book’s stated focus is the city’s food history, not a catalogue of dishes alone.
An artist’s writing and a Bombay business life
Chitrakar
This collection brings together four pieces by artist Benode Behari Mukherjee, translated from Bengali by KG Subramanyan. The publisher-sourced description says the pieces were written after Mukherjee lost his eyesight in 1957. They are “The Artist,” “Master of the Household,” “The Creator,” and “Art Quest.” The collection therefore offers readers an artist’s own writing in translation, across four distinct pieces.
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Tatyasaheb: The Story of a Bombay Entrepreneur
Tejaswini Apte-Rahm follows Vaman Shridhar Apte (1875–1952), known as Tatyasaheb, through textile, silent-film, and sugar businesses, alongside his family history. The Scroll.in roundup reports, on the basis of publisher material, that he produced over a hundred feature films; the figure is attributed to that description rather than independently verified here. The book connects an individual business life with several industries in Bombay’s past.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the roundup does and does not establish
Scroll.in’s December 6, 2025 list provides a useful subject-level introduction to all six titles, but does not give ISBNs, individual publication dates, formats, prices, or current availability. Those details can vary by edition and market, so check a publisher or bookseller catalogue for the version available where you are before ordering.
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- brand: Aleph Book
- A New History of India: From Its Origins to the Twenty-First Century
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