Title: The Dolphin and the Shark | Author: Namita Thapar |Publisher: Penguin Random House India
Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals and one of the “shark” investors on a popular business reality show, Shark Tank India, releases her debut book, The Dolphin and the Shark. Published by Penguin Random House India, it documents Namita being candid and authentic and will inspire and motivate every reader to push their limits.
The book emphasizes how today’s leaders must strike a balance between being a shark-aggressive leader and a dolphin-empathetic leader. From investing in start-ups, and mentoring many budding women professionals to being a part of the senior team running a pharma company, The Dolphin and the Shark has lessons from all facets of an entrepreneurial journey.
The Dolphin and the Shark focus on various business mantras and personal and professional challenges and include references to pitches from Shark Tank India‘s Season 1. The author shares personal stories, anecdotes about Emcure’s evolution over the years, and learnings from entrepreneurs who have inspired her.
Title: The Dance of Faith | Author: R. Seshasayee |Publisher: Harper Collins
The story is sketched in a very visual style, capturing the vibrant hues of Tamil Nadu, its society, art and religion. Mesmerized by the vibrance of classical dance, young Zaheer yearns to be a Bharatanatyam dancer. Yet, in his small but multi-cultural village community, he finds encouragement only in his aunt, Anandhi, and faces ridicule from his immediate family and extended social circle. In the course of his struggle, as he transitions from being a member of a conservative Muslim family that is outraged by his unusual interest into becoming a part of the charming world of a classical dance form that imposes its own religious typecasting, he encounters different facets of faith. The novel explores the legitimacy of the space that Zaheer wishes to carve out for himself beyond stereotypes of black and white, amidst gaping social disparities, and between Hinduism and Islam. Interwoven with his narrative is one of Andal, the Vaishnavite savant poetess who rebels against the orthodoxy of her faith and creates her idiom of devotion.
Author, Seshasayee, says: ‘The Dance of Faith is a novel that explores the legitimacy of the fluid middle space between religious polarities and of the neutrality of art as a medium. It is, in a way, an expression of my conviction that each person’s faith is unique in its detail, is that person’s reality and that no one’s faith is superior to another’s.’
Seshasayee has held several leadership positions, including as executive vice chairman and managing director of Ashok Leyland Ltd, chairman of Infosys Ltd, and chairman of IndusInd Bank Ltd. He is presently vice chairman of Hinduja Group and independent director, Asian Paints Ltd. He was also the co-chair of the World Economic Forum, Middle East.
