Book Release

Dr. Trilochan Sastry authors book ‘The essentials of Hinduism: An Introduction to all the sacred texts’

A book titled, ‘The Essentials of Hinduism: An Introduction to All the Sacred Texts’, authored by Dr. Trilochan Sastry, faculty in the Decision Sciences area at IIM Bangalore, has been published by Penguin Random House. 

In a synopsis of the book, the author writes: “Hinduism is an ancient religion, philosophy and way of life. Unlike other great religions which are based on a small set of books, there is a multitude of text relating to Hinduism, mostly voluminous. They span not merely centuries, but millennia. Most importantly, these ancient scriptures are all in Sanskrit, a language in which many people do not have proficiency. Therefore, for a beginner with an interest in Hinduism, it is a daunting task as one does not know from where to start such a study.” In ‘The Essentials of Hinduism’, Dr. Trilochan Sastry unpacks all the ancient texts from the vedas to the epics covering the entire range of scriptures and presenting the same in an easy-to-read and accessible way.

About the Book

Hinduism is an ancient religion, philosophy and way of life. Unlike other great religions that are based on a small set of books, there are hundreds of texts in Hinduism, most of which are very voluminous. They span not merely centuries, but millennia. And most importantly, these ancient scriptures are all in Sanskrit which many do not know. Therefore for a beginner with an interest in Hinduism it is a daunting task as you don’t know where to start such a study.
In The Essentials of Hinduism, Trilochan Sastry unpacks all the ancient texts from the Vedas to the epics covering the entire range of scriptures and everything you need to know about them in an easy-to-read and accessible way making it of special interest to Hindus and those from other religions and nations, and even those who are agnostic or atheistic.

About the Author

Trilochan Sastry is Professor at IIM Bangalore and a former Dean. He did his B Tech from IIT Delhi, MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and Ph D from MIT. He is the founder of ADR, an NGO that works on Electoral and Political reforms and also of CCD and Farmveda that work with tens of thousands of small farmers. He has received various Awards for his academic work and for his work in society. He has been interested in Hinduism since early adolescence and has lived in monasteries, studied the sacred texts, attended classes from various teachers and visited various pilgrimage sites.

The book is available on Amazon.


And How Do You Feel About That?: Breakdowns and Breakthroughs in the Therapy Room – Aruna Gopakumar , PGP 1993 and Yashodhara Lal, PGP 2002

About the Book

Ever wondered what REALLY happens in the therapy room?
For too long, therapy has been seen as taboo in our society and is shrouded in myth–it’s only for the weak or ‘crazies’, it’s just blaming your parents, a therapist ‘only listens’ and so on. In this book, Aruna Gopakumar and Yashodhara Lal bust those myths and show you how therapy actually works.
With decades of combined experience in the field, these two therapists share fascinating stories based on their practice. You’ll meet the woman who sends secret messages to her husband during arguments; the towering tattooed man who realizes he can’t save his sister; the teenager whose life is revealed in the tale of a lonely bear; the divorced man angry with his ex-wife for starting to date again; the fiery gay young man impatient to change the world; the lady who won’t relax until her daughter is perfect; and many more.
Written with authenticity, warmth, simplicity, and lightness, And How Do You Feel About That brings you an understanding of the world of possibilities that opens up when we embark on an inner exploration – in dialogue with another.

About the Author

Aruna Gopakumar is a psychotherapist of repute-a CTA (Certified Transactional Analyst) and an MCC
(Master Certified Coach-ICF). She is the current president of SAATA (South Asian Association of Transactional Analysts). As a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst, Aruna is passionately engaged in long-term training of aspiring Transactional Analysts, taking them through the rigorous journey of becoming competent, ethical professionals. She is an advocate of creative, experiential methods and integrates art, story and drama in her ways of working, with both individuals and groups. She has a Tedx Talk called ‘Psychotherapy, the New Normal’.
She founded a leadership development organization, Navgati (www.navgati.in), in 1999 after working in IBM and then Sasken. Today, Navgati is a market leader in the design and delivery of creative, high-impact leadership-development interventions. With an engineering degree from Anna University and an MBA degree from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), Aruna is on a lifelong quest to find innovative ways to help people realize their true potential.
Aruna lives in Bangalore with her husband, daughter, son, and two noisy black labradors.

Yashodhara Lal is a bestselling author and a practising coach and therapist. She holds a diploma in Transactional Analysis therapy and is certified in Erickson Solution Focussed Coaching. After almost two decades in the corporate world, leading marketing across organizations like Unilever, Dyson and others, she has dedicated herself to the world of wellness: her coaching and therapy practice is called Allsomeness (allsomeness.in). She is a fitness enthusiast, trained in yoga and Animal Flow, and keenly explores spirituality, music and dance. She has published eight books over the last ten years, including two books for children and is always working on some new writing project or the other.
She has a Tedx Talk called ‘Exploring Multiple Dimensions to Uncover Your Full Potential’ and is committed to working with people seeking to be the fullest versions of themselves.
Yashodhara currently lives in Goa, where she has recently moved with her husband and three kids in her quest for a quieter, slower life. Their newly acquired dog, Punter, has thwarted her plan.

The book is available on Amazon.


The Pilgrim: Inferno Redux, Rohit Prasad, PGP 1996

About the Book

Roy Aron stepped off a sun-kissed beach and plunged into the fiery pits of hell.

He had a life-altering vision. To actualize his epiphany, he metaphorically descended the bowels of hell to grapple with man’s ruinous frailties. He followed in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri as he witnessed each of the nine sins: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. He came upon unexpected and macabre sagas, engaged in intriguing and enthralling events, which bore testimony to all that these sins manifest, and observed how the sinners end up sundering devastation around them. After observing the lowest of lows, he pulled himself out of these depths and vowed to fight the intoxicating attraction of sin.

Roy undertook this odyssey, again and again, every year to make himself a better husband, a better father and a better human being.

Journey with him through the heart of darkness, live through these bizarre and metamorphic incidents and emerge in the sunshine of hope. 

About the Author

A banker by day and a cynical blogger and cartoonist by night, Rohit Prasad was born and brought up in India. After graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Rohit has worked for international banks all over the world for the past 25 years.

He has met many interesting people with very compelling stories behind them and has seen and experienced many peculiar and beautiful things.

A voracious reader with a vivid imagination, Rohit, in his spare time, loves doing word puzzles, diving down Twitter’s rabbit holes and drawing caricatures to keep his gray cells young. He lives with his wife in Manhattan, New York, while their only daughter studies in Berkeley, California.

Follow him at @RohitPrasad71 on Twitter and his blog, cynicseyeview.wordpress.com.

The book is available on Amazon.