The Coalfield Express

This book is about a mystery in the arena of Love. It starts off in a flashback when Susmit, an Electrical Engineer trips over Sheena, a student of Archeology. And the place circumscribes the compartment of a train named THE COALFIELD EXPRESS, with departure time of 5:20 pm at Howrah Station and expected arrival time of 7:30 pm at Durgapur. The novel sparks up with Love but ends with a mystery.Things in the compartment starts to get a bit rocky, when the combo of Susmit and Sheena meet a series of disasters.Crossing a lot of hurdles, their feet succeeded in laying them to their destination, in short, their home. The time was 2:00 am. Before the next 24 hours can pass they are separated. The flashback ends when after two years Susmit stumbles over again in the Coalfield Express, but this time with an old man. But a lot had happened in the last two years. No, its not that Sheena had fallen in love with any other geek. Its even more serious. Sheena had fallen into trouble. . A trouble that started with an excursion through the sands of Rajashthan, where she finds a cryptex, which got lost even before she could blink her eye. Are they able to crack it? Or Mr. Roy, a villain gets it before their game even begins? Thats the question. I hope you enjoy the trip

A Novel

Jharkhand, which was carved out of the southern part of the State of Bihar on November 15, 2000, shares its border with Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. With Ranchi as its capital, the state is known for its rich reserves of natural resources and Nature's bounty. Little wonder, it is often referred to as the 'Land of Forests'. For the abundance of mineral resources, successive rulers have tried to control this region right since the ancient times. It was the British administration which most exploited the region as they made Kolkata (then Calcutta) the main port to export minerals from here to their country. The legendary hero of the tribals, Birsa Munda, along with many others like Sidho and Kanho, fought against British oppression. Birsa Munda is regarded as ‘God’s Messenger’ in the fight of the tribals for natural right over land and the vast forest reserves that characterize the State. This book brings to light various characteristics of Jharkhand viz. —History, Geographical Position, Soil and Climate, Mineral Resources, Industry Tribal Communities, Art and Culture, Language, Literature and Newspapers, Important Personalities etc. in quiz form to make it useful for common readers and competitive exams' aspirants as well.

Few areas of labour history have received as much attention as the coal industry, with miners often finding themselves at the centre of studies on working-class political and industrial history. Yet whilst much has been written about the struggles of miners and their unions in particular countries, their national confrontations and political organization, much less work has been done on the regional communities and how they related both to the national and international picture. The central theme of this volume is to transcend such over-arching national models and to focus instead on local coal mining societies which can then be compared and contrasted to similar communities elsewhere. In so doing the book is able to tackle a number of familiar labour history themes in a more nuanced way, exploring issues of political activism and class relationships from the perspectives of gender, ethnicity, race and specific localized cultural traditions. As the chapters in this volume illustrate, such an approach can offer rich and often surprising conclusions, in many cases challenging the accepted notion of miners as the vanguard of militant working-class political activism. Adopting a regional approach that compares coalfield communities from five continents, this volume reflects coalfield experiences on a truly global scale. By looking at what made communities unique as well as what they shared in common, a much fuller understanding of the workplace, neighbourhood, family, identity and political organization is possible. Underlining the strong connections between politics, community and identity, this work emphasizes the challenges and opportunities available to labour historians, pushing forward the boundaries of the discipline in new and exciting ways.

Set during 60s and 70s in the coalfields of Bihar and Bengal, ‘The Coal Miner’s Daughter’ tells the fascinating story of life in the coal mines through the eyes of the curious protagonist Suhasini. Captivating, touching and dramatic, the novel reveals the essence of human experience – through stories of thrill and simplicity, love and grit, and trust and ruthlessness in the backdrop of transition of the industry from privately held mines into the government-owned mining behemoth Coal India. The story unfolds through characters that are remarkably convincing, balanced, and ironic of the times.

The book traverses through the hostel life of an engineering student in seventies unfolding the uncertain times of extremist violence, peaceful days later and the initiation into the working life. The story meanders through two iconic institutes of Durgapur and Roorkee. It moves then to hills of Himachal and Andhra pradesh . The book brings out the times in a relatable manner with typical characters, places and happenings. The lucid and gripping narration keeps the reader glued till end.

Believe it or not, India has one of the largest coal reserves in Asia, but still relies on imports from Australia and Mozambique... India’s coal reserves were the lifeline that fuelled the British Empire in Asia, and yet today this industry is on the verge of collapse. Coal was at the centre of a major political scandal that nearly sent a prime minister to jail. This one-of-a-kind book unveils the murky politics around coal - the resource that could provide India all the energy security it needs.