Books, Authors & Culture

"India's Olympic Gold: Hockey Triumph at Amsterdam" was released in New Delhi by Indian Olympic Association President P. T. Usha and Hockey India President Dr. Dilip Tirkey, authored by hockey historian K. Arumugam. The book was published by Hockey India and Stick2Hockey to mark the 98th anniversary of India's first Olympic gold medal — won by the men's hockey team at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.

Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released "Sanskritir Ratna Bhandar: Bhaowaiyar Itibritto" (loosely, "Bhawaiya: A Cultural Treasure and Its Historical Journey") at Uprashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book, authored by Lok Sabha MP Dr. Jayanta Kumar Roy and Sangita Roy, traces the history and cultural significance of Bhawaiya, a traditional folk-music genre of North Bengal, Assam and adjoining regions.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh released "The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man… Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts," the memoir of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, chronicling his path from Indian Air Force fighter pilot to astronaut, including his selection, training and experience aboard the International Space Station on the Axiom-4 mission.

Also worth noting from the Culture Ministry's calendar this month: the "Samvidhan Hatya Diwas" commemoration of the 1975 Emergency's 50th anniversary (covered in Chapter 3), and the 19th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2026, organised by the National Film Development Corporation under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting — one of Asia's most prestigious festivals dedicated to non-feature cinema, including documentaries, short fiction and animation.

Chapter 13 Quiz

1. Whose book on India's 1928 Olympic hockey gold was released by P. T. Usha and Dilip Tirkey? — K. Arumugam's "India's Olympic Gold: Hockey Triumph at Amsterdam"
2. Which folk-music tradition does the Vice President's released book, authored by MP Jayanta Kumar Roy, document? — Bhawaiya, of North Bengal and Assam
3. What is the title of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's memoir? — "The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man… Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts"