Pardwa - An Untold Story has a periodic biographical narration. The story covers the lives of a couple whose love was rejected by the whims and fancies of some relatives, and how the couple fought together and brought up their siblings and children. It’s a lesson for the present generation that prefers nuclear families. With their sacrifices, the couple brought their siblings to succeed and reach a top position. Mohan has brilliantly covered each episode in detail by narrating the surrounding conditions of the places, lifestyles of the region from 1900 to 1985. Some of the episodes depict incidents in beautiful paintings for the readers’ delight. The author’s mother, Smt. Dwaraka, was a pious lady and she had darshan of Sri. Ragavendra Swami at Mantralayam. Mohan, as a small boy, had darshan of the Swami along with his mother, which is mentioned in one of the episodes. There were many such incidents in their life and it is an opportunity for the readers to have a different experience and travel along with the time of the story. The author also gives a historical story of how their surname, Nallan Chakravarthi, was bestowed by Lord Sri. Maha Vishnu Himself and their connections to Kancheepuram and Tirumala. These were also explained through wonderful paintings. It is a boon to all book enthusiasts and hope they encourage us to publish more monumental works of different fields.

Sri Swathi Tirunal’s Navaratri Kritis is a unique book exclusively prepared for students and lovers of Carnatic music who like to learn the Navaratri Kritis in detail. The notations made by the author are easy to understand. In one of the quartets of Carnatic music, Swathi Tirunal composed 472 Kritis. Many of his compositions are yet to be explored. He was the only composer who could compose in multiple languages like Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi. He also invented many new ragas like Saranganatta, Lalita Panchamam, Mohana Kalyani Dvijavanti and Gopika Vasantam. He was the only South Indian Vagyekara who composed Bhajans, Drupad, Khyaal, Tappa and Tillanas. Harikatha was introduced by Swathi Tirunal. He also used Abhangas, Dinders and Chhands, which are in Marathi song formats. Swathi Tirunal was very sincerely devoted to Padmanabha Swami and Saraswathi Devi. The phrase ‘Padmanabha Sahodari’ was his Mudhra Charanam. The Nine Gems of his Navaratri Kritis were among his best-known compositions, and he ensured that they are sung on all nine days of Navaratri. He introduced the ritual of bringing Saraswathi Devi’s idol from Padmanabhapuram to Travancore, accompanied by the idols of Lord Karthikeya and Goddess Munnotty Nanga. The lyrics of the nine Navaratri Kritis with meanings of the songs are exhibited brilliantly. This book offers you a glimpse of the life and history of Maharaja Swathi Tirunal and the stories of people who made a profound impact on the young king in his very short life. The wonderful paintings on the incidents of Swathi Tirunal’s life and the collection of photographs are the special attractions of the book.