HOME >> Current Affairs Weekly || Published 24 hours ago || 11 Comments so far.

[PIN-2014] Part 5/6: Books, Authors, Movies awards &

Beauty Pageants

1. Prologue to six part Article
series
2. Books and Authors
3. Book /arts Prizes
4. Films related
5. Oscars 2014 (86th annual
Academy Awards)
6. National film award (61st)
7. IIFA 2014
8. Beauty Pageants
Prologue to six part
Article series
Total six parts covering December 2013 to 8
th
June 2014- nearly six months that is the usual
time span for current affairs most competitive exams below UPSC Civil service exam.
1. National
2. international
3. sports
4. banking and business GK
5. books, authors, movies, beauties
6. diaspora, civilian awards (national + international) and Dead in News
Useful for?
CDS, CAPF, IFoS, IBPS, SBI PO, SBI Clerk, RBI Grade B Officer, RBI Assistant, ACIO,
SSC CGL, SSC 10+2, UPPSC Lower & upper subordinate, Rajasthan PSC, MPSC,
MPPSC, GPSC and other non UPSC exams.
All of above exams have 5-8 MCQs from Person in news, books, author, awards and
sports.
What about UPSC/CSAT / preliminary exam?
1. This article series is pretty much useless for Civil service (IAS/IPS), they stopped this
variety of MCQs since last three prelims.
2. Besides even if UPSC examiner asks something, itd require far deeper coverage of static
background, which Ive ignored for PIN-2014, because here my focus is non-UPSC
exams, their examiners dont go that deep.
3. By the way, PIN data asked in IFoS (Forest service) Mains exam, hence important. For
IFoS prelims not much important, because both civil service and forest service got
common prelims (refer to point #2)
Any updates, corrections please do post in the comments but with reference except wikipedia
Books and Authors
Khushwant Singh
Died. Indian renowned novelist and journalist, ex-IFS officer
He wrote about Indian Social-political conditions, Indo-Pak partition and Sikh-society.
Awarded Padma bhusan
Notable Books of Khuswant Singh
1. Ghadar 1915: Indias first armed revolution
2. Train to Pakistan
3. Freethinkers prayerbook
4. Good, bad and ridiculous ( I think this was his last book)
Anyways, moving on:
1283 goals Pele
Alice Munro,
Canada
Dear Life
Lying under the apple tree
She won Nobel prize for literature
Ambedkar Annihilation of caste. (edited version out)
Amit Chaudhuri Calcutta: Two years in the city
Anita Nair Idris : Keeper of Light
Anupam Kher Best Thing About You is You
APJ Kalam
My journey: transforming dreams into
actions
Ashutosh
Varshney
Battle half won: Indias improbable
democracy
Bill Watterson
creator of the comic strip Calvin and
Hobbes. resume work for charity.
C.Raja Mohan.
Samudra Mantha: Sino-Indian rivalry in the
Indo Pacific
Chetan Bhagat
5 point someone, one night @call centre,
3 mistakes of my life, 2 states -story of my
marriage, revolution 2020, what young
India wants.
Christopher
Snedden
Untold story of people of Azad Kashmir
Cyrus Mistry
Chronicles of a corpse bearer. Won DSC
prize.
Dan Brown
Inferno (he wrote Da Vinci Code, Angels
and Demons, Lost Symbol)
Dilip Kumar
The Substance and the Shadow : An
Autobio
Dorris Lessing
Nobel literature winner, dead. From
Britain. Books: golden notebook,
memoirs of survior, summer before dark.
Dr. APJ Kalam
My journey : Transforming dreams into
actions-
Dr.APJ Kalam
My journey: Transforming dreams into
action
Eleanor Zelliot
Ambedkars World: The Making of
Babasaheb and Dalit Movement
Eric Hobsbawn
Fractured Times: Culture and society in
20th Century
Eshwar prasad Dollar trap
Ex CEC SY
Qureshi
An undocumented wonder: the making of
great Indian election:
Impossible Indian: Gandhi and Temptation
Faisal Devji of violance
Former IPS
Kiran Bedi
Dare to Do! For the new Generation
Gabriel
Marquez
Columbian short story writer nobel winner.
Died. One hundred Years of Soltiude
Gen. VK singh Courage and Conviction-
Harsh Mander
Ash in the Belly- Indias unfinished battle
against Hunger
Hassan surur Indias muslim spring
Hilary clinton Hard choices
Hilary Mantel
she Won two man booker prizes. This time
for book Bring up the bodies.
Hindol
Sengupta
100 things to know and debate before you
vote
Indignez Vous
Book by Stephane Hessel. Had inspired
Occupy wallstreet movement. Author is
dead.
Isher Judge
Ahluwalia
transforming our cities
Jayant Kriplani New Market Tales
Jean dreze,
Amrathya Sen
An uncertain Glory: India and its
contradictions.
Jerry Pinto
Em and the Big hoom. Won Hindu Literary
prize.
Jesuit
Missionary
Fr.Hanxlenden
Grammatica Grandonica (Sanskrit
grammar book written 300 years ago, and
now restored)
Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lowland, Shortlisted for Booker 2013
for fiction.
Cuckoos Calling. she wrote this
detective novel under pseudonym
JK Rowling
Robert Galbraith.
Her previous novel Casual vacancy
was a flop. But Harry potter series
superhit.
Fantastic beasts and where to find
them (Harry Potter companion books)
Joe D Cruz
Ocean wringled world. Also known as
Aazhi Soozh Ulagu. Narayan publication
house declined to release it after Joe
supported Modi. He won Sahita akadamy
award.
Justice PN
Bhagwati
My tryst with justice
Khaleed
Hosseini
And the mountains Echoed
Kingshuk Nag The NaMo story
Kishwar Desai
The Sea of innocence (About rape of
Scarlet Jones in Goa)
Leela
Goswami
Common cause- colonial ethics
M.C. Marykom Unbreakable (lady boxer)
Madhav
Godbole
Good governance Never on Indias radar
Madhu Kishwar
Modi Muslim and Media (she Defended
Modi)
Mark Obama
Culture: My Odyssey of Self-discovery.
hes President obamas brother.
Maya Angelou
civil rights activists, singer USA. Book: I
know why the Caged bird sings. Died in
June 2014
Megha Kumar
Communalism and sexual violence in
Abad since 1969. Book publisher Orient
blackswan postponed release fearing
Wendy Doniger like case.
Milkha Singh The Race of my life-an autobiography
Mustaq
Mohammad
Inside Out (Autobiography of Paki
cricketer)
Natwar Singh One life is not enough.Autobiography.
Natwar Singh
Walking the lions: Tales from a diplomatic
past
Nicolas griffin Ping pong Diplomacy
Nilanjan Roy The Wildlings
Nilanjana Roy Hundred names of darkness
P.Scott
Fitzerland
The Great Gatsby. (Bacchan worked in the
english movie based on this novel)
Pamela Hicks Daughter of Empire
Paronjoy Guha
Thakurta
Gas wars- Crony Capitalism. Mukesh
Ambani sent him legal notice.
PC Parekh
Crusader or conspirator? Coalgate and
other truths. He was the former Coal
secretary.
Pope Benedict
XVI
Jesus of Nazaeth: the Infancy narratives
Prasun Joshi,
Noted lyricist.
Sunshine lense
Prof Anita Pfaff
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and
Germany (Anita is Boses daughter)
R.
Gopalkrishnan
Comma in a sentence
Rahu Rai
Bangladesh: The Prize of freedom (noted
photographer)
Raj Kundra
How not to make money. (Shilpa Shettys
husband and allegedly involved in IPL spot
fixing 2013. he indeed seems to be an
expert on this books subject)
Ram
Jethmalani
Maverick Unchanged, Unrepentant
Ramchandra
Guha
1. Patriots and Partition
2. Gandhi Before India
3. India after Gandhi
Resul Pookutty
Sounding Off. (he had won Oscar for
soundtrack in Slumdog Millionaire)
Romila Thapar
The past vs present: Foraging
contemporary identities through history.
She is a famous historian, who also wrote
NCERTs.
Ronald
Dworkin. Dead
Laws Empire
Ruchir Sharma.
Won Tata lit.
award for first
book.
Breakout Nations: In pursuit of the next
economic miracle
Ruskin Bond A garland of memories
S Murari The Prabhakaran Saga
Sanjay Baru
Ex-Media advisor of Mohan. Book name
The accidental prime minister. He
showed how Mohan was a rubber stamp
of SoniaG.
Sanjeev sanyal Land of seven rivers
Sankarhan
Thakur
Single man: Nitish kumar of Bihar.Wrote
similar book on lalu yadav as well.
Sarod Maestro
Amjal Ali Khan
My father, our fraternity
Shekhar Gupta
(IndianExpress)
anticipating india- best of national interest
Shobha De Sethji
Sir Don
Bradman
Art of cricket
Solomon Pirate 12 years a slave (Oscar winner)
Suresh Menon Pataudi-Nawab of Cricket
Sushmita
Bangerjee.
Kabuliwalas Bengali Wife. It details her
escape from Taliban ruled Afghanistan in
1995. She was recently murdered by
Talibans.
Suzanne
Collins
The Hunger Games- series of adventure
novels. movie made. Thai protestors use
its salute to show disrespect to Military
regime.
Tavleen Singh Durbar
Tom Clancy
Died. US thrillers. Hunt for Red October,
Patriot Games.
TSR
Subramanium
India at turning point, road to good
governance
V Raghunathan
The games Indians play why we are the
way we are.
Vijya Seshadri
Pulitzer prize for poetry. Collection Long
Meadow. Writes in Washington post and
Guardian.
Vikram
Chandra
Mirrored Mind: My life in letters and code
Vinod Mehta Sanjay story
WB CM
Mamata
Benerjee
Earth Songs
Wendy doniger
On Hindusim (controversial, Penguin
publication)
Yann Martel.
Life of Pi (Ang Lee made Oscar winning
movie on this. Suraj Sharma played hero)
Yash Birla On a prayer. (biography)
Yashwant singh India at risk
Yuvaraj Singh
The test of my life: from cricket to cancer
and back
YV Reddy, Ex-
RBI governor
Economic Policies and Indias reform
agenda
Book /arts Prizes
Badri Narayan
Kanshi Ram: leader of Dalits (Political
biography)
Batman
Completed 75 years. Creators Bob Kane,
Bill Finger.
Bipin Chandra
Famous Indian historian he has won Itihas
Ratna award by Asiatic society Bihar.
Christopher
moor
Serpent of vanice (fiction)
Diagram price
2014 for
oddest book
How to poo on a date,
Man Booker
prize 2013
Elenor Cotton, NZ. Book The luminiaries.
Youngest to win.
Murti devi
award
By Bhartiya Gyan Pith Harprasad Das,
Oddisa
Sahitya
akadami
awads 2013
list too long, cost: benefit too bad. one
name important Javed Akhtar, got for
poem book Lava in Urdu. other winners
only if they belong to your state.
Saraswati
Samman 2013
Sugatha Kumari, Malayalam Poetess
Sunil
Gangopadhyay
award
Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh
Yale literature
prize
Pankaj mishra novel the romantics
Films related
Oscars 2014 (86th annual Academy Awards)
BEST
PICTURE
12 Years a Slave based on book by
Solomon Pirate.
DIRECTOR Gravity Alfonso Cuarn
ACTOR
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers
Club
ACTRESS Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
SUPPORTING
ACTRESS
Lupita Nyongo in 12 Years a Slave
SUPPORTING
ACTOR
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club
ANIMATED
FILM
Frozen
FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
FILM
The Great Beauty Italy. India movie did
not win (Gyan Correas the Good road)
overall highest
award winner
Gravity (7 awards)
many other Oscar winners for various categories, Im not including them here for bad cost :
benefit ratio.
Other awards:
U.S. festival
awards
Silent Screams Indias Fight Against
Rape directed by Priya Somiah and written
by Manira A. Pinto
DadaSaheb
Phalke
2013
Gulzar. He also won Oscar for Jai ho.
IFFI International film festival of India. Panaji, Goa
in Nov 2013
BAFTA
2014
12 years a slave best film
Gyan correa
Gujarati movie director- The Good Road,
Nominated at Oscar but did not win.
National film award (61st)
Best Feature
Film / Golden
Lotus
Ship of Theseus by Saeed Mirza
Best Director Hansal Mehta for Shahid
Best Actor
Raj Kumar Rao for Shahid; and Malayam
actor Suraj for some film (name not
important)
Best Hindi Film Jolly LLB
Many other categories for national film awards, again Im ignoring for bad cost:benefit.
IIFA 2014
International Indian film academy awards
Tampa Bay Florida
Best film: Bhag Milkha Bhag. Best director same movie, Rakesh Mehra, Best actor-
same movie Farhan Akhtar + many other awards for the same movie.
Beauty Pageants
Femina Miss
India
Koyal Rana
Miss World
2013
Megan Young from Phillipines. AT Bali
Indonesia
Miss Universe
2013
Gabriela Isler from Venezuela at Russia.
Miss Asia
Pacific 2013
Shanti Rana of India, in South Korea
Miss India
World wide
2014
Anugya Sharma (Surat). In July shell
participate in Miss Worldwide, @Abu
Dhabi.
Miss America
Sep.2013.
Nina Davuluri. Subjected to racial abuse on
twitter.