There's a story about my maternal grandmother, Mom-Mom, and it goes something like this. My grandmother was always an avid reader. Despite dropping out of school at an early age (10 or so) because reasons, she was a life-long and voracious reader. Like, reading is how I remember her. Often with a Penguin Classics edition … Continue reading My journey with Joyce
Travel
Review: Upstarts
Tell me if you've seen this movie before.... There are these 3 college friends. When the movie opens, your first thought is, "Arre, yaar, these guys are idiots." Then you see the girl. Because there is always a girl, isn't there? Naturally, things don't go well, the lovers are thwarted, and the friends end up standing at a train station that's supposed to be in UP, but strongly resembles a Mumbai local station. All before the opening credits. That's when you realize that you've guessed the wrong movie name. This movie is Netflix India's latest release Upstarts.
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Remembering and relearning at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond
“We didn’t wait for stuff to happen to us. But that story is rarely told. And so, for me, that’s an amazing story of men and women and children who seized their moment out of nothing.” -- Christy Coleman, CEO American Civil War Museum
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Overdoing it: Moving
I was born in Philly. For the first five years of my life, I lived just off Rising Sun Avenue. That changed when my parents loaded the three of us into a U-Haul and drove us nearly eight hours away to Akron, Ohio. Little did I realize at age five that I would move more … Continue reading Overdoing it: Moving
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Reading Rupi: Translating English across cultures
Reading Indian writing in English represents an act of translation every time I read. Yes, even when the book is written in English, every book represents a journey through and across culture. It might seem strange to hear a native English speaker say that I read English in translation, but I do. Given the idiomatic … Continue reading Reading Rupi: Translating English across cultures
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Shreya’s dream
The journey from Sikkim in the far north to Karnataka in the south isn’t just long; it’s arduous, entailing multiple long-haul trains. Such a journey would be difficult for a girl so young. I knew that. What I didn’t know is how to ask what I could not ask without asking.
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Where do you belong to?: Homecoming and belonging in The Better Man
There she was, at the back of the shop, leaning against VS Naipaul. She’d travelled so far from her native place to reach mine. That we should meet here in my hometown just as I was trying to decide where to settle felt like more than kismet or fate. It felt like my own homecoming. … Continue reading Where do you belong to?: Homecoming and belonging in The Better Man
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Where to write (and finish!) your book in Bangalore
I went to Bangalore with one goal: FINISH THE DAMN BOOK! And, finish I did. The book is currently with a few kind readers. I intend to have a finished manuscript by the end of the year, maybe sooner. The question for many writers is where to write. Some write at home and have a … Continue reading Where to write (and finish!) your book in Bangalore
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Book review: My Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik
For all the focus in the Gita on action rather than outcome, a book review, let alone a verdict, seems almost superfluous. As a novice reader of the Gita, I would recommend this book. I am glad this was my last read of 2016.
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Review: The Adivasi Will Not Dance by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar has written a powerful, provocative short story collection that explores Adivasi identity politics and experience. Brilliant, layered storytelling at its finest.
Jean Burke-Spraker 