“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
Travel
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.
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Review: Rain by Sriram Subramanian
It’s in his philosophical approach that Subramanian shines. For while on the surface the book is a story of a guy trying to prove an astrologer wrong, at its core, Rain is a complex study of the struggle we all face when we try to understand belief within the framework of a highly scientific culture.
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Review: Chain of Custody by Anita Nair
Of traffic and trafficking The cars on MG Road were traffucked, as usual. In the time it was taking for us to make the right turn, I could have walked to Bookworm. Despite my exasperated sighs and silent prayers of “God, please let the light change. I need to pee,” the light remained stubbornly … Continue reading Review: Chain of Custody by Anita Nair
