Complete/Convenient explores expatriate life for India’s diaspora
This blog was originally published in 2013. Ketan’s book launch was my first in India. Britain has its Bronte sisters; now, India has its Bhagat brothers. With his debut novel, Complete/Convenient, Ketan Bhagat proves that great writing is now the family business. Complete/Convenient tells the story of two NRIs: Kabir and Myra Kapoor. They relocate […]
Book review: Train to Pakistan (1956)
In his debut novel, Train to Pakistan, Khushwant Singh writes about one fictional border community’s response to the horrors of Partition. The arrival of a trainload of dead Sikhs from Pakistan throws the peaceful residents of Mano Majra into a tailspin. Like many communities along the border, Mano Majra is an eclectic mix of Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims. Murder, dacoity, and politics change the dynamics among the residents. Will they respond to the ghost train from Pakistan by returning a ghost train of their own?
#StandWithSalman in a Sea of Stories
As part of their event, Pen America encouraged those who could not be in New York today to submit our own readings.
This reading from Haroun and the Sea of Stories is from chapter 10, Haroun’s Wish. The speaker who opens the excerpt is Khattam-Shud, whose name means “completely finished or over and done with” according to the book’s glossary.
I am a Chetan Bhagat fan, and I am not an idiot: A 2001-word editorial odyssey
Editor’s note: The use of the term idiot is harmful to intellectually disabled people. I didn’t understand that harm until years after I wrote this blog post. I have decided to leave the usage in place as a testament to my growth. I may change my mind later and remove it entirely. There’s always a […]