Audiobook review: The Past As Present by Romila Thapar
At first glance, a book on Indian historiography might not seem easily accessible to a general audience.
Yet, Thapar’s prose is lucid, and her tone remains conversational without losing its scholarly authority. Thapar connects arguments about the past to our present quite beautifully.
My journey with Joyce
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 […]
Light and language: A writer’s journey into art
In our post-literate world, who will have the last word?
Braving my wilderness: How I learned to stop hating the first person and my résumé
The essence of Brené Brown’s new book Braving the Wilderness lies in these words from an 8th grader: “If I get to be me, I belong. If I have to be like you, I fit in.” Where do I belong? I have struggled with this question many times while living overseas. Belonging will become the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Rummaging around Anita’s Attic
I was terrified.
Of a book.
Not just any book. A book like A Fine Balance, for instance, which was so terrifying to me that I couldn’t make it more than a quarter way through. No, no, no.
This book was no literary tour-de-force.
This book was…
my book.
That’s right. My own book.
Le lettere dal carcere di mia cuore: A love letter inspired by Jhumpa Lahiri’s In Other Words
Quando sono stato in Firenze, era una programme della cultura chiamata “Firenze porte aperte.” In the evenings, the museums would open their doors for free. Roaming the Uffizi at night while Andrea Boccelli sang in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio is an exquisite memory of my time in Italy. You have returned that memory to me and opened a door. For that, I thank you. Grazie mille.
4 writers, 4 stories, 4 steps on my writing journey
As I watched the Write India video the other day, I teared up and realized I wanted to tell the stories of my stories, the lessons I learned, and express my gratitude for the Write India program.
The mysterious case of the commercial literary fiction writer
But, what is literary fiction? Even experienced writers often have difficulty defining this genre. It’s like porn. You know it when you see it, but ask someone to define it, and they either can’t or won’t.