This is possibly the most apt post today. 15th September is International Day of Democracy. And we are talking about 5 books banned in the largest democracy in the world. In this third part about banned books in India, I would like to focus on books written by foreign nationals, but on India and its people. It’s surprising how global
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I am back with more banned books and looking at the history, I might continue this column for quite a long period! India has always thrown strong reactions to books that stir up some dirt from different layers of the society. It is not solely about books dealing with religion, there is every sphere that holds a record of works
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A snowy landscape strewn with barren, dying trees. A world so white that the horizon blends perfectly with the ground, not leaving any scope to demarcate between sky and snow. You might be imaginative enough to be envious of me sitting on snow and writing this article. Alas, this sums up a description of Siberia from ‘Kane and Abel’ by
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Should books by Indian writers be banned in their own country? Should books by any writer be banned in India? These are controversies that never die and history keeps repeating itself with books being banned even today. Books on politics, politicians, celebrities, religion, even fiction have been barred to reach our readers. We are no judge of right and wrong,
Read moreHave you been reading? Reading women writers? May you read, read more and read more women writers. If you ask why, I believe that women have been adding more sensitivity to writing in India. I have been brought up on a staple of books written by women in Bangla, and they are all amazingly touching and close to reality. Women
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We love books. We all love books. We love all books. Just like we love to tear open glossy gift packs or those cardboard boxes from online stores, we must learn to (if we still haven’t) gift books to others. Christmas is the season of Secret Santa games and trust me, it won’t hurt to send a few hundreds worth
Read moreSunil Gangopadhyay was one of the most prolific writers in Bangla. His books, over the decades, have enriched the readers and reached new heights of popularity. He is my favourite author, of course, having read almost all his novels since they came in periodical magazines with a lot of suspense between a week’s separation. Not only novels, Sunil Gangopadhyay was
Read moreFrederick Drew pointed out emphatically – ‘from Kashmir AND FROM NO OTHER SPOT IN ASIA one may go westward through countries entirely Muhammadan, as far as Constantinople; eastward among none but Buddhists to China; and southward over lands where the Hindu religion prevails, to the extremity of the Indian peninsula.’ What can be more enticing than the above lines about
Read moreWith Dusshera gone, Diwali arriving and Thanksgiving around the corner – you shouldn’t have a dearth of reading good books. There’s a whole basket of genres and authors to choose from. A lot of interesting and gripping books have come up this season. Here’s a sneak peek of a few of them for you to read. The Bestseller She Wrote
Read moreHaving been born and brought up in independent India, most of us have no idea what freedom means. It can only be realised when you are captive and crave for freedom. The protective confines of our home don’t give an idea what it is to not be free. Four Miles to Freedom is the story of a brave Indian fighter
Read moreWhen I contemplated writing as a profession, I had only short stories and novels in my repertoire. In fact, I hadn’t any idea that there exist a host of other forms. Of course, there’s poem, but then that’s for the real lucky people. It is said that poetry comes to only the gifted ones, lesser mortals have to be content
Read moreOh yes, by slogging I mean writing. It can be compared to nothing else. When I had begun blogging way back in 2007, I never thought I would veer towards writing. It was only a hobby with journal entries being poems and short verses. Traversing a long way from there, writing is mighty difficult and whoever disagrees would be either
Read moreAnthologies are not very rare in the Indian literary market these days, and yet there are few which can be counted into good ones. Litizen is a virtual platform for writers and it has come up with an interesting anthology, unrestricted to the bounds of genre. There’s gaming, ghosts, paranormal activities, beautiful con artists at job and a little magic
Read moreThe mountaineer George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, famously replied, “Because it’s there.” Turning his rationale on its head, I say I write humour because it’s not there. If, through Been There Bungled That, I inject some into your life, I’ll be happy. – Paddy Rangappa An author armed with that philosophy is bound to
Read moreJack Patel and his partner-in-humour Brahmadesam Balasubramaniam Krishnan (Kitch) are back in Dubai to regale us with their corporate adventures. Jack is Back in Corporate Carnival – as the title suggests that it’s a sequel to Jack Patel’s Dubai Dreams. Thankfully as you read along, it doesn’t make much of a difference if you haven’t read the previous book. Jaikishan
Read moreCalcutta,1924. In the vibrant world of Bengali theatre, Sisirkumar Bhaduri, a young man of talent and vision, is king. The opening lines of the blurb present a fair idea of what The Lonely Monarch is about. The twenties were an enchanting era in Calcutta encompassing dazzling celebrities in the literary, academic, cultural and socio-political arena including Rabindranath Tagore. Sisirkumar Bhaduri
Read moreAisle Be Damned attracts the reader with the cover and tagline. It is an intelligent blend of pun and posh-ness. The book starts with airports, covers check-in, security, boarding, flight safety, food and all the other steps in separate chapters. There is a little something for everyone – tips to strike useful conversations with attractive co-passengers, a very important section on choosing your seats wisely before boarding, a rather intimidating chapter on flight safety, hilarious anecdotes on captains and cockpits.
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