Indian Films Adapted from Books: A List

Indian Films

World Television Day falls on November 21 every year and this time, we have chosen to highlight it by celebrating #AdaptationWeek on our social media. While adaptations have gained traction over the last 5 years, with the success of shows like Game of Thrones, the concept is not new, and neither is the regularity. Indian […]

Lines of Fate by Neelam Saxena Chandra

Lines of Fate

It is rare for me to start a book review by sharing the background of the author, but in Neelam Saxena Chandra’s case, I believe the words are warranted, since her success while well-acknowledged within India, does not spread far beyond.  Chandra is considered one of the most accomplished poets in the Hindi language, and […]

Maharaja in Denims by Khushwant Singh

Maharaja in Denims

“The lion would get to read his own tale.” The above quote from Maharaja in Denims is the best summary of the entire novel as the book is about the protagonist who is revisiting his past life. Maharaja in Denims is a historical fiction by Khushwant Singh. Through the protagonist of the story, Hari, Khushwant […]

Ep. 18: A Colonial Whodunnit with Siddhartha Sarma

Siddharth Sarma

‘Twilight in a Knotted World’ is the third novel by journalist and historian Siddhartha Sarma that uncovers the many layers of the Phansigar problem and a hierarchy of stranglers through the investigations of Captain William Henry Sleeman, unearthing mysteries and bleak, uncomfortable truths about India. In the 17th episode of India Booked, discussing the period […]

Ep. 17: Women, Morality and Moral Strength

Bhairavi– The Runaway, written by Shivani aka Gaura Pant, a pioneer of women’s fiction in India, is the story of a woman’s life, her resilience, her moral and mental strength, and about the restraints and choices women have in the society. In this episode of India Booked, the translator of Bhairavi and Chitra Mudgal’s Giligadu, […]

Novels and stories set in Uttarakhand: A List

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is home to some of the most beautiful hills and mountain spaces in India. Rich in natural resources, this hilly state also has an equally rich and colourful history and culture. If you have been meaning to visit Uttarakhand but haven’t yet; or if you have visited it and would love to re-kindle your […]

Bhairavi by Shivani (Gaura Pant)

Bhairavi

Bhairavi by Shivani is about contradictions – the traditional and the modern, the contemporary and the past, and even the doer and the observer. A young woman appears in a settlement of Aghoris, the Shaivite sadhus who practice death rituals. The leader of the Aghoris, Maya Didi, calls her Bhairavi, and holds her in her […]

Ep. 16: The Shocking Lives of India’s Teenagers

‘Stoned, Shamed, Depressed’ is an alarming reality check of the struggles faced by the teens of India, dealing with the evident but deliberately denied issues of substance abuse, social media and gaming, bullying, body shaming and the frailty of mental health. Renowned journalist and author Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava traces the difficult journey from teenage to adulthood, where children […]

Moustache by S. Hareesh

Moustache

Moustache, originally written in Malayalam as Meesha, by S. Hareesh and translated by Jayasree Kalathil into English is an extremely well-written, multifaceted novel which redefines the concept of myths and superheroes. It is fiction fabricated in the lines of folklore and fable, developed through oral tradition; a story within a story – where a myth […]

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

book review of the Namesake by jhumpa lahiri

Books have a way of finding you. The Namesake was originally written in September 2003, and is bound to be on any list of recommendations of Indian literature, but it was not until a year after I moved to the US that I happened to want to read it at all. And when I did, […]