Kotrabaina Ramela

Kotrabaina Ramela folktale

The epics have been a major influence across communities and tribes in India. In the folk oral epics of Central India, especially in Chattisgarh and Western Odisha, we find many influences. Bansgeet (song of the bamboo) is one such folk-epic, which is common among the Gaur (milkmen) community of Kalahandi, Odisha. Bans, or the bamboo, is a […]

The tale of a story and a song

story and a song

‘A Story and a Song’ is a translated tale from Kannada and included in the collection ‘A Flowering Tree’ by A.K. Ramanujan. . The world is all about stories and storytelling. Imagine a world which had no stories. Imagine a childhood, in which there was no dadima-ki-kahaniyaan, no Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella […]

Mahasweta Devi, in conversation with Naveen Kishore

naveen kishore interviews mahasweta devi

Customs, words, culture, language are always in a state of translation; from one audience to another, from one story to another, from one medium to another. In this conversation between Mahashweta Devi and Naveen Kishore, the celebrated author muses in the words she jots down, the stories that come with those words, and how they […]

Ep. 1: Understanding Akbar with Manimugdha Sharma

IndiaBooked Manimugdha Sharma

Manimugdha Sharma is a quizzer, a journalist, and holds an interest and education in history. In Allahu Akbar, he combines his love and knowledge of the past, to give us an interesting oral account of what Akbar represents in today’s times. We discuss Akbar’s ruthless achievements in warfare, his political savviness and how media agenda setting and the […]

Poetry Review: The Unmistakable Presence of Absent Humans by K. Srilata

Bookshelf

In the first paragraph of the Preface to the poetry book The Unmistakable Presence of Absent Humans, Srilata quite beautifully encapsulates what this collection of poems is about.  “…I found that one particular idea surfaced repeatedly – the idea of absent presences, absences that are, quite unmistakably, presences.”  It contains within itself a multitude of […]

Poetry readings and book launches: Day 2 of Ethos Literary Festival

After a successful first day, the poets, their audience, and the critics once again gathered at Royal Banquets, Dumdum, Kolkata, to witness a day of engaging panel discussions and the much-awaited book launches (not before a hearty breakfast of course).   The internet, as of now, is flooded with poets, and it’s natural to notice […]

A little poetic, a little political: Day 1 at ELF 2018

On a cold winter morning in Dum Dum, poets, professors, publishers and authors gathered for the first ever bilingual literary fest of Kolkata, Ethos Literary fest, organized by the Ethos Literary Journal and powered by Hawakal Publishers. It aimed to rejoice poetry and poetic discussion in both English and Bangla, and to celebrate the independent […]

Low-down on a literary September

We are now solidly in the second half of the  year and whether or not you have completed you literary goals are, like us, are lagging behind because life came in the way, there are events, must-reads and must-listens. Mumbai-folk, these are mainly for you. If you are doing something interesting or know of a […]

The Third Squad by V Sanjay Kumar

“You may not open a book if you hate its cover,” says this book critic. “So it helps to have it well designed.” I open the packaging and am supremely disappointed. On the book cover is the figure of a man, his back to the reader, one hand holding a gun, looking at the skyline […]