By Queerythm: The Queer Library Project

Queerythm is a registered community-based organization for the LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) people. Started as a support group (with regular monthly meetings on first Saturdays) for queer individuals, we aim for a society free of discrimination against gender and sexual minorities. We spoke to Prijith P K, President and Bharathan Iyer, […]
Poetry meets Music in new Folk Album ‘Rang’

Pranita Nair Pandurangi (also one of our reviewers), is a writer, a teacher, a Hindustani Classical Musician (involved in folk traditions), but above all, a fantastic storyteller. She released her debut album ‘Rang’ recently, which is inspired by folk poetry across six Indian languages. In an email interview, she draws those connections, and shares more […]
In conversation with: Anukrti Upadhyay

I first met Anukrti a few months ago, at the book launch of Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup. Purple Pencil Project was then known as onWriting.in, she had just written a book in Hindi (Japani Sarai) and Daura and Bhaunri were both slated for a May 2019 release. We spoke of peripheries of Hindi readership and literature, and exchanged numbers. […]
Poetry & more: Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal

Circus Folk & Village Freaks, poet and now author Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal’s debut work of fiction, is an interestingly told, engaging and outright fun set of stories that talk about the ‘others’ in our society. The Pune-based poet, of both the written and the spoken word formats, spoke to Purple Pencil Project about the journey […]
Cover magic: Asma Kazi on how it was made

It is impossible to come across the stunning feminist, fantasy fiction anthology Magical Women, and not take a moment to appreciate the cover. It is powerful, intricate and all things awesome, and represents the entire experience of reading the book. Purple Pencil Project’s Prakruti Maniar spoke to cover artist Asma Kazi via email, to understand […]
Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh

“Contemporary Indian literature seems to be too focused on the human world, and seems to have forgotten the world outside it,” said Amitav Ghosh, at the book launch of Gun Island in Mumbai. His latest is a cli-fi (climate fiction) as they call it. Yet, at the end of this rather well-plotted saga, which tries […]
Daitya Diaries by Aditya K V

It’s the oldest trick in the book; taking mythology, using the central themes and characters and transporting them to real life, to different times, to different battles. Mythological fiction, re-tellings, and adaptations play a special role in literature at large, and over the last few years in the Indian literary canon. Daitya Diaries (written twice […]
Bhaunri by Anukrti Upadhyay

Last week, we talked about Daura. Author Anukrti Upadhyay’s debut work of fiction, published by 4th Estate Books (an imprint of Harper Collins), comes with a companion novel, Bhaunri, set in the villages of Rajasthan, the story of a fierce young woman who loves her man and will go to any extent to make him […]
Daura by Anukrti Upadhyay: A folktale comes alive

The cover itself draws you in. A maroon background, a sand-yellow illustration of a tree (a kalpavriksh, perhaps), and the beautiful typeface, designed by The Typecraft Initiative add to the mystic element that the blurb promises the reader. Daura, author Anukrti Upadhyay’s debut work of English (released together with Bhaunri, about which, in another post), is […]
Filmi Keeda: Chapter One

Purple Pencil Project, in collaboration with Red Sparrow kickstarted their events series, Filmi Keeda, that aims to bring the discussion around book and films, our two finest forms of storytelling, on one table. The first Chapter, held mid-March, saw a screening of Lootera, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, followed by a discussion on its adaptation from […]