Why Vish Dhamija’s Conman Feels Like a Modern-Day Hera Pheri
Jainand Gurjar reviews The Secret Diary of a Conman by Vish Dhamija (published by Pan Macmillan India, 2024). My introduction to what a con man looks like was from the movie Phir Hera Pheri (a Hindi comedy movie directed by Neeraj Vora, starring Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, and Paresh Rawal, among others). It showed me […]
Shabnam by Syed Mujtaba Ali: A Tale of Separation and Hope
Kaustav Das reviews Shabnam by Syed Mujtaba Ali, translated from Bengali by Nazes Afroz (published by Speaking Tiger, 2024). Who can tell the beginning and the end of this world?Ancient is this book; just the first and last pages are ruined. – Shabnam by Syed Mujtaba Ali, translated by Nazes Afroz October brings in the […]
Why Mother India by Prayaag Akbar Is the Novel We Need Right Now
Rahul Vishnoi reviews Mother India by Prayaag Akbar (Fourth Estate India, 2024). Mother India by Prayaag Akbar wouldn’t have existed in the 90s. If we all sit in a time machine and go back 30 years ago, this book would be rendered irrelevant. Multiple reasons come to mind; the most important one is that back […]
Let’s Be Best Friends Forever Review: Stories of Friendship That Warm the Heart
Jaisha Priyam reviews Let’s Be Best Friends Forever: Beautiful Stories of Friendship (published by Talking Cub, 2024). Let’s Be Best Friends Forever: Beautiful Stories of Friendship encompasses the beauty of friendship in all forms of life. It is a collection of short stories celebrating the beauty of friendship among animals, people, and giants. It captures […]
Why Krishna Sobti’s A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There is a Must-Read for Partition History Lovers
Rahul Vishnoi reviews A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There by Krishna Sobti, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell (published by Penguin Hamish Hamilton, 2019). The partition novel is a genre unto itself and Daisy Rockwell has seemed to hone her craft on it. Before translating Gitanjali Shree’s Ret Samadhi into Tomb of Sand, which won […]
Heartstrings and Harmonies by Manali Desai Review: A Melodic Journey Through Love and Life
Jainand Gurjar reviews Heartstrings and Harmonies by Manali Desai (published by Ukiyoto Publishing, 2024). Songs often tell stories where each verse, chorus, bridge, outro and even refrain resembles a conversation, a dialogue, an emotion, some unsaid and (maybe) unacknowledged feelings, dilemmas and even delusions! Sometimes, songs become stories where we condition them with certain events […]
5 Ways Literature Festivals in India Can Transform Audience Experiences
A personal essays about how literature festivals in India could change with the times.
Singham Again, but never again
Here’s a heads up. This is not about how brainless or even forcefully nationalistic Singham Again (dir. Rohit Shetty), is. Masala movies are meant to be larger than life, have a simplified plot, defy logic and science in the favour of theatrics, have dialogues, walk, styles that we might not actually adopt in real life, […]
A Novel about the History of Rock Music in India: The Extraordinary Life of Max Bulandi by Sidharth Singh Review
Neha Kirpal reviews The Extraordinary Life of Max Bulandi by Sidharth Singh (published by Harper Fiction India, 2024). Mumbai-based writer, filmmaker, and sports producer Sidharth Singh’s new novel is as much an interesting story about a fictional character called Max Bulandi as it is about the history of rock music, particularly in India. “It’s a […]
Song of the Day by Preet Modi: A Beautiful Blend of Youth, Love, and Life’s Changes
Neha Kirpal reviews Song of the Day: Stories by Preet Modi (published by Westland, 2024). Twenty-four-year-old Preet Modi’s debut book, Song of the Day (Westland), is a heartfelt collection of short stories set in contemporary times. The stories are like little vignettes of life. They centre on young people who are growing up and chasing […]
