100 (+1) Must-Read Books from the Rich Literature of India
Indian literature, while vast, often remains limited in the mainstream. Outside the handful of classics and Booker-winning titles, the vast reservoir of stories and voices frequently are deprived of the spotlight. Here’s an attempt at change. Our list of books from the literature of India travels across languages, periods, voices and styles to bring a […]
Do Not Ask the River Her Name by Sheela Tomy: An Exercise in Grief and Isolation
Rahul Vishnoi reviews Do Not Ask the River Her Name by Sheela Tomy, translated from Malayalam by Ministhy S. (published by Harper Perennial India, 2024). Do Not Ask the River Her Name by Sheela Tomy, translated from Malayalam by Ministhy S., is a story of violence, hopelessness, and the uprooting of home, soul, and existence. […]
Why You Should Read Our Stories, Our Struggle: Narratives of Violence Against Women in South Asia
Sakhi Gundeti reviews Our Stories, Our Struggle: Violence and the Lives of Women – Narratives and Poetry by South Asian Women, edited by Mitali Chakravarty and Ratnottama Sengupta (published by Speaking Tiger, 2024). I came across Our Stories, Our Struggle a few days after the horrifying incident in Kolkata, and I knew I had to […]
Sakyajit Bhattacharya’s The One Legged: A Contemporary Indian Gothic and the Uncanny of Loss
Anannya Nath reviews The One Legged by Sakyajit Bhattacharya, translated from Bangla by Rituparna Mukherjee (published by Red Herring, The Antonym Collections, 2023). The trees swayed in the soft breeze of the quiet night, and among the shadows of the tall trees was the outline of a ruined dome. The air whistled through its cracks […]
Exploring Themes of Poverty and Politics in Gopinath Mohanty’s Oblivion and Other Stories
Srujani Mishra reviews Oblivion and Other Stories by Gopinath Mohanty, translated by Sudeshna Mohanty and Sudhanshu Mohanty (published by Penguin Ebury Press, 2023). Oblivion and Other Stories is a collection of 20 short stories by Sahitya Akademi winner Gopinath Mohanty. Mohanty was the first recipient of the award, established in 1955, and he was awarded […]
Khilega To Dekhenge/ Once It Flowers by Vinod Kumar Shukla: A Summary of Our Third Book Club Meeting
The Purple Pencil Project started its first book club in July, aimed at reading through the books of one Indian author chronologically. This aim is intentional, as we seek to understand an author better while reading them through months and, hopefully, chart the evolution in their storytelling style. We started with Vinod Kumar Shukla, and […]
How At Home in Two Worlds by Maria Aurora Couto Sheds Light on Goa’s Cosmopolitan Legacy
Zenith Denis reviews At Home in Two Worlds: Essays on Goa by Maria Aurora Couto (published by Speaking Tiger, 2024). Goa has borders, but in what is known as psychogeography, its soil and its language created the Goan mind, which transcend physical boundaries.My understanding of Goa is of a space free of restrictive labels, where […]
नौकर की कमीज (The Servant’s Shirt) by विनोद कुमार शुक्ल: The Art of Observing in a World of Distractions
Amritesh Mukherjee reviews नौकर की कमीज (The Servant’s Shirt) by विनोद कुमार शुक्ल (published by Rajkamal Prakashan, 2006). Before entering this baffling, mesmerising, stagnant, volatile and stream-of-consciousness wonder of a novel, I knew few things about Vinod Kumar Shukla’s writing despite having heard him in numerous interviews and articles outside of vague terms like “masterpiece,” […]
Court Martial and Other Plays by Swadesh Deepak: Caste, Class, and the Struggle for Justice
Anshika Jain reviews Court Martial and Other Plays by Swadesh Deepak, translated from Hindi by Jerry Pinto, Pratik Kanjilal and Nirupama Dutt (published by Speaking Tiger, 2024). “The dungeon of art, a dungeon on fire, pulsating with heat. Abandon the prospect of leaving, all those who enter here. There is no way out.” – Swadesh […]
A Thrilling Mythological Ride in Shadow Rising by Rohan Monteiro: Like Mahabharata on Red Bull
Rahul Vishnoi reviews Shadows Rising by Rohan Monteiro (published by Westland, 2024). Shadows Rising by Rohan Monteiro marries mythology with fantasy and then lets it have a steamy affair with mystery and thrill. It fills a crater-like hole where Hindu mytho-fantasy novels should have been stacked up. Using elements from Hindu epics and folklore, Monteiro […]
