In Conversation with: Madhavi Menon
Madhavi Menon is a Professor of English at Asoka University and Director of the Center for Studies and Gender and Sexuality. She is also an author of several academic books such as Wanton Words: Rhetoric and Sexuality in English Renaissance Drama (Toronto 2004), Unhistorical Shakespeare: Queer Theory in Shakespearean Literature and Film (Palgrave 2008). Her last book, Infinite […]
Waiting for a Visa by BR Ambedkar
These words echoed, raising the flesh on my skin for several weeks after I finished reading Waiting for a Visa, Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s autobiography. Attempting to read and re-read any possible narrative impacting Dalit Literature during this lockdown, I couldn’t be more grateful to have zoomed in on this 20-page jewel on my Kindle. The […]
Which Indian bookstore can you support right now?
Know an Indian bookstore not included in this? Please email it to us at prakruti@purplepencilproject.com and let us know! Independent bookstores are intergral pieces to not just literary life but to our social communities in general. At a time when the global pandemic has threatened survival of small businesses, they need our support, now more […]
Aranyak by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Translated from Bengali by Rimli Bhattarcharya Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the author of Pather Panchali, is no new name in Indian literature. Aranyak, literally meaning ‘of the forest’, is a relatively underrated work of Bandyopadhyay. It is an ode to nature, based on the author’s experiences working as a manager of a forest estate in Bhagalpur in […]
Bara by U R Ananthamurthy
Translated by Chandan Gowda Bara, originally written by the Kannada writer U R Ananthamurthy, was translated by Chandan Gowda and published by the Oxford University Press in 2016. The story is as much about the drought hit land as it is to do with barrenness of mind , heart and soul bordering on despair which […]
Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
Translated from Kannada to English by Srinath Perur Every time I find myself in a very messy situation, I end up saying, “sab gajar-bajar ho gaya hai.” Gajar bajar is to me the epitome of messiness. How I got hold of this word, I don’t know. But when I read Vivek Shanbhag’s Ghachar Ghochar, I […]
Women and Comics in India
“Comic books are one of the most accurate portrayals of the socioeconomic and cultural norms and values of their time,” says comic historian Aarthi Parthasarathy. Taking that into consideration, one can trace the history of feminism, by looking at comics in India and the west. Feminism (read: equality) is a relatively new concept, just about […]
Karimayi by Chandrasekhar Kambar
Translated by Krishna Manavalli Karimayi by Chandrasekhar Kambar is a history of the tussle between literacy and modernity on one hand and the wisdom of experience and traditional beliefs on the other. It is a multi-layered narrative of intimate truths of lives, serving as a mythical episteme for the reader. At the core of Karimayi […]
Anuradha Kumar’s Coming Back to the City Stories
Mumbai is the city of dreams, shattered, unfulfilled and soaring. Many bright-eyed dreamers find their way here with hopes of making their fortune. As someone who’s a second-generation Mumbai resident born at the cusp of the 21st century, the Mumbai I grew up seeing has always been glitzy, an urban jungle of skyscrapers that kiss […]
Top 10 Free books on Kindle Unlimited
Kindle, Amazon, ebooks, print books: the litereary world it seems will never stop debating about the pros and cons of each. As the world battles COVID-19, though, it seems we have a temporary winner. Ebooks are now our saviours in isolation, so I headed find free books on Kindle Unlimited and found these ten gems. […]
