Glimpses from Lit for Life 2019: Day 1
As the sun spread its warmth, dispelling the cold which has engulfed the early morning in Chennai, writers, novelists, performers, artists and literary enthusiasts swarmed inside Sir Mutha Concert Hall for the 9th edition of The Hindu LFL 2019. The theme of the three-day bonanza, often called the’sharpest literature festival in India’, is a zero […]
The Really Big List of Award-Winning Indian Novels of 2018
Some new names and some old, some popular choices and some critically-loved. 2018 was an exciting year for Indian literature, a time when the reading, writing and publishing community took the spotlight and this list of award-winning books tries to present the stars of the year of Indian literature. Here is a quick roundup of […]
Chinatown Days by Rita Chowdhury: Tales from a lost town
I grew up in Maharashtra. Throughout school, our Indian history syllabus was restricted to the North and the West. The South was represented by such names as Tipu Sultan and the East ended at Bengal. It’s a pity that I perhaps know more about the French revolution and the American Revolution than I do about […]
On our new chapter, the Purple Pencil Project
The new year has come, for us, as the calm before the storm. Saurabh Garg started onWriting as an Indian book review blog way back in 2014 with the sole purpose of connecting with authors and gathering their thoughts on (yes) writing, and publishing occasional book reviews. This stayed pretty much the same until three […]
A ray of hope: Poetry trends in Calcutta
English poetry in Kolkata found itself blooming frutifully in the 1950s, often called the ‘transitional decade’. Romantic poetry then was represented by Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu. Among the poets then who belonged to the romantic school included B.D Shastri (his Tears of Faith published in 1950), Adi K. Seth (his Rain in my Heart […]
The Great Smog of India by Siddharth Singh
Right about the time I was finishing The Great Smog of India, I also read headlines such as: Delhi spends Christmas indoors as air quality severe on fourth dayandDelhi gasps for air, AQI recorded at 423. These are two among hundreds of such news pieces that emerge out of the capital annually. Siddharth Singh’s The […]
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 […]
On the art of poetry and translation: Manu Kurup
Over the weekend, poet Manu S Kurup will be participating in the Ethos Literary Festival 2018, speaking at the session, ‘Do critiques add value to poetry at all?’. We caught up with the poet over email, and in this exclusive interview to onWriting, he speaks about translating cartoons, the art of poetry critiques and his […]
Poetry: Woman And Her Muse by Lopamudra Banerjee
Musings are part of every poet’s journey to writing. Without musing, how can a poet write, dream, and nurture words to make them express his or her thoughts, beliefs, wanderings, religiosity and essence of being? Lopamundra Banerjee has put her womanhood at the centre and like a flower spreading its petals, out of that centre […]
