There are dark corners, blood stains, opium trips and bad memories in Jeet’s Narcopolis. In the small lanes of Shuklaji street, in the illicit brothel, in the opium dens and in the newly communist village in Guangdong are the characters of the book. None of them are the central character. In few pages you are…
Month: April 2014
The Khushwant Singh I knew
I discovered Khushwant Singh in the Wheelers book store in the Railway station (I don’t remember which one but I think its Calcutta ). The book that won my attention was not Train to Pakistan or The Company of Women. I set my eyes on the Khushwant Singh’s joke books. That was an era before…
J is for Jhumpa Lahiri #GuestPost
This post is contributed by S. She doesn’t write too often, but when she writes, she does it brilliantly. You can check her Blog here. Jhumpa Lahiri is most well known for her book, The Namesake which turned out to become a mainstream movie by Mira Nair. So let me start this post with a little…
The Inscrutable American #AtoZChallenge
If I have to make a list of Humor books from India, I will definitely put Anurag Mathur’s The Inscrutable America at the top of the list. Published in 1991, the book is the story of Gopal Kumar, son of a wealthy hair oil baron, who moves to USA to do Chemical Engineering. Gopal is…
Himalayan Books
Himalayas is the nature’s pinnacle that proves that the limitlessness exists. Here are my favorite books based on the mighty Himalayas: 1. Seven Years in Tibet Also a major motion picture with the same name starring Brad Pitt, Seven Years in Tibet is narrated by Harrer who during his adventures in Himalayas ends up in then…
Getting to know Digonta Bordoloi
“Write from the heart, not what the trend is. Then truly work becomes pleasure. And then, hopefully one day the right readers will find you”, said Digonta, when I asked him for an advice for young writers. That statement sums up Digonta for us, who allowed me to interview him. We ended up discussing books,…
Fatwas, Bans & Censorship #AtoZChallenge
I hated when I came to Know about the fate of The Hindus: An Alternative History in India. Penguin India withdrew the copies of Wendy Doniger‘s book off the shelves and also destroyed the remaining copies of the book. The action were taken because of the lawsuit flied against the book by a group which says…
End of Road for the Street Book-sellers?
In the Fort area of Bombay, behind the lane of High court, you will find rows of books lying on the foot-park. The books are arranged in the 3 stacks according to prices: Rs 30 ($ 0.50), Rs 60 ($1) & Rs 100 ($1.75). I asked Shankar, who ran the place, how he priced the…
Delhi Books #AtoZChallenge
The city of Delhi has always caught an attention of many. Capital of India now, it was also the capital of Pandhavs, Lodis, and of Mughals. Delhi is multi-cultural city with one side with historical ruins and other side with modern malls. One side of the city which is home for politicians and diplomats and…
Care for Bookstores Anyone ?
I do get worried when people discuss about bookstores in India. Not so long back, bookstores were hip here. Along with Multiplex, Quick Serving Restaurants, International fashion brands and Bittu-Tikki-walas, Book-stores were must have for the malls. Retail giants like Tata, Reliance, Rahejas etc were investing Book store chains and related leisure stores. These stores…
Bombay Books
Bombay is the city full of colorful characters. With its vivid past, strange present and uncertain future, Bombay (or Mumbai) offers itself as a good subject or an abstract setting . Here are my list of Favorite Bombay books: 1. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts Maybe,In terms of accuracy, this might be the most ill-fitted book…
And The Bookers’ Goes to! Past Winners from India #AtoZChallenge
My theme for #AtoZChallenge is Indian Writing in English. Here is my first post The fact is that all of the Indian authors who have won Man Booker Prize are alive and healthy. That shows that India arrived on Bookers’ rader little later than expected. It all started with Salman Rushdie extra-ordinary narration in Mid-night’s Children. He…
