The Mahabharat is the longest epic in the world. In the eighties, legendary theatre and film director, Peter Brooke decided to stage it in the form of a play. To get a feel of the place it is from, he travelled with his team to India. In that small team was another legendary person, novelist … Continue reading Big Bhishma in Madras: In Search of the Mahabharata with Peter Brook by Jean-Claude Carriere (1997)
Category: 1990s
September 28th: Three Books on Indian History
Today is September 28th, the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh, arguably India's most well-known revolutionary. He was a voracious reader and I thought it would be fitting to write briefly about three books read this year related to Indian history. Waiting for Swaraj: Inner Lives of Indian Revolutionaries by Aparna Vaidik (2021) Bhagat Singh plays … Continue reading September 28th: Three Books on Indian History
Comfort Reads: Three Star Trek Novels
A sudden trip and then a return after a short stay left me feeling happy and then gloomy. To ward away the feeling of despondency, I turned to my favourite family aboard the Enterprise... or not really because in the three books that I read in quick succession our favourite space travellers are hardly in … Continue reading Comfort Reads: Three Star Trek Novels
Crammed together: Nine Books
My to-be-reviewed pile for 2022 is long and toppling over. Before I forget all about the books, here are just a couple of lines about nine of them. So in no particular order: Death of a Hollow Man (1987): I had enjoyed Caroline Graham's The Killings at Badger's Drift, the first in her Inspector Barnaby's … Continue reading Crammed together: Nine Books
Classics Club #A1: Dasa Kumara Charitam by Dandin
Sanskrit is one of the most ancient languages of the world. I am in awe of the power of its words as manifested in the innumerable mantrs, strotas, and raags. It is a matter of regret for me that in school I never tried to learn the language properly and now can only rely on … Continue reading Classics Club #A1: Dasa Kumara Charitam by Dandin
Literature of India: Dead End and Other Stories by Ajeet Cour
Every passing moment makes us suffer, though differently with different people. The very act of passing through life entails some bruises which nobody else can see. Though I had heard of Indian Punjabi author Ajeet Cour I hadn't read her work till LO brought her book from the library, thinking that the title: Dead End, … Continue reading Literature of India: Dead End and Other Stories by Ajeet Cour
Top Ten (+4) Tuesdays: New Authors 2021
This week in Top Ten Tuesdays hosted @That Artsy Reader Girl, we have been asked to name top ten (or more or less) new authors whom we discovered last year. Well, last year I read a host of new authors from those whom I made a special point to read like Reginald Hill and Shelley … Continue reading Top Ten (+4) Tuesdays: New Authors 2021
Spoilers: Grim Pickings by Jennifer Rowe (1991)
This post contains spoilers (including the name of the murderer) for the mystery so please don't read it unless you have read the book/ you are not bothered about having it spoiled. The question that perplexed me after finishing the book, the first in the Verity Birdwood (Birdy) series is how could a book that … Continue reading Spoilers: Grim Pickings by Jennifer Rowe (1991)
Shelf Control# 12: Harbart by Nabarun Bhattacharya (1993)
Shelf Control is a weekly book meme @ Bookshelf Fantasies in which we write about one book that we want to read and already own. Read our hostess Lisa’s choice for this week over here. My choice for this week is a book from my part of the world: Harbart Sarkar, sole proprietor of a business that brings messages … Continue reading Shelf Control# 12: Harbart by Nabarun Bhattacharya (1993)
Shelf Control #11: Escapade by Walter Satterthwait (1995)
Shelf Control is a weekly book meme @ Bookshelf Fantasies in which we write about one book that we want to read and already own. Read our hostess Lisa’s choice for this week over here. In the summer of 1921, thirteen distinguished guests gather for a weekend party and seance at a stately Devon manor house. Their host, the … Continue reading Shelf Control #11: Escapade by Walter Satterthwait (1995)
a hot cup of pleasure