By Rajesh Chaudhary & Vinesh Kumar
Having dedicated six years of painstaking labour in compiling this book, authors Chaudhary and Kumar must be applauded for the outcome.
Reviewed by: Govindan Nair
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By Rajesh Chaudhary & Vinesh Kumar
Edited by Nell Shapiro Hawley and Sohini Sarah Pillai
The fourth part showcases the contemporary concerns which colour the modern adaptations of the Mahābhārata.The Bengali intellectual Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya, for instance, tried to weed out the interpolations to construct the Mahābhārata’s Kṛṣṇa as an ideal man and Hindu national icon. However, Ahona Panda notes how this pseudo-historical project
Reviewed by: Kanad Sinha
By Charles Allen
Despite a slightly rambling style and loose prose of the book, exhaustive research is evident emanating from a passion that rebuked any naked manipulation of knowledge. We gain well from the author’s efforts in presenting information on this crucial period of deep histories
Reviewed by: Bishnupriya Basak
By Sohini Chattopadhyay
That teenaged girl was Shaiza Khan, the year was 1988; much of Puthran’s book is about her determination in the face of tremendous cultural, social and political opposition to make space for girls to not only play cricket but take it to a professional level.
Reviewed by: Usha Raman
By Sudha Bharadwaj
Written in notebooks bought from these canteens, the writings bear testimony to her incarceration between November 2018 to February 2020 in Yerawada Jail. As Bharadwaj notes, incarceration is easier to remember through the seasons that it was experienced in (the days just dissolve into one another) and the book is sectioned through the same, while having no particular date or chronology in place.
Reviewed by: Mary Abraham
By K. Hari Kumar
In the second section of the book, ‘The Stories of Satyolu’, Hari Kumar has included a range of interesting folktales and stories of Daivas of Tulu Nadu. Multiple versions of multiple stories, with subtle distinctions, add to the complexity.
Reviewed by: Annie Pruthi
By K. Hari Kumar
In the second section of the book, ‘The Stories of Satyolu’, Hari Kumar has included a range of interesting folktales and stories of Daivas of Tulu Nadu. Multiple versions of multiple stories, with subtle distinctions, add to the complexity.
Reviewed by: Annie Pruthi
Edited by Namita Gokhale & Malashri Lal
As an advocate of gender equality and women’s empowerment, if I were to add to this splendid volume in any future editions, I would add chapters on the relative merits, the synergies and distinctions between Maha Lakshmi and the other two Mahadevis in the trinity
Reviewed by: Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri
By Mujibur Rehman
In its broad strokes of probing modern Indian history, the book, however, is wanting in rigorous scrutiny of the ideal of secularism in the Republic. The writer has spent more time on making the case of how the politics of India—as it has unfolded over the years—has excluded the Muslim community, and with the Hindu Right controlling the reigns
Reviewed by: Moggallan Bharti
By Alpana Mishra
The language of the novel is deeply evocative, with vivid descriptions and a reflective tone that captures the emotional and psychological depth of the characters. Mishra employs a narrative technique that interweaves dreams, memories, and present experiences
Reviewed by: Rahul Chaturvedi
By Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai. Translated from the original Urdu by Zoovia Hamiduddin
Written in the form of a letter addressed to God, the narrator’s experience of her traumatic train journey and her narration of the events unfolding after that constitute the plot of Vampire. Like many modernist novels, there is the depiction of the inner world of the main character and the use of dream sequences, nightmares, and foreshadowing of events in the narrative.
Reviewed by: Mohammad Asim Siddiqui
By Vikram Sood. Translated into Hindi from the English original by Prabhat Milind
Sood wants to make it extremely clear to his readers that the global networks of war, money, arms, oil are stronger than ever. Even as he highlights the proliferation of conspiracy theories and subterfuge advertising, Sood hints at the need to cultivate discernment among a country’s citizens.
Reviewed by: Disha Pokhriyal
By Savitry Dubey. Translated from the original Hindi by Rajeev Dubey
History comes alive in the narrative as the chants of ‘Simon, Go Back’ fill the air, or when we see the call for Salt Satyagraha at Dandi reverberating in Garhpura in Bihar when everyone in the village joins the march to make salt.
Reviewed by: Mukul Chaturvedi
By Yatindra Mishra
The book features a long, rambling interview that references important themes such as Hindustaniyat, the Partition and its resonances, his formative days with the Progressive Writers Association, the Punjabi Sahitya Sabha, and reminiscences of working with nearly the entire pantheon of filmmakers, music directors, and actors in India over about fifty years.
Reviewed by: Maya Joshi
By Prem Kumar Mani
Mani’s autobiography insightfully spells out traits of the politicians and authors and points out, ‘There are some writers whose subconscious is filled with politics and when they actively pursue literature, they juxtapose organization, leadership
Reviewed by: Shafey Kidwai
By Avadhoot Dongare. Translated from the original Marathi by Nadeem Khan
Nadeem Khan’s translation is excellent. In times when we have serious debates on the political and subjective agency of the translator, Khan seems to be a follower of the classical school: not displaying any inclination towards transcreation and the dubious freedom it brings.
Reviewed by: Umesh Kumar
By Chandra Latha. Translated from the original Telugu by C.L.L Jayaprada
The tenderness towards the land that this farmer holds, however, is vastly different from the entitlement towards ancestral property that a corporate urban software professional aims to eke out in ‘Mom’s Home’.
Reviewed by: Anidrita Saikia
By Jayant Kaikini. Translated from the original Kannada by Tejaswini Niranjana
Prakash observes, ‘Without a lamp at their heart, the lanterns looked innocent and helpless against the rain.’ In ‘Childbirth in Diamond Circus’, trapeze artist Dumpy and ringmaster, Shafi, cement their private family life in the communal circus with secret home-made bhajiyas.
Reviewed by: Kavi Yaga
By Imayam. Translated from the original Tamil by D. Venkataramanan
As events come to a close, the DO’s family threatens Kamala, she is humiliated by all in the presence of her parents. Further disaster is averted only because the DO’s retirement is round the corner. Kamala never speaks for the major portion of this narrative. When she does speak up it is to acknowledge strategization: ‘He tortured me tirelessly.
Reviewed by: Payal Nagpal
By Jeyamohan. Translated from the original Tamil by Jegadeesh Kumar
‘Shadow Crow’ has a masterful narration. The meeting of Narayana Guru with Buddhist monks and the ensuing conversation is a delight to read. The author’s voice on mental health in the story ‘Brother’s Shadow’ is not so complex. They may be informed by his life experiences with a set of professionals.
Reviewed by: Peer Mohamed Azees
By Indira Parthasarathy. Translated from the original Tamil by the author
The story begins not with Krishna’s birth but when Krishna’s life is drawing to a close. Jara, the hunter, accidentally discharges the arrow that pierces Krishna’s leg. When the hunter rushes to see from where the cry is emanating
Reviewed by: Kausalya Santhanam
By Sumana Roy
Elsewhere, Roy turns to a speculation on literature and history as she reminiscences on the pronouncements of tourist guides in cities marked, particularly since the 1970s
Reviewed by: Asma Rasheed
By Kunal Sen
Again, the naming word’s evocative powers are affirmed: Mrinal Sen’s city was Calcutta of a certain taste and flavour. The third sign is the opening sentence of the first chapter: ‘My earliest memories do not prominently feature my father.’ A memoirist’s truth comes twinkling on tiny steps; the sentence lets you know, and overruns convention.
Reviewed by: Rajesh Sharma
By Bulbul Sharma
‘Strangers in the Park’ unveils the story of fifty-something Sudha, widowed for a decade, who befriends a stranger on her evening walks in the Lodhi Gardens, and much to the consternation of her large joint family—a mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law and sundry aunts of her late husband—decides to go for a holiday to Europe with this new-met friend! And no, he didn’t ask her to marry him.
Reviewed by: Bharati Jagannathan
Edited by Shanta Gokhale, Jerry Pinto
Maya Nagari is a celebration of Mumbai’s vibrancy and resilience. The anthology captures the city’s unique ability to embrace and transform those who come to it. Each story is a testament to the indomitable spirit of Mumbai, a city that continues to thrive despite its challenges.
Reviewed by: Malati Mukherjee
Edited by Banamallika
The LGBTQIA movement in Assam has taught people to think about gender and sexuality in a new way. It is through this movement that people within this spectrum have gained the courage to live fearless and dignified lives. Editor Banamallika gives people of all genders the opportunity to share all kinds of personal experiences (painful or hopeful).
Reviewed by: Mridul Moran
By Anjali Deshpande
Suryabala, just like her name, is described as both bright like the sun and with a childlike innocence that refuses to be controlled and corrupted by the social norms imposed on her by her family, misleading lovers, and exploitative men in power.
Reviewed by: Suman Bhagchandani
By Rohit Manchanda
THE ENCLAVE
2024
2024
Further, set at the turn of the twentieth century, the novel also captures well the many questions and anxieties that haunt the middle-class consciousness of the country in the contemporary period of economic and social restructurings.
Reviewed by: Ann Susan Aleyas
Edited by Arundhati Subramaniam
Comprising as does Subramaniam’s anthology of the voices of 56 women saints, the question then is whether they all speak in like manner, like a chorus of women saints? Rather, breaking all expectations of homogeneity that labels tend to entail, Arundhati’s compilation showcases the diversity inherent under the label ‘saint’ thereby prodding the reader gently to not experience life through accustomed wisdom but rather live for herself as a seeker after her own truth making herself the architect of her own path, with her own body, and in this material world.
Reviewed by: Simran Chadha
By Farhat Hasan
Several challenge ideas that love is but a current coin for transgressivewomen or that learning and fine aesthetic sensibility are domains in which only the well-to-do are proficient. Many poems, particularly those by transgressive women affirm the significance of looking beautiful, the relevance of accoutrements, cosmetics, graceful mannerisms and many while asserting the importance of their composers’ selfhoods are also confessional without a trace of embarrassment or shame.
Reviewed by: Fatima Rizvi
By Lakshmi Kannan
NADISTUTI: POEMS
2024
2024
Between her musings and observations, Lakshmi Kannan has a finely attuned sense of the subtle changes in Indian society: the joys, the dangers, the desires, the loss of control; her poems serve to remind us of poetry’s role in recovery, healing and moving on. These poems tell stories of resilience and endurance and in doing so showcase a sutradhar, a storyteller for our times.
Reviewed by: Anita Balakrishnan