Translated by Anisur Rahman

As a genre, ghazal poetry is performative, highly conventional and its public recitation (mushaira) is governed by an elaborate protocol that has evolved over centuries. The poet does not recite the two lines of a couplet in quick succession; he will recite the first line, often making a proposition, then there will be a meaningful pause, allowing for repetition and appreciation by the audience through wah wah and mukarrar, and then when the suspense is at its apex, deliver the second line almost like a punch that will bring the proposition to a logical end, even though that logic may, sometimes, be far-fetched.


Reviewed by: M Asaduddin
By Adil Jussawalla

Jerry Pinto’s crisp and meaty introduction opens The Diamond-Encrusted Rat Trap: Writings from Bombay. ‘The 1970s were Bombay’s 1960s,’ he recalls Imtiaz Dharker’s words. The book gathers Jussawalla’s prose from 20 years, beginning 1980. There are articles, reviews,


Reviewed by: Rajesh Sharma
By Vishwas Patil. Translated from the original Marathi by Nadeem Khan

The portrayal of Shivaji himself is layered and complex. Unlike in nationalist hagiography, Shivaji here is charismatic yet humanly vulnerable, ruthless to his enemies yet calculating, aware of legitimacy even as he embraces brutality when necessary. The novel situates him in a dense web of shifting alliances—with Bijapur, the Mughals, local chieftains, and coastal powers—thereby emphasizing that sovereignty is relational,


Reviewed by: Umesh Kumar
By Aatish Taseer

Does each of us human beings experience an identity crisis? Perhaps not to a cataclysmic degree where it could become existential. However, at some point in all our lives, we do, hopefully, seek to know ourselves better. And what truly constitutes this ‘me’ that we seek deeper understanding of?


Reviewed by: Kartik Bajoria
By Afsar. Translated from the original Telugu by Alladi Uma and M. Sridhar

These stories explore a range of themes, including forced relocations, destabilized social relations, caste-related violence, harsh political realities, and larger identity questions. They are all deeply rooted in cultures and belief systems that have been lost, redefined, defied, and reclaimed. The protagonist, who narrates most of these eleven stories, revisits his village, his childhood, and his people from a different perspective, in the light of not only his personal experiences but also the general, larger, and global changes that have influenced even the minutest details of everyday life.


Reviewed by: K Suneetha Rani
Selected and Translated by Aruna Chakravarti. Foreword by Meena Kandasamy

Issues of migration are addressed in Nakul Mallik’s ‘Illegal Immigrant’. The formation of Bangladesh spurred the movement of Madhab’s family from a nation in formation to India and back. Extreme poverty once again pushes the family to migrate to India. Madhab settles down with Shefali but is picked up as an illegal immigrant and sent back to Bangladesh, a pregnant Shefali is left alone to fend for herself.


Reviewed by: Payal Nagpal