Simmering. Never stopping. Always simmering. Simmering at the contours of our cognition. Simmering at the edges of our dreams. Simmering at the rims of our comprehension. At the corners of our being but never vanishing. That’s how our past lives. And how do we make eye contact with it? With pride? With temerity? With shame? With a … More The unending dance of ‘listening’
Katabasis – A journey to the underworld, to Hell. It was supposed to take me in, get me hooked. It was supposed to present me a world from where my eyes wouldn’t tear off. A world where wild things happened, unannounced. A precipice that threw me into vertiginous depths wherein everything was alien, sterile black, … More A rewarding journey to Hell
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. I pause – to gather my breath, and blinded eyes. But she doesn’t. With a singular aim that never misses the target, she shoots. She shoots maniac, she shoots incandescent. She shoots tender, she shoots ruthless. She shoots diabolic, she shoots sober. But Boulder doesn’t stop. That’s the one thing she … More Of Boulders by the ocean, and the lives around them
What would I do if I knew what I saw was to be changed? Like turning a page in a book to a new story? Would I, then, believe what I ‘saw’? Hold onto the remnants like a testimonial to some unknown audit in future? A Professor. His sojourn in Berlin. Chance meeting with an … More A trance-like walk in a new city
The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz ZafónMy Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Somewhere on the path of life, when adulthood looms large and we end up seeing the horizons of the impending twilight more frequently than we would wish to, there are stops of childhood sped past that we reminisce the most – … More Doppelgänger, nee, Shadows?
The Midnight Library by Matt HaigMy Rating: 4 of 5 Stars This book. Especially in these times. This book. Like a little cocoon of warmth in the stormy evening. Akin to a genuine hug amid the phoney social circles. A love story with self. A cascade of calm. The Midnight Library, at its core, is … More Book Review: The Midnight Library (2020)
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars [Originally appeared here (with edits): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/li…] Ah! What have I read here? A delightful take on life? A sensitive take on grief? A wise take on relationships? Perhaps all of it. And more. At the centre of this book, is … More Book Review: My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman (2013)
Ties by Domenico Starnone My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars Validation is a monster we carry within us – we seek it in abundance for the tiniest of things to the biggest of matters; and in the sordid event of its unavailability in external sources, we turn inwards and grab it nonetheless. We validate ourselves; … More Book Review – Ties by Domenico Starnone (2014)
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars When the weapon inflicting a wound is done with its work, it hops onto to its next victim with a repugnant nonchalance. It doesn’t look back, it has barely any emotion. But it does not do the disappearing act before leaving behind the story of … More Book Review: Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (2018)
The Only Story by Julian Barnes My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars “Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question.” This sentence, which introduced this most recent book of Julian Barnes to his potential readers, … More Book Review: The Only Story by Julian Barnes (2018)
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