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
It is Diwali. Or Diwali eve. Or Diwali weekend. And I am, all at once, in a pensive, nostalgic mood. Some happy occasions trigger memories that assume an ominous cloak of beauty and transform everything around them into a messenger of times bygone. Last year, my mamma was with me, here, celebrating. This year, she … More The All-Season Antidote
A Schoolboy’s Diary and Other Stories by Robert Walser My Rating: 3 of 5 stars That is the most useful thing about school: It tires you out, upsets you, gets you going, it nourishes the imagination, it is the anteroom, the waiting room as it were, of life. Neat Poster. And a far neater mind … More Book Review: A Schoolboy’s Diary and Other Stories by Robert Walser (2013)
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann My Rating: 5 of 5 stars As long as we breathe, we live. We do not possess the power to embrace death at will. So, we live. And for living, we cling to a purpose. The purpose may be clear or clouded, animate or inanimate, expressed or hidden, stable … More Book Review: Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (1912)
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke My Rating: 5 of 5 stars Dear Mr. Rilke, Assuming it to be a frequent phenomenon with you, I partake in pleasure and liberty of appointing you the receiver of yet another letter, from a besotted admirer of your wisdom and expression. You see I have … More Book Review: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (1929)
Vertigo by W.G. Sebald My rating: 5 of 5 stars I take refuge in prose as one might in a boat. Laughter erupted from the adjacent table. A middle-aged lady chided a young man for his deteriorating writing skills. The young man shifted in his chair with a sheepish grin, nudging a tiny vial of … More Book Review: Vertigo by W G Sebald (1990)
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