She walked up. I wasn’t prepared for her arrival. And yet, there she was – leaning at my door, from the yesteryears, like a familiar but forgotten memory, one hand holding a camera, the other on her waist, asking me if she can come in. I let her. And with the falling night in the … More Behind the doors of civility
Languorous, nostalgic, sepia… the way best memories are. In Aftersun, a father and his 11-yo daughter take a vacation to Turkey which, in an odd twist of fate, turns out to be the latter’s last with her dad. Twenty years hence, as she looks back upon that trip, she unflinchingly finds all the details lodged … More Recollection of a faded life
“At the end of my first day, I noticed a new note on the cuff of his jacket. “The new housekeeper,” it said. The words were written in tiny, delicate characters, and above them was a sketch of a woman’s face. It looked like the work of a small child – short hair, round cheeks, … More Excerpt – Interrupting Thinking for Memory
Today is the 1st of January. And I am travelling. For the last 8 years, this has been my routine on the first day of a new year – say goodbye to mamma whom I had come visiting during the tail-end of last year, and go back to the city where I work. In the … More The Constant in Change
Call Me By Your Name | Directed by Luca Guadagnino | Starring Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars I tried thrice – writing down my thoughts about this movie – and failed all three times. Every time I would begin scribbling, my fingers would come to a gradual stop, … More Movie Review: Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino (2017)
From the time I know, I have been in company of books. Beginning with casual strolls in my father’s library and running my tiny fingers over the book spines to sampling one on a fine afternoon and falling in love with its tribe, I have hardly ever left the book-country. With passing years came new … More An year when Books begot Friends! 🙂
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars You landed in my world on a calm, dewy evening And struck was I with a song I was about to sing; A song that lay hidden in the silhouettes of each letter That protruded from the cover, all poised to embitter. But waited … More Book Review: Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (1972)
Honeymoon by Patrick Modiano My Rating: 2 of 5 stars I felt a vague twinge of remorse: has a reader the right to criticize certain details under the pretext that she considers them superfluous? Beginning my review by borrowing a line from the novel and infusing it with my words means two things: one, the … More Book Review: Honeymoon by Patrick Modiano (1990)
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal My Rating: 4 of 5 stars This little novella can, at once, be discarded as a long, never-ending chapter on corporeal pursuits from the life book of a mindless rambler, a libidinous exhorter, a senile raconteur. And for some part, one might be right in … More Book Review: Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal (1964)
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes My Rating: 5 of 5 stars I was sitting on the lower berth; ambivalent yet observant. The view from my window seat was appealing. On the parallel track, a train had just pulled on. The neighboring compartment was a dynamic collage of people, suitcases, trolleys, food and … More Book Review: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (2011)
SEEMITA DAS 