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
Orbital. A book I lived with for many days and nights. And then for periods I couldn’t make sense of – between rush runs and garrulous concalls, between silent dreams and chaotic honks, between pressured cabins and blinding night-lights. But I held it tight under all circumstances. Because it had become a friend. Across its … More View (and spirit) from Space
Of late, I have been wary of picking up a chunkster to read – no, not because they have lost their appeal but because I have come to attach greater value to the time I have at hand. Almost to the point of being miserly to let it go without doing my best dance with … More Friendship in the frigid weather of life
Autumn Light by Pico IyerMy Rating: 4 of 5 Stars It is good to meet life sometimes; not by seeing it in the eye but by interlocking fingers and walking by its side. In this book, Pico Iyer finds himself undertaking such a walk, under the light-heavy shadows of autumn. Twenty-five years after he first … More Book Review: Autumn Light by Pico Iyer (2019)
Dear D, Yes, I know it was yesterday. But like your books, I suppose, you too wouldn’t care for worldly conventions; conventions like wishing someone on their birthday. So, I have taken the liberty, and without feeling guilty, of wishing you birthday a day late. Just why though? You can’t hear me. You can’t see … More Happy Birthday, Fyodor Dostoevsky!
मधुशाला by Harivansh Rai Bachchan My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars यह १३५ बेशकीमती रुबाइयाँ मात्र किसी मधुशाला के लिए एक क़सीदा नहीं है अपितु गाती हुई रूपक है ज़िन्दगी की , वह ज़िन्दगी जो उजाले और अंधेरे से, न्यायनीति और भेदभाव से ,आलिंगन और अभाव से परिपूर्ण है | अपनी कलम को नीली … More Poem Review: मधुशाला by Harivansh Rai Bachchan(1935)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars I finished reading this book at precisely 0205 hours a week ago. The night still lay majestically over the impending dawn, and in its blackened stillness, swayed the echoes of this imperious book. The walls of my room, at once, turned into a … More Book Review – The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1880)
Here by Wislawa Szymborska My Rating: 4 of 5 stars “She wants me to live only for her and with her. Ideally in a dark, locked room, but my plans still feature today’s sun, clouds in progress, ongoing roads.” With this singular clarity, Wislawa Szymborska views memory. By running a casual yet assertive hand, she … More Book Review: Here by Wislawa Szymborska (2009)
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett My Rating: 4 of 5 stars [Curtains Fall] Stage: I lived good, within all of you. Heck! You would not even survive a second without me. Why? I even took that wretched boot and that stinky feet on my chest! Feet: Ha.. Stinky you say! Did you ever eavesdrop … More Book Review: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (1952)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce My Rating: 5 of 5 stars APRIL 19 (Evening): Alright. This is insane. It has been almost eighteen, 18 (has more impact) hours since I sat down to scribble something about what is going on in my mind but the right words are … More Book Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (1914)
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