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Book Box: Gita's karma, India's boon

Published on Sep 23, 2023 10:20 AM IST

How other writers and readers remember the late Gita Mehta

A River Sutra

Hasan Minhaj, writers, and the fabrication of truth

Comedian Hasan Minhaj has been accused of fabricating incidents from his life on his shows, leading to questions about the morality of his actions

Hasan Minhaj at the ESPY awards on July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, USA. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 08:42 PM IST
ByFarzana Versey

HT Picks; New Reads

On the reading list this week are short stories that articulate the true cost of living, a book that blends the science of aromatics with travel writing, history and insights into India’s contemporary perfume trade, and a collection of the 24 Gitas from the Mahabharata

This week’s list of interesting reads includes a collection of short fiction, a book on India’s perfume trade, and a volume of 24 Gitas from the Mahabharata. (HT Team)
Published on Sep 22, 2023 06:06 PM IST
ByHT Team

Siân Hughes, author, Pearl - “A novel has to have a life of its own”

Debut novel longlisted for 2023 Booker Prize sees tenfold increase in sales and third re-print; author discusses inspiration, loss, and future plans.

Author Sian Hughes (Courtesy the publisher)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 06:19 PM IST
ByMajid Maqbool

Review: Cockatoo by Yashraj Goswami

A collection of interconnected short stories about desire, deception and disaster set in different parts of India

A life in the shadows. (Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 06:02 PM IST

Review: House of the People by Ronojoy Sen

Politics in India is often compared to cricket, with fans following and arguing over their favorite teams. Winning elections is prioritized over the functioning of parliament. Ronojoy Sen's book on India's Lok Sabha examines the institution at the heart of Indian democracy, tracing its origins and highlighting its decline in recent years. The book sheds light on the underrepresentation of women, Muslims, and marginalized communities in parliament, as well as the prevalence of criminal records among MPs. Sen concludes that India's parliament is in need of strengthening.

Members of Parliament voting on clauses of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on September 20, 2023. (ANI/Sansad TV)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 06:25 PM IST
BySamrat Choudhury

Interview: Prabha Atre - “I have never imitated anyone”

The Hindustani classical vocalist who is now 90 years old talks about her lifelong riyaaz, her years at AIR and the deeply intellectual quality of her singing

Prabha Atre performing at VNIT, Nagpur, during the SPIC MACAY’s eighth International convention in June 2023. (Swaramayi Gurukul)
Published on Sep 21, 2023 09:11 PM IST
ByManjari Sinha

Review: If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

The Booker shortlisted novel examines the complicated idea of home and how institutionalised racism coexists with the idea of the American dream

Ocean Drive in Miami (Travelview/Shutterstock)
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 06:08 PM IST
BySimar Bhasin

Review: Siddhartha; The Boy Who Became the Buddha by Advait Kottary

The author builds on his experience with the performing arts to create drama, anticipation, and intensity in his retelling of the life of the Buddha

The statue of the Buddha at the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. (xTOLIndia.com/Shutterstock)
Updated on Sep 21, 2023 12:07 AM IST

Interview: Durreen Shahnaz – ‘Doing good through finance is not easy’

The first Bangladeshi woman to work on Wall Street, the author of The Defiant Optimist talks about the role of finance in development and women’s empowerment

Author Durreen Shahnaz (Courtesy the subject)
Published on Sep 20, 2023 04:57 PM IST
ByArunima Mazumdar

Author Ritu Soni Bhagat: Without stories, language lacks flavour

The teacher-turned-author's first book, English Hinglish shares lessons in a filmi way. She uses Bollywood to build stories as learning tools.

Teacher-turned-writer Ritu Soni Bhagat adds contemporary references for youngsters to learn English.
Updated on Sep 20, 2023 11:13 AM IST
ByKriti Kambiri, Delhi

The connected case of Kenneth Branagh and Agatha Christie

Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice and Christie’s Hallowe’en Party create a sinister world of shadows, secrets, and surprises

Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice (Courtesy 20th Century Studios)
Updated on Sep 18, 2023 07:19 PM IST
ByTeja Lele

Ayobami Adebayo - “It’s both a political and domestic book”

Longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, the Nigerian author’s second novel, A Spell of Good Things, looks at how politics can collapse into personal lives

Author Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ (Courtesy the subject)
Updated on Sep 15, 2023 11:33 PM IST
BySaudamini Jain

HT Picks; New Reads

This week’s pick of interesting reads includes a book on the Indian village and its many shifts over the course of the nation’s history, another on Indian women wildlife biologists, and the memoir of an academic and activist

On the reading list this week is a book on the Indian village, another on Indian women wildlife biologists and their journeys across the country’s wild spaces, and the memoir of an academic and activist. (HT Team)
Published on Sep 15, 2023 11:08 PM IST
ByHT Team

Review: Tall Tales By A Small Dog by Omair Ahmad

The author ventriloquizes a dog to tell eclectic stories, histories, anecdotes, and urban legends about the town of Gorakhpur

A view of the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. (Ashok Dutta/Hindustan Times)
Published on Sep 15, 2023 11:07 PM IST
BySaikat Majumdar

Daisy Rockwell - “Publishing is obsessed with the cult of the new”

The Booker Prize winner on translating Rukogi Nahin, Radhika?, Hindi author Usha Priyamvada’s novel, which was first published in 1967

Translator Daisy Rockwell (Courtesy the subject)
Published on Sep 15, 2023 11:05 PM IST

Essay: Partition and the inheritance of loss

Memories of the great forced migration and violence that accompanied Independence persist even in later generations that did not experience the events firsthand

Lady Mountbatten among Hindu evacuees at the Punjab Scouts Camp, Lyallpur, during the partition of India. (Photo Division, Government of India/Wikimedia Commons)
Published on Sep 15, 2023 06:22 PM IST
ByDeepansh Duggal

Essay: Gazing up at the family tree

On discovering elaborate shajras, attempting to connect with distant relatives, and learning that your ancestors rode down from Central Asia

The writer’s grandfather, Syed Ayub Raza (Courtesy Lamat R Hasan)
Published on Sep 14, 2023 09:36 PM IST
ByLamat R Hasan

Review: The Broken Script by Swapna Liddle

A comprehensive exploration of key events in Delhi between 1803 and 1857 and their impact on different groups of people, economic and social relations, and “ways of thinking and belonging”

Old view of Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi. Created by De Bar and De Berard, it was published in L’Illustration, Journal Universel, Paris, 1857. (Marzolino/Shutterstock)
Updated on Sep 14, 2023 03:00 PM IST
BySyed Saad Ahmed

Interview: Ishita Moitra - “Women are now writing every kind of film and show”

The screenwriter of Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahani talks about the great changes in contemporary film sets, the need to protect young writers, and her journey

Screenwriter Ishita Moitra (Courtesy the subject)
Published on Sep 14, 2023 12:40 AM IST
ByMihir Chitre

Review: Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Longlisted for the Booker Prize this year, Western Lane explores both bereavement and the immigrant experience in Britain

Immigrant life: An Indian takeaway in the UK (Daniel Bond /Shutterstock)
Updated on Sep 12, 2023 08:30 PM IST
ByHritik Verma

The International Agatha Christie Festival: Celebrating the queen of crime

The 33rd edition of the IACF, that’s on until September 17, delves deep into the best selling novelist’s world

Portrait of Agatha Christie on a British postage stamp (spatuletail/Shutterstock)
Published on Sep 11, 2023 08:12 PM IST
ByTeja Lele

Book Box | Rediscovering the art of storytelling through oral tradition

Originating from Denmark in 2000, the Human Library is a space dedicated to fostering meaningful conversations, sparking curiosity, and addressing queries

Manjari Jaruhar, Human ‘Book’ and author of ‘Madam Sir ’
Published on Sep 09, 2023 09:55 PM IST

Interview: Daisy Rockwell: “Translators can be seen as curators”

International Booker Prize winner Daisy Rockwell on the significance of Edith Grossman, who fought for the right of a translator to be recognised for her work

Translator Daisy Rockwell
Published on Sep 09, 2023 10:26 AM IST

Peter Frankopan - “We are living through an unparalleled age of transformations”

On the wider questions about the natural world’s reshaping as a result of globalisation, consumption patterns, demographics, and climate change

Author Peter Frankopan (Courtesy the subject)
Published on Sep 08, 2023 09:54 PM IST
BySyed Saad Ahmed

HT Picks; New Reads

This week’s list of interesting reads includes a book on the mystic and poet, Kabir, a Japanese novel that will appeal to anyone who’s had to recover from a broken heart, and a reimagining of Gond rebel Komaram Bheem’s fight against British colonialists

This week’s pick of good reads includes an introduction to the mystic poet Kabir, a Japanese novel about recovering from a broken heart, and a work on legendary Gond rebel Komaram Bheem. (HT Team)
Published on Sep 08, 2023 09:53 PM IST
ByHT Team

Review: The East Indian by Brinda Charry

An ambitious three-continent-spanning novel that does not shy away from tackling the big questions of race and identity

This was probably Tony’s last view of home. The East India Company’s Fort Saint George at Madras, 1754. (Getty Images)
Published on Sep 08, 2023 09:52 PM IST
ByPercy Bharucha

Review: Juvenile Not Delinquent by Enakshi Ganguly et al

Focussed on children adjudicated for an offence, ‘Juvenile, Not Delinquent’ intertwines personal accounts with case studies to show how far away the country is from executing its policies towards children

Juvenile inmates at the Aadharshila Juvenile Home in New Delhi. (Sushil Kumar/Hindustan Times)
Published on Sep 08, 2023 09:51 PM IST
ByBaljeet Kaur

Essay: First roti to the cow; first bite to the dog

A middle-aged man in a village in western Uttar Pradesh feeds stray dogs, a normal practice in his community. Dogs are an integral part of our culture.

The great Indian stray (Prerna Jain)
Updated on Sep 08, 2023 09:13 PM IST

Review: 75 Years, 75 Films; India’s Cinematic Journey by Amitava Nag

A collection of reviews of impactful Indian films made since the birth of the nation provides an insight into the metamorphosis of the medium

A scene from Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara (HT Photo)
Updated on Sep 08, 2023 09:52 AM IST
ByShoma A Chatterji
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