From Palakkad Village Girl to Stylish Patti – The Fascinating Life of Lily Tharoor
I am in Kerala as I write this, having just returned to Kochi from visiting a beloved aunt in Palakkad District. I never tire of...
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- May 7
- 5 min
Midnight's Grandchild: "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida"
In all the years since I first read Salman Rushdie’s Midnight's Children, no book has matched its brilliance, its exuberance and its...
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- Mar 31
- 4 min
Raji's Recordings!
I have moderated book discussions and author interviews in the past few years, and even participated in a Readathon! The recordings are...
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- Mar 5
- 5 min
"Independence" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Much of the literature about India’s Partition has been written around the violence and tragedy in the northwest. The focus is the...
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- Mar 4
- 3 min
"The Second Life of Mirielle West" by Amanda Skenandore
Silicon Valley Reads had chosen “Journey to New Beginnings” as its 2023 theme. One of the books selected to showcase this theme is The...
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- May 10, 2022
- 4 min
A Mother’s Beginnings, a Nation’s Past (Sisters of Mokama, by Jyoti Thottam)
In 1947, the year India got its hard-won independence from British rule, six nuns from Kentucky voyaged to India to set up a hospital in...
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- Mar 6, 2022
- 6 min
The Goddess Will Rise. (Border Less by Namrata Poddar)
Border Less, a debut novel by Namrata Poddar, is a collection of stories or vignettes, tied together by the main character Dia Mittal. We...
51 views2 comments
- Jan 23, 2021
- 7 min
"Together" by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy
Loneliness is like a cold hand resting on your heart. It can tighten your chest, and make you desperate with longing for company and...
141 views1 comment
- Oct 10, 2020
- 4 min
"Purple Lotus" by Veena Rao
I have an image of two women. One walks down a path with strong, bold strides, taking in everything around her. There seems to be no...
102 views0 comments
- Aug 16, 2020
- 10 min
"Alpha Girls" by Julian Guthrie (Silicon Valley Reads 2020)
“Women – Making It Happen. Celebrating 100 years of women’s achievements.” This was the 2020 theme for Silicon Valley Reads, in honor of...
137 views0 comments
- Oct 7, 2019
- 10 min
Salman Rushdie's "Quichotte" - On the Road
Salman Rushdie describes the opioid crisis in his new book, "Quichotte." He had researched it for years following a family tragedy. His...
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- Feb 23, 2019
- 7 min
Your Mother's Eyes, Your Father's Smile and "The Stranger in My Genes" by Bill Gri
We look at a child’s smile and match that smile to her mother or father. Resemblances, in appearance, in a laugh, in a gesture, in...
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- Oct 12, 2017
- 5 min
"Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy" by Sheryl Sandberg and
Sheryl Sandberg’s and Adam Grant's recent book, "Option B, Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy" is a moving account of...
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- Sep 12, 2017
- 11 min
"The Golden House" by Salman Rushdie
Mysterious pasts, transformed identities, new beginnings, organized crime, shocking elections, improbable heads of state, conspiracy,...
115 views0 comments
- Jul 24, 2017
- 4 min
In Memoriam: Naiyer Masud (1936 - 2017)
The Urdu scholar and short story writer Naiyer Masud, passed away today. I found in my archives this piece that I had written in 1998. I...
101 views0 comments
- Jun 24, 2017
- 8 min
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy
I finished reading Arundhati Roy's “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” a few days ago, and found myself feeling oddly bereaved. Then, as...
253 views0 comments
- May 29, 2017
- 2 min
Book review "Ghachar Ghochar" (Tangled up)
Several days ago, I hopped on to the Amazon website to pre-order Arundhuti Roy's new novel upon learning of it on this forum. Vivek...
35 views0 comments
- Dec 9, 2009
- 5 min
City of Joy, City of Dust. "Freedom Song" by Amit Chaudhuri
"Daily," Amit Chaudhuri writes, "Calcutta disintegrates, unwhispering, into dust, and daily it rises from dust again." Calcutta, home to...
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