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‘The Book of Vows’ – Amit Majmudar’s Mahabharata
In an impassioned introduction providing context for this greatest of stories with countless retellings, Amit Majmudar explains why he...
May 2, 20244 min read


Poetry & Politics in Pakistan: "The History Teacher Of Lahore" by Tahira Naqvi
On April 4, 1979, I was getting ready for school when I learned that the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had been...
Feb 8, 20246 min read


Lit Fest: Get your Tickets to SALA 2023, Oct 7-8!
The South Asian Literature and Arts Festival returns in 2023, this time at Menlo College in Atherton. It features over 60 Artists and...
Sep 21, 20231 min read


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...
Sep 13, 20236 min read


Abraham Verghese, Interpreter of Maladies - 'The Covenant of Water'
About two-thirds of the way through The Covenant of Water , a birth is described. "Baby Ninan arrives in the year of our Lord 1946, like...
Jun 16, 20237 min read


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...
May 7, 20235 min read


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...
Mar 30, 20235 min read


"The Perfumist of Paris" by Alka Joshi -- a Kepler's Books Event
The Henna Artist was released just when the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown began, and author Alka Joshi's book events switched to a virtual...
Mar 28, 20232 min read


"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...
Mar 5, 20235 min read


"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...
Mar 3, 20233 min read


South Asian Literature and Art Festival 2022: a glorious in-person event
The South Asian Literature and Art Festival (SALA) returned in style and with considerable substance on October 29 and 30, 2022 at the...
Nov 14, 20227 min read


Margaret Atwood at Stanford Live
Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, and winner of two Booker Prizes among other honors, graced Stanford’s Memorial...
Oct 22, 20224 min read


Announcing: South Asian Literature and Art Festival 2022
The inaugural South Asian Literature and Art Festival (SALA 2019) was held in October 2019, at the picturesque Villa Montalvo in...
Oct 21, 20221 min read


Ramayan, Naatak's 100th Production
During the pandemic shut down, I had watched a few of Naatak's zoom plays. Ramayan was my first live Naatak play in a theater since the...
Sep 23, 20223 min read


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...
May 9, 20224 min read


Requiem for a Beloved Uncle
On September 17, 2021, one of the sweetest people I have ever known went into cardiac arrest in the ICU at Thangam hospital in Palakkad,...
Mar 6, 20225 min read


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...
Mar 6, 20226 min read


A Burning, by Megha Majumdar
Many years ago, I had a conversation with a colleague about life, dreams, and the choices we make. Early on in our career, or in life, we...
Oct 19, 20213 min read


Where Has Raji Been?!
Dear Reader, I have not written to you or posted anything since January of this year. How the months have flown by! I last posted a book...
Oct 17, 20213 min read


"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...
Jan 23, 20217 min read
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