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Books
]Book Box | Packing list for a book club
Published on Sep 29, 2024 12:02 AM IST
From Soviet reads to surprise novels, a book club packs a library for their Silk Route adventure—because running out of books is not an option!
HT Picks; New Reads
This week’s pick of interesting reads includes a book that reveals the dangers posed by fake and processed foods to the environment and to human health, a courageous policeman’s first hand account of capturing dacoits and guarding prime ministers, and a volume that encourages a contemplation of Indian aesthetics
Updated on Sep 28, 2024 05:56 AM IST
HT Team
Hoshang Merchant – “Politics is a passing show, while humanity endures”
The poet and critic, whose latest book is ‘Rainbow Warriors of India’, talks about being the first Indian English poet who was openly gay, having his autobiography translated into Indian languages, and starting his own publishing imprint
Updated on Sep 28, 2024 05:54 AM IST
Chittajit Mitra
Review: Biopeculiar by Gigi Ganguly
From cloud herdings to starling murmurations that send messages to a birdwatcher, these 22 speculative stories underline the challenges posed by climate change
Updated on Sep 28, 2024 05:52 AM IST
Lamat R Hasan
Review: Safdar Hashmi; Towards Theatre for a Democracy by Anjum Katyal
One of India’s brightest modern theatre directors, who was brutally murdered while performing a play in support of workers, Safdar Hashmi developed a people’s theatre that could be taken to the masses
Updated on Sep 28, 2024 05:50 AM IST
Mahmood Farooqui
Remembering Keki N Daruwalla
A range of Indian English poets recall Keki N Daruwalla’s humour, generosity, energy, and of course, the succinctness of his writing in prose and poetry
Updated on Sep 28, 2024 06:16 AM IST
Suhit Bombaywala
Review: The Secret Life Of The Universe by Nathalie Cabrol
While the astrobiologist author points out that it is highly unlikely that the earth is the only habitable planet in the universe, she stresses that it is here that we must decide our future as a species
Updated on Sep 26, 2024 07:04 PM IST
Shoma Abhyakar
Review: The Padmas; Fifty Stories of Perseverance by Neha J Hiranandani
An illuminating introduction to Padma awardees from various fields including medicine, literature, music, sports, education, dance, social work, science, wildlife conservation, peace building and human rights on the 70th anniversary of the institution of these awards
Published on Sep 26, 2024 02:52 PM IST
Vaibhav Sharma: “Every translator should really like what they’re translating”
On writers who amalgamate words from different languages, nayi wali Hindi, translating Manav Kaul’s Antima, and being mentored by Booker winner Daisy Rockwell
Published on Sep 24, 2024 05:33 PM IST
Chittajit Mitra
Sneha Desai – “I don’t have luxuries like writer’s block!”
The screenwriter of Laapataa Ladies, India’s official entry for Oscars 2025, on working successfully in theatre, television and film, gender dynamics in writing, and on learning from established film makers
Published on Sep 23, 2024 08:19 PM IST
Mihir Chitre
Book Box | Why I hug trees
Walk through forests and books to discover the healing power of trees
Published on Sep 22, 2024 07:00 AM IST
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is a book that analyses stories about widows and their treatment across the world, a portrait of anthropologist and philosopher Irawati Karve, and a chronicle of how the Portuguese were driven out of one of the subcontinent’s last bastions of colonialism
Published on Sep 21, 2024 06:53 PM IST
HT Team
Ramesh Karthik Nayak – “Mine is a subaltern voice”
On winning the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar (Telugu) for his short story collection, Dhaavlo (Song of Lamentation), and on being a member of the Banjara community
Published on Sep 21, 2024 05:36 PM IST
Review: A Bouquet of Dead Flowers by Swadesh Deepak
A collection of Swadesh Deepak’s stories translated from the original Hindi, looks at socio-political corruption with a piercing eye
Published on Sep 21, 2024 05:32 PM IST
Mayank Jain Parichha
Review: At Home in Two Worlds by Maria Aurora Couto
Goa’s foremost public intellectual, Maria Aurora Couto’s posthumously published writings sound a warning bell for the coastal state, which is metamorphosing into something unfamiliar and unrecognisable
Published on Sep 21, 2024 05:30 PM IST
Selma Carvalho
Revisiting Stephen King’s most underrated novels
Right in time for the author’s 77th birthday on 21 September, here’s a list of his books to rediscover
Published on Sep 20, 2024 09:16 PM IST
Teja Lele
Review: Small Rain by Garth Greenwell
A novel that gives a sense of the life that gay men manage to build together even as it eviscerates both the protagonist and the reader
Updated on Sep 20, 2024 04:13 PM IST
Rahul Singh
Aditi Maheshwari Goyal – “Publishing is in flux after the pandemic”
Executive director of Vani Prakashan talks about setting up Satrangi Vani, and the publishing house’s takeover of the publication program of Bhartiya Jnanpith
Published on Sep 18, 2024 07:18 PM IST
Kinshuk Gupta
Review: Liars by Sarah Manguso
The crisis of motherhood portrayed in the novel begs the question of how tradition and modernity have worked in tandem to keep women in their place
Published on Sep 18, 2024 06:23 PM IST
Rutba Iqbal
The critic as artist
On how India’s first openly gay poet, Hoshang Merchant has created an entire tradition of interdisciplinary literary and cultural criticism
Published on Sep 17, 2024 08:36 PM IST
Dolma Choden Roder – “Bhutanese culture is more relational than individualistic”
The anthropologist, publisher and editor spoke about new writing from Bhutan and how the country’s independent past is allowing it to look at the discipline of anthropology minus its colonial baggage
Published on Sep 16, 2024 09:00 PM IST
Book Box | Why readers can't have enough of books about bookstores
These feel-good books about bookstores provide a soothing sense of well-being, a connection with the community and a return to the simple pleasures of life.
Published on Sep 15, 2024 08:00 AM IST
Review: Circles of Freedom by TCA Raghavan
In Circles of Freedom, TCA Raghavan’s portrayal of a group of individuals, including Asaf Ali, Syud Hossain, Syed Mahmud, Aruna Asaf Ali and Sarojini Naidu, invites readers to appreciate the crucial role these figures played in the broader tapestry of India’s fight for independence
Updated on Sep 14, 2024 05:30 AM IST
Fazzur Rahman Siddiqui
Anton Hur: “The plan was always to write, not translate”
In an interview conducted at the Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival in Thimphu, Bhutan, the Korean novelist and translator spoke about his new sci-fi novel, queer literature, and finding success as a literary translator
Updated on Sep 14, 2024 05:28 AM IST
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is a volume that presents an understanding of India’s laws on equality, a book that redefines successful commercial activity and leadership, and a commentary on an ethnic art form from northern Bihar
Updated on Sep 14, 2024 05:26 AM IST
HT Team
Review: The Politician Redux by Devesh Verma
Set in Uttar Pradesh of the 1970s and ’80s, this is the story of a middle class man, a wannabe politician, who yearns to be counted among the powerful
Updated on Sep 14, 2024 05:24 AM IST
Lamat R Hasan
Review: The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories
Featuring phantom beds, haunted teacups, shadowy portraits, mysterious riversides, abandoned houses and dark forests, The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay makes the reader think about the profound impact of tales of the supernatural on culture and community
Published on Sep 13, 2024 09:33 PM IST
Saleem Rashid Shah
HBD Roald Dahl: Dive into his legacy through the lens of his adult short fiction
On his birth anniversary today, we will be exploring the colossal legacy left behind by writer Roald Dahl through a few of his adult short stories
Published on Sep 13, 2024 02:52 PM IST
Aadrika Sominder
HBO’s Harry Potter reboot announces casting call, here's what fans have to say
As HBO prepares to launch a decade-long Harry Potter series, the search for actors has begun. Here's everything fans have to say
Published on Sep 13, 2024 09:51 AM IST
Aadrika Sominder
Alien: Giger counter
With each new Alien instalment, the eldritch mystery that came with the HR Giger-designed xenomorph has all but evaporated
Published on Sep 12, 2024 05:51 PM IST