[
Books
]Interview: Siddhartha Deb – ‘Our present crisis did not arrive out of nowhere’
Updated on Aug 08, 2023 04:25 PM IST
The author’s latest novel, The Light at the End of the World, explores the past, present and future of India by interweaving and connecting different times
Majid Maqbool
Five books by Leon Uris that entwine history and fiction
In the week following the author’s 99th birth anniversary, a look at his best works
Updated on Aug 07, 2023 10:04 PM IST
Teja Lele
Book Box: Five must-hear podcasts that will transform your reading
Dive into these five podcasts to supercharge your reading. And meet Tara Khandelwal of Books and Beyond with Bound
Published on Aug 05, 2023 05:27 PM IST
HT Picks; New Reads
The list of interesting reads this week includes a novel featuring an unlikely set of friends in a city insistent on alienating them, a volume on how the diverse peoples inhabiting the valley of the vast Brahmaputra river became part of India, and a book about two misfits who discover they are kindred souls
Updated on Aug 04, 2023 10:32 PM IST
HT Team
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai - “Writing about the Vietnam war took a toll on me”
The author of Dust Child believes writers can foster peace and understanding to prevent armed conflicts
Updated on Aug 04, 2023 10:27 PM IST
Shireen Quadri
Review: Who Killed Moosewala? by Jupinderjit Singh
A book that goes into the possible reasons behind the murder of the Punjabi rapper while also shedding light on the cult of Moosewala
Updated on Aug 04, 2023 10:23 PM IST
Mayank Jain Parichha
Review: Magadh by Shrikant Verma, translated by Rahul Soni
Winner of the Sahitya Akademi award in 1987, Shrikant Verma’s Magadh, which has been translated into English by Rahul Soni, is a fine example of Nayi Kavita, whose practitioners believed poetry was political and a way to respond to systemic inequalities
Updated on Aug 04, 2023 10:22 PM IST
Kinshuk Gupta
Essay: Titahri Tales
The discovery of a red-wattled lapwing’s nest provokes a rumination on the many folk beliefs about this high strung bird with a hysterical shriek
Published on Aug 04, 2023 10:12 PM IST
Excerpt: Northeast India; A Political History by Samrat Choudhury
This extract from a book on the varied cultural, religious, social and political histories of the states of the northeast looks at how Partition changed Tripura
Updated on Aug 03, 2023 10:52 PM IST
Samrat Choudhury
Review: Widows of Colonial Bengal by Aishika Chakraborty
A heightening patriarchal preoccupation with marriage and sexuality placed the figure of the widow at the centre of the conflict between reformism and nationalism in Bengal during the British Raj
Updated on Aug 04, 2023 12:44 AM IST
Shoma A Chatterji
Essay: On yearning for extinct sounds
Many sounds are disappearing from our lives. A rumination on the necessity to preserve our sonic cultures
Updated on Aug 02, 2023 09:07 PM IST
Sumana Roy
Interview: TM Krishna - “Guilt is a form of escapism. It is an excuse”
The activist, writer and Carnatic vocalist talks about finding a new audience, understanding Ambedkar and Narayana Guru, and his work on a exploratory new book
Updated on Aug 01, 2023 08:28 PM IST
Essay: The Barbie-fication of wokeness
While the cult of Barbie has a feminist aura, the doll actually panders to different superficialities.
Updated on Jul 31, 2023 08:48 PM IST
Farzana Versey
Book Box | 5 thrilling books to snap you out of that reading slump
A tech thriller, a snarky college admissions story, YA with a video game backdrop, a murder mystery in the Hindi heartlands and a thriller in the Hamptons
Published on Jul 29, 2023 12:39 PM IST
HT Picks; New Reads
This week’s reading list includes a retelling of the story of how the princely states joined India, a “memory history” of the Tibetan struggle, and a selection of the best literary short fiction written by Indians
Updated on Jul 28, 2023 05:46 PM IST
HT Team
Interview: Vishes Kothari - “Translation does become an act of activism”
Translator Vishes Kothari discusses his inspiration for translating Rajasthani author Vijaydan Detha's work, the challenges of conveying sociocultural contexts, and the importance of preserving regional languages. Kothari also highlights the rise in linguistic identity assertion and the work of the Rajasthani Bhasha Academy in promoting the language. They express their plans to translate more Rajasthani authors in the future.
Updated on Jul 28, 2023 05:52 PM IST
Chittajit Mitra
Review: Queers in QuarantineEdited by Koyote Millar and Rahul Sen
A collection of poems, stories, journal entries and photo essays on how queer people across the world experienced the pandemic
Updated on Jul 28, 2023 06:02 PM IST
Review: The Soviet Century by Karl Schlögel
From hydroelectric dams to prison tattoos and Stalinist cookery books, this compendious volume touches on nearly every area of Russian history and the Soviet experience
Updated on Jul 28, 2023 05:43 PM IST
Essay: Beatrix Potter- The author who invented character merchandising
On the 157th birth anniversary of the author today, a look at the enduring appeal of her books and at her genius for marketing her work
Updated on Jul 28, 2023 04:22 PM IST
Teja Lele
Mash-up madness: Welcome to Barbenheimer
The same-day release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was expected to cause a cultural fission. Instead, we got fusion
Updated on Jul 27, 2023 07:00 PM IST
Review: Violent Fraternity by Shruti Kapila
Offering a fresh interpretation of the works of key Indian political figures to widen our understanding of political thought
Updated on Jul 27, 2023 02:38 PM IST
Shaikh Mujibur Rehman
Review: The Scientific Sufi by Meher Wan
An exploration of scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose’s personal growth, familial bonds, cultural influences, and dogged pursuit of knowledge
Updated on Jul 26, 2023 08:26 PM IST
Saleem Rashid Shah
Excerpt: Dethroned by John Zubrzycki
An extract from the prologue to a new book on Patel, Menon and the integration of princely India
Updated on Jul 25, 2023 07:31 PM IST
John Zubrzycki
Interview | Maitreyee B Chowdhury - “Running a literary magazine is a pure love”
The Bangalore Review continues to discover good writers from across the world. TBR’s Managing Editor dwells on its origins, its successful run, and future plans
Updated on Jul 24, 2023 08:22 PM IST
Suhit Bombaywala
Book Box | The hidden truth about the opium poppy
A lost Kindle sets the stage for a journey into opium's gripping past and its significance today. Presenting a compelling book list with secrets of the poppy.
Published on Jul 22, 2023 03:05 PM IST
Excerpt: The Indians edited by GN Devy, Tony Joseph and Ravi Korisettar
This extract, a chapter entitled Perceptions of Colonialism by Mohinder Singh presents the range of perceptions and responses to colonialism in the country
Updated on Jul 21, 2023 09:02 PM IST
Mohinder Singh
Kwame McPherson - ‘I am a lover of history, especially the forgotten bits’
The winner of the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize talks about combining Caribbean folklore and African-American history in his winning story, Ocoee
Updated on Jul 21, 2023 06:46 PM IST
Shireen Quadri
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is a novel about love and betrayal under the shadow of Empire, another that tells us more about Partition than any historical study, and a volume that provides a remarkable insight into Indian history and society
Updated on Jul 21, 2023 05:21 PM IST
HT Team
Review: Basu Chatterji And Middle-of-the-Road Cinema by Anirudha Bhattacharjee
Anirudh Bhattacharjee's book "Basu Chatterji: and Middle-of-the-Road Cinema" explores the films of director Basu Chatterji, known for his portrayal of middle-class life in 1970s and '80s Bollywood. The book features interviews with Chatterji and his collaborators, providing insights into their filmmaking process. While the book praises Chatterji's work, it also critiques some of his weaker efforts. However, it misses the opportunity to examine Chatterji's ideological and political affiliations. Overall, the book is a comprehensive tribute to Chatterji's contributions to cinema.
Updated on Jul 21, 2023 05:19 PM IST
Karthik Shankar
Review: Faithful Fighters by Kate Imy
An attempt to understand the development of the army of undivided India as an institution within the broader sociocultural context, Kate Imy’s Faithful Fighters examines the army’s cultural history and dynamics and looks at it as an institution which played an important part in defining the modern Indian identity.
Updated on Jul 21, 2023 05:17 PM IST
Rana TS Chhina
