Anjum Hasan is a poet, novelist, and a chronicler par excellence of our times. She has published two novels, a book of poems, short fiction, reviews and essays in various anthologies and journals. Her first novel, Lunatic in My Head was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award 2007 and her second novel Neti, Neti was on the longlists for the 2008 Man Asian Prize and the 2011 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and was shortlisted for the Hindu Best Fiction ...
It is quite unlikely that you would have not heard of Gurcharan Das. Gurcharan Das is a world renowned author, columnist, speaker and a 'corporate' man. He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Philosophy, Politics and Sanskrit, and later attended Harvard Business School (AMP). He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, after a 30-year career in six countries, h...
We live in an interesting era. New-age Indian authors are on the rise. The market is flooding with authors churning out English books that revolve around campus fiction, contemporary fiction, murder mysteries, local everyday drama, and the commercial story sorts. They give an almost accurate picture of society as it exists today. The real and sometimes pretentious situations; the fictionally honest thoughts; and the simply elaborate settings gel remarkably to make up for...
Dhondutai’s ‘Little Kesarbai’ grew up to be a prolific writer, a tenacious journalist, a good mother, a lovely friend and a singer. Part of hers is this, part – that and so on … Namita Devidayal clad in a pink sari looks just like my next-door neighbor, when she passes by with a warm smile you feel like talking to her – if you have had a taste of Aftertaste and entered The Music Room, you would love to continue with the journ...
It all began with author of the famed The Rozabal Line reminiscing Pune as this hill station where tourists could relish the very famous Shrewsbury biscuits at Kayani Bakery. We know Pune has metamorphosed into a hep, busy city just like author Ashwin Sanghi, who after The Rozabal Line (a mythological fiction) has now picked up Chanakya's character from Indian history and intertwined another story of politics, revenge and manipulation to put together Chanakya's C...
Starting this week we would be posting a series of blogs on how readers could appreciate a book better. Every week we shall pick out two of these parameters and talk to you a little about them. These pointers are sure to tell you that along with the story there is a lot you can read and enjoy in a book. For instance, the character sketches, sub plots, writing style, tempo, vocabulary / choice of words, background, autobiographical references etc. too speaks volumes about...
Humor does rule the world. At least my world. Reading humorous pieces livens up our day. It breaks the monotone of work and life. Most problems can be fixed with a dose of laughter. But what I like most about humor pieces is the fact that the point under scrutiny is communicated with much effect and quite intelligently. It also reflects a bit of the writer’s character trait. A writer with a good sense of humor will make sure his/her pieces amuse people....
There was a blog by Rosemarie Urquico on “Date a girl who reads” that created ripples. That was a response to Charles Warnke’s “You should date an illiterate girl”. Since I was almost facing a “writer’s block” and couldn’t think of a blog idea, I thought, why not jot points for people who wish to date. So we can take a look at pros and cons of dating people who are well read, vs. others who disregard books....
Many bloggers today have moved on to writing short stories and novels. Writers like Preeti Shenoy, Aseem Rastogi, Sneh Thakur, Naman Saraiya, Nikhil Rajagopalan, Rohini Kejriwal, Kunal Dhabalia, Rikin Khamar and many more have all been avid bloggers first and then moved on to writing novels and short stories. This week we should try to examine what is it that prompts bloggers to try their hand at publishing and do such authors have an upper hand over other first time wri...
Writing is an enjoyable exercise, for most. It is a great way to express your thoughts and feeling with words. And to garner appreciation for it just adds to the charm, doesn’t it? Further, the thought of “earning” a bit through your work sounds intriguing enough…true? The number of bloggers turning into writers speaks for itself. But not many writers/bloggers find it easy to promote their work. The key word here is “driving traf...
I’m sure (almost) everyone can write a nice piece of fiction. But ever thought about presenting a story in less than a 1000 words? That my friend, is Flash Fiction. Yes, I know it sounds a bit…weird? But just so that you know it is one of the most sought after practices in writing fiction currently. Writing Flash Fiction is an art. Though it has been around for quite a while, it has become popular recently with contests and enthusiasts spreading...
Amongst the very many habits, the one that I would certainly like my daughter to inherit is the habit of reading. Seeing her seated in her own private corner devouring good books, being able to use the most fitting words, discovering the importance of pronouncing words rightly and making use of the right punctuations and pauses as and when necessary, would make me a happy mother . But for kids to inculcate such a skill set, it is important for parents to step in and br...
Some authors write after calculating how commercially successful a subject would be, while some write for the pleasure of expressing and sharing their feelings/observations. For some, writing is as natural an activity as eating or sleeping. And one such contemporary writer is Sweta Srivastava Vikram.
Sweta began writing chapbooks titled Because All Is Not Lost, Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors, and Beyond the Scent of Sorrow and has now released her...
A reading log (or a book journal) is a great way of keeping a track of what you have read, or are and will be reading. And truth be told, not many of us make or maintain a reading log.
It is in fact good practice that helps you record your reactions to a book, and its characters. You can note your thoughts and gain further insight about the theme, the plot, the appeal and even its relevance. This will help you expand your overall enjoyment of reading and going ba...
Most people can write. At least most of them think they can. But there are many things that distinguish a good writer from a bad one.
Here are a few criteria that will help you fathom where you belong with respect to writing and what you can do to reach the spot you want to.
Avoid words that inflate the subject
A UK-based satirical magazine, Private Eye runs a regular column that ridicules the abuse of the written word where the issue is ...
Technology has always given us proud moments that have turned our lives around many pivot points. And the advent of ebooks has been one such turning point in the lives of avid readers/writers.
Storage
Duplication and storing data is a lot easier than ever. The ability to hoard gigabytes of information (books) has brought around the ability to store and reflect upon every book you’d have ever read – as a child, as a teenager, as a c...
When I had just started off as a writer I would hear these admired editors say: “Your writings style is different… Your style is now like that of a professional writer… “ Okay, now I knew this was something positive and something I could be proud of, but what does ‘writing style’ mean is something I could never exactly gather. Maybe it is the words you choose, maybe it is your unique style similar to your fashion sense or maybe it is...
Love’s Journey is the debut novel of Rashmi Singh, a freelance Personality Development and Soft Skills Trainer at Faridabad.
From talking about her personal and professional life to her take on love, Rashmi gives us an insight on present day society woes and much more. Read on.
Tell us a bit about your professional background. How did you steer towards becoming a Personality Development and Soft Skills Trainer?
I had been quite active during my school/colle...
Most creative writing experts argue that writing is all about evolving and improving continuously. It is also about beginning from a certain end and imagining the unimaginable. It is also about describing what it feels like or something that a person should never feel. This is the first of a three part creative writing programme for all you budding creative writers to follow and hone your writing skills. And remember this is just the beginning…
Exerci...
Where I grew up, cool kids played sports and losers read books. Can you guess which side I belonged to?
When my mother came to find me for swimming lessons, I would hide in a bank of violets with The Dark is Rising. I’d nestle in the same spot with The Railway Children while the other kids in the neighborhood enjoyed softball games. I declared my “time of the month” lasted two weeks, with dreadful cramps, to excuse my absence from gym class. Naturally...
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