Category: Uncategorized
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Independence Day
I have been toying with the idea of writing a series of shorts inspired by sea shanties – and, for quite some time, I wondered if I should, because really, what do I know, what right do I have to write about the world that is not mine? But I looked at the sky…
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Words for and about my father
My father, the ever controversial, the ever outsider of the Hindi literary scene, is once again part of another controversy. I usually keep to myself, never getting involved in any of this, I don’t usually even talk about my parents and their work. However, this time some people have ‘threatened’ him that they will…
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Illusion of choice
In this old Bollywood song, the hero is torn between two women, two worlds, two philosophies: the good hearted, simple, and sweet Nargis – and the charming, manipulative, and seductive Nadia. The hero only thinks he has a choice. Any choice he makes will lead him to the same woman. I am both Nargis and…
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A shower with Kafka
In the shower with me was a small insect that has been living in my bathroom for the past three days. I know this because at night I can hear it scream a soft, sharp sound. The first night, I thought it was a black spot. Then it moved in circles. I was standing under…
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The Portrait of a Writer’s Mother as a Poet
Sometime this month, it was mother’s day. Everyone wrote about their mothers. I didn’t. That’s because it’s impossible for me to write about my mother. Here’s one of her poems you can read instead. It’s about marriage. This will tell you why we mostly get along. MAN – WOMAN They come together Against nature And…
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Back to Square One
The ancient Indian board game of snakes and ladders was once used to teach morality to children: ladders represented the virtues; snakes represented the vices that must be avoided if one’s soul is to be released. On the modern Indian boards, there are 100 squares, and right on the 99th square lies the biggest, the…
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Gravity
Simone Weil writes, “What is the reason that as soon as one human being shows he needs another (no need whether his need be slight or great) the latter draws back from him? Gravity.” I know, then, what it is to love, but not what it is to be loved. Unwept unwed unloved I go…
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L’appel de l’obscurité
In rural Bengal, if you hear your name at midnight, you must pretend that you did not hear it. For it is nothing but black magic. It is called The Call of Darkness, it invites you to your ruin. Similarly, it seems, there is on the path to your self, a strong call inviting you…
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Conversation with an astrologer / 2014
Near the building that calculates time and space, there is another girl sitting inside a room with an astrologer. Time of birth, without which nothing can be known, must be accurate. What does the future hold? “Einstein’s theory of special relativity created a fundamental link between space and time. The universe can be viewed as…
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Words on love that don’t make any sense / Part one
In a village of northern Thailand, uncooked blood is mixed with chillies, salt, and lemongrass to remove the gamey flavour and served uncoagulated in a bowl. The doctor prescribes it as a cure of every undiagnosed illness. “Two times a day, until you’re addicted.” Rx. By mistake an ancient dictionary in an ancient library is…
Beyond Six Rivers 