2020 has been, well…… one of those which linger on for some time, and sometime in the lull of the day or one of those poignant moments during the hustle, you realize that so many things have changed. This year (like always) could have been better for reading. I somewhere feel that the ability to … Continue reading Yearly Round-up 2020
I arrive a little late to the party,Have you met her, they say,I ask them who they talk about,They bring to me a holy grail.Wrapped in fine cloth,One that I have never seen,I ask them what it is made up of,They tell me its experiment of thought,I pick it up, it seems light, yet promising,On … Continue reading The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin
In this never ending lockdown, You are looking for a rundown,Of an armchair trip,Brimming with adventure andRefreshing takesFrom the roads across the country,Of a man, and his backpack,And the wheels of royale,The majestic almighty beings,Which keep the country running-Carrying their load on its wheels. It starts off as a fleeting idea,But the trip falls into … Continue reading Truck de India!: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hindustan by Rajat Ubhaykar
I look aroundAnd I see an armyOf black coats,All their hearts wailing,While their hands keep working. I look aroundAnd I see an armyOf yes men,Nodding their heads,While their hearts tumblingFalling down, bruisedIt can’t tellThe yin from the yang,But speak with minute precisionAnd weighed consequences. Its startling,To see such bright mindsUsing their spark,To blind theOrdinary withThe … Continue reading Black Coats
This novel presents a “best case scenario”Masked by a dystopia.A scenario best lived,In the rustling pages,But it often doesn’t seem unreal,As the groundwork’s already laidFor life in virtual cages. Set in Delhi,10 years from now,After the entire rigmarole,Of the current protests, of discriminatory laws,Of a virus, plaguing the inside and out,Was packed and kept distant, … Continue reading Chosen Spirits by Samit Basu
A book which would overwhelmTo the core.Not an ordinary book,But a portal,To a new world,Refreshing, andThoroughly entertaining. It has a way,Of getting under you,Of making you jump,With its play of words. There’s a house,With endless possibilities,Where there are floods,And clouds, and rains,Inside its walls.Where the halls don’t end,You’d wonder,Is it real?Or is it all pretend? … Continue reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
A saga of memories,Passed down generations,To preserve a senseOf order, of belonging,When there’s little,Memory’s a lot to hold onto.Does it go against the orderWhere things start afresh in nature?Does it harm your sense of self?To download moments fromAnother being?To take a piece of your ancestors,And make your own?Is it all justifiedIf you are in a … Continue reading A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1) by Arkady Martine
After two failed attemptsTo scale Mount EverestAnd on his way to third,People curiously asked George Mallory,Why do you dare? His response,Because it’s there. When Philippe Petit,Performed his “le coupe”Crossing the Twin Towers on a tight rope,A swarm of journalists waited to ask,Why?His answer,If I see three oranges, I have to juggle. And if I see … Continue reading The Wall (Sumer, #1) by Gautam Bhatia
There’s a burning in the heart, Anguish, it screams, Yet justice you see. A burning which shows, A glimpse of Modern India, Crumbling, Under the tap of a thumb. A burning heart, Of the lives of three ordinaries In the city of Calcutta, Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir- First two shown from within, The third … Continue reading A Burning by Megha Majumdar
The Empire rules with an iron fist, Hidden behind their masks Impunity, Through a veil of impartiality. They claim to be superior, In matters of the mind, Even in matters of the body, Their gene and hygiene Stand above that of the native. Sounds familiar? It must, For it’s a common thread, Which the colonizers … Continue reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Masquerade #1) by Seth Dickinson
