I got back to reading plays a couple of years ago with Girish Karnad’s “Crossing to Talikota”. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to read more of Karnad’s plays and explore other Indian playwrights, as well. My first pick was “Kamala” by Vijay Tendulkar (the English translation). The play follows Sarita’s life, which...

I relish books that take me to different geographies, show me how a land breathes and lives. Latitudes of Longing, in that sense, is rich in its sprawl. Beginning with the story of Girija Prasad and Chanda Devi in the Andamans the story took me across continents through an intricately woven tapestry of people and...

Ever since I can remember I have enjoyed reading translated books. I loved these words that showed me life on foreign shores. They were like whispers from another world telling me to open my eyes wider and see the world. I cannot pinpoint when and how exactly I started reading these translations. Perhaps it was...

I chanced upon M Mukundan’s “On the Banks of the Mayyazhi” in a second-hand bookshop. When I read the summary on the book jacket I was sceptical if I would like it because it had two themes that I haven’t been able to take to very much in the past – politics and magical realism. Boy was...