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Let’s Read Some Non-Classics

Five books to read during Unlock. (Photo: pixabay)

Stories of powerful female leads, explored in a variety of contexts and evocative of a whole spectrum of emotions, make for good reads, just as the country is getting more and more active post the lockdown…writes Siddhi Jain.

Five books to read during Unlock. (Photo: pixabay)

Apart from the classics, here is a list you can choose from.

‘Mother at Nineteen’ by Gulista Chaudhary

Gulista Chaudhary’s ‘Mother at Nineteen’ is a tale of love, sacrifice, friendship, relationship and foremost- motherhood. The plot revolves around the decisions that we make in life can make or break relationships. Aashna made a decision of being a 19-year-old, unmarried mother. Little did she know that she’ll break all other relationships in the process. The author is a dynamic speaker and personality development coach. She drew inspiration for writing this book from her personal life and also facing ideologies of the male-dominant world.

‘Endurer’ by Kapil Raj

Kapil Raj’s ‘Endurer’ is a heart-rending story of a girl, whose beliefs and horror has been battered, stands up to make choices, rediscovering the meaning of life. The story revolves around Palak who is the epitome of beauty and charisma and lives a privileged life. She attends a reputed institution of higher learning, has a group of close friends, and is the object of admiration and desire. Nothing was right or wrong in her world. Life was a fun fed roller coaster. Newfound love, drugs, cat-fights, patch-ups, crushes, night hangouts, and unplanned trips, she was experiencing whatever passed her way. Her exploration goes too far when she attends a rave party. She wakes up to the horror of finding herself raped.

‘The Anatomy of Choice’ by Harshali Singh

Harshali Singh’s ‘The Anatomy of Choice’ talks about whether choice is really a possibility for women. The story revolves around Bhavya Sharma, the second offspring of the Sharma family that inhabits a large historical haveli near Chandni Chowk in Delhi, with its mysterious mausoleum. This is the second novel in the ‘Haveli series’. ‘If you can’t handle me at your worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best’, this quote attributed to Marilyn Monroe applies to this novel’s pivotal character Bhavya equally if not more. The strength of this dual narrative lies in creating a fascinating plot where the internal and external conflicts of her two protagonists, Bhavya and Noorie, are juxtaposed. The story also complex subjects such as polyamory and amorality, and normalizes them. The themes of love, separation, loss of honour, rebellion, sacrifice, sorrow, and catharsis are present in the story.

‘5 Minutes’ by Vrinda Singh

Vrinda Singh’s ‘5 minutes’ is a thriller. Just like riding on a roller coaster, reading this book alternates between making you feel excited and exhilarated, happy and sad, disappointed and desperate, in just 5 minutes. What makes this book worth reading is the author’s collection of various real-life incidents jotted down into subtle 16 chapters which are fast paced, grounded in reality, adrenaline soaked, grab you by the feels, keep-you-guessing, intriguing, completely unexpected, heart-breaking yet hopeful and a crazy read on the wild side. The author started the story as a thriller and also ended like one but what happens in the middle is exactly what carries the readers through ways of engaging with whirlwind of emotions, confusion, drama, pain and love.

‘Mirage’ By Nilakshi Garg

Nilakshi’s ‘Mirage’ is the new- age story of the female tattoo artist, Bethany Carlson, operating her tattoo parlour in Chicago, Illinois. She is the protagonist of this story. She has seen quite a lot of nasty ups and downs in her life. But we will get to know about it much later. Because of her earlier life, she has not found anyone to trust to date. This is all before she is forced to attend her college’s Alumni party alone. There she meets, the oh-so-handsome, Gerald Fletcher. He is a very straight forward man and from there the story unfolds.

Also Read-Inspirational Book For Women With Broken Dreams

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Exhibiting The Arctic And Indigenous

Carved ivory model group of a dog sled.
Whaling requires an around-the-clock watch. Aside from the threat of polar bears, there is the everpresent danger of an ivu, or collision of the pack ice into the shore. Much like sped-up plate tectonics, a destructive crash is often preceded only by a moment’s notice and a vigilant crewmember.© Kiliii Yuyan.

Starting October 22, the British Museum is set to open a major exhibition on the history of the Arctic and its Indigenous Peoples, through the lens of climate change and weather…writes Siddhi Jain.

Titled ‘Citi exhibition Arctic: culture and climate’, it will look at the whole circumpolar region, revealing how Arctic Peoples have adapted to climate variability in the past and meet the challenges of global climate change today.

Through the knowledge and stories of Indigenous Arctic Peoples, the exhibition addresses the global issue of changing climates in a transforming world.

The Arctic Circle is the most northern region in the world encompassing the area of midnight sun in summer and the polar night in winter that covers 4 percent of the Earth. It is home to 4 million people including 400,000 Indigenous Peoples belonging to one or more of 40 different ethnic groups with distinct languages and dialects. Most of the Arctic’s Indigenous inhabitants are involved in hunting, fishing and reindeer herding. These subsistence activities are supplemented by employment in industries such as government infrastructures, energy, commercial fishing and tourism.

The Arctic has been home to resilient communities for nearly 30,000 years, cultures that have lived with the opportunities and challenges of one of the most dramatic environments on the planet. Today, climate change is transforming the Arctic at the fastest rate in human history.

© MAE RAS

As per the museum, from rare archaeological finds, unique tools and clothing adapted to flourish in the cold, artworks reflecting the respectful relationship between Arctic people and the natural world, to stunning photography of contemporary daily life, the exhibition will show the great diversity of cultures and ingenuity of communities responding to dramatic changes in seasonal weather and human-caused climate change.

Scientists predict that the Arctic will be ice-free in 80 years, which will bring dramatic and profound change to the people that live there and will affect us all.

The exhibition will feature many objects from across the circumpolar region, including an eight-piece Igloolik winter costume made of caribou (wild reindeer) fur, illustrating the relationship between humans and animals in the Arctic. The hunted animal provides food for the community as well as clothing, perfectly adapted to help humans survive the extreme cold.

Carved ivory model group of a dog sled.

Arctic Peoples’ responses to the establishment of colonial governments and state-sponsored religions in the Arctic will feature as well. Stunning contemporary photography of the Arctic landscape and local communities will form part of the immersive exhibition design.

“The ‘Citi exhibition Arctic: culture and climate’ will tell inspirational stories of human achievement while celebrating the region’s natural beauty. It will encourage debate about the future of this globally significant landscape in the light of global climate change. Arctic Peoples have faced different kinds of change, developing strategies and tools to mitigate the disruptive effects of social and environmental change from which we can all learn,” the Museum said.

Also Read-Skewed Representation Of Women To Be Critiqued

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Inspirational Book For Women With Broken Dreams

Saranya Umakanthan.
Saranya Umakanthan.

In a social environment where women giving up professional dreams to put family first is all too common, a new book brings out the story of a couple sharing achievements, and going beyond the notion of “gifting teddy bears and roses to your partner”….writes Siddhi Jain.

Emerging author Saranya Umakanthan’s book “One Day, Life Will Change” launched this March. Published by FingerPrint Publishers, it also has an audiobook version on Audible. Saranya, a software engineer by profession, describes how she found the inspiration for this book.

“I met a lot of women who gave up on their dreams after their marriage with their personal commitments. Some gave up happily which is fine with me. But there were others who lost themselves unable to carry the load of being a perfect woman, losing their hopes and even forgetting what their dreams were in the first place. I saw them floundering in the turbulent sea of hardships drowning slowly, giving in to the harsh struggles of life. Most of the women I know, go through this phase. I saw the lost dreams in their eyes instead of the sparkling twinkle that I had seen earlier. That gave me a thought to begin my book,” she told IANSlife.

“One Day, Life Will Change” is an inspirational romantic novel where the protagonist, Samaira is one such woman with broken dreams. Her vivacious personality disappeared with the adversities of life but her heart longed for happiness, which she had taken it for granted earlier.

Highlighting the role of strong companionship and growing together, the novel shows how she and her partner pursued their dreams against all odds, inspiring one another and travelling the gruelling path of life.

“Life-altering, difficult situations in your life bring you closer to your partner. The bond of love strengthens when you fight it out together with additional strength and a secure belief that you have someone for you. There can never be a sweeter moment between a couple than celebrating their success together.”

In a time when hope runs dry, how will her book inspire both men and women to chase their dreams and hand-hold their partners through tough times?

“When you tumble into the quicksand of negativity, you lose your hope and in no time this pit will swallow your soul draining away your happiness. You need strong will-power to pull yourself out of this depression and misery. Along with your determination, it will be great to have a strong arm of support from your partner. To me, that is the purest form of love you can give or get. Not merely sending thousands of messages or gifting teddy bears and roses.

“In my story, Vivian stands for Samaira, and Samaira vouches her support to Vivian,” the author concludes, adding that love is a two-way street.

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Young Authors Speak On Pandemic Insights

Authors find a teacher in pandemic upheaval.(Photo: Unsplash)
“One Action: Towards Women’s Dreams and Ambitions”

Inspiration amid the ongoing global pandemic can be hard to come by. Taking on these bleak times as a challenge and opportunity for self-discovery, emerging or first-time authors are refining how they think, write and imagine…writes Siddhi Jain.
Young author Sanya Khurana, a Tedx speaker and author of “One Action: Towards Women’s Dreams and Ambitions” finds philosophy in chaos. She told: “History has shown that pandemics have always inspired artists to create art, musicians to write songs, and authors to write more books. Even today, as the world is going through difficult times, authors are using this opportunity to either express and vent out their feelings or escape into their world of imagination through writing. Some writers are also using the gift of time that this pandemic has given all of us to complete their books or start a new one. We all have gone through our own struggles during the pandemic and each one of us has a story to tell”.

‘Jean Angel’ author Atul Mohite explains how the lockdown allowed him the time and mind space to finally put pen to paper: “The pandemic allowed us all to have a lot of leisure time which helped in exploring the creativity which we had and I was no exception to that. The idea for ‘Jean Angel’ was on my mind for quite a long time yet never imagine that I will come up with a book about it someday. Lockdown gave me that opportunity and I am so glad I could write the book in such difficult times. I’ve been fortunate to have a job of my liking and busy routine associated with it. Being in a bank, I worked despite the pandemic.”

“Talking about reimagining their lives and getting inspired, Roopesh Bhole, author of ‘In Love You Fall, In Love You Rise’ says that it is not them who keep the writing alive, it is the writing that keeps them alive. Writing brings in the feeling of being liberated. It is a place where there were no rules, where the characters could be developed as per our own will, without bothering about the repercussions that otherwise could be so depressing in real life”. He also adds how creativity can bring sanity in life during pandemic, adding how he is already penning his next book.

For some authors the pandemic in itself is an inspiration. Author Sabarna Roy, author of ‘Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020’, feels that the pandemic has brought forward a plethora of subjects to the notice of Indian authors in a more acute manner: “Job losses, pay-cuts, shrinkage of economy and its social consequences, people restricted to homes in unrelenting fear, a sudden and critical switchover to the digital world in every form of human interaction and the very ingress of the disease to nooks and corners of the country”. To his mind, the chaos provides authors with a newer context to think in and write about.

Authors like Karan Puri discovered a new side to them. Author of ‘#Me Too’, Puri feels that the lockdown helped him discover the writer within. “It had been a long hiatus but I kept the passion of writing going through my journey as a blogger, now finally, I got ample time to step up and complete my second book. #Metoo Movement and the Nirbhaya case shook something inside me and I wanted to share short stories of these sexual abuse survivors in a positive light. To give hope to the women who still feel unsafe traveling at night or even at home”.

Ravi Valluri, Author of ‘Heartbreaks at Coffee Shops – An Array of Tales’, who juggles his writing with a job in North Central Railway, says he had a ringside view of transportation of migrant labour. “I was to witness stories of human suffering and valour. Some of these touching and heart rending incidents, I penned down for an anthology of articles to be published by an Australian author and IIM Bangalore. Some others found their way into a collection of short stories recently published in form of a book – ‘Heartbreak at Coffee Shop’.”

Rajendra Sarilla, an educator who wrote ‘Scarlet – Lost in the Five Lands’ concurs that the pandemic has been food for thought – and imagination. “The pandemic has shown us many things that we never imagined would happen. We are actually living in a science fiction story, all of us. Just soaking in information flowing in from all parts of the world and processing it is helping me evolve as a writer. It’s rich food for thought. The pandemic has taught us about things that truly matter and things that don’t. It’s teaching us about human tenacity, kindness, patience. It’s all education. What else does a writer need?”

Also Read-Sleep Apnea The Potential Cause Of Depression

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‘We Are Always Working’

Of art merging America and Rajasthan
Of art merging America and Rajasthan

An art exhibition showcasing works by American born photographer Waswo X. Waswo, in collaboration with Rajasthani miniaturist Rajesh Soni and traditional terracotta sculptor Shyam Lal Kumhar, is open for viewing at a Delhi-based gallery.

Part portraiture from Waswo and Soni’s well-known Studio in Rajasthan series, and part spoof on both the studio process and the photographer himself – this exhibition by Gallery Latitude 28 will call attention to the place of performance, or the “stage”, upon which studio photography is enacted.

Of art merging America and Rajasthan

The title, ‘We Are Always Working’, references the ongoing process Waswo and his studio engage in, both physically, as well as in a wider philosophical discourse concerning his practice and methods. The exhibition is curated by Bhavna Kakar.

Waswo X. Waswo’s career in India has spanned almost two decades, utilizing the medium of studio photography is a method of self-discovery, navigating between personal revelation and inspired fantasy. With traditionally hand-painted backdrops, the photographic studio became a quasi-diorama in which Waswo and his models playfully devised a series of tableaux. His elaborate processes, involving casting local people as ‘models’ in the photo shoots, are akin to co-operative theatre performances.

Waswo’s sepia photographs, hand painted by Udaipur based photo hand colourist Rajesh Soni, take on a dream-like quality, which harks back to ethnographic photography of bygone eras while maintaining temporal roots in the contemporary. Interplay develops between the villagers who populate his work, the caricature of Waswo himself and ‘artefacts’, which he inspects under a magnifying glass.

Of art merging America and Rajasthan



As the protagonist of many of the photographs, dressed incongruously in a white suit and fedora hat, he takes on the role of ‘The Orientalist’, interspersed throughout the exhibition.

The origins of ‘The Orientalist’ caricature can be found in previous collaboration between Waswo and miniaturist R. Vijay, as Waswo himself states, “He created a character which was supposed to represent me, and my adventures in India, but as time went on he became sort of an ‘everyman’. I stopped thinking of him being explicitly myself, or specifically myself. Now [the character] has leaped back into the photographs. He’s literally become me, I now find myself acting the role of the little man in the miniatures. I’ve adopted the very character that I’ve created and now personify him in some of the photographs.”

Of art merging America and Rajasthan

The Orientalist’ as a concept plays with the notions of otherness, ethnic stereotyping and Western fetishisation of the developing world, however the driving force is that in this day and age a stereotype has been made of ‘The Orientalist’ himself. He is now encapsulated in the very same diorama as his subjects, playing out scenes in which the symbolic figure offers itself up for scrutiny, generalisation, categorisation, and questioning.

The exhibition runs from August 28-September 28. Visitation is by appointment only.

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Self-Exploring Through Writing

How writing became a tool for self-discovery, empowerment for these women.

Being a female author can come with its own set of challenges, especially when one is trying to juggle a career in the demanding field along with a personal life. From burning the midnight oil to pursue writing to managing multiple roles, budding authors share how they used writing as a tool for empowerment.

‘Four Dances of the Moon’ author Shikha Rinchin Tiku explains how every journey is different and so are the challenges. “I got my inspiration for writing from my father, who wrote poetry in his spare time. I wrote my first poem when I was just eight. It was only last year when I was about to become a mother, I felt this urge of fulfilling my goal of becoming a published author, and I embarked on the journey of publishing my first ever poetry book. As they say, it’s never too late. There were a few challenges that I had to overcome during my publishing journey.

“Writing a book requires immense discipline and time management. I am a full time working professional, so setting time aside to create and edit my work was a task. I spent all my weekends working on the book, so that I could get it published by the target date. It was the time when Covid-19 had just hit us, so keeping myself composed was also something that I had to do. I kept myself emotionally resilient to keep at it. I was soon going to be a mother, so managing work, my health, and my book was a challenge. But when you have a burning desire to fulfill your goals, you always find a way,” she told.

There has been an interesting rise in the number of young and empowered women authors who are using the power of their mind and pen to put their thoughts out in the world.

For some authors the journey is more important than the destination. Author Subhashini Prasad, who wrote ‘Not Really Indian’ has this story to tell: “Three years ago, I sat in my office in a commercial bank, running through financial analysis and numbers, when I thought: ‘Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?’ The answer as you see today was obvious. Since I was 11, I wanted to be an author. Days of reading Enid Blyton and Harry Potter inspired me to create stories of my own. When I was at the crossroads of choosing between a stable job and writing, I chose the latter. I decided that if I don’t act on my passion now, I will always regret it. That was the kickstart to my writing journey and has led to my debut book: Not Really Indian. I have also written my first kids book, titled Hoo and Hau, on Storyweaver.”

Challenges, according to Prasad, of becoming an author were aplenty. “Self-doubt and learning to view failures as stepping stones have been the toughest challenges. As women, we have it tougher than the rest. Society expects more out of us and we expect the impossible out of ourselves. So, when I first decided to pursue writing, I always thought I was not good enough to be an author. As a mother of two, I also feel torn between spending time with the kids and finding no-distraction time to write. But as I read other women writers, I realized believing in one’s work is of utmost importance and key to success. And that it is always possible to find time for doing what you love.”

Tanya Walia, Author of ‘Forever’ shares that she had that “writer’s bone” in her from the word go. “I used to keep a journal and I used to write plays for class projects, one time I wrote a poem for someone else and he was appreciated. But I never pursued it from the fear of people’s opinions. Then at 23, I read “The Diary Of A Young Girl’ by Anne Frank and it blew me away how in such a situation she had dreams and hopes of becoming a writer,” she told.
“When I started, I was preparing for a government job and there was a lot of pressure, managing both wasn’t easy. But I think the biggest challenge for me was finding the right publisher because I was new and I didn’t have anyone to guide me. Don’t let the pressure around you break your spirit. If you are happy write and if you are sad write more. Start finding the right publisher from the beginning and not when the book is complete. It can save you a lot of time.”

Young author Anamika Mishra, a motivational speaker and author of ‘For The Sake Of Love” says she was obsessed with stories and storytelling since childhood, and has been writing from school days.

“I remember once when I was a kid, after completing a novel (‘David Copperfield’ by Charles Dickens), I was so inspired by it that I immediately told my mom that I want to write books. I think this kept on hitting my mind. I read more, I wrote more – poems, stories, articles, shayaris.”

Spurred on by her parents to pursue writing as a career, Anamika finds inspiration to be an author in their words even if they’re not here anymore.

As the writers conclude, authors are rarely made overnight, so be patient and persistent until hard work bears fruit.