Shylock. A name I have been hearing long before I read The Merchant of Venice. The trial scene in this play holds strong dramatic importance and the argument made is one of the strongest arguments made in literature. But surprisingly I never knew that it was a woman who made this argument. Shakespeare’s world was a world dominated by men so he used his wit … Continue reading Review | The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
#QOTD – Have you ever lived away from your language? I have been in a linguistic exile all my life. My mother tongue, Assamese, is foreign in the city that I was born in and where I did my graduation from, which was Delhi, the city where I did my high school from, Jakarta, the city where I did my postgraduation from, Oxford, and finally … Continue reading Review | In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri
#QOTD – Do you know of anyone who found love at a very late age? My maasi (my mother’s younger sister) got married three years back, at the age of 58. And guess what, it is her first marriage and it is a love marriage. Moreover, the couple didn’t meet in some temple or yoga class, they met on Facebook. She is from Assam, he … Continue reading Review | Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
#QOTD – What is your haathor kala / haath ki kala / an art of your hand? When I was younger, my mother would always tell me to learn something creative like drawing or stitching or crochet, basically have an art of my hand. And I would never have interest in any of those things. Now, as a grown up, I learnt drawing and illustration … Continue reading Review | Dopehri by Pankaj Kapur
When someone writes a book, we are reading the sum total of that person’s knowledge, experiences, dreams, and imaginations. While everyone has all the above, only a writer is expressing all of it in words. And Haruki Murakami’s world is beautiful, full of books, music, the mystical, the metaphysical, sexually charged, and even magical. Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear … Continue reading Kafka On The Shore : Haruki Murakami
#QOTD – Is it not enough to be a woman? Why does she have to be a wife to have security? Why does she have to be a mother to be complete? Why should one need to stuff in so many condiments and chutney in just one morsel? Ismat Chugtai posed this question in one of her short stories, Niwala (A Morsel). A very strong … Continue reading Review | Lihaaf (The Quilt) by Ismat Chughtai
#QOTD – Do you have any funny travel memories? While I was in Oxford for my post graduation, one of my friends from India, had visited me, and I thought of showing him around. So one of the days we walked through the City Centre, slurped on these delicious chicken wings served by this street food vendor who used to sit by the Old Fire … Continue reading Review | Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
#QOTD – Have you ever broken up with your best friend? I have, and trust me, it is not pleasant. My best friend and I had conversations about random topics which would go up to 2 in the morning. We were both art enthusiasts and culture appreciators. We would talk endlessly about our infatuation with fictional characters. We would wake up early in the morning … Continue reading Review | Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
#QOTD – Have you ever taken things for granted, and then regretted it later? None of us lived perfect lives. So, it’s only natural that each of us carries a few regrets with us. Looking back, I can’t help but regret how many simple pleasures of life have I taken for granted. I took for granted the privilege of living with my parents, until I … Continue reading Review | I’ll Never Be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier
#QOTD – Do you read children’s books? I have loved reading all the fairy tales as a child, and have imagined myself as a princess. I have never really waited for my prince charming, but those fairy tales made me believe that a prince will fight the monsters of my life, and I will live happily ever after. But, now as an adult I feel, … Continue reading Review | The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde
The Bora Booktique 