When you are in a rush to publish your first book, in some ways, it is a good thing. The good thing is that you finish what you start. Most authors find it difficult to finish what they started – especially when it comes to their first book. So I was very happy when I … Read more
In Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” the number 42 is the answer to the “Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything,” calculated by the supercomputer Deep Thought after 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, the question itself is never revealed. It is a parody on the futility of asking such questions. It is … Read more
I recently took an online session on this topic ‘Travel (Inspired) Stories in association with Rustik Travel. I spoke about the different types of travel writing with popular examples in each category. These included Commercial Travel Writing (Guides, Destination Pieces, Blogs, Reference Books), Travel Narratives Nonfiction (Essays, Articles, Memoirs, Travelogues, Odysseys) and Travel Literature Fiction … Read more
I went to Loktak Lake near Imphal in Manipur in Dec 2021. It is a huge freshwater lake, that looks like an inland sea. It is like a living lake with fishermen and farmers living on various floating islands called ‘Phumdi’ locally. Loktak has a lot of history associated with it. When we took a … Read more
My notes and excerpts from the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Set 3 reproduced in this blog post for your reading: Remember that as it is a shame to be surprised if the fig-tree produces figs, so it is to be surprised if the world produces such and such things of which it is productive. … Read more
I recently read the book ‘War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield. It is an inspiring piece of work for writers and all creatives. It argues that Resistance is the biggest enemy of a writer, and advocates ways to identify and deal with it. Here are a few notes that I took from it: Resistance is … Read more
One of the perks of being a writer is to read a lot. I have noticed that without reading a lot, it is almost impossible to write. Not only does reading provide inspiration for writing (real or like Anu Malik too sometimes, which isn’t all that bad!), but it also keeps your eyes open to … Read more
It is much cheaper to make a movie like Kahaani or A Wednesday or Khosla ka Ghosla than to make a Ra.One or Brahmastra. Even if you add the costs of stars, it might be cheaper to make a Zindagi Na Milega Dobara than Adipurush. But I guess creative people cannot resist the lure of … Read more
My notes and excerpts from the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Set 2 reproduced on this blog post for your reading: How easy it is to repel and to wipe away every impression which is troublesome or unsuitable, and immediately to be in all tranquillity. And so accept everything which happens, even if it seem … Read more