A few years ago, I had read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel and quietly fallen in love with it. It was a book for builders — for those in the phase of accumulation, discipline, compounding, patience. It spoke to the long game. To restraint. To the power of staying the course. This new … Read more
I recently read Yashodhara by Volga, translated from Telugu into English by PSV Prasad. I had earlier read The Liberation of Sita, and was already familiar with Volga’s distinctive approach — she revisits mythological women who are often peripheral in grand narratives, and quietly brings them to the centre. Not with anger. Not with rebellion … Read more
Essentially a reflective travelogue by Stephen Alter, a writer raised in Mussoorie by missionary parents, ‘Becoming a Mountain: Himalayan Journeys in Search of the Sacred and the Sublime’ is a different type of mountain climbing travelogue. Most trekking or climbing experiences are full of action and excitement, an account written by adrenaline pumped adventurers providing … Read more
I am not a big fan of the genre of mythological fiction. It is not because of the writing or the stories. It is because, for some reason, I find the idea of playing around with the characters and stories from our Itihasas and Puranas somewhat iconoclastic. I prefer their scholarly analysis than their creative … Read more
In continuation of the earlier three books by Steven Pressfield, titled ‘The War of Art‘, ‘Turning Pro‘ and ‘Do the Work’, I recently completed the fourth one ‘Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t’. While the earlier one are for writers when they just start, this one is for authors who have some work under their … Read more
I recently finished reading the book ‘Annapurna: The First Conquest of an 8000 Meter Peak’ by Maurice Herzog. It was presented to me by my friend and organizer of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek that I completed in April. It is a gripping account of the first successful summit of an 8000 meter peak (and … Read more
I recently read the book ‘Do the Work’ by Steven Pressfield, a continuation of the set of books, ‘The War of Art’ and ‘Turning Pro’ by the same author. It is a passionate piece of work, and again, while not as impressive as ‘The War of Art’, it is an ideal guide for writers and … Read more
I recently read a book titled ‘Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work’ by Steven Pressfield. It’s the next in the series that started with ‘The War of Art‘. Though I would rate it a notch lower than ‘The War of Art‘, it is, nevertheless, a wonderful, inspiring book for artists. … Read more
Last year, over a few weeks, I watched this series on Netflix – Stories by Rabindranath Tagore. It is an adaptation of some of the best short stories by Tagore spread over 26 episodes and directed by Anurag Basu. It captures the ethos of Bengal during that time in its characters, settings and narration. The … Read more