Strangely enchanting.

Based in an interstellar, possibly extraterrestrial, sci-fi world - this modern classic showcased four small (and engrossing) works by an author I hadn‘t known about.

The stories are memorable. But there‘s a strong ephemeral quality to them. Like star dust, these stories make their presence felt, but in an obscure way. They seem to exist in our universe, but are completely disconnected from reality.

Volume 3 started out with lots of descriptions about the sacred tirthas of ancient India.

The book was divided almost equally between philosophical discussions and the stories of ancient characters such as Savitri & Satyavan, Sukanya & Chyavana, Agni & Svaha and God Kartikeya.

Karana gives away his Kavacha-Kundala to Indra and we end the book by completing the massive Aranyaka Parva.

Time to go incognito in Vol 4; with the war imminent.

Merlot in Mizoram 🍷

Enjoying an anthology of literature from Mizoram writers - one of my first deep explorations of North East Indian literatures.

#wine #weekend #cozyreads

How can we do good for the world?

- End oppressive regimes and settler colonialism
- Support minorities in creating the futures they want for themselves
- Change how we view the world and its systems of power, and transform how we respond to them as a global community.

What a delightful book, encompassing the lives and beliefs of the Dungri Garasiya Bhil Tribe of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

It offers us a glimpse into the incredible world of tribal and indigenous India.

Women take centre stage and showcase the complexities within the seemingly simple lives of this community. There is an undertone of erotica in many of these tales. The natural and supernatural come together to form a vibrant tapestry.

After selling a couple of my books which I had not read for years (and wasn‘t planning on reading again), I got myself this little treat.

Looked through it a bit and it‘s definitely a work of it‘s time. But, I love collecting Indian classics, so happy to have it in my library.

“The Blue Women” by Anukrti Upadhyay was a disappointment. It promised very interesting, offbeat stories about people and the emotional & mental landscapes they occupy. However, each story felt too “been there, done that”. The endings were half-baked and abrupt. Suffice to say I was unhappy I purchased the physical copy of this book. Ended up selling it and getting something else from my local bookstore.

“Radhika Santawanam” by Muddupalani is an erotic poem about the sexual dynamics and emotional bond of Krishna and Radha.

The book offers a female perspective about love, desire, passion and the immense pain of separation that comes when a relationship doesn‘t sail smoothly.

I loved how Radha embraced her sexuality, while Krishna fulfilled his role as the attentive lover. But, the book does have morally gray areas, which offers food for thought.

Once again, Bond weaves magic by taking us into the quaint, but buzzing lives of the gardens and forests of Dehradun.

We learn the names of so many kinds of trees and wildlife indigenous to the Himalayan region. A simple google search reveals the secrets of our vibrant planet to us.

At around 30-35 pages, half of which have illustrations, this is a great starter book to get kids to fall in love with nature.

This is a story about disease and the way it overshadows us all our lives.
It‘s a story about Japan‘s (and the world‘s) inhuman treatment of those not able bodied.
It‘s a story about finding reasons to hope and dream and find the little joys in life.
It‘s a story about taking chances on people and embracing them without judgement.
It‘s an ode to sweet red bean paste, pancakes and Dorayaki.

“Outside the Fold: Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability” by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar

This book is a revelation and a reckoning. Each essay highlights a different aspect of untouchability - socio-cultural, political, historical, economic, physical, emotional, mental, mythological and religious.

Dr. Ambedkar tells the truth as it is. And we NEED to hear the truth. It‘s time.

I think this book is a MUST READ for every Indian.

“Divya” is a historical fiction, based in the 1st Century BC. It follows the life, choices and realisations made by Divya, a Brahmin girl, born at a time of intense and dangerous caste/religious tensions.

The novel is partly a human drama and partly a philosophical discourse about important and sensitive themes like religion, caste & caste mobility, gender equality, the realities of people living outside the fold and the true meaning of freedom.

The section about the Mayfair Witches‘ history was the best part.

The author has resorted to common tropes and prejudices held against women dubbed as “witches”. The author has also culturally appropriated certain African magical practices as part of the narrative. This book is a work of its time and would perhaps be cancelled if written today.

The book contains references to rape, incest and necrophilia.

The narrator has done a fine job.

Just three chapters in and I already have fallen out of love with this book. What a frustrating way of writing. DNF.

Hope, LCL is better than this one.

Found out about this through the show and wanted to give it a read. I must report that I found the book okay-ish. The first half is entertaining, but the second seems dragged out and boring. Maybe the overall series makes for a better read. But honestly, I‘m not too inclined to spend my time on it right now.

Here‘s to a very happy spring-summer for everyone! 🌞🌺

Started off strong, but couldn‘t sustain steam till the end. I think somewhere along the way, the author sort of lost their own thread of thoughts and just inserted random interactions and experiences in the narrative. Characters were poorly developed and not fleshed out enough.

It‘s a good one time read, but I wished I had taken this on audible, rather than buy the expensive physical book.

I have read a few beginner books before this & I feel this work is partly good, partly not.

What I enjoyed were the accounts of various folk magical traditions- you don‘t find those in many books. But I also felt that the author word drops a lot, without giving proper explanations for the practices she mentions.

If you are a complete beginner, you may need to read some other book first & then pick this one up.

Narrator has done a great job.

Second volume complete. What a ride. Lots of action and many philosophical discussions in this one. We end with Arjuna having visited Indraloka; and the Nala-Damayanti story. We are in year 6 of the Pandava exile right now.

This book discusses a lot of morally grey areas and offers a lot of food for thought. Many notes mark these pages too; which I will revisit sometime in the future.

Now, onto Volume 3.

Read this book over a year ago. Loved every bit of it. This first volume has the origin stories of Hinduism, followed by the creation of Gods and the royal dynasties. The actual Mahabharata story starts after 70-75% of the book is complete. We end this volume with the marriage of the Pandavas to Droupadi. Lots of notes and highlights in this one. A gem that everyone should read.

A woman writing about men - a reversal of how men write about women. An interesting perspective. But too forceful, exaggerated and long for my taste.

I get why the foul language, sexual assaults, homophobia, hate crime, pedophilia and murder are needed for this novel to work - to prove the point that real evil is within all of us and is in plain sight. But, after a point, it felt too much. Came on too strong.

This book isn‘t for everyone.

Three new books, from my trip to one of the iconic bookstores of my city.

The Picture Bride
The Cure of Souls
Thirst for Love

#excited

Lenora Carrington‘s “The Skeleton‘s Holiday” has to be the weirdest book I‘ve ever read in my life.

It‘s crazy, bordering on creepy. Absolutely indelicate and strangely incredible. By calling upon human artifice, she brings alive creatures at their best and baddest simultaneously.

You gotta love an author who really couldn‘t give two shits about the rules of literature.

(Also, have you seen her paintings? OMG!! They‘re incredible.)

Discovered this fun game and doing the #wondrouswednesday on a Friday 😅 - thanks @Eggs for creating this.

1) Summer, Bhel puri, Red/orange/forest green, Jasmine, anywhere in the ancient world, beer, snakes & ladders.

2) CR: Kadambari by Bana, BORI Mahabharata, Indica by Pranay Lal.
RR: Lapvona, Karna‘s Wife, Walking is a way of knowing.

Tagging @anushareflects

Bezoars are not a Harry Potter invention. They‘ve been used by multiple ancient civilisations for everything from medicine to make-up.

In ancient India, bezoars found in cattle, were called “Gorochana” and were used to decorate clothing, as cosmetics and more. 💚

Having so much fun, reading this lovely gem. 💖

“Walking Is A Way Of Knowing” is another gem from Tara Books, which introduces us to the Annamalai forest and the lives of the indigenous Kadar tribe.

This book really spoke to me. As someone who uses her time walking outdoors to discover trees, plants, bee hives, puppies etc. new to the neighbourhood, I could relate to the Kadar‘s lifestyle of being truly immersed in the forest that is their home.

This is an ode to the forest by her people.

Going on a quest soon…🪷💚

My second read by Kane. Another representation of a less-heard-about perspective (this time from the Mahabharata).

There were a few inspired reflections in this one, but on the whole, too repetitive. Kind of felt like I was listening to a record that was stuck on a never ending loop. It definitely got tiring after halfway.

This book strengthened my initial opinion about Kane being a mediocre writer. Not really bad, but not good either.

Re-read this book after two years. An interesting perspective of Urmila, Sita‘s sister and Lakshmana‘s wife, which is not portrayed in conventional renderings of the Ramayana.

Decent book, which keeps you engaged. My first read of Kane‘s works. Not something spectacular, but….yeah, decent.

I know that many people consider this to be one of the cornerstones of American literature. But, to be honest, I think there are better works out there.

While the ending is sad, for the most part, this book is pretty unremarkable.

Narration was alright. Monotone and matching the vanilla character of Nick Caraway.

Can listen to it if you want to check off a seminal work. But not really life changing (at least to me).

Lapvona is an interesting novel. Just like the characters in the book, readers too wade in the grey waters of morality. Many trigger warnings here.

The first 70% of the book definitely hooks you. The last 30% feels draggy. Still, it is a good listen.

This book felt like a commentary on the evil that all of us have hidden in our psyche. It also felt like a commentary on the status of religion today and how corrupt religion has become over time.

Weekend fun! 🥰

This is a spectacularly written novel, with wonderfully fleshed out characters. It is, at its heart, a story of abuse, dashed hopes and the birth of new love against all odds.

While this work isn‘t very atmospheric, it is very compelling in its humanness. Many themes of this book are eternal and readers today and into the future will be able to resonate with it.

Both the narrators were fabulous and have done a tremendous job. Must listen!

I love creating journal prompts for myself. But I never shared them with anyone till now. Incidentally, today is the Full Moon in Leo. And one of the insights that I tapped into today, was to be more courageous and share my creations with the world.

So I‘m taking my own advice.

The Kadars are an Adivasi community living in the Annamalai and Parambikulam hills in Southern India.

This book is a soulful collection of folk tales of the Kadar indigenous community, passed down across generations & centuries. They instil deep love and reverence for the forest; while also showing us how to coexist with the forest and her creatures peacefully, sharing our collective resources.

The artwork is brilliant and it‘s a collectible.

An interesting read about the dark moon and shadow magick practices, which are typically considered taboo.

This book was a reflection on the shadows within our subconscious, which affect our emotions and behaviours. Working on this shadow can allow us to reconcile with our challenging impulses & trauma.

The author tied this to concepts like blood letting, curses, poppets and sacrifice from a historical perspective and their own practice.

Happy Saturday!!

As a series, I love these books and Children of Memory was an interesting wrap-up. But as a standalone novel, this really doesn‘t live up to its predecessors - Time and Ruin.

This book starts out strong, but the ending is very weak. Even for Tchaikovsky‘s standards, this was just plain weird. In that, it did not make much sense. The author tried a little too hard with this one.

But, is this book readable? Yes.

Narration is spectacular.

Anyone believe in or practice astrology here? I used to be a non-believer before, but now I can understand the science behind it and have found so much value in astrology. Specifically for psychological work.

I recently discovered this gem of a personalised almanac by Honeycomb Co. and it‘s so helpful. All placements, aspects & transits are customised to me and I can be more mindful about my actions, thoughts and speech.

Anyone else uses it?

This book is so good! Typically we hear of palaeontology and geology that pertains to North America or Europe. But to read about the incredible ancient life and geological history of my country, is so exciting. I am so glad I started 2023 with this book. Yay! 😍🥰🇮🇳💚

A brilliant read. Very engaging and entertaining.

Kalidasa‘s portrayal of love, sex and desire in the relationship between Shiva and Parvati is so human; despite chronicling the Gods.

This is such a pleasure-affirming book, that can help remove the taboos around sex still present in India.

Heifetz‘s translation, although not 100% accurate, is very accessible.

I jotted down tons of notes and thoughts about gender and sexual politics here.

New books!! 😍💖💚❤️🌺

1) Love, Eroticism and Female Sexuality in Classical Sanskrit Literature (7th-13th CE)

2) The Making of Womanhood: Gender Relations in The Mahabharata

Both by Shalini Shah, celebrated Associate Professor of History, University of Delhi.

Book containing some of the earliest devotional poetry written by the very first Buddhist women and female saints. 💖💖 2023 looks so exciting!!

2022 reading list. Happy and proud. Looking forward to 2023‘s books! 💚💖🥰🌏 Not a super long list, but still a really enriching selection. 😁

((Photo also includes Mahabharata critical edition - Book 1 and Book 2 (20%))

Happy new year everyone! Have a brilliant 2023!!

The characters are not well fleshed out. There is absolutely no conflict in Marie‘s life and she is portrayed like a goddess with a golden touch, rather than a human working against the cis-het patriarchy.

There was a section which shows a rape suddenly turning consensual. It‘s shocking that this is one of the examples used to “champion” LGBTQ+ love.

There were so many problematic themes, that whatever good was in it, was overshadowed for me.

Early morning reading is the best. There is nothing better to gently awaken our senses, than a cup of hot coffee and a delightful book.

Really enjoying this masterpiece. If only I knew to read Sanskrit **sigh** 💚💖

Empress energy of creation seeping in this weekend. Spent the past few hours designing widgets for my digital planner. Fun start to the Saturday, that‘s for sure. 😄

Anyone else feeling like getting creative and artistic today? 😃

Written sometime b/w 1010 AD & 1050 AD, Samaya Matrika is a delightful read, about a courtesan & her madam in Kashmir.

Most books in Sanskrit are about religion or philosophy. But, there were many writers specialising in satire, comedy & erotica. Samaya Matrika checks all three boxes.

Kshemendra takes two stances at once, in this book. Talking about the guile of courtesans, he also places the blame squarely on the men who demand their services.

Called “Ghare Baire” in Bengali, this book is a symbolic representation of India‘s relationship with herself & her colonisers, told through the relationship of the protagonist Bimala with her husband Nikhil and a friend, Sandeep.

I found the book very poignant - capturing the internal conflict of identity that I & millions of other Indians even today experience in our relationship with our country and our place in the world.

#adventrecommends