The Queen’s Code
The Queen’s Code (by Alison Armstrong) was recommended to me by two successful women executives in their 40s. “But it is not an easy read. Took me several months,” the …
The Queen’s Code Read MoreBooks & Beyond
These are not book reviews, but reflections. May contain spoilers.
Books & Beyond: The Time Traveler’s Wife
‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ explores a romantic relationship between protagonists Clare and Henry, with the backdrop of time travel. Time travel in general is a fascinating premise, and its conceptualization …
Books & Beyond: The Time Traveler’s Wife Read More
My Daughters’ Mum, by Natasha Badhwar
I had started this blog somewhere in 2015, and in the early days I was easing into this strange sensation of hearing myself verbalize some things which I wasn’t aware …
My Daughters’ Mum, by Natasha Badhwar Read More
The First Pharaoh of Egypt
This book made me really think about my reading choices. It is almost 500 pages long, and I realized that if I had more time, I would not have read …
The First Pharaoh of Egypt Read More
The Reading Rebellion
We all have fantasies. And I believe if we take them not just on face-value, but identify the underlying need that they indicate, we learn much about us and how …
The Reading Rebellion Read More
The Inheritance of Loss
Through its various characters, relationships and plots, The Inheritance of Loss explores one thing- the power dynamics inherent in societies defined by inequality- whether the inequality between the colonizer and …
The Inheritance of Loss Read More
100 Years of Solitude
2016 seems to have been a year of unfinished books. The latest to join the list is 100 years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
100 Years of Solitude Read More
The Princess of Egypt must die
This is a novelette centered around Princess Arsinoe II of Egypt. She is known in history as a highly political and influential female ruler, her public life marked by calculated …
The Princess of Egypt must die Read More
Jane Eyre
My mother has often mentioned in passing that her father, my grandfather, carried around a copy of Jane Eyre for months- reading small bits, diligently marking quotes or looking up …
Jane Eyre Read More
Ajaya: Roll of the dice
The victor wins not just the war, but all the rights of retelling the story- the chance not only to shape history, but also to shape the narrative that will …
Ajaya: Roll of the dice Read More
How to Love
“To love without knowing how to love, wounds the person we love.” I had come across this quote a little while back and found myself nodding. Turns out it belongs …
How to Love Read More
In Books: Unfinished Business
I’ve never been much of an avid reader. But I was always a finisher. If you started something, you finished it- it just never even occurred to me that it …
In Books: Unfinished Business Read More
And the Mountains Echoed
Khaled Hosseini has this unusual gift of leaving you uplifted, and with an unmistakable lingering sense of loss at the same time. Each of his books does that, and the …
And the Mountains Echoed Read More
Places that Scare You
For a book that makes such a whole lot of sense, ‘The Places that Scare You’ does surprisingly little for me. Maybe it’s to do with the fact that things it …
Places that Scare You Read More
The Power of your Sub-Conscious Mind
It always amazes me how little one is able to say about the things that impact one the most. The thing could be a book/ person/ experience. Perhaps it is …
The Power of your Sub-Conscious Mind Read More
Excellent Women, Barbara Pym
There are some books, and even movies, that delve into one day in the life of their characters, and project a kaleidoscope of emotions, explore layers upon layers of their …
Excellent Women, Barbara Pym Read More
Who does history remember?
How does history pick whom to remember? Can someone end up ‘going down in history’ just by happenstance? Increasingly I think that somebody has to make an effort to get …
Who does history remember? Read More
Bhima’s Perspective
I keep reading Mahabharata in one form or another- it’s like comfort food- easy to digest, having read the stories so many times- and yet nourishing. Bhima- The Lone Warrior, …
Bhima’s Perspective Read More
Tales in Colour from Bhutan
We went to Bhutan six years ago- I was 22, fresh out of Business school. When I look back, Bhutan seems to have been very similar to how we ourselves …
Tales in Colour from Bhutan Read More
A Thousand Splendid Suns.. And so few for women
It is difficult to match the first experience of anything nice. And the expectation from later experiences will always be to match the newness and exhilaration of the first one. …
A Thousand Splendid Suns.. And so few for women Read More
God Went to Beauty School
I am so scared right now that I may be the single most cold or stupid person out there, who has read this book and not liked it much. Or …
God Went to Beauty School Read More
Hausfrau.. Of ennui and self destruction
Hausfrau is a saga about boredom, ennui and self-destruction. It resonates because the protagonist Anna’s anchorlessness and directionlessness is expressed in different ways by so many people these days that …
Hausfrau.. Of ennui and self destruction Read MoreShikhandi and other tales they don’t tell you
In 2011 I had attended a talk by Devdutt Pattanaik at a Learning Conference in Mumbai. Till then I’d only heard that he had created a unique space by interpreting …
Shikhandi and other tales they don’t tell you Read More
Anne Frank House, Amsterdam
We walked from the train station to find Anne Frank House. As the GPS showed us getting closer and closer to it, I began to imagine Nazi boots thumping those …
Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Read More