At Home, Writing

Guest Blog: Supriya Kar

Published on 2010-08-26 16:46:00

Problems of Translation -- II This post is a continuation of Ms. Supriya Kar's previous post. She is doing her PhD in literary translation. Her research focuses on autobiographical writings of women from the Eastern Indian state of Orissa. Here, she discusses various problems of translation, particularly in the context of her work. Read Part 1 here Songs in Oriya: The songs and chants in Oriya are marked by lyricism and onomatopoeic qualities and have therefore been left untranslated. Th

Guest Blog: Supriya Kar

Published on 2010-08-13 12:08:00

Ms. Supriya Kar is doing her PhD in literary translation. Her research focuses on autobiographical writings of women from the Eastern Indian state of Orissa. Here, she discusses various problems of translation, particularly in the context of her work. Problems of Translation -- IIn my thesis, twenty-four excerpts selected from autobiographical writings by women in Oriya are translated into English. Women whose lives these excerpts record hail from different social classes and milieus and their s

Death's Grief by Rabindranath Tagore

Published on 2010-07-04 17:40:00

Translated by Bhaswati GhoshNote: Recently, I lost a loved one to cancer. Though not born into our family, the person had become family for us, and the death only showed me how attached I had been, without ever realizing that when the person was around. As I grappled with this loss, almost unable to accept the reality of it, I turned to Tagore for some solace. The piece below, part of Tagore's autobiography, reflects how he himself felt the depth of grief following his sister-in-law's death, and

Sea, Sardines, Steinbeck. And a Giveaway!

Published on 2010-06-10 14:56:00

Update: We have a WINNER! Please scroll down to the end of this post to find out the name. A BIG thank you to everyone who commented. It was fun doing this. :)Let me start with some exciting news. This post gives you the chance to win a gift certificate for shopping at CSN Stores, who recently emailed me asking if I could do a giveaway. The winner will receive a one-time use $60 certificate (shipping excluded) that can be used for any of CSN's 200+ websites, including the bed section. CSN Stor

Book News!

Published on 2010-05-21 11:49:00

Senior journalist (with the Indian news channel, IBN7) and former colleague, Prabhat Shunglu's book, "Yahan Mukhaute Bikte Hain" (literally meaning "Here Masks are on Sale") is due to be released around mid-June, 2010.The book, a collection of articles in Hindi on politics, personalities and society, has been divided into three segments--सियासत (Politics), शख्सियत(Personalities), समाज(Society)। As the title suggests, the book, through its bouquet of articles

Pagol or Madman by Rabindranath Tagore

Published on 2009-01-27 09:31:00

Translated by Bhaswati GhoshA small town in the west. At an end of the big street, five or six palm trees rise above the thatched roofs like a mute man's signs to the sky. Next to the derelict house, an ancient tamarind tree puffs up its dense, glistening foliage like clumps of green cloud. Young goats move about on the ground of this roof-less house. Behind them, the lushness of the forest range spreads across the horizon of the afternoon sky.Today, rain has completely withdrawn its dark cloak

Peep Peep Don't Sleep: Book Review

Published on 2008-12-16 02:36:00

Peep Peep Don't SleepBy: Ajay JainKunzumNon-fic (Travel)Price: INR 350, US $19.95, UK £11.95Available at: Ajay Jain's BlogWe thought travel was about visiting places, soaking up the atmosphere of new territories, and relishing the journey. Who could have known Road Signs could be part of the travel entertainment package as well? Yes, Road Signs, those inevitable pointers along the way that we take no more seriously than empty coke cans strewn across the terrains we travel through.Welcome then,

Echoing Rendezvous

Published on 2008-09-21 12:33:00

I came to see you. Yes, there was work, but does one need work to come and see you? As I told fellow train passengers the reason of my meeting with you, I smiled inwardly at the flimsiness of it all. Aren't you both the context and pretext for every visit of mine? Upon reaching, I looked for a familiar face among the milling, hollering mass of heads floating before the eyes. I searched for Anwar, the rickshaw-puller, who hadn't only acquainted me with you, but had also helped me know you so

Peeking Through...

Published on 2008-09-18 10:07:00

Hello, everyone!

End of Year by Rabindranath Tagore

Published on 2008-01-01 00:29:00

Today as I reached the silent peacefulness of this place, away from the clamor of the capital’s human assembly, the sky was covered in evening’s glow. Cloud clusters had lent a soft hue to the green of the forest by placing shadows on it; had I stayed in the capital, I couldn’t have seen so clearly, this face of the year’s last day that I saw here. There, a covering of whirlwind encircles everything; that covering hides the united form of beginning and end in creation. The music of human

Humility

Published on 2007-10-23 10:38:00

When the moon and the stars loom up thereYou glow on the universe of your foliage--As the world goes to sleep.Silently you come, without a fuss;No announcement, no flaunting of beautyNot any attempt to hold the passerby spellbound.In the morning, before the world rubs its bleary eyes,You silently drop down,No clinging, no worryingabout getting crushed under walking feet.Yet, you draw us--By your plain scent,Your unassuming beauty,Your amazing way with stopping passersby,Bringing them down to the

Writing Strengths Meme

Published on 2007-10-04 12:54:00

Lately I had been thinking of writing a those-were-the-days post, reminiscing my days of youthful blogging—of learning from erudite fellow bloggers, of “wish-I-wrote-that” moments, of unconsciously smiling upon coming across a slice of a blogger friend’s life, of discovering new friends, and of being discovered. Of feeling humbled for coming across vastly more knowledgeable and perceptive bloggers who took the time to read my posts, and of keeping in touch with old pals splintered off a

"I relived my last 25 years while writing this book"

Published on 2007-09-05 10:15:00

Interview with Abhay K, author of River Valley to Silicon Valley. To visit Abhay's blog, click here:What inspired you to write River Valley to Silicon Valley? Please share the experience of writing the book with us.AK: I had made a promise to myself that I should have my own book before I turn 25. I was going to turn 25 on 1st March 2005 and I was so anxious to tell the world that how Indian democracy and economic reforms that are taking place in India are bringing real and concrete changes in

River Valley to Silicon Valley: Book Review

Published on 2007-08-24 14:14:00

RIVER VALLEY TO SILICON VALLEY: Story of three generations of an Indian familyBy Abhay K.BookwellAvailable at: bookwell@vsnl.net.inDreamers abound this world. In lands spread over all the habitable continents, people dream of living lives bigger than their circumstances allow them. Some dreams are material in nature, some more romantic and soul-filling. I reckon the world is a better place for the dreamers it holds. For, in most cases, dreams, those intangible pieces of impossible ideas, are wha

Seven Writing Questions: A Meme

Published on 2007-07-26 09:48:00

Good friend Lisa tagged me for this one. I enjoyed reading her answers and thought I'd have a go at it.1. What's the one book or writing project you haven't yet written but still hope to?A travel book that will combine food and journeying and will take me to hidden corners of India.2. If you had one entire day in which to do nothing but read, what book would you start with?The twelve volumes of Rabindranath Tagore’s writings. I look at them wistfully every day, but a dozen “important” task

On a Cloudy Day by Rabindranath Tagore

Published on 2007-07-20 03:03:00

Every day is filled with work and with people all around. Every day one gets the feeling that the day’s work and exchanges finish saying all that needed to be said at the end of the day. One doesn’t find the time to grasp that which remains unsaid within.This morning, cluster upon cluster of cloud has covered the sky’s chest. Today, too, there’s work to do, and there are people around. But there’s a feeling that all that lies inside cannot be exhausted outside.Man crossed seas, scaled

In Conversation with Ramkinkar: Book Review

Published on 2007-07-13 13:06:00

Yes, I have already blogged about this book. But it’s worthy of two mentions, if not more. Shilpi Ramkinkar Alapchari or In Conversation with Artist Ramkinkar ranks as one of the best books I have read in the last five years. The author, Somendranath Bandopadhyay sure knows how to bring conversations alive on the printed page. For, not one among the series of dialogues this book features reads like a well-structured interview or stiff intellectual discourse. The tone of the book, in itself con

The Impressions Didn't Die

Published on 2007-07-08 14:07:00

Anyone got a writer in the family? Other than yourself I mean. I ask this because as I dive deeper into the writings of my maternal grandmother, I find myself in the midst of an amazing discovery.She died when I was fifteen—an age when much of my sensibilities had already shaped by the influences around me. Titti, as I called my grandma, was a major influence. This had to do more with her personality than with the fact that she was a writer. While in school I had taken a liking to writing and

A good story is all I need

Published on 2007-07-02 10:43:00

Story Teller by Amrita Shergil, 1937 Long before the concept of “art” originated, we had stories. The earliest cave dwellers and forest tribes shared tales of everyday joys and trials when they were done with the day’s work. As humans made progress with documentation skills, these oral yarns were recorded on leaves and papers, finally evolving to what would be deemed “art” and christened Literature. As the ilk of writers grew, patronized by art loving litterateurs, so did the devices u

Rain's Letter by Rabindranath Tagore

Published on 2007-06-27 09:03:00

Dear Friend,Living as you do amid the desert of Sindh country, imagine the monsoons in Calcutta.In this letter, I remind you of Bengal’s rain…Ponds swelling with water, mango orchards, wet crows, and ashadhe tales. And if you can recall Ganga’s bank, then think of the cloud’s shadow on the streaming water and of the Shiva temple located within the peepul tree under the cloud cover. Think of the veiled village women who fill water from the backside banks, getting drenched as they make the

A Song in the Cloud--Kajri

Published on 2007-06-23 12:11:00

In his comment to my previous post, Abhay said, "Rains bring some of the most original emotions." I think that holds especially true in a tropical setting like India, where the prolonged and scorching summer makes the monsoon season one of the most awaited and treasured. Consequently, the metaphor of rain makes its appearance in all things creative--painting, literature, music, cinema. Rains here evoke a host of emotions, from joyous outbursts that sing with the dancing greens to pangs of separ

The Wait

Published on 2007-06-18 10:36:00

I waited for you.I waited through days that won’t turn into nights.I waited even as others fled, unable to bear the separation.I waited with the still, suffocating air that drained out my senses.For you I survived, barely alive, yet expectant, when others died.I waited when the prophets said you would take a long time coming....And then, you came.You brought the cool brush of night right into the day.You embraced me with a smile; my reward for not deserting you.You changed the very complexion

Wole Soyinka

Published on 2007-06-13 13:21:00

Came across a good interview of Wole Soyinka in The Hindu. The Nigerian Nobel laureate makes a couple of thought-provoking points. One: Real writers write, no matter the circumstances they are in or their state of mind at any given point of time. And two, intellectual analysis of a writer's isolation or persecution often becomes an exercise in fantasizing reality.He also makes an interesting, if debatable, point on responding to violence with violence.Read the full interview here.

Living Conversations

Published on 2007-06-07 14:43:00

Capturing the life, sensibilities, and works of a person—that’s what biographies and autobiographies are made of. But could there be another way to bring to life the essence of an individual? If the book I am reading these days is anything to go by, the answer is yes, emphatically at that.Shilpi Ramkinkar Alapchari or In Conversation with Ramkinkar by Somendranath Bandopadhyay (review promised later) is an amazing read. An intriguing glimpse into the mind and heart of one of India’s most r

Fresh Connections

Published on 2007-06-01 02:57:00

Just when I thought my blog wasn't living up enough to connect with readers (I am to blame for that in part--in recent times I have been at best a semi-active blogger), Sid Leavitt of Readers and writers blog, an interactive universe of the written word, as the subtitle says, came with a gentle reassurance. By selecting At Home, Writing as one of the featured blogs on his site, with a kind and affectionate review, Sid told me this blog is still touching a few heartstrings. Always a joy to know t