Calcutta’s Chromosome, Hidden in Plain Sight
Ronald Ross was once immortalized in Amitav Ghosh’s historical novel. Nivedita Dey rediscovers a memorial dedicated to Kolkata’s forgotten, Nobel laureate physician.
Tales from a Bloody Baisakhi
Set around the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Navtej Sarna’s Crimson Spring is a tragic retelling that details individual lives shattered by this dark chapter in history. By Shreemayee Das
The Burning Embers of Petrofiction: Ilyas Ahmed Gaddi’s FIRE AREA
As long the coal remains a major player in the neo-liberal globalized world, the metaphorical and literal fires from Ilyas Ahmed Gaddi’s 1994 novel will keep burning. By Sudeshna Rana
In THE NUTMEG’S CURSE Amitav Ghosh gives voice to our ailing planet
In The Nutmeg’s Curse, Amitav Ghosh explores the epistemic gap between Enlightenment modernity’s designation of all nonhuman beings as objects meant to cater to human needs, and the indigenous worldview that identifies these ‘objects’ as active, vibrant, sentient individuals. By Paromita Patranobish
Full Circle: Ahlawat Gunjan on the Wondrous World of Book Cover Design
Head of design at Penguin Random House India Ahlawat Gunjan discusses the art of book covers, the collaboration of literature and design, of sales and inspiration, and the magic process making it all come together. By Varud Gupta
Partition is not so much a mere plot device in Imtiaz Ali’s Main Waapas Aaunga, but a ghost that continues to haunt the people who survived it—in memories and regrets. By Deepansh Duggal