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 A man bonds with his son over a plate of chhole bhature from a street-side stall. He jokes his wife/son's mother can cook mostly all dishes except this particular favourite. of theirs So it is a given that father and son will have it outside. For that matter, some things taste better from roadside stalls, like momos, chowmein, chaat etc. That man is the father of a boy who has been an accomplice in a gang-rape. Son has learnt from childhood - for change of taste in food or sex, you sample it outside. When you don't get it readily, you snatch it. No qualms, no guilt. Women outside are ready meat for satisfying your cravings. The survivor is questioned about discrepancies in her statement. She says brokenly - yes there have been discrepancies. She doesn't recognize herself anymore, though outwardly she's the same. She used to love flowers, now she associates them with that terrible night. Her students who were like her children are now asking to be invited to the "e...

Now seems to be the worst of times to be alive in. Is anything going well at all in the world? All kinds of wrong people are in the news for all the stupid reasons. Stupidity, greed and selfishness have reached incredible heights. Like a needle in a haystack, positive news is almost invisible. Thankfully, its not non-existent. So, I will focus on what warmed my battered heart a bit: People aren't stopping protesting against atrocities. The Grammy, Bafta and Emmy awards are strewn with A-listers displaying their resistance to injustice and xenophobia.  More and more people are coming out of the stigma of mental illness, owning their vulnerabilities and their demons Common people are rebuilding forests, restoring greenery and fighting for their need for a healthy environment   A teenage boy in Australia swims two hours without a life jacket, fighting strong waves, steeling himself to bring help to his stranded family A Hindu gym owner in India calls himself Mohd. Deepak and...

Part growing-up story, part metaphysical exploration of the human-nature relationship, Amrita Mahale’s Real Life wows with its clarity, poetry and depth. An absolutely engrossing read, the book is unputdownable from start to finish. Lucid language, poetic metaphors and evocative storytelling elevates what is an extremely topical story.  Told from the perspectives of three millenials - Mansi, Bhaskar and Tara, the novel spans out in interconnected segments. You are first drawn into Mansi’s life as voiced from her perspective, then into Bhaskar’s and then Tara’s. Primarily though, this is the story of Tara, the feisty and brilliant scholar on a mission to study the dhole or wild dog habitating the upper mountains. A fierce animal lover, zealous researcher and a maverick of sorts, she's the one who takes up the path least trod.  Real Life centres around the themes of friendship, individuality, love and boundaries. Tara’s childhood friendship with Mansi is the basis of the story, ...