The Hindu On Books newsletter: Kashmir stories, Banu Mushtaq's world, talking to Keshava Guha and more
Welcome to this edition of The Hindu on Books Newsletter. At a discussion in Bengaluru about her International Booker Prize-shortlisted book of stories, Heart Lamp (And Other Stories/Penguin), Banu Mushtaq said she is a product of several literary and social movements in Karnataka in the 1980s. The stories translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi have a certain universality to them, even though they are set in a particular context – her home town is Hassan -- and community. 'It is interesting how all of us who identify as women face the same kind of pressures from patriarchal diktats or religion,' she pointed out. 'These are issues that women face all over the world because patriarchy is not restricted to Muslim, Indian or South Asian communities.'
In Kannada literature, Mushtaq said, Muslim characters were usually depicted in black and white. 'Either they were very beautiful, good people, or villainous characters,' said the spry 77-year-old. 'There was no grey area.' Gradually, after talks at literary workshops, she was told to 'write about your people… yourself… your surroundings… your feasts… your joys and sorrows and challenges.' This is how Mushtaq started writing, over five decades ago, writes Preeti Zachariah.
In reviews, we read Keshava Guha's new novel, and talk to Rollo Romig, who has reported from South India for years, about his new book, and Ivorian writer Gauz' whose brilliant novel, Standing Heavy, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023. Also, read Suresh Menon's tribute to Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025) here.
Books of the Week
Keshava Guha's second novel, The Tiger's Share (Hachette), revolves around the lives of two families in Delhi, an inheritance wrangle between successful sisters and entitled brothers, environment degradation and social realism. Asked what inspired him to write this story, Guha tells Stanley Carvalho, 'The book started with the ending in terms of the idea. I just had this idea of an individual taking a drastic step because he was so appalled by what humans had done to the environment. Then I tried playing around with that and everything else took shape around that idea. It is a bit of a mystery where ideas come from for fiction. I don't sit down and plot it in a thorough way or anything like that.'
Guha says the people in the novel are entirely made up, but that things like the patriarchal aspect of the inheritance disputes, 'that is very much provoked, not by my own family but by families that I saw in Delhi over and over again.' His view of Delhi? 'Delhi is a city that is all about exclusion.'
In his book of short stories, The World with its Mouth Open (Penguin), Zahid Rafiq recounts the lives of Kashmiri people with a lens on the everyday. The collection has 11 tales about love, despair and deception. Rafiq uncovers the human suffering away from the usual theme of conflict by probing the inner lives of war-torn people, says the reviewer Bilal Gani. Two desperate shopkeepers, a couple who must dispose of a skeleton unearthed while workers are building their fancy new home, a young man who has lost his job – these are relatable characters, says Gani, as they are deprived of power or do not have the strength to act against forces much larger than themselves. 'From the heart of Kashmir, Rafiq's brutally honest tale is a piercing exploration of grief, loss and betrayal.'
Rollo Romig, who has been reporting on South India, follows journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh's life and death in his book, I Am on the Hit List (Context). Talking to K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj, he said the story of Gauri Lankesh touched on what interests him about South India, its literary scene, language cultures, character of its cities and legacy of communal harmony -- Gauri's signature cause as an activist. 'I really felt Gauri's story illustrated for me so much of what I love about South India and what is presently under threat.
Spotlight
Standing Heavy is the debut novel of Ivorian writer Gauz'. A sharp, scathing satire of France's colonial legacy and race politics, it is also about the interrelatedness of colonialism and capitalism. In an interview with Preeti Zachariah on the sidelines of the Kerala Literature Festival, Gauz' said: 'We are always being colonised by something or some people. They call it soft power, but in the expressions of power, there is power. Soft doesn't count; what counts is power.'
Told from the perspective of undocumented African security guards working in a Parisian shopping mall, it's about people who are 'doubly invisible.' Gauz' says someone told him that he was the 'writer of the invisible, and I am OK with that. Is it not crazy to ignore a human being in a place you enter?' The book's title refers to both the security guard job that demands people to stand for their supper, as well as to the extent of France's colonial legacy.
Browser
Ravi K. Mishra's Demography, Representation, Delimitation: The North-South Divide in India (Westland Books) narrates the story of demographic growth in modern India, from 1872, when the first Census was compiled, to 2024. In the Prologue, he argues that after going through demographic data, he is convinced that conventional wisdom that the north is the culprit of 'population explosion' and the south is the 'poster boy of population control' has gone horribly wrong.
(Westland Books) narrates the story of demographic growth in modern India, from 1872, when the first Census was compiled, to 2024. In the Prologue, he argues that after going through demographic data, he is convinced that conventional wisdom that the north is the culprit of 'population explosion' and the south is the 'poster boy of population control' has gone horribly wrong. Abundance: How We Build a Better Future (Hachette) by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson explores how the world can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds. The writers trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a 'politics of abundance' in the time of acute polarisation with the likes of Donald Trump at the helm of American politics.
(Hachette) by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson explores how the world can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds. The writers trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a 'politics of abundance' in the time of acute polarisation with the likes of Donald Trump at the helm of American politics. Devabrata Das' One More Story about Climbing a Hill (Speaking Tiger) is a collection of stories from Assam. There are 18 stories which provide an insight into life in an area of conflict. A post-modernist writer, Das often appears as a character in his stories, blurring lines between fiction and reality.
(Speaking Tiger) is a collection of stories from Assam. There are 18 stories which provide an insight into life in an area of conflict. A post-modernist writer, Das often appears as a character in his stories, blurring lines between fiction and reality. The Many Lives of Pauloma Chattopadhyay (Niyogi Books) by Devangi Bhatt, translated from the Gujarati by Mudra Joshi, is about a middle-aged housewife from Kolkata who becomes three separate individuals living in different times.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
3 hours ago
- Hans India
Gopalan Malls Celebrates the Grand Finale of 'Nerehore Pratibhe Pradarshana' with a Spectacular Showcase of Local Talent
Bengaluru: The inaugural edition of Nerehore Pratibhe Pradarshana, Gopalan Malls' community-driven talent showcase, concluded on 22nd June with a grand finale at Gopalan Arcade Mall, Rajarajeshwari Nagar. The event celebrated local performing arts talent from Bengaluru's residential communities, featuring dance, music, theatre, and folk arts. The Director of Gopalan Enterprises, C Prabhakar remarked, 'The event has highlighted the extraordinary talent within our communities. It's more than a talent show — it's a celebration of our cultural unity. We aim to make this an annual tradition that continues to inspire and connect.' The initiative attracted over 400 participants — from children to senior citizens — performing in categories like classical/contemporary dance, vocal/instrumental music, folk acts, and martial arts. Preliminary rounds held across 12 communities saw over 1,000 participants, engaging 10,000+ residents. The finale featured performances and appearances by Karthik Varnekar – Popular Kannada actor from RIYAA (2022) and NINAGAAGI on Colors Kannada, also starring in upcoming films SHERR, ARIDRA, AIRAA, and USIRU. Padmashree Prasad Holla – Veteran Bharatanatyam artist, trained under Vidhushi Shobha Bhat and Dr. Padma Subramanyam, with performances at Udupi Paryayotsava and Yuva Sourabha. Both guests lauded the talent and spirit of the event.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda booked under SC/ST Act for derogatory remarks against tribals
Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda has been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Raidurgam police for allegedly making derogatory remarks against tribal communities during a public event. The case was booked following a complaint filed by Nenavath Ashok Kumar Naik, State President of the Joint Action Committee of Tribal Communities, citing the comments made by the actor on April 26, 2025, during the pre-release event of the film Retro. According to the First Information Report (FIR), seen by The Hindu, the actor allegedly referred to tribal people as lacking intelligence and common sense and likened them to Pakistani terrorists. 'He insulted their tribal community by saying that they had beaten them 500 years ago without any intelligence and minimum common sense. Moreover, he made comments comparing them to Pakistani terrorists,' the complainant said. Attaching the YouTube link in the written complaint, Mr. Naik stated that these comments were not only offensive but deeply insulting to the dignity and self-respect of the tribal community. He said that the content was shared across multiple media channels, including YouTube via Sithara Entertainment's channel, drawing widespread criticism. Investigation is under way.
India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
This 3-episode crime series will leave you numb, 18 women were hunted by..., climax will send chills down your spine, series is...
OTT platforms keep dropping a bunch of web shows, films, and a few docuseries every now and then, and we are here to help you binge-watch them. And today, we will be sharing another docuseries that will crawl under your skin and stay there. Some stories aren't just disturbing; they're nightmarishly real. Indian Predator: Beast of Bangalore, released in 2022, is one of them. An unflinching look into the twisted life of Karnataka's most feared serial killer: Umesh Reddy. Once a man in uniform, Umesh turned predator, hunting and brutally murdering women between 1996 and 2002. While 18 lives were reportedly lost to his savagery, he was convicted in just nine cases. Bengaluru's years of fear Reddy's crimes weren't just about murder—they were layered with horrifying details: sexual assaults, the chilling pattern of stealing women's clothes, and multiple escapes from police custody. He didn't just commit crimes—he haunted an entire city. His most infamous act? The 1998 murder of a widow in Peenya gripped Bengaluru in a wave of panic. The docuseries captures the fear and chaos through testimonies from victims' families, journalists, and police officers who witnessed the horror unfold firsthand. About the docuseries Directed by Ashwin Rai Shetty and produced by Vice Studios, the three-part docuseries uses dramatic reenactments to immerse viewers in the tense atmosphere of late-'90s Bengaluru. While some viewers felt the dramatisations lacked punch, the series succeeds in tracing Reddy's deeply disturbed psyche and the institutional lapses that let him slip through the cracks more than once. Streaming on… Each episode runs about 40–45 minutes and is available in multiple languages, including Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. With a modest IMDb rating of 6.2, it may not be flawless, but it's a hard-hitting chronicle of crime, fear, and a city held hostage by one man's monstrous instincts.
