Tag: memoirs
-
The Yellow Sparrow: An Excerpt
Consigned to the shadows, their very existence swept under the carpet, the transgender community in India – even as it struggles to somehow eke out a living at the fringes of society – faces widespread ridicule and humiliation. The challenges they face have often been documented in the media but have never been adequately addressed.…
-
Book Review: Doctor Steel
Jamshed Jiji Irani, who passed away at the age of 86 in October 2022, is well regarded for his work with Tata Steel and the contributions he made towards modernizing the company’s steel plant in Jamshedpur. Armed with a PhD in Metallurgy from the University of Sheffield, UK, Irani joined TISCO (later renamed Tata Steel)…
-
Book Excerpt: Three Countries, Three Lives – A Doctor’s Story
In her memoir, author Lindy Rajan Cartner looks back at her long, remarkably interesting journey as a doctor. Born in 1935 in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar) Cartner led a somewhat unconventional life by the standards of that time. ‘Set between three countries, Burma, India, and England, and spanning three generations, Three Countries, Three Lives…
-
Book Review: My World Without Jehan
Death. Most of us aren’t very comfortable with even saying the word. Perhaps it’s the utter finality of it, the inescapability, that makes us uncomfortable when we try to confront our thoughts about death. What will happen when someone close, someone very dear to our heart, someone we love deeply – a friend, a sibling,…
-
Book Excerpt: India Rising – Memoir of a Scientist
Born into a Brahmin family in Madras, in 1936, Dr Rajagopala Chidambaram is one of India’s most well-known physicists and is highly regarded for the role he played in the development of India’s nuclear capabilities. Dr Chidambaram, who is now in his late-80s and is based in New Delhi, held a series of important positions…
-
Book Review: Journeying with India
A well-written memoir can be a joy to read and Y N Varma’s Journeying with India: Memoirs of a Civil Servant is one such book. Varma, who joined the Provincial Civil Service in 1936, rose from modest beginnings in a village in the Faizabad district and went on to serve as a senior bureaucrat, handling…
-
Book Excerpt: Crying in H Mart
Lead vocalist of the alternative pop band Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner is an American musician and author whose mother was Korean. When it was released back in 2021, her memoir, Crying in H Mart, was on The New York Times non-fiction bestsellers list for more than a year and was also one of Barack Obama’s…
-
Annie Zaidi: Bantering with Bandits
Born in Allahabad and raised in Rajasthan, Annie is a well-known writer and journalist who has won all-around acclaim for her work. Her novel, Prelude to a Riot, won Book of the Year at the Tata Literature Live! Awards in 2020, and her memoir, Bread, Cement, Cactus, won The Nine Dots Prize in 2019. Her…
-
Book Review: Rental Person Who Does Nothing – A Memoir
Human society places a premium upon accomplishment. So much of our identity is tied to our work, what we do to earn a living. ‘Work hard, be committed, do as much as you can, climb the corporate ladder, get to the top,’ we’re frequently told. And if we can’t do all of that? Well, then…
-
Book Excerpt: The Wizard of Festival Lighting – The Incredible Story of Sridhar Das
The Wizard of Festival Lighting is the story of Sridhar Das, who rose from humble beginnings to achieve international recognition as a master of festival lighting. Growing up among a dozen siblings in a mud cottage in Chandannagar in West Bengal, Das battled poverty, lack of education and family support to achieve what he set…