The Rebelle blog

आज २७ फेब्रुवारी. कविवर्य कुसुमाग्रज यांचा जन्मदिवस आणि मराठी भाषा दिवस. त्यानिमित्त मला आवडणाऱ्या एका मराठी लेखिकेच्या पुस्तकाचं विवेचन इथे करते. गौरी देशपांडे- मराठी वाचणाऱ्या साऱ्याच वाचकांना हे नाव जितकं परिचित आहे तितकच फार जवळचं देखील आहे. मी सर्वप्रथम गौरी देशपांडे यांची एक कथा शाळेत असताना अभ्यासली होती- कलिंगड. आणि कित्येक दिवस मी त्या कथेच्या पुढे अजून काही असेल का म्हणून उत्सुक आणि अस्वस्थ होते. दहावीत असताना वाचली होती म्हणून त्यांचं सर्व लिखाण वाचून काढायचं हे ठरवलं. पुढची चार- पाच वर्ष त्यांचं असं काही वाचनात आलं नाही. नंतर 'आर्किटेक्चर' शिकताना कॉलेजच्या ग्रंथालयात मराठी पुस्तकांचं कपाट दिसलं. आणि पाहिलं पुस्तक जे मी घेतलं नी वाचलं ते गौरी देशपांडेंचं 'मुंबई-तळेगाव-ग्रीस' असा प्रवास करणारी 'मुक्काम' हि दीर्घ कथा/कादंबरी. त्याचं दुसरं पुस्तक वाचलं ते म्हणजे 'आहे हे असे आहे', आणि त्यात मला परत एकदा सापडली ती 'कलिंगड' हि कथा. मी चार-पाच वेळा ते पुस्तक वाचून काढलं परीक्षा सुरु होण्याच्या काही दिवस आधी, एप्रिल मधेच आणि त्या कलिंगडाची

Prior to reading this edition, I had read Harold Bloom's  Modern Critical Interpretation's Series  in 2010 borrowed from the American Library. AND, I did not like it. I abandoned the book after reading 30, maybe 40 pages. I felt embarrassed to desert a book like  The Color Purple  but I couldn't feel or understand what Harold Bloom had interpreted.  After 3 years, I bought myself a new copy with a cover page that I had no inkling about or couldn't predict the character it was based on! I also have the movie version of The Color Purple with a opening shot that shows two teenage girls walking through a field, one of them heavily pregnant. I had only seen about a few minutes of the movie too, because I wanted to READ the book first, before judging the movie and getting my opinions messed about this classic.  Here I am, having finished reading the book in 4 hours amid tears and a heavy heart. I don't recall reading any other book that's written in a

Just read this on the internet. Something that I had been meaning to write about too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memories... they are potent things... because they never leave us. Even when the people we shared them with cease to exist, memories remain... etched in the deepest corners of our soul. Sometimes they are our source of comfort and other times the reason behind our joy. We often reflect on them when thinking about the lessons learnt in life and every now and again, a memory has the power to completely transform us. But memories can be harsh too. They can haunt you, mock you, break your heart into a million pieces and remind you of all you had and what you lost. But can you really destroy or rewrite memories? No, of course you can't... just like you can't erase them from your mind. ------------------------------------------

I came across a beautiful hindi translation of William Wordsworth's Daffodils. Yes, Hindi. It's done by Ian Woolford. In his own words, he is an UK born American in Oz | Hindi Lecturer @La Trobe University | Language, Literature, Folklore | फणीश्वरनाथ रेणु पर किताब लिख रहा हूँ. He is writing a book on one of the most influential modern hindi writers, Phanishwarnath Renu. Woolford translates quotes in hindi as well, and they are really good. Case in point this: मज़ाक एक बहुत ही गंभीर चीज़ होती है. ~ विंस्टन चर्चिल His translation of Daffodils is what blew my mind. Absolutely brilliant. I felt so pleased upon reading it. घूमते फिरते मैं—मेघ एकमात्र जैसे घाटी-पहाड़ मंडरा रहा था एकाएक देखा क्या—भीड़, समवाय सुनहरा, सुहावना डैफोडिल की ~ विलियम वर्ड्सवर्थ My love for hindi poetry has rejuvenated since last december, and when I see the wealth of hindi literature available on the internet and the choicest bookstores, I am only too inspired to read and write m

I have been reading a lot of Hindi Poetry lately. My interest sparked after reading a few poems in a book diary. Thereafter, I got hold of hindi magazines like Hans, Dnyanodaya, Pakshadhar, Bahuvachan, Vagarth, Pahal, Udbhawana, Kathadesh, Aahwaan and poetry books on Agyey, Raghuvir Sahay, Chandrakant Devtale. The other day, I was reading an article by Gulzar in a sunday supplement. Therein, he mentioned of what drives him to write poetry. I got influenced by his words and promptly took to penning down mine, Since, I've been reading a lot of poetry these days, my first two poems took shape quite easily. I'm posting a poem here that's essentially memories of my father and me from my childhood. This is my first attempt at hindi poetry. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- बचपन की यादें किताबों में खो जाना पाया विरासत में उनसे मैंने। खो कर

Origami is a great stress buster. I made my first Kusudama flower yesterday. Now that I have accomplished the simple folds neatly, I've to start believing that I am not as clumsy with hand craft as I have repeatedly and religiously believed for a long time. Paper craft is a delight. I love the bright shades and the movement of fingers and the sound of rustling paper. My first craft flower is for my friend Deepa. It's a St. Valentines "SOUL SISTER" gesture. ;) Here are a few snapshots of the flower.  

Monday mornings bring monday blues. I fought them all and met my friend, Su to visit Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. My first KGAF visit was in 2007, during my third year of architecture school. Eight years since then and the festival has undergone tremendous changes. From giant art installations and kitschy art work, it has come to TV channels promoting themselves via photo booths. The lack of discipline was a serious issue this time around. People sat, stood on and touched installations! It was saddening to see footprints on sculptures. Is this an over-enthusiasm for selfies or a blatant disrespect for art work on display? Both, I say. Unlike all the previous years, surprisingly, I was done looking around in less than two hours. Here are a few snapshots from my visit there.   A stop at the Yazdani Bakery is always a must when I'm in Fort. Su and me are great fans of their delicious apple pies. On this visit, we were out of luck. Had our usual favorite, Brun Maska