Book Review: A Crown of Thorns - The Coronavirus and Us by Kalpish Ratna

“Like all great stories, COVID-19 is a tragedy, a love story gone seriously wrong.”

Sometime in November 2019, China reported the first suspected case of the novel Coronavirus. On 31 December 2019, an epidemiological alert was issued. A year later, today, the whole world is grappling with this deadly virus, in some form or other. While some countries are currently facing the second or the third wave or fresh cases being registered, some are discovering the long-term effects of the virus. Approximately 1.5 million people have died in this pandemic globally.

Surgeons Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan write together as “Kalpish Ratna.” They have previously written a book on the Zika Virus (2017). Bringing together their experiences and expertise in the medical field, they analyze the deadly pandemic which has brought the whole world to a standstill.

Read the full review on The Friday Times.

Books on Cinema

For a long time, cinema was a world I wasn’t allowed to enter. I grew up in a home where movies were banned. No television, no glimpses of silver screens, and no songs echoing from old classics. For nearly a decade, cinema was a forbidden word like a secret behind a closed door. And yet, like all things that carry truth and longing, it found its way to me. Stories have a way of finding you, slipping through cracks, whispered between pages, caught in melodies. Sometimes through the corners of borrowed books, sometimes through whispered summaries from classmates, sometimes just through the magnetic pull of posters and songs I wasn’t supposed to hear.

Movie Review: If by Tathagata Ghosh – A Tender Portrait of Love, Loss, and Possibility

If , a 26-minute short film by acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Tathagata Ghosh, is a sensitive, evocative piece of storytelling that lingers long after the credits roll. Set against the everyday rhythm of life in Kolkata, the film delicately unpacks the story of a lesbian couple torn apart by the weight of societal expectations and dares to imagine a different future, one where a mother's love might just change everything. What struck me first was the film’s raw, grounded realism. The characters feel like people we know, middle-class families navigating a complex world with quiet resilience. The world of If is filled with silences, glances, and stills, rather than heavy dialogue. Ghosh masterfully uses these moments to speak volumes, allowing viewers to sit with discomfort, interpret the unspoken, and feel deeply.

Book Review: The Story of Eve: Selected Poems by Zehra Nigah

Few voices in Urdu poetry have carried the weight of history, resistance, and deep personal introspection quite like Zehra Nigah. One of the first women to break into the traditionally male-dominated world of Urdu poetry, Nigah’s work stands as a testament to the power of words to illuminate, question, and challenge. The Story of Eve: Selected Poems, translated by Rakshanda Jalil, brings together some of her most powerful nazms and ghazals, showcasing both her literary elegance and her unflinching gaze at the human condition, particularly through the lens of gender, social injustice, and political turmoil.

Reviews & Musings

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