Book Review : A Japanese Wife

Haunting and mysterious are the first two words that strike your mind as flip through the pages of The Japanese Wife, by Kunal Basu. This book has generated a lot of interested especially after Director Aparna Sen decided to make a movie of the same name based on it. The books consists 12 short stories which are very beautifully woven across a plethora of relationships that we as humans are surrounded with. In the author’s own words, “These are chronicles of memory and dreams born at the crossroads of civilizations. They parade a cast of angels and demons rubbing shoulders with those whose lives are never quite as ordinary as they seem.”

I am sure all you would be aware of the famous author O Henry and his famous writing style termed as “The O Henry Twist” wherein suddenly in the end the story would take an entirely different twist contrary to the expected. The author Kunal Basu manages to create a similar twist in each of his stories leaving a tinge of mystery at the end. There is a hint of innocence amidst the lucid narration as it re-creates the places where the story is taking place. The common emotion is all the stories is love which comes out very strongly.

I would not term it as light reading as the stories have a seriousness around and it requires a certain level of concentration to understand the real meaning hidden between the lines. Every story unveils a new facet of life which otherwise would be unnoticed by us. This book substantiates the fact that each and every individual in this world has his/her own story to tell. The first story The Japanese Wife is very grasping but slowly as you progress somewhere the narration loses its sheen.

Overall it makes a very interesting read as each story is able to generate curiosity about what will happen next. It leaves you with a mixed feeling.

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This book review was published in Kaleidoscopeofcolours Ezine,Feb 2012 issue.

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.

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