Write India: A Homecoming

The following is a short story penned by me as participation in Write India, a year long short story writing contest where popular authors set guidelines, and one writes and submits the story in accordance to it. You can check out about the contest here:

TOI Write India

This story is submitted as part of the month which is judged by Tuhin Sinha, who has written some amazing books like 'Of Love and Politics' and 'The edge of desire'. You can find his instructions below. Cool? Cool.

Write India: Waking from the Dream

The following is a short story penned by me as participation in Write India, a year long short story writing contest where popular authors set guidelines, and one writes and submits the story in accordance to it. You can check out about the contest here:

TOI Write India

This story is submitted as part of the month which is judged by Ashwin Sanghi, of The Krishna Key fame. You can find his instructions below. Cool? Cool.

Edgar Allen Poe: The Black Cat & The Tell-Tale Heart

Edgar Allen Poe definitely had a thing for all things horrific - murders, evil incarnate cats, and guilt. It has been suggested that this is mainly due to Poe's own miserable life - it is well known he struggled with depression and alcoholism, and it is possible he wrote in this manner as a warning to the reader about his own world view.

Here I read through two of his stories - The Black Cat (1845) and The Tell-Tale Heart (1850), both dealing with murders in their own right, and the way the human psyche deals with the act of murder. To read the stories, click on the links above. For the analysis, read on below.

Edgar Allen Poe: The Oval Portrait

The oval portrait is about a painter who loved his wife, and loved painting over her. What happens when he decides to bring his two loves together, and paint his wife forms a telling narrative on humanity's eternal pursuit for immortality, and our focus on perfection. To read the story itself, click here. To read a brief summary and analysis of the different themes, read on.

Mary Shelley: Introduction

To get a basic understanding of what this section is all about, please read below.

Tale Share: The Dead are Real

The one question that bothers me a lot is about how real or fictitious historical fiction is. I mean, think about it, if one wanted to talk about historical figures, tell their tales, then why not write biographies? Obviously historical fiction is different, allows the author some agency into the lives of historic entities. But then, what right does one have to change the way someone lived, or died? Perhaps the best way to understand historical fiction is to think of it as set within the realms of history, aligned to the reality of the time, and yet allowing agency to the author to take their characters through the story they have chosen to tell.

A famous personality who has made historical fiction her life, is Hillary Mantel. In 2012, the New Yorker's Larissa MacFaquhar talked about Hillary and the agency of historical fiction. I have quoted a few snippets of this enlightening article below, but for the full article, click on this link.

Creative Fiction: For A Promise

For a person who loves Epic Fantasy and other fantastical elements, it is amazing how I have not actually written much in the genre. Which makes this piece very special to me. I sort of dreamed parts of this, and when I woke up, I sat down with writing it. Hope you like it too.

Creative Fiction: Last/First Step

I remember this piece to be a result of standing at the edge of the rocky beach at Pondicherry at night. The idea, it just struck me, and I started typing out this piece on my phone. Inspiration strikes at odd times, you know?