Books
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Hamlet’s home in Denmark
Updated on Mar 26, 2025 05:21 PM IST
Kronborg Castle in Helsingør stands tall as a reminder of Denmark’s past power, which inspired William Shakespeare to make it the setting of Hamlet.
Teja Lele
Review: No Place To Call My Own by Alina Gufran
Alina Gufran’s debut novel perfectly captures the exhaustion of woman, especially those who attempt to make a living from art
Published on Mar 25, 2025 07:06 PM IST
Sharmistha Jha
Report: Living Lightly; an Utsav Celebrating Pastoralism in the Deccan
An exhibition in Bengaluru that comprised art installations and a film festival among other events put the spotlight on pastoral communities
Published on Mar 25, 2025 05:45 PM IST
Charumathi Supraja
Santanu Bhattacharya: “When I write, I don’t think of outcomes”
The novel ‘Deviants’ is about three generations of Bengali gay men navigating homosexuality in India.
Published on Mar 24, 2025 05:33 PM IST
Review: The Remains of the Body by Saikat Majumdar
In his latest novel, Saikat Majumdar marries exquisite prose with the intriguing subject of desire that transcends the person of the beloved
Published on Mar 22, 2025 05:14 AM IST
Maaz Bin Bilal
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is a behind-the-scenes look at the Indian Railways, an account of seminal events in the country from Independence to the present, and selections from the work of an eminent art critic
Published on Mar 22, 2025 05:08 AM IST
HT Team
Jonathan Haidt: ‘People born after 1995 are in bad mental health’
The author of ‘The Anxious Generation’ on how a phone-based childhood disrupts normal development and why social media harms girls more
Published on Mar 22, 2025 05:06 AM IST
Majid Maqbool
Review: Tripping Down The Ganga by Siddharth Kapila
Siddhartha Kapila's "Tripping Down The Ganga" explores young Indians' complex relationship with faith, balancing skepticism and spirituality in a thought-provoking journey.
Updated on Mar 21, 2025 10:55 PM IST
Deepansh Duggal
Masood Hussain: “Art is not just about what is created; it is about resilience”
The artist talks about capturing his native Kashmir’s beauty, turmoil, and resilience through paintings that speak of both loss and hope
Published on Mar 21, 2025 02:59 PM IST
Bilal Gani
Iowa Residency: End of the road?
Many Indian writers have benefitted from the famed Iowa Writing Program, but recent funding cuts threaten to close this window of opportunity
Updated on Mar 20, 2025 08:51 PM IST
Uttaran Das Gupta
Book Review: I Bet You'd Look Good In A Coffin is predictable yet nostalgic
The second installment of lady vigilante Kitty Collins' murderous yet compelling adventures, this time abroad, will keep you hooked but leave you wanting more
Published on Mar 20, 2025 06:01 PM IST
Review: Aunties of Vasant Kunj by Anuradha Marwah
Set in the eponymous Delhi neighbourhood, ‘Aunties of Vasant Kunj’ showcases women navigating conflicting identities and desires in their late thirties
Updated on Mar 20, 2025 12:13 PM IST
Lamat R Hasan
Report: Kokrajhar Literature Festival
The event that featured Indian and international authors emphasized the creation of a peaceful and just world
Published on Mar 19, 2025 08:27 PM IST
Deepa Bhasthi: “I am instinctive as a translator”
On translating Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Heart Lamp’, longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025, from the original Kannada
Published on Mar 18, 2025 05:36 PM IST
Banu Mushtaq: “My feminism seeps into the language that I use
The lawyer and activist on Heart Lamp, her collection of stories, translated from the Kannada that has been longlisted for the International Booker Prize
Published on Mar 17, 2025 05:04 PM IST
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is an omnibus edition of Frank S Smythe’s writing that offers a view of early Himalayan exploration, a novel that looks at the very nature of love, and a collection of short stories that guides the reader to a greater understanding of the world
Published on Mar 14, 2025 07:31 PM IST
HT Team
Nirmala Lakshman: “We definitely are more accepting of people from outside”
Moving seamlessly from the past to the present and from the personal to the political, The Tamils, A Portrait of a Community demolishes stereotypes and celebrates the secular culture of Tamil Nadu
Published on Mar 14, 2025 07:29 PM IST
Aparna Karthikeyan
Review: Night in Delhi by Ranbir Sidhu
Contemporary noir with no interest in sanitising the messiness of life, Night in Delhi by Ranbir Sidhu follows an unnamed protagonist through the capital’s liminal spaces
Published on Mar 14, 2025 07:19 PM IST
Areeb Ahmad
Review: The Essential Ghalib by Anisur Rahman
Marked by a novel approach and presentation, Anisur Rahman’s ‘Essential Ghalib’ features 200 of the great poet’s verses in the Urdu original accompanied by Devnagri and Roman versions, a literal translation, and a fuller explanation
Updated on Mar 14, 2025 07:16 PM IST
Mahmood Farooqui
Report: Ami Arts Festival
From photography to exhibitions of Hindustani classical instruments, the festival celebrated self-expression in various forms
Published on Mar 13, 2025 12:59 PM IST
Of great poets and cursed books
The curious case of literary censorship in Urdu with special emphasis on the oeuvre of Mir Taqi Mir, one of the greatest poets of the language
Published on Mar 12, 2025 10:41 PM IST
Sadaf Fatima
Devashish Makhija: “I don’t hold back at all”
The maker of the critically acclaimed film ‘Joram’, on ‘Bewilderness’, his debut poetry collection and how different streams of his work influence each other.
Published on Mar 11, 2025 10:43 PM IST
Suhit Bombaywala
Review: ‘Swallowing The Sun’ by Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri
Inspired by letters shared between the author’s parents, this debut novel set in the pre-Independence period features educated, empowered and independent women
Published on Mar 11, 2025 04:20 PM IST
Akankshya Abismruta
Jay Lemery: “Treating climate medicine as if it were a scam is horrible”
The co-author of ‘Enviromedics’ spoke about the field of climate medicine and the possible role that doctors can play within the debate on climate change
Published on Mar 10, 2025 04:18 PM IST
Review: The Rainbow Runners byDhrubajyoti Borah
Taking in the Brahmaputra plains and the verdant Himalayan ranges, this book by Dhrubajyoti Borah that the author has also translated from the original Assamese, presents the high cost of the violence experienced by the people of India’s northeast
Updated on Mar 07, 2025 10:50 PM IST
Thangkhanlal Ngaihte
Ira Mathur: “The dead do not leave us”
At the Jaipur Literature Festival, the author of ‘Love the Dark Days’, a memoir, recollects royal betrayals and a life far from her roots
Published on Mar 07, 2025 10:48 PM IST
Review: Learning From Silence by Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer’s latest book, which includes reflections drawn from three decades of retreats at a Benedictine monastery in California, is a call to engage more deeply with the world
Published on Mar 07, 2025 10:48 PM IST
Sanjay Sipahimalani
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is an account of the imperial nature of World War 1 and its impact on anticolonial resistance in India, a book on Indian modernity, nationalism, and society as seen from the location of men in the home, and a sharp crime thriller with psychological depth
Published on Mar 07, 2025 10:48 PM IST
HT Team
Book Review: The Persians portrays Iran's rich history with dense prose
Author Sanam Mahloudji’s novel offers rich commentary on the identity and effects of the Iranian Revolution, but its demanding prose may turn off some readers.
Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:25 PM IST
Aadrika Sominder
Prakrit poetry for posterity
The Gatha Saptashati, an anthology of 700 poems on everything from nature and love to the general experiences of ordinary people, still enthrals
Published on Mar 07, 2025 11:01 AM IST