Artlexicons

Sixteen people died after they were run over by a goods train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. But before the details of their gruesome deaths are analysed, let’s recall some other gruesome things that have happened in the past few months. A video surfaced on social media showing how people of China skinned, boiled and ate dogs. It turned the stomachs of the animal lovers and even some others who don’t associate with such labels. How dare the Chinese commit such atrocities! These innocent creatures, what is their fault? But when the Coronavirus Lockdown began in India and it was seen that many labourers who were starving or walking miles and miles to reach their homes were dying, a common question that was being asked was “Why don’t they just stay where they are?” It is easier to pose those questions when the dead are not known to you. If anyone has had a death in their family; with a smoker dying of lung cancer, a person dying of cardiac issues, a person facing severe illnes...

Giving gifts is often the hardest thing to do unless you are gifting something to book lovers. Then the entire bookish community opens up to you, giving suggestions. The easiest and the best gift to give to a book lover is always a copy of the book on their TBR (to-be-read), but there are always other bookish items that a bibliophile would always treasure. 1.         Stylish Bookmarks I am sure I am right when I say that there are never enough bookmarks for a booklover. I know how I leave spoons, torn paper and basically anything I find handy inside books, using them as bookmarks. But ever since I started using actual bookmarks with either paintings on them or sketches of my favorite characters or some of my favorite quotes, I have realised that bookmarks are quite fun. There are many online stores that sell customised bookmarks but I suggest searching for an artist on Instagram, someone who creates bookmarks and lives in the same city as you. ...

Do you ever wonder how your life affects someone else? How much of an influence you are to others and what parts of you are intertwined with other people in the world? You can't go around living in isolation even if you wish to and so that touch you leave behind with everyone you've met, isn't that your true legacy? We, humans, are conscious beings with brains, life, voices. And yet we go around from birth to death in an endless cycle of work and talk and nothing else. There is no purpose, just aimless existence. Then what makes us go on? What makes us keep breeding and breathing without falling utterly in despair? Is it our ability to ignore what does not serve us happiness? Or is it the emotions? Because life is worth living as long as you can feel right? Everything from joy to pain to hatred. It all exists. It is what keeps us ALIVE. And that's our legacy. Not how much work we've done for people, not the money we've earned, not the things we...

I had a good time reading such incredible books for 5 years and then one day I decided, hey why don't I give Indian literature a chance? After all, I do live here. My first book like many other Indian readers was by Chetan Bhagat. Unfortunately, I seemed to have picked the worst of his books, being '3 Mistakes of my life' (reading that was a big mistake of my life) and 2 states (Because I wanted to watch the movie and can't watch without reading). Again I was disappointed. But I did not lose hope. The problem is that I had no one to guide me. To show me the way of GOOD Indian Literature. I hadn't heard of Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh. Every time I tried to look, I'd end up with something like Durjoy Dutta which would make me lose faith even more.  Then I discovered the Indian Publishing Markets and since I was already an established reviewer, it wasn't hard getting review copies of  New books by Debut authors . Because fresh mind, new...

We, the people of Jammu have the patience of a rock. We are the pain stone for all those who come into our city with their own sad story and unload their pain upon us. We, in turn, give them a place to call home, a neighborhood they can feel safe in, a market they can work at. We, in turn, ask our administrators to understand our needs, our day-to-day requirements and do work for our benefit. We wait for our cultural and historical heritage Mubarak Mandi to be restored and renovated. We ask when the work to make Raghunath Bazar a heritage bazar will start. We demand to know till when the Artificial Lake Project and Tawi Beautification project will be completed. We want Metro in Jammu. We want Ring Road to be completed. We want to see Jambu Zoo beyond the existing structure. We need an answer and we need it soon. We are told all projects will be completed. We agree. We are told the internet will be restored. We wait. We are told Jammu will have to sacrifice for Kashmir. We have...

Congress’s absence from the Delhi elections worked in the favour of Aam Aadmi Party but what does this say for the Senior Congress Leaders who are taking BJP’s defeat as a win for the Congress? While the fact remains that non-interference of Congress in the Delhi elections has strengthened the opposition by letting a regional leader take over the National Capital once again but Congress’s decimation from the Delhi elections once again shows that the party that ruled the country for ages has been reduced to nothing in the grassroots. It is understandable that the main cause of Kejriwal’s win in the Delhi elections was Aam Aadmi Party’s developmental efforts through the five years it remained in power, the absence of Congress also worked heavily towards consolidating the vote-bank of people who simply wished to vote against BJP. But while this anti-BJP sentiment always worked in the favour of Congress in the past and remained their election strategy, now they might have to reth...