Author: Hengul

Hindi is not my mother-tongue and as a subject I studied Hindi till 8th grade though I believe and as my wife (a Hindi speaker) says, I speak good Hindi for someone who has learnt it from secondary sources. Be what it may, the point is, despite my almost no knowledge of Hindi literature, I have been fortunate enough to read some of the works by greats like Premchand and Harivansh Rai ‘Bachchan’. Majority of Premchand I have read was in form of Assamese translation; but for ‘Madhushala’, though I knew it would take me some time, I read it in Hindi because poetry is very prone to be lost in translation.

Continue Reading “Why is Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s soul lamenting?”

On the eve of the auspicious occasion of our great country’s hard-earned freedom, let’s celebrate liberty (not to be mistaken for the shoe-makers with the same name).

… Some go to the India Gate to be a direct witness to our great democracy’s Independence Day; some stick to the good-old DD with baritone holding anchors describing the same things every year; some make the most of it with a day-off at a nearby holiday resort and some wake up at noon to ponder over as to what to do with the hangover from last night. In a pompous display of honesty, I confess of following the second and the last practice so far in my life. As a kid, I used to sit with the whole family over the elaborate holiday breakfast in front of TV. And when my father thought that I am old and sensible enough to live on my own, I took that freedom literally and had been spending 15th August with my definition of liberty (pondering over hangovers) till I got married.

Continue Reading “Do you celebrate Independence Day daily? Some do!”

Let me be clear first- this post is about my realization and experience (being in the aforementioned profession). I might sound frustrated, irritated, deeply disturbed, cursing my decision and everything that describes negativity, during the post. But don’t be fooled; I am content (yeah, I have hit a pun!) from within!

Continue Reading “Reasons why not to go for a career in writing”

My faith in India being a democracy found itself standing on a shaky ground of late. The petty reasons for this were – curbing of freedom of speech (barring Salman Rushdie from the Jaipur Literary Fest, arrest of some cartoonists, talks of banning social media and so on), the cash-for-vote episode, some freak judgments and what not!

Continue Reading “When the aam is khas!”

Death – it has always been one of my favourite natural phenomena to ponder over and wonder at. I am not sure from when exactly I started developing a curiosity towards this eternal fact. May be, it was during my graduation days when I found the mention of death in the best possible artistic ways (being a literature student); or may be after going through the part of The Bhagvad Gita where death is explained with a consolatory undertone; or may be because I saw death in my family thrice in a span of five years.

Continue Reading “Of death and life cycle”

I always had the view that creativity is inborn and artists are born, not made. I still wonder why and how creativity can be taught to the students in some obscure courses like ‘Creative Writing’. And hats off to the people who teach how-to-be-creative! Nevertheless, we have to admit, they are creative enough to conceive something like that!

Continue Reading “Rare species – the arrogant artists”

Had music and poetry been a couple, their kid’s name would have been Bob Dylan. Many might have different takes on it; but being a Dylanhead, I would love to think and feel in this line.

Scores have been written about Dylan, his poetry and his music; so I am not going to repeat the same. But as it is his 71st birthday today, I believe he commands more than a Facebook post from one of his millions of admirers.

Continue Reading “Scribbling of a Dylanhead”

I have been a blissfully lazy person – I love to stay laid back, worship procrastination and fell asleep even at the sight of an ad hoarding of any mattress brand. My roommates from my bachelor days still swear by my laziness and quite understandably, my wife would have killed me every morning had I been blessed with the power of repeatedly coming back to life. In the past and whenever I go home now, I am used to my father’s bashing of this habit of mine (fast transforming into instinct).

Continue Reading “An apology – to whom (many indeed) it may concern!”