Friends, last December I was surprised by the cold wave in Calcutta. That is when, through Julia Dutta, I met Dipali Taneja. I was hungry, blown by the cold. The evening conversation with excellent kebabs and continental food at Dipali’s gave me strength and I came away knowing I had made a new friend.
This is the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness month and suddenly Dipali asked me for an interview. I just now got the blog entry from her and am so pleased to see how she read Roll of Honour and has structured her entry. Over the past few months many readers have brought such a variety of readings to the book, Dipali sees it as a book against child sex abuse and I feel so satisfied that she sees it like that. Towards the end of the interview I have made a request to all of us readers. Read on… Thank you Dipali.
Tags: 1984, Bluestar, Khalistan, male CSA, military school, Mrs. Gandhi, Punjab, riots, Roll of Honour
Friends, this is another proud coverage. Though the book has been very well received I wanted to know how it will be accepted in Punjab. Prof Manju Jaidka invited me to speak at the Punjab University Department of English under the aegis of the Sahitya Academy. Parul Bajaj covered the event even without me knowing about it. Now that is a nice surprise. Please read on.
Tags: 1984, Bluestar, Khalistan, military school, Mrs. Gandhi, Punjab, riots, Roll of Honour
Karthik Keramalu asked me for an interview and I said not if the questions are the usual. He promised new questions, fresh ones. I must admit I was very happy to answer them. I like young people taking up a challenge and overcoming barriers. Please Read on.
Tags: 1984, Bluestar, Khalistan, military school, Mrs. Gandhi, Punjab, riots, Roll of Honour
Shri Rajesh Sharma teaches English at Punjabi University, Patiala. He had read Sepia Leaves last year and expressed the desire to follow my writing. Here are his views, read on.
Tags: 1984, Khalistan, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, Punjab, riots
‘We write to heal, the healing process never started in Punjab.’ Read on here.
Tags: 1984, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, riots, sodomy
Anuradha Goyal was herself growing up in Punjab in the 80s. In her review she says:
She says: ‘Author beautifully brings out the impact of external and internal violence in the life of a teenager in mid 1980s. It is an important piece of literature for a turbulent phase of Punjab written with an intensity that takes you back to the time.’
Please read her review.
Tags: 1984, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, riots, sodomy
A short review by Manjula Narayan in the Hindustan Times today (the third entry on the page):
‘Some of the scenes, especially those that deal with the depravity of school boys and their savagery are at once shocking and absorbing. Roll of Honour places much of its action in a particularly bloody time in the nation’s recent history – one that’s been largely ignored in Indian English fiction until now. This novel is doubly powerful as a result.’
For more read.
Tags: 1984, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, riots, sodomy
I have been a technical writer for 13 years. The technical writing life has helped support my life as a fiction writer. An interview, read on.
Tags: 1984, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, riots, sodomy
The Businwssworld interview. The first answer covers something I missed in the reading and discussion on Friday, Sept 21, 2012 at IIC Annexe, New Delhi. Read on.
Tags: 1984, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, riots, sodomy
Sanjitha at Businessworld read the book and decided to carry an extract. Read here.
Tags: 1984, military school, Mrs. Gandhi assasination, Operation Bluestar, riots, sodomy