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Showing posts from December, 2020

One for the road

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  The Postscript book review was first published in Sakal Times Ambika Shaligram There is no single template to deal with death, the mind-numbing grief and that aching sense of loss. Holly was comforted by the letters that her husband, Gerry Kennedy managed to deliver to her after his death. Cecelia Ahern’s PS, I Love You was all mush, lump in your throat, kind of story. Perfect love of Gerry and Holly, one would say. The letters always signed off with ‘PS, I Love You’ guided Holly to rediscover herself.  Postscript is the PS to this book and opens to Holly’s life seven years after Gerry’s death and six years after she received his letters, one for every month. Those who have read the first book (and watched the movie as well) and found it concluding on the right note, would definitely be wary of Postscript. What more could it say about death and healing? Turns out, quite a lot. Seemingly personal gestures can invite a chain of action and reaction as Holly discovers. A g

In another time and city

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This interview was first published in Sakal Times Ambika Shaligram Rana Safvi’s third book in the Delhi trilogy series, Shahjahanabad – The Living City of Old Delhi – would strike a chord with the most. After all, who hasn’t heard of Purani Dilli, as we know it now? The other two books in the trilogy include Where Stone Speaks: Historical Trails in Mehrauli, the First City of Delhi and The Forgotten Cities of Delhi. They have been published by HarperCollins. Shahjahanabad or Purani Dilli was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Old timers, descendants of noblemen from Mughal court and members of the Hindu Kayastha community, who moved with Shah Jahan from Agra, still live there. They refer to Shahjahanabad as ‘shehr’.  Shah Jahan decided to build this city because he found Agra and Lahore forts less spacious for his retinue of dignitaries. He finalised the present location between Firozabad and Din Panah for Qila-e-Mubarak (Red Fort) and laid the foundation. The city of Sh