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One Lives on Hope... History is omnipresent, even if we make it a habit of  "moving on with life." It seems easier to keep your head low, buried in sand, and avoid acknowledging conflicts and crisis situations. But history, the socio-political times that we live in, shape us knowingly or unknowingly. It has ways of creeping in, tip-toeing in the form of biases, prejudices that positions us in the social hierarchy and pushes us to take a stand. How many of us are able to stand up for others, how many of us can change the course of river to what it rightfully was and how many of us can come to the aid of those who meant us no harm, and yet ended up paying a heavy price? Is it easier to rise above trauma and heal? It is; if we have empathy. Sucharita Dutta-Asane's collection of short stories, These Tongues that Grow Roots, turns around the subjects of bleak headlines -- of war, naxalism, pandemic, lonely senior citizens, dying lakes, eve-teasing and feeling of being hunted -...

Three years to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has taught us all many a lesson, that (hopefully) will not be forgotten in a hurry. Amidst all the changes that we have lived through -- WFH to WFA, hybrid work models, 'new normal', and connecting with almost the entire world online -- here are some stories of how those in the creative field plodded on. Here's a series with authors and artists on how the virus affected their productivity. We start off with Deepa Agarwal, a prolific writer, poet, who has written for children and adults. Read on... Many publishing houses hosted interactive online sessions to connect readers with their authors. How was your experience? There were several requests from publishers for sessions with schools and on social media like Facebook and Insta Live interviews. There were also requests for pre recorded videos. Not only publishers but other writers, book stores, reading groups and various organisations and individuals contacted me. Scho...