Tag: 2020



#FiveDesiFaves: Nandini Bhattacharya on her five favorite desi historical novels; #DesiBoost: Anuja Ghimire on her favorite desi poems

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Hello and welcome to Episode 21 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Nandini Bhattacharya in the #FiveDesiFaves segment. Her debut novel, Love’s Garden, is a work of historical fiction set in British India. So she’ll be sharing her five favorite historical novels with us. We also have Anuja Ghimire, who has a poetry chapbook out titled Kathmandu. She’ll be boosting her three favorite poems in the #DesiBoost segment.

#DesiLitBiz: Sarina Prabasi on how activism and writing go together; #DesiBoost: Haider Shahbaz on his favorite desi works

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Hello and welcome to Episode 20 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Sarina Prabasi in our #DesiLitBiz segment. She’s an activist, coffeeshop founder, and writer of the memoir: The Coffeehouse Resistance: Bringing Hope in Desperate Times. We also have the literary translator, Haider Shahbaz, sharing some important works from Lahore, Pakistan in the #DesiBoost segment. Haider’s latest translation is a novel by Mirza Athar Baig, titled Hassan’s State of Affairs. I’d like to also share a bit about a collaboration project between the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative and Desi Books. Throughout the month of December, I will be sharing brief interviews with South Asian literary translators about one of their translated works.

#DesiLitBiz: Shubhanga Pandey on Himal Southasian; #FiveDesiFaves: Kavita Jindal on her favorite desi works

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Hello and welcome to Episode 19 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Shubhanga Pandey in our #DesiLitBiz segment. He’s the chief editor of Himal Southasian Magazine and a senior editor at SAAG Anthology. So we’ll be discussing the work being done by both these fine venues. Also, we have Kavita Jindal sharing her favorite desi books in #FiveDesiFaves. Kavita’s novel, Manual for a Decent Life, is out now.

#DesiLitBiz: Tara Kaushal on narrative journalism; #FiveDesiFaves: Suman Mallick shares his favorite desi works

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desibooks episode 18

Hello and welcome to Episode 18 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Tara Kaushal talking about the undercover investigation she conducted for her new book, Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation, in #DesiLitBiz. And we have Suman Mallick, whose debut novel, The Black Marketer’s Daughter, is just out. He’s going to be sharing his #FiveDesiFaves. So please sit back and enjoy.

#DesiReads: Taran Khan reads from her travel memoir, Shadow City; #DesiBoost: Satish Prabasi on his favorite desi works

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Hello and welcome to Episode 17 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Taran Khan reading from her memoir, Shadow City: A Woman Walks Kabul, in #DesiReads. We also have Satish Prabasi sharing his favorite desi works in #DesiBoost. His memoir, Fragments of Memory: A Nepali National's Reminiscences, is out this month. And now sit back and enjoy.

#DesiCraftChat: Tara Isabel Zambrano on the art and craft of the short and flash story; #DesiBoost: Madi Sinha on her favorite desi works

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Hello and welcome to Episode 16 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Tara Isabel Zambrano in #DesiCraftChat talking about flash fiction. Her new collection, Death, Desire, and Other Destinations, came out on September 15. We also have Madi Sinha giving us her favorite desi reads in #DesiBoost. Her new novel, The White Coat Diaries, also came out on September 15. At the end of the episode, I’m going to share a bit of news about a monthly book club called #DesiBooksinTranslation. Stay tuned for that as well.So sit back and enjoy.

#FiveDesiFaves: Guruprasad Kaginele on his favorite desi works in translation; #DesiBoost: Saumya Dave on her favorite desi works

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Hello and welcome to Episode 15 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, we have Saumya Dave sharing her favorite three works by desi writers in our #DesiBoost segment. And we have Guruprasad Kaginele sharing his five favorite books by desi writers in the #FiveDesiFaves segment. So sit back and enjoy.

#DesiLitBiz: Sarah Thankam Matthews on the SAAG Anthology; #DesiReads: Sameer Pandya reads from his novel, Members Only

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Hello and welcome to Episode 14 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in after a much-needed break. In today’s episode, I want to first talk about a few changes to the podcast format based on listener feedback. Then, we’ll have an interview with Sarah Thankam Mathews, one of the editors and founding team members of the upcoming, very exciting South Asian Avant-Garde or SAAG Anthology. That’s in our #DesiLitBiz segment. We’ll also hear from Sameer Pandya reading from his excellent new novel, Members Only, in the #DesiReads segment.

#DesiCraftChat: Soniah Kamal on literary adaptations and the empire writing back

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Hello and welcome to Episode 13 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, in addition to the usual roundup of new notable desi books, short stories, poems, essays, interviews, awards, and more, we have Soniah Kamal discussing the art and craft of the literary adaptation. Soniah’s latest novel, Unmarriageable, is a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

#DesiLitBiz: Mahmud Rahman on the current scene for desi literary translations

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Hello and welcome to Episode 12 of DesiBooks — news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today’s episode, in addition to the usual roundup of new notable desi books, short stories, poems, essays, interviews, awards, and more, we have Dr. Reshma Ruia sharing some thoughts and a reading from her poetry collection, A Dinner Party in the Home Counties, in #DesiBooksGiveaway. And we have Mahmud Rahman discussing desi literature in translation in #DesiLitBiz.