Wani Nazir — Excerpt: Manchanda’s comprehensive description reminds me of Narayan’s Malgudi, which is very place-based, or Anita Desai’s researched landscapes. But his view is full of life, character, and joy in the small things in life.
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Anjana Basu — Excerpt: Revered as the founder of the Maihar Gharana and guru to greats such as Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, and Nikhil Banerjee, Allauddin Khan left behind not only a musical legacy but also a personal account of his extraordinary journey.
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Wani Nazir — Excerpt: Choudhary doesn’t write about real life in the usual way; his world is strange and frenetic. The holy and the vile walk hand in hand. Sometimes a prayer turns into a protest. Sen has a hard job expressing that tilt, when faith turns into irony.
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Shayista Jahan — Excerpt: Mushtaq has a sharp eye for women’s issues and portrays them honestly, without embellishment or complication. They are both contextual and universal in different ways. “The personal is political” is the overarching theme that the stories inevitably try to impart.
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Namrata — Excerpt: If one seeks a lens to understand Asrani’s journey, it is perhaps best found in Chala Murari Hero Banne (1977). Beneath its laughter lies an almost autobiographical resonance. The film’s humour, while entertaining, is inseparable from its poignancy.
