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Since 2019, I’ve been writing a fortnightly column on children’s books and literature in Sunday Herald, the Sunday pages of Deccan Herald.
An Exercise in Empathy – 26th Nov 2022 – The last column, farewell, and a summary of all the reading-related things I believe in and subscribe to.
The Trick is to Read What You Like – 12th Nov 2022 – Peer pressure related to books!
To Be Aware of How Words Can Hurt – 22nd Oct 2022 – A list of books on stammering in time for Intl Stuttering Awareness Day
YA Books that are Just Right – 9th Oct 2022 – A list of good YA books I’d read recently
A World Still Unexplored – 25th Sep 2022 – The importance of translating books between languages
Is Your Child into Fanfiction – 11th Sep 2022 – All about the joys and pitfalls of writing fanfiction
Both Painting and Poetry – 28th Aug 2022 – An ode to illustrators in Q and A format
That’s Not What I Expected – 7th Aug 2022 – A list of new releases that deal with common topics in unexpected ways
Are You Choosing for Your Child? – 23rd Jul 2022 – Why choosing books for your child can turn out to be a flop!
The Pull of the Dark – 10th Jul 2022 – A list of dystopian novels and why they’re so popular among teens
Monsoon Reads for Your Child – 26th Jun 2022 – Some latest book releases
The Art of Reaching Every Child – 4th Jun 2022 – In praise of Children’s Book Trust
A Sound Decision or Not? – 22nd May 2022 – The joy of audiobooks
The Kabuliwala Still Bears Gifts – 8th May 2022 – Tagore for children
Why Your Kid Should Read Shakespeare – 23rd Apr 2022 – All about Shakespeare in time for his birthday
Give them the ‘Big Book’ Confidence – 9th Apr 2022 – A intro to, and a list of chapter books,
For the Record, Lists are Good to Do – 19th Mar 2022 – The advantages of keeping a record of books that you’ve read
A Birdsong in Every Word – 6th Mar 2022 – A list of books on nature
Stem the Rivers of Hate – 19th Feb 2022 – A list of books by and about Muslims
You’re Never Too Old … – 5th Feb 2022 – Why children’s books are great for adults (with a focus on Young Adult books)
Trust the Serendipity – 22nd Jan 2022 – You’ll never know what book your child will like, and what they’ll learn from it
It All Begins With Wonder – 8th Jan 2022 – A list of books dealing with philosophical concepts
The Quiet Power of Picture Books – 18th Dec 2021 – A list of of beautiful picture books
Catching the Child’s Eye – 4th Dec 2021 – Ways to arrange books on shelves
Celebrating Love and Identity – 20th Nov 2021 – A list of books on LGBTQ+ identities
How to Read to Children – 6th Nov 2021 – Techniques to weave in while reading aloud to children
And the Moral of the Story is – 23rd Oct 2021 – About not shoving morals into children’s faces
Is there a Better Way to Enjoy History? – 9th Oct 2021 – A list of books on historical fiction
Welcome Hues of Change – 25th Sep 2021 – Amar Chitra Katha moving with the times when it comes to depicting skin colour (a follow up from this column)
Aunt Agatha to the Rescue – 11th Sep 2021 – A list of books by Agatha Christie that children can begin with
Stories of Grit and Resolve – 28th Aug 2021 – A list of books on sports
Bundling Up India’s Essence – 14th Aug 2021 – A list of books on India in time for Independence Day
The Trouble with Gendered Reading – 31st July 2021 – “Girl books” and “boy books” – should they be categorized like this?
Words to Bring Alive Worlds – 17th July 2021 – A list of non-fiction books
A Starter List of Graphic Novels – 3rd July 2021 – An intro to, and a list of graphic novels
Brave Struggles of Survival – 19th Jun 2021 – A list of books of refugee stories
A Book Recommending a Person – 5th Jun 2021 – Bonding with others over a shared love of books or an author
Do You Want to Meet Your Favourite Author? – 22nd May 2021 – The feeling that you “know” your favourite author + a tribute to Subhadra Sen Gupta
Words to Shine a Light With – 8th May 2021- A list of books that deal with darker topics
An Enduring of the Unfair – 24th Apr 2021 – Calling out colourism in children’s books. Also see the follow up.
Why Not Have a More Bookish Summer? – 10th Apr 2021 – Summer literary activities for children
A Gift From the Soviets – 27th Mar 2021 – A nostalgic column about Soviet children’s books from the 80s and 90s
Rethink these old favourites – 13th Mar 2021 – Problematic issues and representations in old classics
Want a Scientific Mindset? Start Young! – 27th Feb 2021 – A list of STEM books for children
A Deep Love Like No Other – 13th Feb 2021 – A list of book-loving characters from the world of fiction (in time for V-Day)
The Comfort of the Familiar – 30th Jan 2021 – The advantages of re-reading books
Gifting Some Portable Magic – 16th Jan 2021 – Organizations that work to make books accessible to underserved children – Pratham and Parag
Begin the Year with the Funnies – 2nd Jan 2021 – A list of funny and silly picture books
Little Nooks of Imagination – 19th Dec 2020 – Independent bookstores and libraries based in Bengaluru
Every Book Adds Up – 5th Dec 2020 – A list of books on mathematics
Because Dragons Can be Beaten – 21st Nov 2020 – How reading fantasy can prepare children to deal with the realities of life
Good Enough to Eat! – 7th Nov 2020 – A list of books on food
A Warm Blanket of a Read – 24th Oct 2020 – Reading in your mother tongue
Is There a Right Age to Read a Book? – 11th Oct 2020 – The answer is – there is no right answer. This explores why
The Undeniable Power of One – 26th Sep 2020 – A list of books about people who have singlehandedly changed their world (in time for Gandhi Jayanti)
The Man With the Magic Fingers – 12th Sep 2020 – A list of books by Roald Dahl in time for his birthday
Don’t Throw That Blyton Away, Yet – 29th Aug 2020 – Dealing with racism, sexism and xenophobia in the much beloved Enid Blyton books
Truths Told in Tales – 8th Aug 2020 – A list of books about partition and the freedom movement
A Wrist Full of Rain – 25th July 2020 – Books about the monsoon
Learning to Read Between the Lines – 11th July 2020 – Stereotypes about people with disabilities
How To Get Your Child to Read – 28th Jun 2020 – Tips on getting children interested in books and reading
‘The Young Are Not Afraid of Telling the Truth‘ – 13th Jun 2020 – About The Diary of Anne Frank
School Stories for Unusual Times – 30th May 2020 – A list of books with school stories
Spark Conversations on Empathy – 16th May 2020 – A list of books about people who are different
Running Out of Books to Read? – 2nd May 2020 – Pandemic-related – tips to find more books to read when bookstores and libraries are closed
For Some Dog-Eared Comfort – 18th Apr 2020 – Why comfort-reading is so important especially during tough times
Stay at Home, Read for Free – 4th Apr 2020 – Pandemic-related – A list of books available online to read for free
Rhymes for a Reason – 21st Mar 2020 – A list of books on poetry for children
Nudge the Boys to Read About Girls – 7th Mar 2020 – About why boys should read more books about girls (in time for Intl Womens Day)
Which is Your Favourite Whodunnit? – 22nd Feb 2020 – A list of mystery books for children
Je t’adore in So Many Ways – 8th Feb 2020 – A list of books about love in all forms (V-Day)
The ‘not-for-exam’ Books! – 25th Jan 2020 – List about books on the Indian constitution, written during the CAA-NRC protests
Want to Know Your Child’s Dearest Wish? – 12th Jan 2020 – Your child’s innermost feelings come out sometimes through the books they read
Want Your Brats to be Better Citizens? – 28th Dec 2019 – A list of books about being better citizens
Why Your Child Must Read Indian Authors Too – 14th Dec 2019 – The first instalment – the pleasure of reading Indian authors
Travel
The House of Redwoods – BLink – Hindu Business Line – Dec 9, 2017
Bench Love – Cafe Dissensus Everyday – Jun 2017
In the Shades of Lalbagh – BLink – Hindu Business Line – April 15, 2017
A Labour of Lava – National Geographic Traveller India, Nov 2016
Greenwich: The Home of Time – Mint Lounge, Feb 7, 2015
Kukkarahalli Lake | A secret muse – Mint Lounge, Sep 27, 2014
Landour, Uttarakhand: Writer on the Hill – Mint Lounge, Aug 2, 2014
Mussoorie: Debris of an Odyssey – Mint Lounge, Jul 5, 2014
A Walk Along Thames – Sunday Herald, Jun 30, 2013
Carving out a bit of history. Sunday Herald, Sept 16, 2012
Science
Communication while living together, insect style May 2015
Seismic Intensity Map of South India for Estimated Future Earthquakes March 2015
SERIIUS – Leading the world into a solar-energy based future, March 2015
Culture, Lifestyle and Parenting
Going Silent – The Duckbill Blog, Mar 2018
Facts in Fiction – The Duckbill Blog, 2017
My Journey as a Person who Stammers – Huffington Post, 2017
Don’t Cross a Writer – The Duckbill Blog, 2017
A profile on Anupma Sud, humanitarian – India Currents, Apr 2017
The Should Issue – India Currents, Dec 2016
Yes, he wrote ‘The BFG’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Now meet the other Roald Dahl – Scroll.in, Aug 2016
Bangalore – Spark Magazine, Dec 2015
Here comes the God of all things – DH Living, Aug 23, 2014
Overcoming June Jitters – DH Living, May 2014
What to do this summer – DH living, Apr 2014
Healthy Competition – an oxymoron? – Complete Wellbeing, February 2013
How to track payments – Women’s Web, Jan 20, 2013
How Indian Women can benefit from Free Online Courses – Women’s Web, Dec 30, 2013
It’s virtually anytime meet-up in the gizmo world – DH Living, Deccan Herald, Nov 30, 2013
Time Saving Cooking Tips – Women’s Web, Oct 16, 2013
Reviving good old fun – DH Living, May 18, 2013
How to write a cover letter for a job – Women’s Web, May 7, 2013
There are humans next door, you know – DH Living, Deccan Herald, April 27, 2013
An easy ride at your fingertips – City and Neighbourhood, The Hindu, Mar 21, 2013
Praise the effort – Deccan Herald Living, Mar 9, 2013
More active than their grandchildren – City and Neighbourhood, The Hindu, Mar 7, 2013
A myriad books in multiple languages – City and Neighbourhood, The Hindu, Feb 28, 2013
They invite you to join their family – City and Neighbourhood, The Hindu, Feb 14, 2013
“A Flight of Adventure” – Right in the Middle, Deccan Herald, Nov 25, 2006
Book Reviews
Sky-Clad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Akka Mahadevi by Mukunda Rao – Women’s Web, May 2018
Memories Cached by Cameron Su – Kitaab, Mar 2018
Eve Out of her Ruins by Ananda Devi – Kitaab, Sept 2017
Hangwoman by KR Meera (Book Review) – Women’s Web, Aug 28, 2014
Everything you wanted to know about Freelance Journalism (book review) – Women’s Web, Apr 2014
Book review of The Bad Touch by Payal Shah Karwa – Women’s Web, Feb 4, 2013
For Children
Fold it Up – Young World, The Hindu, January 15, 2013
Happy Tree-spotting! – Open Sesame, Deccan Herald, March 16, 2012
“Are there reasons behind rhymes?” – Open Sesame, Deccan Herald, Sept 18, 2011
Getting Confidential – August issue – Brainwave, 2015
The Water Cycle and Rainstick – July issue, Brainwave, 2015
Aliens – June Issue, Brainwave, 2015
The History of the Atom – May Issue, Brainwave, 2015