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Freedom Lost in Rights: A Review of Sinha’s Short Stories

Imagine if the entire world spoke only one language and we could understand each other, no matter where we hailed from. Sounds very attractive, at first.

In this vein, Smriti Kumar Sinha, the author of short stories written in Bishnupriya Manipuri asked the interviewer that if the entire world carried the hues of his favourite colour, would it not be monotonous and lose its charm. And that is why we need linguistic diversity and save dying tongues across the world.

Bishnupriya Manipuri is spoken mainly in the geographical areas of Northeast India and some parts of Bangladesh. I am from North India, have travelled across the country, read translated works happily and yet I had never heard of this language.

Review

Smriti Kumar Sinha’s collection of short stories titled ‘Freedom Lost in Rights’, translated to English by Ramlal Sinha, opens the window to a beautiful world, a culture rooted in tradition and ancestral wisdom, finding its feet under the modern influence and thriving.

The stories have an old-world charm, a languor we associate with smaller towns and villages and yet, the issues they explore are contemporary. Right from caste, social and economic inequality, gender-based discrimination to the questions around autonomy and democracy, the stories explore a range that feels enlightening to the reader.

The distinct flavour of Bishnupriya Manipuri leaps through the pages with the stories peppered liberally with words from the language. All the words and their cultural context are described in footnotes, so the reader can understand the richness of the language and the culture.

My absolute favorite story of the collection is ‘Independence’. The deep love for one’s mother-tongue, the politics rife at the time of celebration Independence Day, the language and ethnic minorities and the injustice we mete out to them is captured poignantly.

‘Freedom Lost in Rights’ talks about Shompens, the elusive tribe in Andaman and Nicobar islands and how we, in a very shortsighted understanding of modernity and what makes people civilized, inflict harm on people who have their own way of living, more aligned with nature and their traditions.

‘Democracy’ is another story that brings forth the socio-political nature of development and the machinations of politicians at the time of elections and beyond. It is extremely relatable.

In spite of the names, the stories are not just about social causes or a commentary of our times, but also a showcase of a culture we may not have heard of. However, the human emotions are the same across state or country borders.

‘Grass or Land’ juxtaposes the innocence of childhood with the adult notions of class and economic status. ‘The Lid’ and ‘Gidei’s Bangles’ touch your heart with the raw portrayal of helplessness and adherence to duty. ‘Decimal Fraction’ explores family dynamics and the pathos of old age. ‘Akhanda-Prajna: A Love Story’ is refreshing in its simplicity and innocence. ‘A Blank-Page Spell-Checker’ is scathing in the portrayal of a married woman’s burden, forced to play second fiddle in the household in spite of her capabilities and intellect.

The stories are translated brilliantly, with the essence of the language and the nuances coming through very well.

Verdict

This is an excellent collection of short stories that will introduce you to the Bishnupriya Manipuri language and the culture of people who call it their mother tongue.

About the Author

Smriti Kumar Sinha, a leading short story writer in Bishnupriya Manipuri, a little-known indigenous language of the North-East, has published three collections. Over the last three decades, he has been actively working for the development, recognition, and publicity of minor and endangered languages of the region. Smriti Kumar Sinha is currently a Professor of Computer Science at Tezpur University, Assam.

About the Translator

Ramlal Sinha, a veteran journalist from the Northeast, is the Executive Editor of ‘The Sentinel’, Assam. He began his career with a four-year saint as a sub-editor with ‘The Newsfront’, Guwahati. Seducing the Rain God, the author’s first Bishnupriya Manipuri short story collection, was also translated by Sinha. He is devoted to making literature in endangered languages of the Northeast accessible to pan-Indian and international audiences.

About the Book

Title: Freedom Lost in Rights

Author: Smriti Kumar Sinha, translated by Ramlal Sinha

Genre: Fiction, Short Stories

Publisher: Niyogi Books

Pages: 204

Buy from Amazon

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The Forestborns by Vardhini Amin: Book Review

If I were to sum up the book ‘The Forestborns‘ by Vardhini Amin in one word, it would be ‘enchanting’. This is a beautiful tale of strength, love, magic and everything that warms your heart.

The story is about the flora around us, the trees, the forests, the shrubs, the mountains and all animals, and how their world is alive and fascinating, with spirits suffused with joy.

The opening of the book had me hooked; a fierce storm, a journey to the top of  a mountain, the desperation to save a young life, the search of an old woman with mystical powers. As I read on, I found that there exists a world that we cannot see with our eyes but it is there as spirits or souls of the trees around us, a world that pulsates with light and ethereal music, that communicates through networks we cannot even imagine, if we think through our five senses.

The Forestborns by Vardhini Amin

Avni, an intrepid girl, who loves the forests and actively works with forest rangers to protect it from poachers, is also dealing with the loss of her parents in a forest fire. The fire ravaged large tracts of trees and irrevocably changed many tree spirits as well. There is Bhuja, the elder leader spirit of the red sandalwood grove who names Siah, the young brave spirit as his successor.

In a way, Avni and Siah are worlds apart but both try to protect the trees in their own ways, seek to push away fear and conquer doubts while also going on seemingly impossible missions to save their clan. They come together to join forces in a wonderful twist.

The book is written for young adults and children and it is such a refreshing tale that every reader can take from, not in a moralistic sermon but through a story that will change their hearts and perspective towards the world around them.

I loved the book completely. I am already a tree lover, and now I can imagine the generous, joyous, loving tree spirits or the vruha, looking down on me as I pass through them.

If you looking for a lovely read for your child, I highly recommend this book. Do read it yourself too, whether you are 25 or 60.

Book Blurb

The magical world of Vriksha is unknown to humans.

Each night in soft moonlight, from towering trees to the tiniest shrubs, lively plant souls roam free.

Yet they must not travel too far, or they may perish forever.

On Earth is a hidden realm where the whispers of the trees hold ancient secrets. When sandalwood smugglers threaten to destroy the forest, Siah, a fiery young tree soul, must embark on a perilous journey to save her kind. In the winding paths of the woods, she encounters Avni, a young girl who often visits the sandalwood grove for solace. Siah and Avni must follow their own quests to preserve the harmony of their worlds. Until, in a twist of fate, a remarkable connection blooms between the two, and the forest witnesses a miracle in the face of danger – and life finds a way. The Forestborns is a heart-wrenching story of resilience, a shared past and the undeniable bond between humans and nature, reminding us that magic lives within us all.

About the Author

Vardhini Amin is a leading lifestyle and portrait photographer with over a decade of experience. However, she believes storytelling has always been her true calling. She finds solace in her indoor plants, a peaceful retreat amidst the playful chaos created by her two sons and two adopted cats.

Vardhini’s debut novel is a whimsical journey into a world where trees come alive, intertwining her passion for greenery with a deep respect for nature. Through her storytelling, she not only wants to entertain but also instil a sense of wonder and environmental consciousness in young minds, inspiring them to sow the seeds of a greener tomorrow.

This post is part of the Bookish League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile.

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Books That Make Me laugh

That would be P.G. Wodehouse, hands down.

I was in 9th standard and after the exams, my dad probably felt I had too much time on my hands and I needed books. So, he got me a couple from his office library (quite cool, come to think of it, a library where you go to work). There was this one, an unfamiliar book, an unfamiliar cover (not like the ones I was reading up till that time), with a strange name, ‘The Luck of Bodkins’. Nothing spoke to me but I have been an intrepid reader always, so I dove right in. It was about  a man on a cruise between Denver and Calais (or a longer journey perhaps), talking with great difficulty in French to the bearer who insisted in talking back in English. They were both practising foreign languages, it seemed, on orders of their fiancees. Reading on, I met bossy women (oooh, were they a thing?), mistaken identities, massive mixups, cowering men caught in awkward situations and it was all funny with a capital F. I took time to warm up to the story, but once I figured out that there were books that were not just classics and about human suffering, and stress and struggles, it was a great revelation. One that told me that it is okay to laugh and take life simple and easy.

Blandings Castle has given us some of the best laugh riots. A gardening crazy Earl, with a sharp and intelligent secretary, who incidentally is quite out of place in the book, and aunts in the family that scare the living daylights out of nephews in particular and men in general, every character is a delight.

I remember I was at a family gathering a few months after that. One of the boisterous uncles came of know of my love for P.G. Wodehouse books.

He sauntered up to me and asked, “So, how do you like Jeeves?”

“Jeeves. Well, I haven’t read any of those,” I replied, knowing deep inside my heart that this was not going to turn out to be a good conversation.

He gave me a look, which I interpreted to mean, what a weird person you are. I have since then, seen this look replicated, by people on the road, asking for directions and thinking in their head, what a weird person you are, you cannot understand anything when I ask you for directions in Punjabi. I don’t care if I am in Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan, you got to know what I am talking about.

Well, that got me scurrying over to Jeeves and Wooster books. I know Jeeves is the best known butler in literature with his stiff upper lip and exceedingly streamlined execution of every little chore and every big conspiracy, but my love for Blandings could not be replaced.

I also got to know about a family who made reading P.G. Wodehouse mandatory for every person in the household so that they could discuss the books every summer holidays when all the children converged at home from schools and colleges. They could be seen chuckling, then guffawing on trains and buses, those children, who were catching up on their reading on their way back home.

I often thought of them as I carried Wodehouse books with me as I travelled and read in trains, trying not to burst out laughing or to startle my co passengers with strange throttling noises that can only be the result of incredulity and hilarity.

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Feast on Your Life

There’s a very famous poem of Derek Walcott’s, Love after Love. It is simple enough to read and understand and is quoted around a lot, so I safely relegated it to pop culture, something liked by the masses. There are other poems of his that I love, the poem on the inability to write, when words just don’t come. There is something about ageing, and travel and the beautiful Italy landscape. It is a treasure to read verses, that hide obscure meanings and allude to emotions through imagery. It is a discovery and while all the words are the poets own, the reader is a part of the creation process too because they hold the words through the prism of their own experience and see the colors and patterns that no one else has quite seen like that.

‘The time will come

when, with elation,

you will greet yourself arriving

at your own door…’

The time is right for me. I do tend to smile at myself when I catch my eye in the mirror. It has nothing to do with vanity and everything to do with wonder. There is a wonder at the person I never saw clearly. There is the realization that there is no one else who knows me so closely. I am the only one privy to the desperate prayers and the ardent desires, to the times they were uttered and offered at the altar of the powers that be. I alone know the path I have covered, and the way ahead as I have visualised.

They say the poem speaks of self-love. I always thought self-love was the last resort of people who could not find validation in other things or people. It was for the weak, in my eyes. It was a silent and subtle gesture of defeat; it was ageing. To me, it meant there was nothing left in the world that captured your attention and interest and with resignation, you turn inwards.

There is no surprise. I have made my peace with the words here. How we are wrong about things. How we think we know best but our experiences change, we evolve or maybe devolve but there is nothing constant and am I grateful for the flux. Somedays, I do think that I have arrived. That I have reached the place I set out for, with my limited understanding of the immense possibilities and potential that is available. And since I have atleast reached the mouth of the journey, I deserve to

‘Sit. Feast on your life.’

This post is part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.

Image credit: pexels

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Oh, So Emo! by Gayatri: Book Review

Imagine a world where all of us are emotionally aware and direct our energies to understand our own selves.

Now, think that we pass on this knowledge of reflection and subsequent clarity of thought to our children, so that they can make sense of the world around them, how they react to situations and identify and manage their deep-rooted emotions.

Book Blurb

Psst! Here’s a secret – we understand what you’re feeling.

Some days you’re soaring high, on others you’re down, and sometimes you’re blank as a canvas, not even bothered to tie your shoelaces. Feeling nothing at all. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

YOU are not alone.

It’s all there, mapped out on the Wheel of Emotions. You’ll see when you join Amit, Susie, Moin, Frenny and Neela on their journeys through emotional ups and downs, showing you exactly where your feeling fits. Once you’ve located it, the Wheel is like a lantern guiding you through the twists and turns of life. Showing you how your feelings affect your thoughts, words and actions.

Oh, and let’s not forget Sku. Who’s Sku, you ask? Just a rare and dazzling ‘mind finder’, a sunbird who’s flown all the way from Tibet, and who knows what’s what. He’s carrying the secret of the Secret, which he learned from the boy-monk Dorji. And he’s willing to share the secrets with YOU.

Review

Oh, So Emo! by Gayatri, a therapist, a qualified practitioner of Buddhist psychology has penned a wonderful book that can used by children and adults alike to name their emotions, identify what they are feeling, work out and work with their emotions on a deeper level with positive affirmations to keep them going.

The book starts with the story of Buddhist monks walking through Tibet towards the India border. Dorji, a 10 yr old wise boy and his rescued sunbird Sku engage in a discussion and conversation about emotions, feelings and actions and how they manifest in the body.

The conversation is deep but engaging and relatable for children. Sku goes on to get other winged friends later, all of them as intuitive as Sku, helping children as they struggle to terms with the world around them.

The circumstances that the children in the book face are very realistic, without being cliched. As the stories unfold, the reader is presented varied emotions in a very engaging manner.

While reading the book, I quite looked forward to these emotions, an explanation of what they feel like, how to recognise them, practical tips on what to do about it, along with brilliantly worded affirmations.

For young readers, there is a colourful, detachable poster of the Wheel of Emotions for quick and easy reference.

Oh, So Emo! is a good book to have in your home library. The children would of course not read about all emotions all at once and maybe find a few too unfamiliar and complex but the book would serve as a good reference/reminder to them over the years.

With delightful illustrations by Shamika Chaves and a bright book cover, the book is like a friend, supporting and accepting and always there for you.

About the Author

Gayatri holds a Masters in English Literature, PG diploma in Journalism, Counselling Psychology, and Applied Buddhist Psychology and Ethics, a Nalanda Diploma in Buddhist Philosophy and is a student of the 5-year Nalanda Masters in Buddhist Philosophy, under the aegis of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She is a practitioner of Vipassana, and the Ngondro Gar under the lineage of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. She studied Vedic Culture & Spirituality and Indian Philosophy at Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Puttaparthi.

She has worked in the Indian media for 22 years and is a mental health columnist for MoneyControl. Her non-fiction work has appeared in the Hindustan Times, India Today and Mint Lounge, and also as part of an award-winning anthology of Out of Print edited by Meena Kandasamy and Samhita Arni. Her poetry has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2021 and featured in the Converse Anthology commemorating 75 years of Indian Independence in 2022, among others. She’s lived in Lagos, Nigeria; Kodaikanal, TN; and Thane, Maharashtra, and is currently a resident of Mysuru. She is the founder of Shamah | a mind-body-spirit alignment practice.

You can buy the book on Amazon.

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Reading in 2024: here is a plan

Every December I see people doing their year-end round-up posts of books they have read through the year. There are loads of reading challenges too, promising to get you to read more, read diversely and have fun while doing all that.

I feel scared to commit to reading challenges. What if I change my mind about the books I was supposed to be reading? What if, I find more books that I want to read first? What if, I cannot read the required number because life gets in the way (just a phrase though, reading is life).

Casting aside all misgivings and doubts I am going to join an interesting reading challenge this year, Reading with Muffy 2024 Reading Challenge!

Why, you might ask? One, Muffy is an adorable Golden Retriever and getting an approving glance from the doggo while you are reading is motivation enough. Two, the prompts are quite interesting and seem flexible. Three, while I do have to read 12 books through the year, I can do that at my own pace. (And a secret reason, I found that quite a few of the prompts matched the books I am already planning to read). I haven’t yet mentioned that there is a very interesting set of readers who have already joined in, so that is a bonus, getting to read good bookish posts, and possibly picking up a few book recommendations as well.

In the hope of converting you, my reader, to be part of this cool reading challenge, here are the details.

12 prompts for 12 months, though you can read fast or slow. I am including the handy graphic I got to keep track of the prompts.

Write a post, either on your blog or socials, talking about your participation, tagging the gracious host, Shalini.

Keep adding your views on the books you are reading to a linky that is open for 12 months. There would be other links there so you can see who else is doing the same challenge and what they are reading.

Not to make you greedy but only more motivated, there are goodies sent out very regularly for sign ups, active participation etc.

Convinced? Here is the place you can get all the rules and sign up too.

I am looking forward to this reading adventure. If you are joining in, let me know in the comments so that we can discuss which books to pick for the prompts.


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This Year I Plan to Go Slow…

…with my reads. I am pleased to report that in 2023 I read a lot of books. Well, number wise they were not many, but stories-wise, content-wise, themes-wise, it was sizeable. I almost feel like I have conquered something.

I read all kinds of books, picked some that others were reading – other readers whom I admire for their tastes and discernment. A few other books that I read were simple, easy reads because I could not get my pace for complex ones.

One reason I feel I have achieved something is that I went back to reading books without getting distracted by devices, internet and work. I got back to reading paperbacks and that felt very comfortting as well. In the beginning, I would read half a page and pause to take stock of what else was I supposed to be doing at that time. I even felt that committing to reading everyday was akin to not living. But then, I got my pace, my interest was alive and reading once again came effortlessly (phew, it was never supposed to get hard but that is life). I have read a lot of ebooks in recent years but I realised that holding a book and turning its pages was good therapy for me.

And anyway, with a group, we did a very cool readalong of the longlist of the JCB Prize for Literature books and found so many gems. We also discussed it with fellow readers and that was such a rewarding experience.

The books I read at that time begged to be savoured. I would start reading fast, realise what I was doing and slow down once again. A book that spoke to me a lot (Sim sim by Geet Chaturvedi, translated to English by Anita Gopalan) had me cooking cuisines from that area. It was like I wanted to live that life.

Another book (The Colony of Shadows by Bikram Sharma) led me down a series of articles written by the author where they talked about how the dog in the book was inspired by the strays they would feed.

Yet another book opened up a chapter in Indian political and economic history (I named My Sister Silence by Manoj Rupda, translated to English by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar) that reminded me of the news items I would hear, and read in my childhood. I googled a lot of places and people.

Reading slow gave me a a feel of the world, beyond the words. It was as if I was living the story and the author experiences in part. And that felt wholesome — not just chasing the story and capturing my impressions in a blog post or a social media post or in a review, but being part of it.

I started this year with a Graphic Novel (Starry starry Night by Nandita Basu). An unlikely choice, given that I have read zero, ok, maybe 2 graphic novels before. This book is lilting, it speaks of music and art and as I read so many impressions jump out to me. How children are more straight forward, how they ask questions that need answers, unlike us adults who emphasise politeness. There is a backdrop of art and music and right now I am lost in classical music, listening to Beethoven and the piano renderings of 90s pop music. Already, I feel a sense of calm pervading me.

Hence, the resolution to go slow and to savour.

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The Colony of Shadows by Bikram Sharma: Book Review


Title: The Colony of Shadows
Author: Bikram Sharma
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Hachette India

Book Blurb


A GRIEVING CHILD.

A MYSTERIOUS COLONY.

A LURKING MENACE.

After the untimely death of his parents, nine-year-old Varun struggles to adjust to his new life in Bangalore with his perceptive aunt and bedridden grandmother. When he climbs through a hole in the wall of their back garden, he discovers a mysterious colony that lies abandoned and in ruins. It’s strangely familiar, and the more he explores it, the more it resembles his old home in Delhi. But the comfort of familiarity is deceptive, for something dangerous lurks in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike – and wreak havoc. Will Varun survive this threat? Or will he vanish from the world, swallowed alive by the colony of shadows?

In this gripping debut novel, Bikram Sharma tells an emotionally rich tale about loss, grief, and hope, and the lengths we go to for the people we love.

The Story


When Varun explores the garden in his aunt and grandmother’s house in Bangalore, he finds a mysterious, ruined place beyond the boundary wall, a colony that looks similar to his house in Delhi. His parents are dead and burdened by a sense of grief and a longing to go back home to his parents, he explores the place again and again while memories rush back.


But the colony is sinister and Varun’s sense of danger vies for space with his longing. His life is with Jyoti and Usha but will he learn to reconcile with the idea of a new family?

Review


The Colony of Shadows is a quick and easy read. The language and narration are uncomplicated. I liked that it had a very Indian feel to everyday events.

The book is a sensory delight because much of the story is through Jyoti, Varun’s aunt who is visually challenged. Poppy the pet dog has some of the narration, and we get to experience the world through her senses. Intuition, sensory perception and emotional awareness make the text so much richer. In fact, even emotions have scents when Poppy experiences them. She can smell curiosity, fear, grief and make sense of what the humans are going through. Grief becomes a rancid bitterness; inquisitiveness is expressed through muscles tensed in anticipation of action.

There’s so much of a woman’s perspective in the book. Jyoti, Anu, their mother Usha are the orbits around the child Varun.

Maleness sees a put-down again and again, be it Poppy’s fear of men, the male gaze that Anu despises, or Praveen, who is a grey character, veering towards malice.

There is a lot about disability, both physical and mental and those in the margins, orphans, animals who have been treated cruelly, all of it very sensitively handled. While Jyoti can navigate her physical limitations, Usha is unable to fight her mental demons.

The story has a beautiful juxtaposition of the mundane, everyday life, of power cuts, household chores and of a fantastical world, that lies beyond the boundary wall of the house. To Varun, it is a place where he can return to his parents and the life he once had; to Poppy, it is the other world beyond a tunnel of darkness, where people are lured to, never to be seen again. In this world, shadows have a life of their own, while everything else lies in ruins, inanimate objects like coins and sticks converse, warn, think aloud. This other world seems curious, enticing in a way, and the sense of danger grows more menacing as the book progresses.


There is a lot of Varun’s perspective in the book, the child’s remorse of doing something that you were not supposed to, of a child’s notion that something went wrong, because they broke a promise or that if you were good, nothing would go wrong ever.


There are some subtle nuances like the gramophone that plucks ghostly voices from nowhere or the book that Jyoti and Varun are reading (pop culture references are exciting, I looked up the book), Praveen stalking Jyoti after he’s unable to handle the happenings or his own emotions or ineptitude.

I did not want to look at the book from a disability lens but it’s very empathetic writing. In fact it is about the marginalised — women, disability, orphans, strays, people we imagine need comfort and we end up patronising them but they only need support, they can make their own way.

One thing that rankled as the story progressed was that Usha and Jyoti have rather similar thoughts and reactions. The characters are all cast from the same mould. With the exception of Praveen, they are all gentle, sensitive, and caring. Also, pennies drop or people come to conclusions suddenly, without any trigger of revelation. While Varun’s grief is real, there was little mourning on Jyoti or Usha’s end, for Anu’s death.

The ending did not work for me, even though it is neatly tied. In fact the book faltered after the 60% mark. After the elaborate world building, random things happened when it came to ghosts, shadows, or dead people.

Verdict


A very beautifully penned story that will make you feel warm, vulnerable and have an aching heart, all at once.

This post is part of Bookish League Blog Hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile.

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A book that makes me cry

If there’s one book I cannot read without breaking down, it’s Making a Mango Whistle by Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay. I later found out that it’s about Apu, the protagonist of Apur Sansar, immortalised on celluloid by Satyajit Ray.

The book follows the life of Apu and his older sister Durga over the period of a few years. The children are born in a house that doesn’t have much money. But the children are resourceful; they play, eat, create make-believe worlds with all the innocence of childhood. The little joys and their adventures are endearing.

The forest near their home has a very prominent place in the children’s life. Some scenes are so delicate and beautiful that I had a sense of forebearing that it was all too good to continue. For so many chapters, I read on feverishly, waiting for the axe to fall, for tragedy to rear itself. It’s an awful way to read a classic I know but that’s my relationship with this book.

I had written a review sometime back. You can read it here.

This post is part of Blochatter Half Marathon.

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Authors who Shaped my Reading Journey

Books that impacted the reader and writer in me, the post in which I go ga-ga over the books and authors I have loved.

*Takes a deep breath*. It started with Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, that lovely illustrated classic that I won as a prize. I had been reading for years by then, all children’s magazines, comic books, those delightful picture dictionaries (thanks Richard Scarry) that my Dad got from faraway and big book stores. Also thanks to the school library where I got my hand on Noddy books, loads of Enid Blytons (Amelia Jane and The Magic Faraway Tree still have a huge place in my heart), Caroline Keene (I quite loved the hardback Nancy Drews). The Perry Masons I borrowed from family book dumps, James Hadley Chase too. Of course, my reading was peppered with Sidney Sheldons and Arthur Haileys. I discovered P G Wodehouse from an office library and Louis L’Amour from a friend’s Dad’s collection, a book that had no cover.

Along the way, I found Daphne du Maurier and also werewolves in an unnamed book. Of course, I was reading voraciously. I was fascinated with Thomas Hardy and I haven’t even mentioned that I had read quite a lot of the classics by the time I was 16. Then came a time when I read the Russian masters. Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and many others were part of my library. After that came the biographies and the introduction to art.

All along, I had been absorbing the writing style of all the masters I was encountering. Reading and writing are really two sides of a coin. We absorb, formulate our own opinions and put them forth in our writing. However, easing into our own style takes time, patience and practice.

This post is part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.

Image courtesy Lil Artsy on Pexels.