Known Turf

हिंद में हिंदी बनते बनते बनी, कई सौ साल लगे। अब भी बन ही रही है। संस्कृत के ताने पे तुर्की फ़ारसी का बाना और फिर जाने कौन-कौन ज़ुबान की कढ़ाई...

I have a new novel out. It's called Prelude to a Riot. Please read. The Amazon buy link :  https://www.amazon.in/Prelude-Riot-No...

A new poem published in Narrow Road (Vol 8) is an attempt to examine chickens, roads and crossing over to the other side: Why did the chick...

As a child, I had thrilled to the story of a powerful, warrior woman on the throne of Delhi but had never wondered about who her ancestors ...

By now, he had published his first poem in the school magazine. It was written in Hindi, during his “Casio phase”. He had been taking priv...

For a moment there, the prospect hovered on the horizon: a female 007. Fans need not worry. It hasn’t happened yet. However, a less Bond-lik...

The messages doing the rounds are on the lines of “What can India expect if…?” “What should we brace for?” Those who felt the nee...

Level of expectations dekh lo, भई! कभी-कभी देश भक्ति के आवेग में बह जाते हैं लोग, तो ऐसी नज़्में लिख डालते हैं जो अपना जोश तो दिखाती ही हैं,...

Sometimes I wonder what we would do if India – as a political entity – had a Facebook account and had to update her relationship status wit...

मेरी माँ ने एक बात कही थी जो ज़हन में गहरी जा के अटक गयी है। उन्होंने कहा: ख़ुदा/ भगवान/ प्रकृति किसी को दुनिया में भूखा मरने के लिए नहीं भेज...

Tradition and ritual, especially unthinking ritual, hold little appeal for me. Those of us who grew up celebrating almost every religious f...

Cars are not my happy place. Yet, for over two years, I wrote a road column for The Hindu.  My view was that of a citizen who uses the r...

Citizens old enough not only to vote but also to marry and have children (some of them even old enough to contest parliamentary elections) ...

Another proscribed poem credited to Bismil in the collection 'Zabt Shuda Nazmein'. About this poem, the editor has added a note say...

Ghazal Poet: Ghani Surat-e-barq tadap jis ghadi dikhlaoonga Tere phande se main sayyaad nikal jaaoonga Larzish paa hoon gar dast-e-k...

Words like “party” are slowly being leached of meaning. What does it mean to vote for a party when the person you vote for ceases to repres...

Another proscribed poem. The interesting thing about it is that the poet 'Bismil' (Ram Prasad, or Azeemabadi? As mentioned in the l...

Had reviewed Amitabha Bagchi's beautiful novel 'Half the Night is Gone' last year. Thinking of it again today, with admiration ...

चर्चा अपने क़त्ल का अब यार की महफ़िल में है देखना है यह तमाशा कौन सी मंज़िल में है देश पर क़ुरबान होते जाओ तुम, ए हिन्दीयों ज़िंदगी का ...

'Jallianwala Bagh' Poet - Sarju Begunaaho.n par bum.on ki be'khatar bauchhar ki De rahe hain dhamkiyaan bandook aur talvaar...