Submit your Article

Megha Majumdar’s debut novel ‘A Burning’ was a New York Times bestseller. It was named one of the best books of 2020 by the Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, Vogue, and Time among others. It won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Purasakar in 2021 besides being nominated for many other awards like the National Book Critic’s Circle John Leonard Prize and the American Library Association’s Andrew Carnegie Medal. Many readers reviewed it on YouTube and Instagram. 

I haven’t read it yet but quite a few of my friends have recommended it to me. That’s probably one reason why I picked up ‘A Guardian and a Thief’ by the same author. The second reason being a blurb by American essayist Stacy Schiff, whose biography of Vera Nabokov won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in biography. She writes: “Wondering if there’s a novel out there that gives Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ a run for its money? Here you go. An indelible piece of writing, in equal parts dazzling and devastating.”

A Guardian and a Thief tells the story of Ma and Boomba and the lengths they will go to for their families. It’s set in near-future Kolkata in India that is plagued by flooding and famine. Ma, her two-year-old daughter, Mishti, and her father are leaving Kolkata to join Ma’s husband in America. But Ma’s purse gets stolen the day after they receive their visas. It had all three passports. Ma tells nothing about the robbery to her husband who believes his family will soon be joining him. 

In Kolkata, she searches high and low for the thief who brought this misfortune upon her family. When Ma finally finds the thief, Boomba, he offers her a deal: He will give her back the passports if she agrees to give him her house when she leaves for America. The story is set amidst a worsening food crisis that drives both Ma and Boomba to do things they wouldn’t have had circumstances been different. Set over the course of one week, the plot revolves around Ma and Boomba’s struggle for survival when the odds are stacked against them. 

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is one of my favorite books. A Guardian and a Thief is indeed reminiscent of that, and I loved it. What struck me the most about the book is that there are no heroes or villains here. Ma does many things that go against her morals, even stealing from the shelter she once worked at. Even though Boomba is a thief who commits a lot of crimes, he isn’t really in the wrong here. They are both two people trying to do what’s best for their families, and they both operate from a place of extreme love. The title thus applies to both characters. Each is a guardian and a thief. 

The book made me think about how people behave in the face of a crisis, and whether that is a truer reflection of who we actually are. Can you be principled when you are in grave trouble? Or do your instincts of self preservation override everything else? It’s interesting to try and get inside the character’s minds, with their conflicting thoughts and motives. They remind you of people you might know. They are relatable as well–you would easily behave the way they did had you been in their shoes. 

The ending seemed a bit rushed and over the top but other than that, I liked everything about the book–the plot, the setting, the characters, and the dystopian vibe. I found out that A Guardian and a Thief is actually a follow up to Majumdar’s debut novel, A Burning, after I had finished reading it. But the good thing is that it works wonderfully well as a standalone novel too. If you have enjoyed McCarthy’s The Road and have been searching for a story with a similar feel to it, this is one you won’t regret picking up. 

A Guardian and a Thief

Megha Majumdar

Published: 2025

Publisher: Penguin Random House India

Pages: 205, Hardcover

Elif Shafak is well known for ‘The Bastard of Istanbul’ and ‘The Forty Rules of Love’. These books catapulted the author to fame. She has written other books like ‘The Architect’s Apprentice’, ‘Honour’ and ‘Three Daughters of Eve’, all of which I found to be more interesting than the popular titles. ‘The Island of Missing Trees’, published in 2021, is my favorite out of all her works. Set in Cyprus and London, the story is narrated by a little girl and a fig tree that has seen generations of the girl’s family and knows their story intimately. It was fascinating and I have, since finishing the book, given out copies to many relatives and friends.  

I came across ‘Black Milk’ when I was just browsing through the bookstore looking for a short read. It’s a non-fiction work about postpartum depression and Shafak shares how she struggled with it. I will read anything Shafak writes because she does so gorgeously. But the blurb of Black Milk was intriguing. Since I was also going through motherhood, I thought this would be a good book to pick up. I wasn’t wrong. I have perhaps never felt as seen and validated as I have while I was reading the book. 

Postpartum depression affects many new mothers worldwide but it’s something that’s seldom talked about. In Nepal too, you’d be hard pressed to find women who are vocal about their struggles. It’s almost like you have failed as a mother if you are sad and unable to cope when there’s a baby who needs you. Our society puts so much pressure on women being ‘good mothers’ that they turn a blind eye to the myriad of conflicting emotions that women find themselves struggling with mostly because of fluctuating hormones.  

To be honest, the book addresses the question put forth to Shafak by another Turkish writer Adalet Agaoglu: Do you think a woman can manage motherhood and career at the same time and equally well? Shafak seeks to answer this question by dissecting the lives of other women writers and their careers and contemplating over her own experiences of juggling motherhood and writing. There is actually little about postpartum depression. Most of it comes at the end of the book. But it’s still an immersive and insightful read. I just found the blurb to be a bit misleading. 

The Turkish-British novelist, essayist, and activist, who writes in both Turkish and English, recounts how ‘words wouldn’t speak to her’ after the birth of her first child in 2006. She writes candidly about her inner voices urging her to focus on her writing and flourishing career and not be blindsided by the desire to have a baby. She introduces us to a harem of finger sized women who live inside her mind. These are all just different facets of her personality. 

It’s not just her own experiences that she shares in the memoir. She also writes about other writers’ experiences of juggling (or choosing not to juggle) motherhood and writing. She talks about Silvia Plath, Alice Walker, Simone de Beauvoir, and Virginia Woolf and their take on babies and why they chose to have or not have one. She also writes about the wives of famous writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Leo Tolstoy and how their talents were overshadowed by their husband’s popularity and analyzes how a patriarchal society reinforces that system. 

There’s a lot to unpack in Black Milk with Shafak questioning what it means to be a working woman and a mother and sometimes being compelled to choose one over the other. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and though it’s not a thick book, I took almost three weeks to read it because I found myself going back to many phrases and pages. My only issue with the book is that there’s a certain lightness while talking about something as serious as postpartum depression with Shafak wrapping up the book in a preachy tone. But I would still recommend it and I’m even thinking of giving it to some of my friends. 

Black Milk 

Elif Shafak

Translated by Hande Zapsu

Published: 2007

Publisher: Penguin Random House, UK

Pages: 267, Paperback

For me, holidays, especially Dashain and Tihar, are times to catch up on my reading. I always plan to read more than I normally do on days I have work during my time off. But Dashain and Tihar are hectic times, with family, chores, shopping, and more to attend to. I always make ambitious plans and feel disappointed when l can’t follow through. Sometimes, I will have barely finished a book in a week and since I tend to finish at least two during regular times, the feeling is quite discomfiting. 

So this year, for Tihar, I have decided to be smarter with my reading selections. The idea is that I’m going to pick some books that I don’t have to commit to for hours at a stretch. And I should be able to dip in and out of them without losing track. That is why I have picked a collection of poems, a book of short stories, and a slim non-fiction that I have read before (it can be called cheating but it’s a good book so I don’t mind). 

The Poetry Pharmacy by William Sieghart

I used to be intimidated by poetry but once I started reading them, I realized you don’t always need them to make sense right away. You can simply let the words wash over you and slowly they will unfurl in your mind. ‘The Poetry Pharmacy’ by William Sieghart is a collection of 56 poems by different poets prescribed by Sieghart to help you during different conditions like anxiety, loneliness, and even grief. The idea of the poetry pharmacy was born when Sieghart was asked to prescribe poems from one of his books to the audience during a literary festival. People queued up to be prescribed a poem that would fix whatever was weighing them down. The Poetry Pharmacy has Sieghart’s ‘prescriptions’ on one side and the poem on the other page. You can randomly flip to a page and read what’s there instead of reading it cover to cover. 

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq

This book won the International Booker Prize 2025. Translated from the Kannada to English by Deepa Bhasthi, the 12 stories in the collection capture the lives of everyday women and girls in Muslim communities in Southern India according to the book’s blurb. The stories were originally published between 1990 and 2023. Mushtaq has championed women’s rights and protested against discrimination and the stories come out of her years of experience and what she’s seen play out around her. I recommend you get the hardbound book that has recently come out or read it on the Kindle because the paperback version is flimsy and feels weird—the pages and typeset aren’t very nice. I love reading short stories because they don’t require too much effort but you still have a nice plot and character(s) taking up space in your head, especially if the author is good at telling stories in the shorter format. A short story comforts me and makes me feel like I have read something substantial when I don’t have the time for a longer fiction. 

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

I have read ‘A Room of One’s Own’ by Virginia Woolf a few times and I own multiple copies of this book. And I have read every single copy. I recently bought a copy, the cover of which I really liked and I’m going to read this during Tihar. The good thing is that it’s a slim volume and I already know what I’m getting into. A Room of One’s Own grew out of two lectures that Woolf had been invited to give at a college in Cambridge in 1928. It argues why Jane Austen or Emily Bronte could have never written ‘War and Peace’ and the importance of financial freedom for women to be able to write. A room of one’s own symbolizes a space for women away from societal obligations. The book is freely available online as it’s a classic so you won’t have to go searching for it if you don’t have a copy but I highly recommend getting one as the feel of holding a book doesn’t compare with reading on the kindle or the phone.

I must have written about this book at least half a dozen times and I recommend it whenever I get the chance. My close circle of friends have perhaps all received copies of this glorious book and I might as well confess that I have forced them into watching the movie as well. It’s my feel-good, happy, and calming book that I turn to when I’m feeling anxious, facing a reading slump, or simply need a distraction from what’s going on around me. 

Roald Dahl is a master storyteller. His books transport you into worlds you could have never imagined. ‘The BFG’, ‘The Twits’, and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ are some of his works that I am fond of and think everyone should read. But ‘Matilda’ is my favorite and a book that I can’t talk about without gushing and becoming super excited. 

On the surface, it seems like a simple story about a girl who is an outcast in her own family. Her parents don’t think highly of her despite her obvious genius. But Matilda is far too advanced for her age. She can read and write before anyone else in her class and she can multiply big numbers in her head. Her teacher thinks she has a bright future but her school principal and her own parents think of her as a nuisance. Matilda soon learns that she has to take care of herself as no one is looking out for her. And she does so with a lot of charm, style, wit, and a little bit of magic. 

What I love about the book is that it’s hilarious but teaches you some invaluable lessons along the way. It’s an interesting take on carving your own path in life, no matter how dire your circumstances. It’s also about being true to who you are and not letting the world shut you down. Matilda knows her worth, even when people around her make her question it and she’s not afraid to stand up for what’s right. It’s really heartwarming and inspiring. 

Reading Matilda as an adult just hits differently. I first read it when I was in school and just thought of it as a funny story. Then after a couple of rereads, I started understanding the nuances of it. If you think a children’s book couldn’t be so poignant, then you haven’t come across some really great ones, Matilda being one of them. The themes of the story—parental affection, bullying, and the need to belong—are universal and highly relatable. Matilda teaches you to stand up for yourself, even when it feels like the hardest thing to do. 

I really like how she maintains her sanity during difficult times by finding solace in books. It’s also something I tend to do. When I was in school and college, if I were upset about something, my mother would always tell me to go to my room and read. It was the best way for me to relax and not lose my cool. Matilda reads when she’s upset and angry and books are her best friend. It’s a reminder of how something as simple as a good story can help you get out from the depths of despair. 

Another good thing about this book is that you can breeze through it in a single afternoon—a perfect holiday read. And it makes you fall in love with books and reading as well. Miss Jenny, Matilda’s homeroom teacher, is kind and caring. Her life hasn’t been easy but she hasn’t lost touch with her real self. She makes you believe in the goodness in people and how it’s possible to rise above your circumstances if that is what you truly want.

All in all, Matilda is one of my favorite books because it calms me down while making me look at the positive side of things even when nothing seems to be going my way. It’s a short, sweet read that will leave a lasting impact. Read it out loud to your children or by yourself on a sunny afternoon—whatever you choose to do, you are in for a treat. 

Matilda 

Roald Dahl 

Illustrations by Quentin Blake

Published: 1989

Publisher: Puffin Books

Pages: 229, Paperback

Thrillers make for quick, compelling reads which is exactly what you might want to pick up this holiday season, when you have a million things to do but also want to read something. I’m going to be reading Riley Sager’s ‘Lock Every Door’ this Dashain. It’s not a slim book but I expect to breeze through it because Sager tells gripping stories. 

A friend has borrowed several thrillers to keep her company this Dashain which made me want to recommend some of my favorites here today.

These three titles are guaranteed page turners and will give you the perfect excuse to spend some time holed up in your room, away from all the chatter and socializing, which might be just what you need every now and then. 

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

This is a thick book but you won’t want to put it down. There is even a Netflix series based on the book and it’s every bit as enjoyable as the book. More than 20 years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenage sister vanished without a trace and the two sisters haven’t spoken since then. The two sisters lead very different lives but when Claire’s husband is killed in a robbery gone wrong, it forces the two sisters to confront past demons and wounds. Slaughter has written many books but this is probably her best one. It’s a crime novel that will make your spine tingle. 

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

I had had enough of reading Frieda McFadden after I read ‘The Housemaid’ series because I felt like I could predict where she would take the story. That often happens when you read novels by a certain thriller writer back to back. But when I saw the cover of ‘The Tenant’ I was intrigued and I couldn’t help myself. Blake Porter is living the good life. He has a successful career and a steady girlfriend. But when he is suddenly fired from his job, things begin to unravel. For starters, he is forced to take in a tenant when he can’t find another job. She seems like a nice choice but strange things start happening and Blake wonders if she is out to get him. The plot is gripping and will probably have you reading late into the night. 

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Published in 2019, this psychological thriller by Alex Michaelides will perhaps always remain at the top of my best thriller’s list. It follows the curious case of a woman who becomes mute after murdering her husband. The story is narrated by Theo Faber, her psychotherapist. The story can feel a bit disturbing at times but the execution is flawless. It feels very real. Alicia and Theo seem like people you know and the narrative is engaging and never over the top. I highly recommend this brilliant book that you will be raving about once you finish it. 

I love redecorating and rearranging my home and I will take every opportunity I get to do so. Dashain gives me a reason to splurge a little on home decor and make my space look nicer. However, this festive season has been one of mixed feelings. The recent protests where many lost their lives have left a bitter taste in my mouth. Celebrating as I did last year doesn’t feel right. Shopping for home decor seems like a frivolous task. Ideally, this is when I would be buying new sheets, cushion covers, and other trinkets like vases and candlestands to beautify my space. But I find myself in no mood to browse through the stores and alleys in Mangal Bazaar in Lalitpur and pick up stuff as I used to. 

So where does that leave me? I want to infuse freshness in my home this Dashain while making sure I don’t have to put in all the extra effort for it. This has forced me to think a little creatively and use what I have around the house. 

One of the secrets of having a nice home is not buying things to fill it with but to use things in interesting ways to make it unique and give it your signature touch. If there is one thing I have learnt over the years it is this: a pretty house needs to be clean and personal. So here’s what I am doing to get my home ready for the festive season without shopping for a single thing (well, except for maybe some fresh flowers). 

Reusing fabrics for different purposes

Old bedsheets can be turned into table covers and cushions. You can also make use of silk sarees for the same. I made a throw using an old shawl that my mother has had for years. You can simply stitch some tassels or lace on the ends of the shawl and give it a new look. The idea here is to find whatever fabric you have around the house and repurpose it. Switching curtains between rooms is a great idea to instantly revamp your home. 

Interesting displays from household objects

Create little corners with displays to keep things interesting. You can use a variety of things that you have lying around the house for this idea. I used some old crystal ashtrays as holders for floating candles and paired them with tall candlestands for visual interest. This works great on coffee tables and entryways. You can create any kind of display you like with old vases, jars, trays, etc. Consider displaying interesting and fun ceramic wares as wall decor and arrange branches and leaves on a large vase for a great centerpiece. 

Changing the layout 

One of the easiest and quickest ways to give your house a fresh new appeal is by changing the layout of the furniture and decor items. Oftentimes, mundanity sets in because you’ve had the same arrangement of furniture and knickknacks. Simply changing where things are placed can give a brand new look to your space. These days, you can ask help from AI to change the layout of a room using pieces you already have. I’m going to swap tables and chairs between rooms and use small shelves as bedside tables. 

Revamp the old

Festival times are generally when we tend to throw out the old stuff and bring in new things. But you would be surprised what some cleaning and perhaps a fresh coat of paint can accomplish. This Dashain, I am giving all my photo frames a new lease of life by painting them in different colors. You can also rotate trinkets around the house and create new setups with the things you already have. Consider changing photos in the frames and even changing their placements. Sometimes, decorating means editing. Remove a few pieces to create space and see how you feel. 

There are times when I want to read a good story but find myself unable to concentrate. I have been meaning to read ‘Butter’ by Asako Yuzuki which is a 400 odd pages book but I just haven’t been able to immerse myself in it. Unfortunately, I also don’t want to read short stories, which is usually what I reach for when I’m unable to get into a longer book. These are the times shorter narratives or novellas come to the rescue. Trust me, you get that sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a book while having none of the pressure and putting less energy into it as well. 

My husband likes novellas too as he’s more of a non-fiction guy who likes to get an occasional dose of fiction in his reading diet. And he (as well as a few other reader friends) agrees that it’s almost like reading a fully developed story if the author is a good writer. Sometimes, the characters aren’t properly fleshed out and that really bothers me but there are some authors who are at the top of their game when it comes to writing shorter novels. Here I recommend three of my favorites, hoping you will find the time to squeeze them into your busy schedule or at least during the Dashain holidays when there’s a rare moment to sit by yourself and recharge. 

Foster by Clare Keegan

Clare Keegan is the mistress of novellas. I read ‘Small Things Like These’, a historical fiction that won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It’s a lovely little book that I’ve been recommending to everyone I meet. So obviously I had to pick up ‘Foster’ when I saw it at the bookstore. I didn’t even bother reading the blurb. Foster seems simple but it packs an emotional punch. Set in Ireland, it’s about a young girl who is sent to live with distant relatives on her mother’s side, when her mother is about to have another child. The ‘foster’ parents are affectionate and kind and the three develop an unshakable bond, despite knowing that the girl is only there for a while. It’s a heartwarming and sad story on the need for connection and love. 

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

This is a fun and uplifting debut novel by Japanese writer Satoshi Yagisawa. It was published in Japan in 2010 and only translated into English in 2023 by Eric Ozawa. It’s basically a story about a young woman called Tomoko who feels a little lost in life. She slowly rebuilds her life while living and working in her uncle Satoru’s second-hand bookshop in Tokyo. There’s something about books set in Japan that makes me happy from the inside. Perhaps it’s the slow pace or the aesthetic setting and ‘Days at the Morisaki Bookshop’ is no different. It’s a well written book where nothing much happens but you are nonetheless captivated by the characters. It made me realize the importance of tackling your problems head on, albeit slowly and gently, instead of ignoring them. The book feels like a friend holding your hand and guiding you through life. 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

‘Orbital’ is the winner of The Booker Prize 2024. The novel is about six astronauts as they rotate in a spacecraft above earth. They see the earth from a unique vantage point and start asking questions about what it means to be alive. Their reality is fragmented, being so far away from home, yet so close. It’s fascinating to see how their minds work, which is so unlike a regular humans’ on earth and yet you will be able to relate to their thoughts. What I loved about the book is definitely Samantha Harvey’s writing that makes the universe around the space station come alive. At times, you will feel like you are there, with the astronauts, listening to their stories. It’s also a great book to dip in and out of as there’s an essay-ish quality to it. The book isn’t plot driven so that helps too. This is a book that’s unlike anything you have or will ever read. 

I want to make it clear that I’m not an expert on interior design but I’ve always been fascinated by home decor. Ever since I was in school, I’d try to make small changes in my parent’s home that would make it look and feel better. Sometimes, I’d add a big vase to the center table, other times, I’d save up my allowance to buy a striking decor piece. Over time, little things added up and our living room was transformed. My parents even got the sofas reupholstered to give it a brand new feel. Sensing I was trying to make things look nicer, they also changed what they could. 

But home decor for me has always been an evolving process. It’s not something you do once and settle into. You have to constantly keep changing things, even if it’s something as simple as just moving things around to shake things up a bit. Many of my friends claim to be bored of their decor but say they don’t have the time or energy to make major upgrades. What they don’t realize is that a small change such as moving your couches in a different arrangement or changing some cushion covers can give your home a much-needed facelift.

Keep tweaking things

At home, even after our living and dining areas got the makeover I thought they needed, I’d always keep tweaking things. I’d add or move pictures or paintings, switch up the cushions, buy a throw for the sofa, or replace the trinkets on the dining table and do many other random things to ensure the space always had a fresh appeal. My parents didn’t always approve because just as they would get used to a certain thing, it would have been replaced. They disliked the bulky napkin holder I got for the dining table, but it got them so many compliments that they are still using it 10 years later, which is also something I believe you should do while decorating your space—find something that you love which works for a space and let it become the focal point of the area.

Decor affects you more than you think 

Many think home decor is for those who don’t have other pressing matters to attend to. I have a relative who always claims to be too busy to pay attention to her house. She’s good as long as it’s clean and functional. Aesthetics, she says, is the last thing on her mind. Chipping wall paint, dangling cords and wires, and a cluttered dining table makes her space unwelcoming. I want to tell her that a basic organization might help spruce things up but I hold back because who am I to judge her lifestyle choices? I just think she would benefit from a cleaner space. Studies have shown that a tidy, beautiful home makes you calmer and happier. A nice home has many psychological and physical benefits. From making you less anxious and increased productivity to better sleep and fewer allergies, a well kept home has many upsides. 

I always seem to think and feel better when my home is tidy and visually appealing. I tend to clean and decorate when I’m feeling down and it instantly makes me feel better. It’s something my mother does too.

Cost effective decorating

Unlike what most people tend to believe, redecorating your home doesn’t have to be expensive. Initially, it might cost you an arm and a leg but once you have the basics in place, then it’s only a matter of switching out a few pieces every once in a while or adding or removing an item or two depending on your budget and requirements. You shouldn’t aim for a complete makeover. Instead, focus on little things to enhance your space. If you have an open plan area, wallpaper a certain section or create an accent wall to jazz it up. Use large mirrors, either mounted on walls or on stands, at the entryway to create an illusion of space. Use large plants in your living room to bring nature indoors and infuse life in an otherwise concrete setting. There are so many ideas that you can implement that don’t cost much but will go a long way in making your space seem vibrant and stylish. 

I love how a fresh coat of paint can make an old space seem new. You don’t even have to color the walls if that seems too ambitious. You can paint your furniture or ceramic decor pieces. It adds a nice pop of color with minimal money and effort. I also enjoy changing table runners and coffee table decor items. I have a stash of them that I keep rotating according to my mood. It costs nothing and takes but a few minutes but it makes my space come alive once again.

How to own your space

However, the one thing you need to keep in mind while decorating your space is to ensure it’s true to your personality and makes you feel comfortable. Oftentimes, I see people blindly copying trends and styles they see in other homes so much so that their homes become a replica of someone else’s. There has been an instance when my husband’s colleague has copied our style and everything in their home—from their curtains to furniture pieces—looks like ours. I remember this person looking around our home with keen interest, and now it makes sense why. 

While I should be flattered, I’m appalled by people’s lack of ideas. A home isn’t just a space you inhabit. It’s an extension of your personality. The things you bring into it should make you happy and joyful. If you copy someone else’s style, it will never feel like home.

And truth be told, there is no need to copy trends or styles. Reading decor magazines and blogs, watching content on design, and even listening to decor podcasts can arm you with lots of ideas on how to personalize your space. You also need to pay attention to your own likes and comforts. What colors make you happy? Do you like ambient lighting? Or is accent lighting more your thing? How do you feel about open plan spaces? Or do you prefer enclosed cozy rooms? Deciding what you like is the basis of designing a comfortable home that you will love and enjoy.