Friday, June 28, 2013

THREE VIRGINS and other news


So! Here it is, THREE VIRGINS and other stories my latest published collection. Five new, five old. Hard Back edition, published by Zubaan, currently available in India (but eventually in the US too).

The link will take you to Zubaan's site. I will post links to Flipkart and Amazon when I get them.

There's SO much other news ... I didn't realize that it's been two months since the last time I posted anything here, but looking back I can't believe that it's ONLY been two months.

I finished writing the novel (sequel to ESCAPE) that I've been working on for the past four years; visited Randolph a couple of times; flew back to New Delhi on the 14th of June; left for Madras on the 15th; celebrated my 60th birthday last week; finalized the half the pages for my next Tulika book and ... in two days I will return to Delhi.

Up ahead, towards the end of July, I'll go to Calcutta to work on a couple of new short performance pieces for Seagull and to make a brief presentation of my life as an author-artist at their School of Publishing. In September, I've been invited to the (theatre) Festival Tramedautore in Milan, Italy. This year, they are featuring South Asian works. Two of my plays will be presented, I think, but details and dates are being worked out. I won't post links until I am sure of what and when.

I am also, even as I write this post, completing the final draft of the novel. When I say I "finished" it (two weeks ago, literally on the morning I was due to leave Newport) I mean that I brought the story to a close. I've still got to tweak, polish, nip and tuck. And deliver. But it's been such an enormous struggle just to reel the story in, that as I see it, what remains is small stuff by comparison. Fingers crossed. I've been sharing the name with a couple of friends, but I'll hold back from revealing it here until I've sent it off.

In the midst of all this, lots of very intense conversations, personal events, journeys of the mind, of the stomach, of the nose, eyes and ears. The primary New Thing in my life is the Samsung Galaxy Grand that I received as my gift from my family in Madras, for surviving sixty years of existence. I will admit to being charmed by it. I used to be an extreme gadgetophile but I stopped, many years ago, because of novelty-fatigue. Nowadays, I mostly just turn my head the other way when some new item grazes the horizon of reality. But many of them really are very beautiful, quasi-magical objects so when I have one all to myself, I fall willingly under its spell.

Sixty! Wow. I can't quite believe it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

omg! (as they say in cyber space!) 60! congrats! & viz samsung - i have a little titbit for you - play with the settings on your phone and you can get some amazing effects. e.g. get onto the panaromic view but let the camera traverse a crowded road - or a landscape... or use the action shot and jerk your hand.... you can really get some amazing shots. jerk (named after the originator? ;-()) photography.... hope all else is good and getting gooder. regards. c'mon down some day to the land of kali.... gt

30in2005 said...

Happy happy birthday! And congrats on all the newsy bits - books, stories, plays etc.

Have we disconnected on fb? I had a quick question and cannot find you or any o our message exchanges.

Unknown said...

Thanks gt and 30in2005!

gt -- yes, it's WEIRD to have arrived at the three-score mark. It's not merely that I don't feel it -- coz I sort of DO. I mean, there are joints that I never knew I had, which are now attempting to make my acquaintance by saying, rather loudly, 'WE'RE HURTING!!' -- but also that I don't feel wiser or more dignified or particularly closer to death. I mean, a very long time ago, I cultivated a mental quirk of thinking "Okay, now! I could die right now!" as a way of keeping myself conscious of mortality -- but having remained alive all this length of time hasn't made me feel either closer or farther or more scared or not-scared. The main difference, as I see it, is that I rarely feel especially anxious about anything. So that's nice.

30in2005, I disconnected from FB a very long time ago. It took up too much time without giving back enough quality. Send me your quick question by e-mail ...

hugz and cookies to both of you.

Shaili said...

Hi !
I write about books at www.booksandalotmore.com. I was wondering whether I could interview you, as your book 'Three Virgins and other stories' is releasing this month (Or it already has? Not very clear from my research on the internet :-( ). I could send you some questions and it would be great if you could answer them. Please let me know if that is possible and how I can contact you.

Regards,
Shaili Desai

Unknown said...

Hello Shaili, thanks for your query. Please send me an e-mail address and I'll write back to you. You can send me a comment here with your address -- I'll make a note of it and delete it from the in-box without posting it to Comments.