yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Title:  Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train Author:  Monisha Rajesh Publisher: Bloomsbury Pages: 326 ISBN: 9781-5266 -4418-3 MRP: 699/- Thanks to  Deccan Herald In this book, Monisha Rajesh takes different trains, mostly in Europe, that move during the night, meets friends and strangers, soaks in the views, enjoys food, visits places, shares what is in her mind and takes us along. I had read her ‘ Around India in 80 Trains ’ around the time it had come out, about a decade and half ago, and I must confess that I enjoyed this journey with her far more. As I travelled with her again, I discovered areas of common interest, one after the other, be it soaking in silences or darkness, keenness to slow down or invest time with self, concern for the earth and people, meditation, engaging with interesting people, and of course trains and travel. She writes about trains which boast of carriages that get on to a ferry or those which can carry cars, have fridges and pla...

This piece based on my experience with Bookworm's Reading Circle is up on their website here .  Warm thanks to Bookworm and the Reading Circle participants.  Thursday evenings, 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm, some of us meet online to discuss the book we have read during the week gone by. Each of us have, of course, read the same chapter(s) from the same book. We are a part of Bookworm’s ‘Non Fiction Reading Circle’. The Bookworm team ensures timely communication ( book details, links and reminders for the meetings and such ) and also sends the books by Speed Post to those of us who do not have a copy and want to borrow one; we return the book once the sessions are over. We read the books individually, it is the discussions that follow that are a group activity. The group is small, 15 to 20 people, and smaller if the book is dense; a few of us may also drop-off as the chapters progress. The scale enables the Reading Circle to be close-knitted and informal. The group that continues, that i...

Title:  Shaping and Denying Education: Role of Class, Caste, and Gender Author:  Aman Madan   Illustrator:  AbiraBandhyopadhyay Publisher:  Eklavya Foundation Price: 360/- Pages: 299 License:  Creative Commons   Development Support:  Tata Trusts Education : An uneven playing field Up at Teacher Plus , July 2026.  In his latest book, author Aman Madan talks about the impact of inequalities in our society ( gender, class, and caste ) on education, the dynamic nature of these inequalities, and how societal changes in the recent decades have impacted them. The book is spread across 14 chapters, each with its own set of references. The first two chapters lay the premise, the next five focus on caste and class, the three that follow talk about gender, and the final four about government policies and intersectionality. Towards the end is a list of further readings.   Caste and class. The author talks about caste and class in a manner that is un...

A season of longing and desire Title: The fragrance of rain  Publisher: Aleph Book Company First published: 2026 ISBN: 978-93-6523-030-7 Pages: 140 Price: 499/- Thanks to the team at Deccan Herald; the review on their website here . The Fragrance of Rain drenches you from page 1. The author enjoys being amidst the rains, and writing; and this book allows him to share these joys with us. His deep connect with Landour, its biodiversity, is apparent, “ Here in these delicate yet resilient landscapes, the rain means as much to those minuscule species as it does to us”. He also takes us to Goa and Kerela. He brings in references, walks in forested lands, and also engages with people to bring out, to highlight, monsoon’s role in our lives. This he does with an uncommon grace and flair in language. The length of the book, 140 pages, 10 chapters - 11 to 17 pages each, belies its scope and the depth it explores.  I have waited a long time for someone in love with rains to write on...

2026 When the joy is in the journey (Moonlight Express: Around the world by night train), Deccan Herald , Blog (Book Review, Trains, Travel) The real problem with history education is bigger than textbook revisions, Deccan Herald , Blog (Education, Textbooks, History) How much can you learn by listening: The educational potential of conversations online, Deccan Herald , Blog (Education, Listening, Conversations) Newspapers once took children beyond textbooks. What happens when they disappear?, Deccan Herald , Blog (Reading, Newspapers, Education) Thursdays with the Reading Group, Bookworm Blog , Blog (Reading, Books)  Education: An uneven playing field (Shaping and denying education: Role of Class, Caste and Gender by Aman Madan), Teacher Plus , Blog (Book Review, Education) A world or Possibilities, The Hindu , Blog (Education, Newspapers, Reading)  A season of longing and desire (The fragrance of rain: A brief history of the monsoon by Stephen Alter), Deccan Herald , ...