From the Editor's DeskUnmasking souls through storiesIt ends with usGeronimo Stilton: Secret AgentBella SwanAn Ode to Virginia WoolfLooking for AlaskaChildhood Nostalgia: Magic PotMargaret AtwoodWho killed Juluis U. Celestino?Amrita Pritam, PoetessAn Art of LivingSita's SisterModern Day DarcyI opened a book…Favourite BookArundhati RoyInfluence of Mythology in BooksThe Book Café QuizArtwork

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From the Editor’s Desk

Hello and welcome to the greatest show!

This month the team has carefully curated a carousel of literary aesthetics for

all the book heads (or movie buffs *wink wink*) out there.

Let’s spruce things up and introduce this in the form of a poem:

Whether you’re a Potterhead or an ardent lover of Shakespeare,it’s all in here! What is that I hear?

A comic chatter?Well, come on out and express your genre!

Hear ye, hear ye sound the bells!Here comes Romeo with his Juliet.

A work of art which acts for many as a silhouette.

What if they never died and had children?Would everyone still treat their love as forbidden?

Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson along with Sylvia PlathStrong willed poems and stories each one hath.

So, raise the curtains and feel each page across your fingerAs you, my dear reader, will have no time to linger!

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I always believed that I was born in thewrong century. I have always been aperson who loves classic literature, royalpalaces, living in a cottage, riding a horseand so on. The lifestyle of the vintage eraalways pulled me into its universe. Thetimes of ‘The Dead Poets Society' toclassics of Jane Austen are stillpopular among the youth who admireliterature. Stories complete us. Itis difficult to imagine a world withoutstories. In fact, it’s not just limited to thestories that we read and hear. However,literature finds a way to intrigue us byromanticizing the methods of learningand paving its way to aesthetic appeal too.Stories do not just give us the ability toextend our limit of imagination butalso create a way to self-discovery, findingthe passion in our lives and even falling inlove. Theatre has been a huge sourceof entertainment and happiness forpeople of all ages since the time ofShakespeare to the recent times of PabloNeruda. These plays and operaswould have not existed if not for stories,authors, poets and playwrights. A pinchof the aesthetics makes it more beautifuland attractive than ever before and makesone fall in love with books and literature.

The interests for the 18th century Europeanculture to the age of Renaissance has beenquite appealing to the youth these days, not justthe books, but things like the smell of thedark coffee beans when it rains, or when one sitsnext to the window of their room and gets a viewof the palace that is right across the road.The appreciation for nature andart, fondness for history and warmth of a bonfirenext to us. The gravity of these aestheticsthat pulls one towards them include darkacademia, cottage core, lightacademia, ethereal, minimalist, and so on.The journey to these aesthetics and literature is anever-ending process, and every story is unique,paving its path into society and filling the voids itencounters. We are the magical creations of theworld who will eventually be forgotten in history.Words have the power to be given voices. Not allthese words are heard by everyone, buttheir echoes are felt everywhere you go.

-Vasudha Ramani

Unmasking Souls through Stories

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Her character as portrayed by the authorhas gone through emotional turmoil andthe burden of hopelessness of not helpingher mother.Ryle, along with his sister Allsya, grew upin a wealthy family. But with all thatmoney and power, comes trauma andsuffocation. As a young child, Lily made avow never to grow up like her mother whowas not able to stand up for herself. Yearsand years of emotional turmoil made Lilyvery protective of who she interacts withand how they treat her. Ryle had angerissues which sometimes he did not havecontrol over. When Ryle and Lily hadtheir first tiff, Ryle accidentally pushedLily and she was hurt.Lily was determined to leave him butneglected the incident because she wasfalling in love with Ryle. She knew thatRyle was not a bad person and he wouldnever hurt her intentionally.

‘It Ends With Us’ is a complicated love story bythe author Colleen Hoover. Why isit complicated you ask? This is because sometimesthe one who loves you the most is the one whoends up hurting you the most.The author guides us through acomplicated story which teaches us aboutthe sacrifices in a relationship, the struggle to askfor forgiveness and well, love. The storybegins with our protagonists, Lily Bloom andRyle Kincaid, who have accidentally bumpedinto each other on the roof. They are polesapart, while Lily fancies a stable relationshipfilled with love and laughter, Ryle on theother hand, is an averse to any kind ofrelationship and his main focus is his careeras a neurosurgeon. As they meet and getto talking, they could feel the sparks flyand the fireflies bloom and what happens nextis history.To get to know a little more aboutour protagonists, Lily had anabusive childhood. Her father, who was themayor of the city, would often get drunk andphysically hurt Lily’s mother. This led her tokeep a diary addressing all the entries toEllen (Ellen DeGenres) and her secretrelationship with her former boyfriendAtlas Corrigan.

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But as these fights kept on recurringdue to Ryle’s inability tocontrol his anger, Lily wanted to helphim and her relationship andtherefore her decision of walking outthe door and leaving him again wentdown the hole. Lily was slowly turninginto her mother, even if she didnot realize it. Jealousy, heartbreak andtrust issues were a couple of things thatLily and Ryle were no strangers to.Even though Ryle was in lovewith Lily, he could not get pasthis raging trust issues when it came toLily's ex-boyfriend, Atlas. On realizingthat they have gotten in touchrecently, Ryle lost his temper andbegan questioning his decision ofbeing with Lily.

Soon his jealousy gotthe best of him and this was the lasttime he ever laid hands on Lily. However, afterthis incident Lily made a decision to saveherself as she could not follow her mother'sfootsteps. Seeing no way out, she turned toAtlas for comfort and gained refuge in his homeand heart and decided to finally stand up forherself.

Not everyone in this world is born eviland there is no such thing as badpeople. We're all just people who end up doingbad things and every choice which we make tolive our lives has its consequences later in thefuture. Standing up for yourself and trying toown up to any kind of abuse takespatience, courage and effort. Victims in anabusive relationship usually cannot fathom howto escape and their judgement is clouded due totheir love or hatred for the abuser. Physicaland mental abuse torments the person and leavesthe person with memories they want to erase andlet go of, but these memories will either go awaysooner or later depending how knee deep inan abusive relationship you were in. “Allhumans make mistakes. What determines aperson's character aren't the mistakes wemake. It’s how we take those mistakes and turnthem into lessons rather than excuses''

-Mihika LeleFYBBA

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This was the first book that I read and eventually, readingdeveloped into a hobby. It revolves around Geronimo Stilton andthe things that happen in his life and also, there are many sequelsto it. This book is so close to my heart, I was in love with this book.I was in 5th grade when I came across this book and it had so manyeye-catching pictures and the stories were so good. There was fun,mystery, drama and everything that I could ever think of. Thisbook revealed a whole new world to me. A world which I had noidea even existed, where imagination was everything. It is sobeautifully written and the details of events happening in his life,his thoughts are supported by great pictures. It is a perfectcombination for a reader.

- Lavina Waghlekar

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Bella is a seventeen year old girl who is fromPhoenix, Arizona. She lives with her father, after herparents' divorce, as per the novel. Her appearance is quitebreathtaking; brown eyes, brown hair and pale skin. Shehas an average height with a skinny figure, sweet, shy andis kind to everyone, regardless of their attitude towardsher. I personally think that is sweet because sometimeswhen we do not like someone, we are mean tothem, aren't we? She has always wanted to try somethingnew, which makes her full of surprises, which in turnmakes one wonder as to what will happen next.

Bella moves to Forks, a town in Washingtonwith her father, a completely new place, knows nothingabout it and is familiar with no one. Apart from beingshy and quiet, she knows her identity and what she wants -this shows the element of angst in her. She joins a newhigh school, makes a few new friends and that is whenshe meets Edward Cullen who is a vampire and

studying in the samehigh school with everyone unawareof his secret. From the second shesees Edward, she is enamored byhim. Although Edward tries to stayaway from her, that does not stopher from proving her love for himand gradually he falls for heras much as she falls for him. Bellais described as quiet, clumsyand shy. However, she ends upbeing one of the strongest charactersin the novel. The small powerthat she has inside her, upholds sucha strong level of Altruism whenit comes to protecting herloved ones. She is ferocious infighting for what she wants butnever deviates orturns into someone she is not. Bellais willing to make hardchoices and then see thosedecisions through. No matter howmany people want to kill her,exploit her on being a human witha vampire; that is naturallynot possible, but she makesit possible, stays true toherself and ends up gettingeverything she fought for. Isn't thatinspiring ?

Do you have a favoritecharacter from anybook or story? Well, I doand I would say that mineis Bella Swan from TheTwilight Sequel. Sheis my favorite character asshe inspired me throughher actions of protectingher loved onesand her admirablepersonality.

-Gautami Patel

A woman was she,That was her biggest flaw.

Society knew not her talents and questioned her thoughts.

So simple it was for people to judge her,Their excuse was that society would not hear of her.

Yet she toiled away till her heart knew no rest.Her efforts never dulled, and she always gave her best.

Virginia Woolf so powerful was her name,She stuck to her strengths and did not care about fame.

Her father's faith in her urged her to move forward,She refused to let her dreams be murdered.

I look at the world around me and wonder,How easily we throw around the word, "struggle."

It is when we go against societyThat one truly understands, we are living in a bubble.

- Chandana Roy

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'When I look at my room, I see a girl who loves books.'The perfect way to describe us girls, isn't it? That's what Alaska was.The most feminist character I've come across. A little bit moody,sassy, emotionally unstable and a whole different level of secretive.That's what made her even more mysterious and interesting.

You get these questions - 'What is wrong with her?' 'What's herstory?' 'What does she mean by that sentence?' Till the end of thebook, you never get to know that. Not properly at least and that'sokay, right? Even though we know someone very well, there isalways something that we don't know about them. And even if youfeel angry, upset or disappointed about it, you just accept it lateron.

When I read 'Before' at the start of the book, I knew, I just knewthat this book was going to make me cry. John Green never lets youdown. He always takes you on a bittersweet journey where youlaugh, cry, smile, shake your head and gush about what a brilliantauthor he is. You feel connected to the characters until the end ofthe book. They stay with you as long as you live. The one thing youkeep asking yourself after the book ends is - 'Everything's a maybe,isn't it?'

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-Purva Joshi

As a child, we all have adored the periodical called 'MAGICPOT'. I still wonder how a Rs 20 book has a valuableinfluence on our childhood! Those simple stories conveying amessage in the end. The accompanying colorful pictureshelped them to retain our interest.

The variety of activities that include coloring, joining thedots, simple counting, word games and so on kept us engagedfor hours. It also comes up with purely read and coloreditions to keep little minds busy.

-Jayanti Raj

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Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1939. She studied at the University ofToronto, then took her Master's degree at Radcliffe College, Massachusetts, in 1962. She isCanada’s most eminent novelist and poet, and also writes short stories, critical studies,screenplays, radio scripts and books for children; her works have been translated into over 30languages. She is a feminist and show it by her writings. Her various novels were later turnedinto movies and web series. Her first publication was a book of poetry, The Circle Game, whichreceived the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. Several more poetry collectionshave followed, including Interlunar ,Morning in the Burned house and Eating Fire: SelectedPoetry. Her books of short fiction include Dancing Girls and Other Stories , Wilderness Tipsand Good Bones.

My favorite novel by her is 'The Handmaid's Tale'. This series has 2 parts and both aredystopian novels. Dystopian genre imagines worlds or societies where life is extremely badbecause of deprivation or oppression or terror, and human society is characterized by humanmisery. The Handmaid’s Tale draws on the feminist idea that in a male-dominated society theway men look at women is a form of control and even violence.

Margaret Atwood

‘The Handmaid's Tale’ demonstrates the full context of the human experience through notonly the positive interactions but through the vast number of negative elements of theprotagonist Offred’s life. But it’s through these negative interactions that a better lesson canbe learnt and a greater individual mental and physical experience can be formed. It also arguesthat legally controlling women’s reproductive freedom is morally and politically wrong. ‘TheHandmaid's Tale’ demonstrates the full context of the human experience through not only thepositive interactions but through the vast number of negative elements of theprotagonist Offred’s life. But it’s through these negative interactions that a better lesson canbe learnt and a greater individual mental and physical experience can be formed.-Kanishka

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-Kanishka

The real magic of a film doesn't happen when it's onscreen, it's what goes on behind the scenes that actuallymakes this magic happen, As a Scriptwriter and Actor of'Who killed Julius U. Celestino?' I can gladly say themaking of this short film was one of my most memorableexperiences. When I enrolled for Mira Manch Queens,our theatre club, I didn't know what I was getting into, Ijust wanted to learn something new and make a fewfriends and I am proud to say I actually did do that.Shreya and Harleen were a literal joy to work with. Andthe rest of the team and crew was just plain lovely. Wehad various brainstorming meets initially when the scriptwas being written, we had a plain draft into our mind butwe didn't know where to take it from there, it was in oneof those meets where suddenly I suggested we could nameand foreshadow characters and stories from Greekmythology for this play. The ‘U’ in Julius U Celestinoactually stands for Ulysses, the famous hero that wasfavoured by Homer in his world famous 'Odyssey'. Tocomplement that we decided to name Julius's wifePenelope, whom we all know is also the name ofUlyssess's wife in Greek mythology.

Who Killed Julius U Celestino? In our short film it is shownthat Penelope is having an affairwith Antonio or Tony for short,this actually comes from"Penelopiad" written by MargaretAtwood where it is mentionedthat the real Penelope had anaffair with a guy called Antonio.Let's now talk about oursignificant and prominentcharacter, the maid, who wedecided to name Leda. Thereason behind this was toforeshadow the whole myth ofLeda and the swan and how Zeusrapes her, in our play, Leda israped by Julius. The last literaryaspect or allusion, if you will, thatwe decided to put in our play wasto name our badass detective Eris.Eris in Greek myth, is the goddessof mischief. And our detectivedoes bear a striking resemblanceto her personality wise. Apartfrom all this a little behind thescene detail that I would like toreveal is that throughout the playyou can see Eris and Leda wearingthe same matching rings in orderto hint at some kind of aconnection.

Spoiler alert!

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-Falaqnaaz Sayyed

The wine everyone is drinking whileactually killing Julius is nothing butcoke and sprite mixed. Also a littlehidden fact: the eye witness that seesPenelope, Tony and Jeff running afterkilling them was actually played by meas we were falling short on actors andhad only a very small amount of timeto film the whole thing, that's my hintof hair that's visible in the scene. Whilewriting we actually had a couple ofnames ready to name the play, initiallywe were going to name the play "Theartfulness of known strangers" butdecided in the end to go with "Whokilled Julius U Celestino" To concludeI'll just say, Greek myths are sopowerful, and they have been presentand inculcated in various stories andnovels throughout history. As anadmirer of Greek mythology it wasobvious that we would try to bring insome aspect of it into our writing andit's amazing how everything fell intoplace. The writing and acting process ofour play was tiresome and exhaustingbut if I could I would revisit each andevery moment of it.

-Falaqnaaz SayyedTYBA

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Whenever someone talks about howbeautifully women are written by womenI’m reminded of Amrita Pritam, Agreat writer and even a great individual.With many firsts to name to nameherself, Amrita wrote passionately aboutlove, romance and equality. Born in1919 in Gujranwala Punjab, shemigrated to India during the partition .Amrita was Punjab’s first female poet.She was also the first First woman to winthe Sahitya Akademi award. She alsowon a Jnanpith award for her novelKagaz Te Canvas in 1982.While her loveand admiration for Sahir Ludhianvi andher relationship with her partner Imrozis frequently discussed in the mediaoften forgetting the brilliant writer andbeautiful human she was.

During the partition, Amritawrote her poem , “Ajj akkhan WarisShah nu”in In which she called outWaris Shah ,the writer of the epic taleHeer and Ranjha to speak from hisgrave. This poem was painful andheartbreaking which pictured thehorrors of partition. Unlike otherauthors

Amrita Pritam: Poetess

At a time when stereotypical roles aroundwomen used to creep the big silver screens(the bechaari) and even literature, Amrita'swomen were flawed, vulnerable, angry,trapped in societal rules yethopeful, free spirited, daring and outspoken.In the black and whitishtoned 60s India when modernity andtraditional intellect were like two edges ofa river that would never meet, Amrita built abridge between the two through her writings.

Who wrote very politically uncensored aboutthe Partition and its aftermath , she decidedto write it in a more emotional and humanemanner.

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-Mrudula Neware

In her short story “Junglee Booti” shehighlights how patriarchal notions are fedto women at a young age often standing in theway of their personal happiness and freedom.In another short story titled “Dua aur Lath”,the protagonist Hardev develops a soft place inhis heart for Brahmi, the one who helped himwhen he was hurt. He then asks himself andrealizes how the society is interested inknowing relationship between two individuals.

"यही तो दनिु यवालो की बरुी आदत हैकी वो आदमी से आदमी का ररश्ताजाि ि ा चाहते है, वे आदमी को पीछे देखते है, ररश्ते को पहले। क्या औरत का

मु ु ह औरत का ि ही ु होता? क्या वो जरूर मााााँका मु ु ह होि ा चाहहए? बिह कामु ु ह होि ा चाहहए? बीवी का मु ु ह होि ा चाहहए? बेिह का मु ु ह होि ा चाहहए? औरत का मु ु ह औरत का

ि ही ु हो सकता?

Amrita not only broke barriers in the literary world but also in her personal life aswell. Married off at the age of 16 , she ended her unhappy marriage on friendly terms with herhusband . She then pursued writing and won many awards. Fell in love with Sahir Ludhianvibut the relationship somehow remained incomplete. Few years after that Imroz, who wasdeeply in love with her, entered her life and never left. They shared a home together as twoindividuals who admired and respected each other at a time when the term “live inrelationship “wasn’t even heard of. She dedicated her last poem “Main tenu phir milangi (Iwill meet you again) to him. Their togetherness lasted 40 years till her last breath on 31October2005.16years after her passing, she still continues to inspire people across generations. One ofher poems’ आज मैंि े ‘s verse beautifully captures the life she lived."और जहााााँभी आजाद रूह कक झलक पडे समझ लेि ा वही मेरा घर है।"

-Mrudula Neware14

What is the BHAGAVAD GITA ?When asked to people the mass answers are that it is aHindu scripture, a religious book.GITA is not a religious book. It is a book which givesyou a way to live. It is the world's first LIFE guide. Abook of Answers.The setting of Gita is the battlefield of Kurukshetra TheMahabharata where Arjun’s confused and Krishnabecomes his mentor and gives him guidance to do right.Every person has confusions and dilemmas to do or notto do to be or not to be and that's how Gita begins.Gita is as simple 'as it is'. It is not complex but simplicityis the problem of Human intellect. When you tellpeople simple things they think through the worldbecause it is simple. Therefore, they say that from 700verses a Gita reader will only understand the verseswhich are meant for them and the answers they areseeking.

The verses I am very fond of explain that this bodywhich you are proud of is nothing but as fragile as clay.This body is in a cage made of Fire,Earth, Air, Waterand Space (agni, pashan, vayu, jal, vasudha bas panchtatva ka pinjara hai KAYA). You are not just a fragilebody. Your 'self' is your Soul. A splendor creation of thecreator. Your soul is an Energy. And Energy neither canbe created nor be destroyed.

"na jAyate mriyate vA kadAchinnAyaM bhUtvA vA nabhUyaHajo nityaH shAshvatoayaM purANo na hanyatehanyamAne sharIre"

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-Kanchan Keswani

The self is neither born nor does it ever die norhaving once existed, does it ever cease to be. Theself is without birth, eternal, immortal andageless. It is not destroyed when the body isdestroyed. The one who realizes this truth is ableto distinguish between the nature of one’sQualities (gunas) and one’s Activities (karma)Gita says to relate to your self (soul) you needTolerance, Spirituality, Mind, Power, Creation ofDivinity and Knowledge.

• Tolerance:- If a person can’t tolerate thingscan be easily distracted. Tolerating pain isunderstandable but one should also learn totolerate success and good times cause theyboth distract us.

• Spirituality:- Being spiritual does not meanencountering ghosts. Some people have theseaspects.Spirituality is about how it transformsyour daily life. Your perspectives, worldviews.Your outlook towards the work you do andrelationships. In true means Spirituality is alife transforming journey than some occult orsupernatural experiences.

• Mind:- The mind can be a friend or an enemyto you it depends on how you deal with themind.

"shrI bhagavAn uvAcha asanShayaM mahA-bAho mano durnigrahaM chalam abhyAsena tu kaunteya vairAgyeNa cha gRihyate"Gita says that the mind is more difficult tocontrol than the wind. But it can becontrolled by repeated practice anddetachment. Ifyou befriend it will empower you but ifyou don't deal right it will lead to yourdownfall. 16

• Power:- Every person needs to understandthat they are way more powerful than whatthey are going through at the moment.The confusions, the challenges, problems,heartbreaks they are smaller than them.That you have power to make a differencethan that impact.

• Divinity:- Start looking at Divinityeverywhere and in every place around youincluding people who are doing better. Wedon't have to go to a place of worship tolook at the presence of divinity. You canlook at it in nature and in other people.Start looking at the splendor of the creatorin the creation. Bible Philippians 4:13- “Ican do all things through him who givesme strength. Any kind of creative processis not entirely yours, you are just achannel."

• Knowledge:- “na hi jNAnena sadRiShaMpavitramiha vidyate taysvayaMyogasansiddhaH kAlenAtmani vindati”

No individual is above Knowledge.Knowledge is the world's biggest strength.There is nothing as purifying as divineKnowledge.

Gita has influenced many legends andfamous personalities. There are many books,songs and films made in an influence fromGita.

Albert Einstein- When I read theBhagavad Gita and reflect about how godcreated this universe everything else seems sosuperfluous.Mahatma Gandhi- The Bhagavad Gita callson humanity to dedicate body, mind, andsoul to pure duty and not to become mentalvoluptuaries at the mercy of random desiresand undisciplined impulses.Swami Vivekananda- The secret of karmayoga which is to perform actions without anyfruitive desires is taught by Lord Krishna inthe Bhagavad Gita.Henry David Thoreau- How much moreadmirable is the Bhagavad Gita than all theruins of the East.

Aldous Huxley, Sunita Williams, AnnieBesant, Warren Hastings, Sammi Kapoor,Kajol, Sonam Kpoor, Jawaharlal Nehru andimmeasurably more.This list is as long as 700 verses of Gita.PS:- The Bhagavad Gita is not a mythologicalstory.

-Kanchan Keswani

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Our parents, and others in their generation wholeheartedly believe in the Ramayana andthe Mahabharata, perhaps the two most spoken about mythological marvels of India. Bothhave been the subject of several modifications and adaptations, Kavita Kane’s ‘Sita’s Sister’being one of the modern ones. The tale of Ramayana told through the eyes of Urmila, thesister of Sita, the book is poignant and touching. Seamlessly blending mythology andfiction, it is a prime example of what we refer to as ‘mythological fiction’. The term isextremely ironic in many ways though, because mythology is perhaps the first example ofliterary fiction. I can’t talk about the impact of mythology on literature, because I believemythology to be literature.

Written by Maharishi Valmiki, the original Ramayana is around 24,000 verseslong. I’ll admit, even as a bibliophile, I do not have the patience to read a book that long.Sita’s Sister however, is 310 pages long, and an insightful read in many ways.

Urmila, the vivacious and blunt sister of the revered Maithili, has been sidelined her wholelife to pave way for her adopted sister. From her birth as the daughter of the bhumi toher samadhi in her mother’s folds, Sita’s journey of pain and sacrifice has been told severaltimes, and in several forms. But Urmila, as the first born; but not the first child, hasalways been disregarded.

~The value of a moment gone and lived oftenlies in the strength of its memory.~In this one line, Kavita Kane summarizeswhat I believe to be mythology. Amoment, fleeting and inconsequential; or astory, passed down through generationsuntil it is merely a whisper of the original tale.But it doesn’t matter what I believe,I suppose.

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Click to add textClick to add text

-Abha Patwardhan

Written from the perspective of a modern woman,Urmila as a character is real and relatable, and herplight will make even the coldest of hearts melt.Secondary to her sister, and secondary in importanceto her husband, Lakshmana, who vowed to protecthis brother even in the most dire ofcircumstances, Urmila stood tall and strong throughthe many trials and tribulations of life.

What could have come across as a glorification ofthe character was entirely justified in a splendidlywritten monologue delivered by Urmila. “Today inthis room, we have talked about all sorts of dharma-of the father and the sons, of the king and theprinces, of the Bhramin and the Kshatriya, even ofthe wife for her husband. But is there no dharma ofthe husband for his wife? No dharma of the son forhis mother? Is it always about the father, sons andbrothers?” These words are enough to shut anymisogynists’ mouths up even today. So the impactof these words in a time where women were simplymeant to be seen and not heard wouldhave been freeing and devastating in equal measure.

As a modern woman herself, Kavita Kane seems to have poured all the pent up frustration atthe age-old oppression system on the pages of this book through beautifully strung sentences.One cannot help but relate to Urmila when she is questioned on how she dares to speak soshamefully in the presence of elders and gurus. “Princess, how dare you speak such outrageouswords? Do you think this is your father, King Janak’s court that encourages free thinkingwomen like that philosopher Gargi to debate and argue shamelessly? This is not so! This is theassembly of the greatest minds of Ayodhya!” Urmila’s disregard of these words convincesthe reader that she will neither accept nor protest. But the fiery character retorts in her ownway.

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“You are right, GuruKashyap, Ayodhya isnot Mithila. Mithiladoes not treat herwomen so shabbily.And unlike SageGargi in my father’sroyal court, I did notreceive any answersto my questions. Notthat I expected any.”Kavita Kane bringsto life a characterthat we all want tosee, maybe more sothan the charactershe truly was. If onlyall of this could havebeen backed up bysolid proof. Maybethen young womenlike us wouldn’t needto look up tocharacters like BlackWidow and ScarletWitch as role models.

To blend literatures from eras withmany thousands of years betweenbrings back the culture of a greatnation, a nation that will hopefullyreach its full potential someday.Books like these seem to me an odeto the sacrifice of the women whosestories were never told.

However, had this book not beenrooted in mythology, it would havecome across as preachy andmoralizing. That is why mythology isso important for literature, becauseit allows us to write about holier-than-thou characters from our past,and humanize them to suit themodern world. It is important tounderstand our traditions, insteadof blindly following. That beingsaid, sometimes it’s okay to treat ourmythological stories as we treatCinderella and Sleeping Beauty,fairy tales with a ‘moral of thestory!’

At the end of the day, they remain what they are: myths. Beautiful and rich tales, but myths nevertheless. Our mythological texts are maybe our greatest truths, something to learn from, to adopt and incorporate in modern literature.

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Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is known for hisdisagreeable countenance, his proudmanner, and of course, his wealth. Itdidn’t do him well at the balls he attended,and people thought him unworthy ofbeing compared to his dearest friendCharles Bingley. But he was just gravelymisunderstood most of the time, and Irelate to that. So, imagine a Gen Z Darcy. Ihave a feeling our beloved Mr. Darcywould not be so different today. Imagine agorgeous twenty-year-old man who’sunaware of his features and the fact thateveryone turns to look at him when heenters a room.

He goes to the same college as Charlesand dresses down because he doesn’t wantto attract attention towards himself in anyway at all, but he still manages to make hisoutfits impeccable for every occasion. He’sa little old school and prefers trousers andshirts over jeans and t-shirts. If there’s ablack-tie event that he has to attend, he’dslap on some black nail paint and silverrings to go with his fit, he has good taste.

Darcy studies something like Business, but histrue love is: The Arts. He’s very eloquent andcan address how he truly feels through hiswriting. He has a secret emo Tumblr page wherehe posts all his original poetry, and he's blissfullyunaware of the fact that his sister Georgianaknows about it. Speaking of his relationship withGeorgiana, Darcy is what you’d call the typicalprotective older brother and would definitelyintimidate all her partners. Charles forces himto go to dorm parties, and Darcy ends up beingunsociable and plays with the dog instead.

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-Delna Anklesaria

He won’t let anyone notice his sweaty pits, though. Onthe outside, he is the picture of dignity and elegance.She’s the only person he ever wants to talk to, but hedoesn’t budge because every time he tries to approach her,his legs turn into jelly. He’s the kind of guy who would fixhis schedule in such a way that he’d bump into Lizzie bymere ‘happenstance’ while going from one class to thenext.

He also laughs at her lamejokes just to see her smile. Heblocks all his prying relativesfrom his caller list and has hisphone on 'Do Not Disturb' mostof the time, occasionallychecking to see if there’s a textfrom Lizzie or Charles. Heregularly bottles up his feelingsand has random outburstswhere he sends Lizzie risky,confessional texts in which hehints at his love for her, andwhen she doesn’t open the chat,he hastily deletes the messages.He doesn’t know that Lizziereads his texts from thenotification bar itself.

Darcy is impolite andindifferent towards everyone,and people refuse to talk to himbecause of his above hiscompany, and snobbish attitude.But it works out well for himbecause of his chaoticintroverted energy, andhonestly, that's what makes himour perfect man.

He’s conveniently deaf when someone calls out to himbut listens to all the gossip and silently judges everyonefrom where he sits. He’s also the perfect ‘wingman’ forCharles and covers for him when his parents call.

He’s also probably overthinking the entire time becausehis crush, Elizabeth, is in the crowd, and his brain cells aredoing backflips at the sight of her.

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Picture this- 11 year old Ahana, sitting in theschool library amidst all the other classmates(who by the way, are playing truth and dare andnot actually reading) , poring over the pages of‘Nancy Drew and the Whispering Statue’,completely consumed by the thrilling plot.Oblivious to the noise made by her fellowclassmates.

This was the exact scenario, every Thursdayduring our library period. Our library didn’thave the best selection of books but it hadalmost all the Nancy Drew books which wereabout the life of an American sleuth calledNancy. I was completely, irrevocably hooked onthe series. This was all thanks to my mother,who first introduced me to Nancy Drew and Iam really indebted to her for that.

I have loved mystery thrillers from the verystart and so it goes without saying that growingup, Nancy Drew has been the best book seriesfor me to have ever come across. The suspense,the enthralling plots, the friendship Nancyshared with Bess and George and the best part-the extremely wholesome relationship she shareswith her dad<3

As she was for thousands of othergirls, Nancy Drew was a role model forme. I probably didn’t consciouslyrealize it at the time, but looking backI’m glad I spent all those hours with aheroine so loyal, courageous, andresourceful. She taught me so muchabout life. One of the most valuablelessons I've learnt is that friends aregolden. No matter where she goes, Bessand George are always with her,through everything. This made merealize the importance of good companyquite early in life.

All in all, Nancy Drew was kind of anelder sister, taking me with her on aplethora of amazing adventures andundeniably great life lessons which I amtruly grateful for!This was undoubtedly the best bookseries I had come across growing up andbrings back a lot of fond memories.

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-Ahana Shah

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Arundhati Roy: An Indian author who presented wonderful masterpieces from ‘The god ofsmall things’, ’The ministry of utmost happiness’,' The cost of living’,’ an ordinary person's guide’ to‘Empire’, ‘Capitalism: a ghost story’, ’Things that can and cannot be said’, ‘Democracy’ to ‘The doctorand the saint’.

She always lives up to the readers’ expectations. Furthermore, she has the best and uniquestyle of writing by employing redolent metaphors and evoking utmost admiration. The bestquality about her is that her content puts emphasis on feminist perception, politics andbeing Indian. She is one of the best known representatives of the contemporary generationof Indian writers. Her works are challenging and widely reward the critics who want toexplore their depths.

-Maanvi Sahani

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-Maanvi Sahani

A lot of us confuse mythology for old ancient stories. However, mythology is the only way wecan dive into our culture, cherish our traditions and be guided by the experiences of ourforefathers. Undeniably, mythology has a significant influence on literature as well. A bookseries which blends mythology to fit in with today’s world is the ‘Ram Chandra’ series bythe “banker turned author” Amish Tripathi with 2 in the pipeline; this series has 3 bookspublished till date- ‘Ram- Scion of Ikshvaku’, ‘Sita- Warrior of Mithila’, ‘Raavan- Enemy ofAryavarta’.

The series tells a story we all know- the Ramayana. The Ram Chandra series follows amultilinear narrative- each book shows the birth and upbringing of Ram, Sita and Raavanrespectively, and all 3 end with the abduction of Sita. These stories will then convergefrom the fourth book onwards.

Amish Tripathi uses mythology as a brilliant tool to debate the issues vexing us today. He givesno answers, but his words compel you to stop and think for a moment or two. That indeed isthe grandeur of mythology. Book 1 tells us about Ram and Ramrajya- a perfect society. It tellsus the story of Ram, the prince with the terrible childhood, with only his brothersfor support. His extreme obedience of the Law, his courage and humilityare slowly acknowledged by the masses, yet he largely remains alone. Till he meets Sita, hisother half and the greatest ally.

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-Siya Lala

Book 2 narrates the story of the Goddess, the warrior- Sita. Adopted by the ruler of thepowerless Mithila, she is undermined by everybody. But she is exemplary. She fightsferociously, protects like a tigress, and knows her ideals, beliefs and principles. It iswhen she meets Ram, that her chaos sees calm. A perfect man, yet is highly ignored andshunned by society. She knows he needs her support.

With Book 3, we come to the lesser known story of Raavan. His childhood, hisdevotion and his wisdom are never seen by the society- his disabilities overlooking hem.His heart has only known one true love, to never get it. His rise is sudden and mighty.From the small trader he is, he rises to conquer great lands until he decided to abductSita. The part I loved about the series was the way Amish Tripathi portrayed thechildhood of Ram, Sita and Raavan, which consequently determined the kind ofrelations they had with each other.

I also loved Sita’s character. She is fiery, yet has such a soft heart. She is in most wayslike her mother, who is her greatest role model. Sita is not afraid, and even as a childshows admirable strength and toughness. Another part of the book which hasestablished itself in my heart eternally is the first time Ram sees Sita in the marketplace.

He is enthralled by Sita’s personality- her warrior spirit, her inclination for law, herperfect face, her poise, and everything about her. Such is her persona, that Ram iscompelled, as if by some outer force, to bow his head and just be rooted on the spot byawe. How beautiful! This story will be continued from book 4. It is a superbmasterpiece, and I cannot wait for the next book!!

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12.10.2021

Harshita Masand

FYBA

Winner of the Instagram trivia night

7) Guess the book based on the emojis-🤓⚡️+ 🍷🔥a) James and the giant peachb) Harry Potter and the goblet of firec) Game Of Thronesd) Inkheart

8) Guess the book based on the emojis-👧🚝

a) Emma b) Jane Eyrec) Gone Girl d) Girl on the train

9) Guess the book based on the emojis-🔪🩸🚂

a) The adventures of Tintinb) Sherlock Holmesc) Murder on the Orient Expressd) The ABC Murders

1) Which actress played Elizabeth Bennet in 'Pride and Prejudice'?a) Kate Winslet b) Keira Knightleyc) Scarlett Johansson d) Emma Watson

2)Who burnt Jo’s book in rage in the novel “Little Women”?a) Beth b) Megc) Laurie d) Amy

3) Who penned down the poem 'Mirror'?a) Emily Dickinson b) Virginia Woolfc) Sylvia Plath d) Elizabeth Browning

4) What is a 14 line poem termed as?a) Octave b) Sestetc) Sonnet d) Soliloquy

5) Who said "Let us find the damn snack bar?"a) Silena Beauregard b) Grover Underwoodc) Zoe Nightshade d) Percy Jackson

6) What is the famous song from the series"The Raven Cycle" called?a) Twinkle Toes b) The Murder Squash

Songc) Oranges d) Fly away

10) Which Bollywood movie was based onShakespeare’s play Othello?-a) Haider b) Omkarac) Maqbool d) Deewar

The Book Café Quiz

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12.10.2021

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Artwork

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Elizabeth BenettBy Elizabeth Thomas

13 reasons why-Harsha Sirwani

Hogwarts-Hrithika Kahol

Thank you!

Curated by

Chandana RoyGayathri NairIsha Bhagwat

Vasudha Ramani