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RAJI WRITES
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Mar 5, 20235 min read
"Independence" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Much of the literature about India’s Partition has been written around the violence and tragedy in the northwest. The focus is the...
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Mar 3, 20233 min read
"The Second Life of Mirielle West" by Amanda Skenandore
Silicon Valley Reads had chosen “Journey to New Beginnings” as its 2023 theme. One of the books selected to showcase this theme is The...
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Nov 14, 20227 min read
South Asian Literature and Art Festival 2022: a glorious in-person event
The South Asian Literature and Art Festival (SALA) returned in style and with considerable substance on October 29 and 30, 2022 at the...
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Oct 22, 20224 min read
Margaret Atwood at Stanford Live
Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, and winner of two Booker Prizes among other honors, graced Stanford’s Memorial...
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Oct 21, 20221 min read
Announcing: South Asian Literature and Art Festival 2022
The inaugural South Asian Literature and Art Festival (SALA 2019) was held in October 2019, at the picturesque Villa Montalvo in...
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Sep 23, 20223 min read
Ramayan, Naatak's 100th Production
During the pandemic shut down, I had watched a few of Naatak's zoom plays. Ramayan was my first live Naatak play in a theater since the...
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May 9, 20224 min read
A Mother’s Beginnings, a Nation’s Past (Sisters of Mokama, by Jyoti Thottam)
In 1947, the year India got its hard-won independence from British rule, six nuns from Kentucky voyaged to India to set up a hospital in...
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Mar 6, 20225 min read
Requiem for a Beloved Uncle
On September 17, 2021, one of the sweetest people I have ever known went into cardiac arrest in the ICU at Thangam hospital in Palakkad,...
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Mar 6, 20226 min read
The Goddess Will Rise. (Border Less by Namrata Poddar)
Border Less, a debut novel by Namrata Poddar, is a collection of stories or vignettes, tied together by the main character Dia Mittal. We...
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Oct 19, 20213 min read
A Burning, by Megha Majumdar
Many years ago, I had a conversation with a colleague about life, dreams, and the choices we make. Early on in our career, or in life, we...
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Oct 17, 20213 min read
Where Has Raji Been?!
Dear Reader, I have not written to you or posted anything since January of this year. How the months have flown by! I last posted a book...
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Jan 23, 20217 min read
"Together" by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy
Loneliness is like a cold hand resting on your heart. It can tighten your chest, and make you desperate with longing for company and...
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Jan 22, 20212 min read
Silicon Valley Reads 2021: "Connecting" - Upcoming events!
The COVID-19 pandemic took its place in our lives at the beginning of 2020, and changed life as we know it. Silicon Valley Reads picks a...
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Jan 21, 20211 min read
Pelicans!
What a magnificent bird is the pelican. This limerick by Dixon Lanier Merritt captures the wonder of the bird. A wonderful bird is the...
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Dec 30, 20202 min read
Jessie's Message (for Captain Margaret L. Putman)
Once upon a time, I had a dear friend named Maggie. She taught herself calligraphy, sitting at a drafting table and painstakingly writing...
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Dec 30, 20205 min read
A Year of Found Friends
Sometimes, the universe is kind. In a time of anxiety, even terror that you might lose those you love, it gives you back people you lost....
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Dec 29, 20201 min read
Suguna
In cold months, I wear The sweaters, caps and scarves you knitted, Feeling your love In their warm embrace. I picked the yarn, We picked...
148 views2 comments
Nov 8, 20203 min read
Shyamala's Daughter, India's Granddaughter. Madam Vice President-Elect.
“And one day, like a miracle, he’ll be gone.” This was my favorite yard sign during the months leading up to the 2020 presidential...
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Oct 10, 20204 min read
"Purple Lotus" by Veena Rao
I have an image of two women. One walks down a path with strong, bold strides, taking in everything around her. There seems to be no...
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Sep 30, 20202 min read
California Burning
Agni, the Hindu god of fire, once came in disguise and approached Krishna and Arjuna as they were resting near the Khandava forest. Once...
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