Insight Stories

Here's the latest review of The Last Nomad by Dalvi Namita​ and Shobha Dravid!
Glad you enjoyed the book. With this the book now achieves a Goodreads rating of 4.71. :-)
"The Last Nomad, book is indeed very engaging ...storyline has all emotions from love to respect... mainly highlighting a woman’s role in everyone’s life and also respect that she deserves to be given....A must read book..." -Namita Dalvi
"Heramb, your book, is enthralling, to put it mildly. It runs the whole gamut of experiences, from the mundane to the mystical. Rahul's childhood experiences are so true to what's happening in poor people's lives, and as Ryan, his poetry and his spiritual glimpses are what I identified with."
‐Shobha Dravid

Get your copies today! Kindle:http://amzn.to/2oP7OJ1 Paperback: Call/text on+91 9594 545351  #bookreviews #Goodreads


- The Last Nomad

The feeling of arrival is but a fleeting one
Till the time it sinks in deep, it's time to return
Look around, my friend
They are all travellers like you
Happily believing they'll be at their destination
The feeling of arrival is fleeting, my friend
One day, all travellers must return home



-  The Last Nomad

As I was watching Mira Nair's The Namesake (2006) this weekend, there was one particular scene which struck me and is haunting me since then. I'll tell you why but before that, here's the scene.

It's where young Gogol and his father, Ashoke (Irrfan Khan), are on the stone walk at the Cape Cod beach and Ashima (Tabu) is watching them from a distance, standing near the car with her young daughter.

She says, "Don't go so far that I cannot see you! He is too little."

When Ashoke reaches near the end of the stone walk with Gogol, he's disappointed after realizing that he has forgotten the camera in the car. He says something like, "We forgot the camera. Now you will have to remember that we came here."

"How long do I have to remember?" asks Gogol.

"We will have to remember it, then." He tells Gogol, "Try to remember it always... remember that you and I made this journey, that we went together to a place where there was n…

You are but an old true
With roots gone deep and far
Breathing through every pore
Giving this earth fresh air

Don't deny it and be unfair
For hundeds of your sons and daughter
Are living on your arms in despair
But you assume you are a stupid human

Humans who drive axes on their own feet
No matter many a times you speak
Their mistakes they repeat
You'll come down to the ground if you pay no heed

Why do you horde so many fruits
And breathe heavy under their burden?
When you could give them all
And see your children dance with joy

But you'll succumb to your wants
As that's every miser's fate
Before you go at least once listen
You are but an old tree

- The Last Nomad

...and the Journey is Becoming Beautiful Every Day!


Here's another excerpt from The Last Nomad
---------------------------
It turned out to be the first night he spent with a girl.
‘What do you want me to play?’ asked Rebecca, opening the violin case.

Being a street musician, she was used to a variety of responses from the passersby: catcalls, claps, and nasty suggestive looks. But she was surprised by Ryan’s strange demand: he wanted her to play solely for him all through the night. And her first thought while secretly hiding the pepper spray under the pillow was, he must either be a psychopath or a heartbroken lover.

‘Sometimes, I get unwelcome touches while being engrossed in playing. But I know, these men are more scared and broken than me,’ she said, talking about her daily life.

‘Crazy thoughts don’t allow me to play. Why don’t these men come up and frankly say things to me? At least I will have company for the night,’ she added.
---------------------------

It's been 2 …

Nothing could have made this weekend more special than discovering Jameel Gulrays sir's Katha Kathan.

After having planned for several months to attend at least one of their events, I finally happened to be at their Baithak on Teacher.

Katha Kathan is an initiative by Jameel Gulrays sir and his team to revive the Indian language literature.

Here's the poem I read along with the translation.

तूच तुझा गुरू हो

कोण शिष्य कोण गुरू आभासाच्या बाजारी मांडलेले तू आणि मी, मातीची फक्त बोलके घट घडवणारा, विकणारा आणि विकत घेणारा एकच सर्वत्र तूच आहेस हे जाण आणि तूच तुझा गुरू हो
पण त्या आधी या बाजारात वावरताना थोडा सावध हो जी रिकामी मडकी शेंदूर फासून देव झालीयेत ती फुटून जाऊ देत स्वतःच, पोकळ असण्याच्या जाणिवेने मग उरेल फक्त माती आणि ती पुन्हा एकच सत्य सांगेल सर्वत्र तूच आहेस हे जाण आणि तूच तुझा गुरू हो
पण अखंडाच्या जाणिवेत विरघळण्याधी जरा थांब त्या फुटलेल्या घटातून ध्वनित होणारा नाद नीट ऐक त्या नादातही तुझ्याच असण्याचं गाणं आहे तुला सतत पडणाऱ्या सुखाच्या भुकेच्या प्रश्नांना उत्तराची गरजच काय? हे प्रश्न तुझ्य…

The recent event (Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh being convicted for rape and sentenced to 20 years in jail) is a tip of the iceberg.

Here's an excerpt #2 from The Last Nomad, written last year, which delves deeper into why we humans fall prey to such beastly tendencies.

This post is in no way directed towards publicizing the book.

"Shyamsundar Baba’s Durbar gave them as an easy opportunity. It would soon become the first option they would turn to, be it problems conceiving a child, praying that their husbands find a good job or relief from constant quarrels, and a chain of diseases. But more than miraculous solutions, they had found a space to let out all their angst, fears and insecurities at the feet of this godman.

Seeing the success of this new business model, a numbers of such godmen were already in the making. People from all faiths were more drawn towards these underground places of redemption than well established places of worship. Who wouldn’t choose a god in flesh and b…

Festivals transformed Shantinagar although only for some days. Be it Onam, Pongal, Eid or Diwali, all the residents of Shantinagar enjoyed every bit of it. These were the only moments they could escape into a world more colourful than the one they were surviving in. Stronger than the uniting power of religious diversity and brotherhood, as many assumed, it was the struggle for basic necessities which held all the residents together. It was the night before Ganesh Chaturthi. The air was already enchanting crimson with gulaal. Popular film tunes were being rehearsed by the banjo party and the pandal was all set, ready for Shantinagar ka Raja’s arrival, early next morning. Laxmi’s mother had come home for the delivery which was expected a week later. Close to midnight, when it started raining heavily, Laxmi’s convulsions and moaning woke up her mother and Shankar, who were sleeping down on the floor beside her cot. The only option was to immediately admit her to the municipal maternity hos…

एअरपोर्टवरचं एक दृश्य...

एक परदेशी पर्यटक जोडपं, प्रीपेड टॅक्सी च्या शोधात.

त्यातील नवरा एअरपोर्ट एम्प्लॉयी ची मदत घेत टॅक्सी काउंटर च्या दिशेने जातो. बायको त्याच्या मागे मागे, बऱ्याच पाठी चाललेय...

आणि आम्हाला आपलं वाटत शेजारचे काकाच काकू ला असे  मैलभर मागे सोडून बाजारात हिंडतात!


- The Last Nomad

If you are in Pune, you can get your copy of The Last Nomad at Akshardhara Book Gallery.

Visit any of the galleries below (highly recommended because the gallery is a treasure house!):

Gallery 1:
1302 Sanas Plaza, Bajirao Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411002

Gallery 2:
Dahanukar Colony Branch, Rajhans | Akshardhara Book Gallery, Indranagari, Dahanukar Colony, Near Commins Company, Kothrud, Pune - 411038

Or

Order online: https://goo.gl/tYvcw3

Thanks to team Akshardhara (esp. Prasad Rathiwdekar)!

#Punekars #TheLastNomad






- The Last Nomad

Once upon a time, believing for now that time exists, there was a rich farmer named Don. And as desired by providence, there lived an equally rich farmer, James, as his neighbour.

But James was facing a problem: being rich enough he couldn’t find the motivation to work whereas Don was at his field every morning without fail.

Seeing this sight everyday and growing evermore restless, James decided to find out the secret from Don.

That evening, James landed at Don’s door unannounced. “That is not my achievement,” said Don laughing, making James even more confused.

“Every morning as I wake up, I don’t seem to remember that I am rich. All I see is the field waiting for me,” he simply said offering him some tea and James found himself at peace.

The next morning, James woke up with a strange kind of joy. But now he found himself in an even bigger problem: forget Don, the field and his riches, now he couldn't figure out why he was delighted when he woke up.

Apologies for posting after qui…