Ritika Ruminates

  https://ritikaruminates.substack.com/ Due to constant technical glitches I have been facing on Blogger, I am switching my site to Substack. This blog site will continue to exist, but newer posts will be published on the newer blog site hosted on Substack. So please subscribe there to get notified about new blog posts.

Heya! As bibliophiles, we sometimes look for books about books, bibliophiles and books set in libraries or book stores. After reading some books in this sub-genre, here are some books that I recommend as a bibliophile (or a bookdragon, a new word formed by Bookstagram).    The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak- Is any list of books about book lovers complete without this one? It is a must-have on any book lover's shelf. The book features lead character, Liesel Meminger, who steals books to read. As the World War 2 intensifies in the Nazi Germany. she steals and reads books, finding comfort and strength in the written words. Its uniqueness lies in its narration of the events by Death itself. A solid 10/10 recommendation.  The Lost Bookshop  by Evie Woods- Set in Dublin (for the most part), it is a story of three characters and a disappearing bookstore! The author weaves elements of magical realism with the themes of feminism, books and familial relationships. The title...

  The theater is the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.                                                                                           - Oscar Wilde   Just as much as I love novels and poetry, plays hold an important part in my heart, mind and soul, as long as it is well written (which is subjective) and has good content of course.  From my undergraduate days, I have been exposed to several great plays, some of which have secured a place in my favourites. Several of the plays mentioned below were introduced to me through the syllabus for my graduation, and currently, master's in English. I have been exposed to canonical dramas, right fr...

My Best Reads of 2024 2024’s Top Reads: Stories That Captivated Me As of 22 December 2024, I have completed around 35 books, out of which I really liked some novels, plays, and a poetry collection. I am careful (or miserly?) about giving ratings, which can change with time. In this blog post, I am sharing my 4 out of 5 star ⭐ reads this year. Jumping straight to the list of books (in random order) which you can use as book recommendation and add to your TBR list, here we go: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom:- This book tells the story of a talented musician, Frankie Presto, who changes lives by playing his guitar. Each time his playing impacts a life, a guitar string turns blue. Follow the life of this music prodigy, narrated by the personified figure of Music/Talent, as he changes lives with his strings. I picked up this book without many expectations (other than the author's name) during a reading slump, and the writing style and story kept me engrossed. Knife: ...

Recently, due to harassment over alimony, a Bangalore techie named Atul Subhash committed suicide. This has led to backlash over the internet against his wife and sparked debates about alimony laws in India and the need for gender-neutral reforms. What Atul went through is surely horrible. If the statements about the judges and his wife are to be believed, asking him why he isn't dead yet is just plain apathy. No innocent should go through all this.  However, scrapping alimony altogether isn't a practical solution. This will inhibit justice and the ability to walk out of an unhappy/abusive marriage for a lot of people, mostly women. The system of alimony was incorporated into laws as a gender-neutral law that can help both men and women in marriage, whoever doesn't earn or does not earn sufficiently to sustain.  In India, women are paid less than their counterparts. In most cases, women do not earn or earn quite less than their husbands. During marriage prospects, a lot of ...

In my M.A. English class, we were reading and discussing Walter Benjamin's The Storyteller. The essay goes on to illustrate what storytelling is, who a storyteller is, the fall of oral storytelling, and so on. Our professor asked us which book we read some time ago that we remember and how it impacted us. This idea has been going on in my mind for several months too. I thought to post a blog post on this then but backed off the idea. These can be used as book recommendations if you haven't read them already. But after this essay and the push, here we go. Every good book we read adds to or contradicts our opinions. It adds layers to our existing opinions, makes us question our opinions or we try to come to a middle ground. There is an impact of literature on our personal growth. In this blog post, I will be focusing on fiction books with life lessons that hugely impacted my life and shaped my opinions. So without wasting our time, let’s dive in.  Books That Largely Influe...

After the blog post sitting in my drafts for 2 days now (too numb and triggered to complete it), here is what I think of the Kolkata rape case. er the blog post sitting in my drafts for 2 days now (too numb and triggered to complete it), here is what I think of the Kolkata rape case. The latest rape and murder case at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata breaks our hearts yet again. Accused "men" (we really don't believe there is just one person involved, other than probable gang rape) brutally raped and murdered a postgraduate trainee doctor during the night shift. I don't think I need to go more into  information,  as it is everywhere now.  Just like Nirbhaya, Priyanka Reddy, and the Hathras case, this Kolkata doctor murder and rape case sends a shiver down our spine and cuts into our hearts. Our hearts bled for our now-dead sister, who underwent a brutal crime and was murdered while on duty to save others. This not only scares the doctor (and nurses) com...

Image Source- The Business Standard A few days ago, post the boxing game in Paris Olympics 2024, Imane Khelif was on the receiving side of ugly misogyny and transphobia over her masculine looks and testosterone levels in her body. After her opponent, Angela Carini abandoned the bout 46 secs into the fight, claiming she never has been hit so hard before by a female boxer. This led netizens across the globe to be divided in opinions, where the one half mercilessly trolled her and baselessly accused her of being a man. Imane Khelif has been raised as a woman in a country which is not supportive of LGBTQ+ community (unfortunately). Algeria do not allow sex change surgery, so no ways she is a man and would have been sent by Algeria in the Olympics.  Now-banned International Boxing Association (IBA) cited she has high testosterone level and that she has XY chromosomes (science went into the dustbin), in non-specified and non-transparent eligibility tests. There has been a rift between IO...

Indian English poets who are worth reading.  Indian poetry is like a giant buffet—there’s something for everyone, from ancient delicacies to contemporary treats. India as a country has long contributed the genre of poetry, from vedic texts to modern musings. Some of the Indian poets in the last century (or more) have composed great poems in the English language. Whenever I hear someone say that India hasn't produced monumental literature (poems in the context of this blog post), it disheartens me to see an Indian underestimating their own literature and being ignorant of the perennial poems written by people of their country. English is as much an Indian language as it is of the UK and US. Indian stalwarts have widened the canon of English poetry or have made a canon of their own which can compete with British poems in the context of content and language.  During my under-graduation course and currently in my Masters, I have come across such beautiful poems composed by Indians...

A month since I returned from my Andaman trip and here's the travel blogpost after a lot of doubt about publishing it, coupled with class 1 procrastination. My family planned a 6 day trip to Andaman in late April (we wanted Himachal but resorts were all booked up) to escape Mumbai heat, only to find even more heat there. Our trip was a series of (mis)adventures in the archipelago, enough to become a comic movie, like Bhagam Bhag😂. Due to hotel and room (un)availability, we had to make a circuit of Neil Island (having to land first at Port Blair)- Port Blair- Havelock, whereas Port Blair-Havelock-Neil is the most preferable and convenient circuit. For government jetties, one has to make bookings a week earlier, which was informed to us only when we landed in Port Blair and was heading towards the jetty. Luckily, the driver's contacts got us last minute jetty tickets to Neil, when we assured we are even ready to stand all the way (Mumbai local feelings, y'all). But we had to...