Travelling through the pages of my Suitcases, Sandcastles, and Little Anvik

The birth of a child marks the beginning of a mother as well. A new journey of life begins here. A mother’s aspirations and aims gradually shift toward the life of her darling baby held close to her. The child becomes the focus of her journeys. In this process, the mother often finds her own life taking a quieter, supporting role. The journey with a baby companion can feel more precious and meaningful than any trips enjoyed before. In the warmth of these moments, a mother experiences the world anew through her child. Suitcases, Sandcastles, and Little Anvik, published by Writers International Edition, is a book that captures the travel stories of one such mother and her adorable baby, Kunjapp, also known as Anvik Sujeeth.  

Thank you, The Aidem, for giving a space for my humble creative non-fiction. I express my gratitude to K.A. Beena Ma'am, Indian Author, Journalist, and Columnist, for this touching presentation. To read the full article, please check the link:

https://theaidem.com/travelling-through-the-pages-of-suitcases-sandcastles-and-little-anvi/

My Suitcases, Sandcastles, and Little Anvik!

 I am absolutely thrilled to announce the launch of my book, Suitcases, Sandcastles, and Little Anvik: A Travelogue! 

According to Writers International Edition, this book is “a masterpiece that blends the intimacy of travel with the universality of human experience.” Grateful for all the love and support that made this day a reality!

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗘

• Release of the Book: G. R. Indugopan

Indian Author, Screenwriter, Director & Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Winner

• Receiving the Book: Navamy Sudhish

Principal Correspondent, The Hindu, Kollam Bureau

• Introduction: Dr. Anakha Ajith

Content Writer & Former Guest Faculty, University of Hyderabad

Felicitations:

• T. Sathikumar – I&PRD, Government of Kerala

• Binu Edanad – State Committee Member, PuKaSa

Response Address: Dr. Aparna Ajith

Date: 13 September 2025

Venue: Press Club, Kollam

My Book Launch ! It did happen finally....

Sharing with immense delight, the brochure of my book launch. My maiden creative non-fiction Suitcases, Sandcastles, and Little Anvik was officially launched by the acclaimed Indian author, screenwriter, director and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award winner, G.R. Indugopan Sir. I never thought of organizing a book release or anything but I feel it was destined to happen. Thanks a lot to my family crew, friends, and students for joining me on this auspicious occasion. 

In the Translation's Tower of Babel

 I know it's a delayed post, but I wanted to share this article of mine, published in the magazine of the Kerala Government, on the special occasion of Kerala Piravi Day. When Chingam approaches one more time, I miss the bygone days and warmth of the relationships forged through the paths of translation.  The magazine was released by the Chief Minister of Kerala on Kerala Piravi Day. It was indeed an honour to have my article in the magazine. Above all, the pleasure of writing and getting published in my mother tongue. 

Thanks a lot for the sincere friendship that has strengthened over these months with such a humble soul all the way from Germany. Living in a world surrounded by umpteen fake emotions, statuses, and fake online affection, there exist some kind and genuine human beings who love us for what we are and who value us for our worth. Thanks a ton, our dearest Annakutty Chechy, for the warmth, affection, and concern for us. Above all, for the touching gifts that crossed the German shores and reached God's Own Country. Countdown for our real story begins......

PS: I felt like posting this before its first birthday😄

Queering the Routes in "Sancharram"

 

The term LGBTQ has gained significant importance in the academic parlance, too. The glimpse of lesbian life and the transgressive desires of women on screen through the Malayalam films often questions the moral and societal frame. “Sancharram” (“The Journey” 2004) tells the tale of a lesbian   relationship that ignited between two female teenagers who have known each other since their childhood days. The story unfurls the life of Kiran and Delilah, who decide to break the shackles of religion, sex, and gender for the sake of their love for each other. Although homosexuality is perceived as an aberration in society, the film boldly addresses same sex love, and how grounded sexuality is in the daily ways of life.

The film, directed by the Indo-American director, Ligi J. Pullapally, is a path-breaking film focusing on the travails and traumas of love-making that is forbidden or ‘abnormal’ in a heterosexual society. Albeit the movie revolves around the motif of lesbian love making, it hints at issues like gender, body, sexuality, male hegemony, matriarchal legacy, religion, etc., existing in the socio-cultural fabric of Kerala. They are neighbours, childhood friends, classmates, and their affection slowly and steadily takes the form of a romantic and sexual bonding.

The two childhood friends, Delilah and Kiran, are attracted to each other. Delilah is lively and mischievous, whereas Kiran is a potential poet with a quiet temperament. Kiran returns to Kerala with her parents to live in her ancestral home, and Delilah is shown as her neighbour, who is a visible presence in Kiran’s daily life. Their affection gradually takes the form of love, although Delilah does not accept it at the onset. Though Kiran loves Delilah deeply, she is hesitant and scared of expressing her feelings. 

To read my full article, check

 https://www.highonfilms.com/sancharram-the-journey-2004/

The Alchemy in Three of Us...

 

Picture Courtesy: FC

The genre of film has become inseparable from the life of an ordinary human being. The world of films endows one with a world of varied shades in shards. Some flicks don’t leave us even after we leave the platforms of celluloid miracles. Some haunt us, some grip us, some move us, some exemplify us, and some make us ponder over the leitmotifs for long. It does not matter whether the film has hit the box office or whether it has been nominated for awards, but the quality and the timelessness of the theme do matter!

I came across one such movie quite recently on the platform of Netflix. My husband felt it was a must-watch one for me. Without hesitation, I embarked on the cinematic journey of Three of Us carving out a moment of respite from the mundane chaos of everyday life.

“Memory is the diary we all carry about with us”, says the renowned writer, Oscar Wilde.  What happens if our memory betrays us? What happens if daily routine becomes vague and usual happenings pass out of mind? We tend to take a break from the lunacies and absurdities of mundane life. Avinash Arun takes us on one such journey through the narrow crossroads and by lanes of childhood memories.

The movie Three of Us screened at the recent IFFI unravels the labyrinth of human emotions blurring in the shards of memories. Shailaja Patankar played flawlessly by Shefali Shah takes us to the world of a woman diagnosed with dementia and the way she tries hard to fit into the daily rhythms.

Shailaja is in the initial phase of early onset dementia. She comes out of the fettters of her job in the family court and sets her mind free to roam around in her childhood fantasies. Her husband Dipankar, an insurance agent, joins her to fulfill her cherished desire to gather her repertoire of childhood images. When memories begin withering, when the humdrum of daily life despises you for your inability to remember things, it’s better to try once to feel some solace to overcome this catastrophe.

Shailaja’s journey to the village of Vengurla along with her husband turns out to be the real journey to find her origin (Udgam). The village brings her to life, comfy with the shades of humans and the surroundings. She revisits her eighth standard classroom with her friends whom she meets after twenty-eight long years. The mogambo and daga of childhood come afresh in her memories. The bonding and childhood friendship make us feel that they are still close no matter how different and distant they are geographically.

Picture Courtesy: The Hindu

Shailaja comes across her childhood incomplete love, Pradeep Kamat who is a bank manager by now. He becomes a companion to the ‘wonderful, strange’ plans of Shailaja and Dipankar. Pradeep’s wife Sarika also supports him in fulfilling the wish of his childhood friend who has inspired him scribble a poem after eons, about origins – Udgam. Shailaja is in search of her origin and trying to fix the withered pages of her life in the village that slowly unfurls the dark stories of her family and sister.

It’s commendable how the wife and husband pairs of the film support each other. Seeing the happiness and attachment of Shailaja with her childhood land and Pradeep, Dipankar asks her, “Were you this happy with me? She retorts “When we were sad last time?” The chemistry and the relationship they nurture make one sense of the companionship and the possibility of bestowing a new ending to her life.

To read my full article, check https://www.boloji.com/articles/54456/three-of-us-in-all-of-us

A movie worth watching to find a room of one’s own always and in all ways!

The Art of Speaking

 

Speaking is the vital manifestation of everyone’s life. It’s indeed an art where one’s heart too gets an avenue to express and share the varied emotions of day to day existence. It’s the act of giving life to one ‘s feelings, passions and sensations through the world of words. It is capable of creating wordly/ worldly wisdom too. It occurs even faster than the fraction of a second. Though language is a pivotal tool for communication, gestures and eye contacts do convey the ideas effectively at times. We speak through the medium of words, eyes, hand movements, gestures and what not. The ultimate aim is to convey the expressions to the other person/ receiver. The art of speaking is a multifarious process. Everyone craves to speak in the midst of the sick hurry and palsied hearts of divided aims.

In the hustle busy of the daily life, everyone is engrossed in their own world. People are curious to share and update the status to make the world know they are active in their real and virtual life. It’s almost like a competition to declare to the world that one is chilling and enjoying in one’s private sphere of life. The profile updates, status and stories are also trying to speak to the known and unknown faces, real and virtual faces through the book of faces . The discourse of speaking is mastered by the social media, emoticons and GIFs too. Life is suffused and brimming with the art of speaking in all ways. To learn the art of speaking to captivate the hearts is a prowess. The Kaleidoscopic charm of speaking can enthrall hearts. Language is not a bar for speaking. Speaking embraces both verbal and non-verbal faculties. It thrives in everyone’s life.
Everybody wishes to speak and let their expressions get life. Having someone to talk to and share the daily occurrences of the day is a great feeling. Sadly, all are in a hurry to speak and nobody wishes to listen. The art of speaking is kept in a high pedestal in comparison with the art of listening. To become a successful speaker, one needs to be a good listener. The perspectives of life from other angles, other view points will add beauty and life to the art of speaking.

Speaking is infact a milestone in a baby’s life. The babbling and prattling acts are moulding him to make a mega entry into the realm of effective speaking. The peals and squeals of laughter bestowed by a baby are of great delight to all. This motivates and prompts him to learn, try and speak more in his own syllables and words. Speaking as an art is nurtured right from the stage of infancy to the ongoing safari of life. One lives to speak and one can’t resist oneself from speaking. Just like a child or new born trying inquisitively to give rhymes to his feelings, all are curious to share their feelings and happiness to others. Speaking grows with one as time passes. It also attains maturity with the events one encounters in one’s life cycle.
Looking at my two year old baby trying hard to speak with his own limited, invented dictionary and vocabulary, I feel his impressions of speaking will also ripen along with his age. I earnestly wish to see him ripening as a good speaker mastering the art of listening as well.
Yes, speaking is the art attuned with the symphony of the syllabic heart…