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Authors

Pen Names of Some Authors

There are many reasons that authors chose to write under pseudonyms. Some were due to secrecy, others due to the social norms existed in author’s time. Some used the pen name for a short period of time whereas others stuck to a single pseudonym. Most of the pseudonyms have become etched in the memory of readers so much so that nobody ever have any doubts. It also seems that the pseudonyms were popular in older days. Now except some authors seem to write under their real names. Here are some famous authors with their real and pseudonyms. Ayn Rand is… Read More »Pen Names of Some Authors

George Eliot !!

George Eliot was a leading writer of Victorian Era in the same league as Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens. On the first thought, from the name anyone will think that the author is a man. But in reality it is the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. From her pen name everyone is likely to think that George Eliot was a man. She wrote seven novels:  Adam Bede, The Mill on the floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, The Radical, Middle March and Daniel Deronda. Why did she adopted the masculine pen name? She had adopted this name to keep her… Read More »George Eliot !!

Professor Yasmin Saikia

One day a program on Ahoms-the kings who ruled the state of Assam for almost 700 years-was telecast on Doordarshan TV. It talked about how Tai Ahoms came to Assam from Yunnan province and settled here bewitched by the natural beauty of the land. I have been to the place and stayed there for 3 years and I can vouch for the fact. Although they ruled the state for such a long period, adopted the language of the region, married into the local inhabitants, the truth about the history is not all that clear. I searched on Google and the… Read More »Professor Yasmin Saikia

Obits

The Times of India carries large number of obituaries every day. It devotes one full page for this purpose where bereaved people want to share with the world the loss of their dear ones. Generally, there is a photograph of the person who has gone up and then there are epitaphs some of which are simply exaggerations, but this is permitted because there are both flip and face sides to everything and everyone’s perspective is different. Today, I saw a obituary which quotes a poem by Henry Scott Holland. It is reproduced below in Toto. It is beautiful poem exuding… Read More »Obits

How much Land does a Man needs?

Leo Tolstoy is considered as the greatest writer. His mammoth novel “War and Peace” is considered as the masterpiece. I read it long ago when I was doing my master’s degree. One of our friends gave me the jacket version containing two volume. At first its sheer size was so domineering as to deter me from attempting the reading. I went first for Anna Karenina and some of his stories. He hailed from a aristocratic family. In his youth he is said to be a spoiled youth. But in the later life, he relinquished all his possessions, handed over the… Read More »How much Land does a Man needs?

Leo Tolstoy and His Nagging Wife

The fame, popularity, money, property and genius is not a guarantee for a happy married life. As it was true in the case of Albert Einstein, it is true in case Leo Tolstoy, one of the world’s greatest writers. He wrote masterpieces like War and Peace and Anna Karenina. War and Peace ranks amongst the first 5 greatest novels of all time. It deals with the condition of aristocratic society of Russia at the time of Napoleon’s attack. Tolstoy’s early life was full of gambling, boozing and licentiousness though a struggle in his inner mind for shunning this life was… Read More »Leo Tolstoy and His Nagging Wife

Shiv Kumar Batalvi: Master of Metaphor

In the Punjabi literature, the name of Shiv Kumar Batalvi stands out amongst the poets. He was the master of metaphor. He drew his metaphors from the rural life of Punjab, animals, birds, farming, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Guru Granth Sahib and the Patwaris and quarrels about the land. As with all gifted poets, he had keen eye to observe the life around him. This closeness to the soil may have been the due to of his father being the Land officer. His poetry expresses the anguish and helplessness of the downtrodden, oppression of the women in the male dominated society.  The… Read More »Shiv Kumar Batalvi: Master of Metaphor

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