Miss Clueless

 Today is the last day of June, and I feel compelled to jot down the books I read this month to reflect on my experience and learnings. These are the books: ~The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen ~My Seditious Heart by Arundhati Roy ~Annihilation of Caste by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar ~History of Modern Manipur by Lal Dena Just four. It's okay, really. There is no compulsion to read 6/7 books every month. Reading fewer books doesn't mean I'm learning less. In fact, I learned more deeply. The books this month have been impactful in different ways. Clearly, there is a shift in my choices, and I feel this was meant to be. Meaning, I'm leaning more into nonfiction now. I guess I've always been angry and frustrated deep inside. Angry about the climate crisis, social injustice, discrimination, violence, war, exploitation, etc., etc. I was just deluding myself, living in the comforting world of fiction, escaping all these thoughts. As I read more nonfiction, I get angrier, but I k...

Reading Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq—the winner of the International Booker Prize 2025—was, I'm not going to lie, a frustrating experience. This is a collection of short stories about oppressed Muslim women, many of whom are trapped in painful, inhumane relationships, mostly with their husbands. What broke me was the fact that so many of these women had no way out. No choice. Their circumstances, their communities, and the world around them offered little to no support. Reading about their lives burned. It made me angry. It made me feel helpless.  But maybe that’s what this book is meant to do—hold up a mirror, make us feel the injustice, and help us understand what these women go through every day. Maybe if more people read these stories, things can change. Awareness is the first step. Empathy is next. Another thing that stood out to me was the writing itself. The book is translated from Kannada, and since I lived in a Kannada-speaking city for more than a decade, the language ...

The Doctor and the Saint  is a nonfiction essay, a theoretical debate between two towering figures in Indian history: B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi. The "doctor" refers to Ambedkar, jurist, economist, and the chief architect of India’s Constitution, while the "saint" is Gandhi, the internationally revered leader of India’s independence movement. Roy challenges the sanitized image of Gandhi often taught in mainstream narratives, especially regarding his views and actions on caste. She contrasts this with Ambedkar’s radical anti-caste politics, his lived experience as a Dalit, and his demand for dignity and structural change. The book not only examines their ideological rift but also asks hard questions about how we remember history, who gets to tell it, and what justice really looks like. In the book , Arundhati Roy writes: For a writer to have to use terms like ‘Untouchable,’ ‘Scheduled Caste,’ ‘Backward Class,’ and ‘Other Backward Classes’ to describe fellow human ...

May was a month of mixed moods and powerful stories. Some books were as comforting as a bedtime drink, while others cracked open bigger conversations about history, identity, and mortality. Here's a look at everything I read this month: 📘  The Little Prince , Antoine de Saint-Exupéry A tender philosophical tale wrapped in a children's story about a young prince's journey through planets and people. This may be a global favorite, but you don’t always have to love what others love. Still, it was nice—gentle, wistful, and okay in the best way. 🧹  Kiki’s Delivery Service , Eiko Kadono A young witch starts her own delivery business and finds independence and friendship in a seaside town. Reading this felt like drinking a warm cup of milk. Pure comfort. 🌿  The God of Small Things , Arundhati Roy A haunting, nonlinear novel about forbidden love, caste, and childhood trauma in Kerala. I get why this is famous—and I totally agree. Roy’s language is lush, her story devastating. ...

Not all books are forgettable. Some linger like ghosts or old friends. Here are 5 that won’t leave me alone. 📘 The Bell Jar , Sylvia Plath What it’s about: A story about a young woman struggling with mental health and feeling out of place in the world. Read this if you like  emotional, honest stories that go deep, even when they’re hard to read. I’m scared of this book. And yet, I can’t stop thinking about it. Sylvia Plath doesn’t hold anything back; her words cut deep. If you’re someone who prefers cozy reads and gentle narratives, this is your warning: The Bell Jar is neither cozy nor gentle. It’s haunting. Somehow, it made me question other authors I once admired. It’s too intense to reread and too powerful to forget. 📗 Letters to a Young Poet , Rainer Maria Rilke What it’s about: A series of thoughtful letters full of gentle advice about life, art, and being true to yourself. Read this if you enjoy  quiet, reflective books and need a little creative encouragement....

Some of my encounters with racism in India. To the guy in college who thinks Northeast girls are "easy" and talks shamelessly with insensitive comments—your entitlement isn’t flattering; it’s disgusting. To the colleague who jokes about my race, saying,  “The more you laugh, the less you see,”  mocking our  “small and squinty eyes.”  Do you even realize how that would make us feel? Or do you just not care? To the ignorant person who says things like,  “You all look the same.”  Is it deliberate, or do you genuinely not think before speaking? To the guy who looked at me, turned in my direction on the side of the road, and spat—literally. I know what you meant. I know what you were trying to say. To the young boys who shouted  “Chinese! Noodle! Chow mein!” at   me as if it's hilarious. Where are you now? Have you grown up? Or are you still the same pathetic person, passing your bigotry onto others? And then to be denied entry at a certain palace, wel...

April made me stronger than ever. It’s the books that I read, the characters, and the authors. These books will shock you, break your heart, heal you, inspire you, educate you, and, above all, make you stronger than ever.    ~The Color Purple by Alice Walker ~Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston ~I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou ~Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin ~Beloved by Toni Morrison I have added some lines from each book that I'd like to revisit. The Color Purple by Alice Walker I started the month with this one. Published in 1982. Miss Celie finds her voice and healing through letters, sisterhood, and self-love. I’ll remember her and Shug Avery. It is because of this love that racism, as evidenced by belief in superior and inferior looks and mentalities, failed to impress me. if we persevere, we may, like her, eventually settle into amazement that by some unfathomable kindness we have received just the right keys we need to unlock ...