books, rabdi jalebi, and The Windmill
a new way forward for this newsletter
Hey friend,
I feel like it has been forever since the last issue of this newsletter. I have been thinking about many things — about The Windmill (that is what this newsletter is called in case you forgot), things I came across in books and articles, and the world surrounding me.
Starting today, The Windmill will always have four sections:
A section about my latest writing(s).
A section on books and articles I read.
A few questions for you.
Lastly, something related to the state of Tripura.
I’ll add an optional fifth section whenever I receive interesting questions, assuming I have something concrete to say in reply.
Please send your questions via comments, or email or you can simply reply to this email if you are subscribed to the newsletter.
The sections are untitled, and might follow any order — that is for you to figure out or you can just read the entire thing. I’ll send out a new issue everytime I publish something new.
So, here is The Windmill in its newest avatar.
I.
I have good news to share with you. I finally got around to writing about my trip to Jaipur last year. It was one of the happiest periods of my life thus far. Hopefully, you will have fun reading it. I had a great time writing about the trip and recollecting many memories.
It is called “Jaipur” and you can read it here.
I also turned twenty-five this year and marked the occasion by writing my yearly review essay. I felt a sense of peace and calm, looking back at the events of the past year. It was like real life — an amalgamation of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I called it “Learning and unlearning: I’m twenty five now.” You can read the essay here.
Please let me know what you think of them via a comment or an email.
II.
Karthik Muralidharan’s Accelerating India’s Development left a deep impression on me. I’m currently working on the book note. Events, from the simplest to the most complex, seemingly had simple explanations.
At multiple points, I went, “Oh! That’s why what I saw when I was growing up happened.” I highly recommend the book. A solid 5/5 for me. I’ll have more to say about the book in my book note.
Be sure to subscribe — to be the first one to receive it as soon as I publish the book note.
Easterine Kire’s Bitter Wormwood made me feel a sense of longing for “home” that I had not felt in a long time. The characters seemed too real and close to home. It reminded me of trying to make food for my mom as she returned from the market in the evening. I almost burned down the house one time.
The book connects the lives of several fictional (and yet they seemed too real) characters and is set against the backdrop of the Naga National Movement. It flawlessly narrates how the lives of ordinary people are affected when there is no peace around them.
Life in the village, our struggle with national integration since independence, anecdotes about various parties benefitting and losing out — it is all there. You must read the book to understand. It’s easily a 5/5 book for me.
After reading Bitter Wormwood, I picked up These Hills called home by Temsula Ao. It talks about a similar theme. However, I found the typos annoying. As with Bitter Wormwood, I found several parts of the book relatable — growing up in a village, migrating outside the comfort of home for better opportunities, and so on.
I knew the characters were fictional and yet, on reading these two books I felt a strong sense of homesickness that I hadn’t felt in years. Perhaps, it is the age or the relative ease with which I could relate to characters in the book. Either way, the book is a solid 4/5, minus the typos.
Finally, I also read India and the Bangladesh Liberation War by Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, a former Indian diplomat. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides. The liberation war had its impact on Tripura as well. So, I was interested in learning more about what actually happened.
The author constructs a compelling narrative about why different parties acted and how they acted. It is a fascinating account of diplomacy, the cost of liberation, and how most people completely failed to foresee seemingly explainable historical events.
I loved the book, it is a 5/5 for me. However, it is quite lengthy; so, if you are not interested in the subject matter, it might be a tough read.
If you are interested in the consolidated list of all the books I read, you can check this out.
III.
I have two questions for you:
What are your views on the Naga National Movement?
If you do not live under a rock, you must have read about what happened in Bangladesh recently. I was planning to visit Dhaka sometime later this year. Why? Because Dhaka as a city always seemed fascinating to me.
Of course, given the current situation, I do not plan to travel to Dhaka anytime soon. That brings me to my question: What other places would you recommend? If not Dhaka, a place with a similar vibe would be acceptable too.
IV.
Some people asked me if my surname Reang is also a language. Technically, you can say that. However, if you wish to be really precise, the language that people belonging to the Reang tribe speak is called Kau-Bru.
Translated literally, it means the language of the Bru people. I cannot recommend you to read the Wikipedia article on Reang. That is because I read the article myself and found several inconsistencies. I found it so inconsistent that I set out to make a whole video about it.
The video is called “What is a ‘Reang’ anyway?” You can watch it here. Please let me know what you think about it. And please subscribe to the channel, of course.
Thank you so much, as ever, for reading my writings. Subscribe if you haven’t. And do share this issue and The Windmill with your friends and family. I appreciate it.
Until the next issue, bye!