The Bookish Gossips

Life, Death and the Ashtavakra Gita By Bibek Debroy and Hindol Sengupta Some books arrive like noise, others like breath. This one felt more like a quiet breath. It doesn’t ask for much. It just waits. Until you’re ready. Life, Death and the Ashtavakra Gita is built in two parts. The first is a clean translation of the Ashtavakra Gita by Bibek Debroy. The second is a set of reflections by Hindol Sengupta, shaped during the stillness of the pandemic. Both sections move at different rhythms, but they hold the same thread. Stillness, detachment, and the search for something that isn’t outside us. The Gita that Doesn't Preach The Ashtavakra Gita is often called one of the most direct and uncompromising texts in Advaita philosophy. It doesn’t unfold like a story. There is no battlefield, no dialogue wrapped in dramatic events. It opens with a question and never leaves the inner space. Bibek Debroy’s translation respects that structure. Every shloka is placed with clarity. There’s...

Some books find their way to you at the exact moment you need them. Courageous Choices is one of those reads. You do not need to be a single mother to feel the weight and the warmth this book carries. But if you are, there is something incredibly personal and validating about the way Manasi tells her story. This is not a guidebook filled with generic advice. It is more like a long, heartfelt conversation with someone who has walked the path, stumbled, stood back up, and kept walking. And she is now choosing to share the map with others. Not About Sympathy. All About Strength. One of the first things that stood out to me was how this book does not lean into sympathy. It does not ask the reader to feel sorry. It invites you to look at the strength it takes to live life on your terms. Especially when society keeps handing you its own version of how your life should look. The honesty in these pages is something else. Manasi does not hide behind poetic language or soft filters. She sh...