ललित

I never had the ambition to become a writer, so the fact that I began writing owes a great deal to serendipity. My journey into film criticism started when the evening daily Aapla Mahanagar unexpectedly gave me an opportunity to write. From 1997, for the next four or five years, I wrote reviews of foreign films for them. In those days, "foreign" primarily meant "English," as reviews were typically written for films released in theatres, and most of our imports were in that la

The Moment Expression Becomes a Necessity Waves surge toward the shore, carrying secrets hidden in the ocean’s heart. Occasionally, they leave a thing or two on the sand and recede, holding the rest within their depths. The roar of aching sorrow and pain resounds ceaselessly in their minds. A similar roar constantly echoes within our own minds. No matter which shore we sit upon, that sound and its attendant unease never leave us. It hums like background music through our dail

To the editor's question, "Why do I write poetry...?", I could have given the simple and elegant answer, "Because I can write poetry..." Or, had I wished to be mischievous, I might have said, "I write poetry because I can do nothing else...!" But the true answer is one I heard countless times from my mother's lips, and I believe it to be the fundamental definition of true literature. Every mother often says, "What the heart cannot contain, the lips reveal!" What a genuine and

Jaisā dīpe dipu lāvije Tetha koṇa ādila oḷakhije Taisā sarvasve maja bhaje To mīcī hoūna ṭhāke (When one lamp is lit from another, who can tell which was the first? In the same way, one who worships me with their entire being, themselves becomes Me.) These lines by the revered poet-saint Dnyaneshwar Mauli come to my mind on this auspicious occasion of Deepavali. My guru, the Bhavagandharva Padma Shri Pandit Hridaynathji Mangeshkar, always says, "Padmaja, when your notes find