Christmas is a season of wonder, joy, and inspiration—a time when the magic of stories feels even more special. For children books make perfect gifts, opening doors to timeless tales that inspire, entertain, and transport them to magical worlds. From…

ભાવાનુકૂલ શબ્દો વડે તાઝગીભર્યાં ગીતો ગાતા આપણા ઉત્તમ કવિ ઉમાશંકર જોશીના એક કાવ્યનું સ્વરાંકન હિમાલી વ્યાસ નાયકના ભાવવાહી કંઠે અમર ભટ્ટના આલ્બમ ‘ગીતગંગોત્રી’માં છે. એનું રસપાન ગ્રીષ્મનું તાપમાન કંઇક સહ્ય બનાવે એવું છે. કાવ્યની ઊઘડતી પંક્તિઓ છે : લૂ, જરી…

Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020), a theatre genius who can truly be called a legend in his field, passed away on August 5, at the age of 94. He shaped careers of a galaxy of actors who are celebrities of India in…

As the year is coming to an end, we remember these creative personalities of eminence, from India, that are no more amongst us. The departing year took lives of many creative personalities—from literary geniuses, to cinema personalities to some of…

Writers are finding interesting ways to return to stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Some of the recent approaches include tracing the journey of minor characters, or of the major ones who weren’t explored enough. We revisit some of these developments…

Gulzar Saab is a name familiar in cinema for bringing revived lyricism through his poetry in filmmaking. Earlier this year, as a project to return to the oeuvre of Gulzar the filmmaker, HarperCollins released three books that looked back at three…

Whenever anyone says ‘book,’ different thoughts spring to the minds of different people. If you say ‘book’ to an Agatha Christie fan, he’d think mystery, suspense, thriller, and so on. If you say ‘book’ to a romance fan, he’d think…

Meena Alexander wrote about the relationship between history and poetry and returned to memory often through her works. In this article, we focus on what the poet left behind and in particular, a lesser-known work of hers, Dreaming in Shimla:…

BOUND is one-of-its-kind organisations that organised its fourth writer’s retreat in Goa this August. We chatted with the founder, Tara Khandelwal, who has been bringing mentorship opportunities for emerging writers in India. To be a good writer isn’t easy, to…

A children’s book about a boy who feels like a girl. And about a child brought up by grandfathers. These are some of the stories published by Tulika Books, who have been making children’s picture books since 23 years. Little…

Amlanjyoti Goswami’s debut poetry collection ‘River Wedding’ is an honest exploration of the world around us—of loss but also hope, of evil but also the search for good. AMLANJYOTI GOSWAMI is a rare voice in the vast world of poetry,…

We did a short survey to find out what young Indians under the age of 25 are reading. In this article, we share their answers. Neil Gaiman famously said, “Read. Read anything. Read the things they say are good for…

Journalist Ravish Kumar’s book of very short stories‘ Ishq Mein Shahar Hona’ explores the struggle to find a space to love in a city like Delhi. In my initial days in college, I’d only known Ravish Kumar as the journalist who…

Is it true that Queen Victoria of England was so fascinated by the book‘ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ that she asked the author to send her his next book? Rumour has it she received a copy of ‘An Elementary Treatise…

Did you know that the one and only film written by Premchand had to be banned from releasing in some cities? This was not for reasons that we usually associate with film censoring these days, but because the film ‘Mazdoor’ was…

Ahmedabad-based advocate AC Damani is a man of many hats. Besides travelling to villages to solve revenue disputes of farmers, he has also published six books in Gujarati. Here, he talks about how the demise of his mother awakened the…

Poet Imtiaz Dharker recently rejected the UK Poet Laureateship weighing ‘the privacy [she] needed to write poems against the demands of a public role.’ The focus of this article, however, is not on that. It is to celebrate the poetry…

Did the mystery writer plan her own mysterious disappearance? Let’s delve into the link between fact and fiction in the life of the immensely popular Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is a well-known name for anyone who reads books, especially mystery…

Not all of us can be poets but there are some forms of poetry that are fun to try your hand at. Just get familiar with the rules and have a go at it! Limericks are a lot of fun…

The last twelve months saw the release of fantastic books of poems by several contemporary Indian poets in many languages. We discuss four such poets writing in English, and other small poetry projects that will help you discover the wonders…

In this piece 64 year old Dr Yatin Desai, shares with CY his inspiring story of how to scale towering mountains with utmost ease and how this life adventure activity can shape human character and health. Chances are high that…

The man behind much loved Gujarati songs like Puchhine thay nahi prem, Mann masti ane motor cycle, Bhaasha Mari Gujarati Chhe, O Rangrasiya and many more Shukla is gifted with the art of language.   આપણે એને સાચવી જાણીયે આપણને…

Last year, this 15-year-old’s artworks sold out on the first day of her first show. The young talent is now back to launch her first novel ‘Home in the Hill’. The work of fiction, inspired by the books of Roald…

Spoken word poet Diksha Bijlani doesn’t write her poems down till they’ve gestated in her mind for months. Find out why the poet behind the viral poem ‘Dear Ekta Kapoor’ follows this process, and how she sees the future of…

These children’s books written by ten authors from India are a must–have for your child. It’s Christmas time and you can’t wait to be the secret Santa who gifts your loved ones. While the highlight of Christmas undoubtedly is the…

What prompted Netflix to adapt ‘The Rise of Sivagami’ into a web series? Why does writer Anand Neelakantan often choose to write from the perspective of the ‘evil’ party, like the Kauravas and Ravana? When were the seeds of mythology…

Find out what makes the architecture of the first free library in the United States stand out. Take a visual tour of this eclectic collage of art, architecture, religion and literature at the Boston Public Library. Boston Public Library, McKim Building As you…

With the recent popularity of superhero movies, let’s go back to the days when we didn’t need a movie full of VFX to feed our imaginations when our dearest friends were our comic books. Remember the days before gadgets when we used to read comics? Not only did most of our…

Did you know that Tagore was a feminist? And that his plays were far more progressive than their time? To mark the 157th birth anniversary of Tagore, academician and theatre critic Dr Anand Lal spoke about the Bengali polymath’s socially…

There is a novel Praveshak (Preamble) in a conversational form to Sitanshu Yashashchandra’s collection of poems Vakhaar (R.R.Sheth, 2009) with an audio CD in his voice. ‘When you enter the gate,’ the Lekhak tells the Adhipati, ‘the detector ought to…

The MJ Library is a true example of what “living heritage” means in the World Heritage City. With a collection of more than 7,50,000 books today, it’s still a favourite haunt amongst students and senior citizens. The library was initiated with a…

Social reformist, revivalist, academician and advocate of tribal literature, Bhagwandas Patel, discusses the rare aboriginal love songs of the Bheel community at a Paraspar talk. Oral literature – the original form of folk literature– has significantly shaped the spoken word…

Gleaned from original Jain scriptures, the academician takes listeners on a journey through a magical ‘Shangri-La’ of fictional stories.   With the support of flamboyant lore and epic verses, religions have reinforced their existence since aeons. Whether it’s the Quran,…

We rendezvous with one of the foremost creative families in the city to find out what inspires a father and his sons to pursue their distinctive art and design. Mr Amit Ambalal, the patriarch of the renowned Ambalal family, is…

A folk musician, a self-taught mandolin player, a Carnatic violinist and a freestyle drummer. Can you imagine them all together? Now imagine them singing Kabir. You cannot call these guys just a band. They are an experience to behold and…

Among the humorists in Gujarat who wrote/write for newspapers and magazines, Tarak Mehta (1929-2017) stood out with the visual and narrative qualities of his writing. He developed an eye for observation as he grew up and lived in the middleclass…

The acclaimed screenwriter speaks about his raison d’etre for writing.  “The three commandments of Ingmar Bergman: Entertainment is your responsibility and priority because the audience is not coming for a sociological treatise. Do not sell your soul while entertaining, like…

She sat there, numb, clutching her phone tightly. Her eyes frozen and cheeks stained with tears. It seemed that heartbeat had completely lost its sense of rhythm. Her phone rang again. She hated it. After all, it was the same…

My experience at GLF was a marvelous one. The very fact that such a well-organized event, at such a large scale, was being held at one of my favourite places in my hometown – the sophisticated yet welcoming Kanoria Arts…

The literature will every time discover its road to reach the silver screen, even though the readers argue with the saying, ‘Never judge a book by the movie’, and film lovers revolt saying,’stories are brought to life’. Here is a…

With quite a few new releases in fiction and non-fiction, India’s citizens have been given many options for books to get engrossed in this autumn. Quite a few popular releases in Hindi have made the country’s literature scene all the…

While the Marvel versus DC debate rages with yet another set of superheroes and superwomen that are brought to life by expensive CGI, we at Creative Yatra thought it would be worthwhile to go back to our very own desi…

Imagine a gathering under a single dome full of literary heads discussing, socializing, interacting, learning and meeting everyone present. Spending afternoons talking books, evenings hearing writers exclaiming their experiences, other days listening to panelists discussing the world over relevant literature topics. This is…

Judges for top British literary award the Man Booker Prize spurned big-name novelists in favour of experimental new talent. None of the six writers who made the cut for the coveted prize for fiction is well known outside literary circles.Those…

Lets take a look at some of the most important pre and post Independence Women Poets from India. Male folks, as it was the norm in most part of the world largely dominated literature in India. History however along with the…

  She isn’t the quintessential pen-toting, old-fashioned poet. If you meet her, it’s quite likely that you’ll see her furiously jabbing away at her smartphone, jotting down poetry on the Google Keep app or unleashing another post into the big…

“A billion moons pass. A billion lunar years. Opening her eyes after a million light years, Draupadi, strangely enough, sees sky and moon. Slowly the bloodied nailheads shift from her brain. Trying to move, she feels her arms and legs…

My intuition says that this year will be remembered for the emergence of a new generation and the last words of one great voice. The first half of 2016 has been phenomenal. Such great fiction has rolled out, fresh, in…

  In a world that accuses the youth of being too full of themselves, of being emotionally distant or even an impulsive lot, it is refreshing to meet a 23-year-old who is keen to know others’ life-stories, is sensitive to…

Older than the oldest grandfather, The Himalayan range has always been mystical and homage to serenity. There is something about the mountains that is being able to turn people inwards. Attracting wanderlusts, sages and seekers since decades, its mesmerizing beauty can be deceiving…

  It is thrilling to think, that soon Ahmedabad is going to host the Ahmedabad Literature Festival (ALF) on 12th & 13th November, 2016, with Ahmedabad Management Association as the venue. Writers, poets, readers and literary enthusiasts are expected to…

We at Creative Yatra, think some of the loveliest illustrations we’ve ever seen have been in books or maybe that’s just the association one makes with great story-telling, so we decided to round up a few of the most beautiful…

A Spanish writer, poet and philosopher, who himself became a revolution of Spanish literature and language.  His contribution towards Spanish literary was so impactful that people started calling the language as La lengua de Cervantes (The language of Cervantes). The…

The street Fernandes Bridge connects readers with writers, students with publishers and curious beings with the age-old answers they’re looking for. The Chopda Bazaar of Fernandes Bridge is one of the oldest Book Markets in Ahmedabad that serves thousands of people…

She looked around and took a deep breath. After all the bellowing and angst filled moments, finally everything was packed. Her friends had suggested to hire movers and packers as they knew how to pack and that would reduce her…

Lets go back to the Red Wedding. The episodes were revolving around Arya and Catelyn’s perception now; Arya was struggling her approach towards the Twins with the Hound, while a Frey wedding was celebrated within the citadel by Catelyn and…

Creative Yatra explores a little known library right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Bhadra Plaza, called ‘Himabhai Institute’.   Lal Darwaja, the biggest hub for hawkers and patrons, where people flock as if everything is been sold…

In Greek tragedies like Oedipus the King and Agamemnon, it is the gods and fate that pull the strings and humans, like puppets, behave the way they do. In Shakespeare’s tragedies like King Lear and Othello, the factors that cause…

The oldest library of Ahmedabad, Hazrat Pir Mohammad Shah Library, is blessed with quietness of the mosque that surrounds it. Ahmedabad has internationally carved its identity on the globe through the numerous mosques dotted across the city. The air confined…

Books light up one’s world. The shaft of light that books cast make even the darkest or dullest moments a fountain of glittering joy sprinklers. The way that books percolate through the layers of the skin, the cells to touch…

‘The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress),…

Narsinh Mehta an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna continues to reside in our hearts even today, after 600 years. Such is the presence of souls like Narsinh Mehta. Being a pioneer of Gujarati bhakti (devotional) literature, Narsinh Mehta started his…

It was not like every other day. I woke up late, maid didn’t turn up and car was punctured. Well, it didn’t end there. Later, I got stuck in a traffic jam. While cursing my luck and answering multiple calls…

“Only progressive literature can produce self-confidence. It will be disappointing if our writers don’t use their pen for the betterment of the common people, because if writers, journalists and thinkers turn away from present-day circumstances and write merely for personal…