Kitaab

Kitaab empowers and connects Asian writers and readers worldwide. The revamped website was launched in July 2013 with a much stronger focus.

Kitaab, which means “book” in many Asian languages, was founded in 2005 by journalist and writer Zafar Anjum in Singapore as a space to celebrate and critique Asia+n writing in English. Kitaab aims to help you avoid information overload which is the curse of the information age. The idea behind Kitaab is to create a link-based information storehouse where the most important stories on Asian writer

s and writing are carefully curated, so that lovers of Asian writing do not have to look anywhere else for the assorted news and views on their favourite books and writers. All they need to do is to visit Kitaab and quench their literary thirst. Headquartered in Singapore, Kitaab provides a writing and publishing platform to emerging and seasoned writers from the region to express themselves creatively.

30/11/2023

Cristina M. Gámez-Fernández reviews Tabish Khair's Namaste Trump and Other Stories (Published by Interlink books, 2023) observing how these stories serve as contemplative pearls, exploring the intricacies of both human and non-human existence. Namaste Trump and Other Stories comprises a collection of ten tales authored by Denmark-based Indian writer Tabish Khair. Although six of these stories were previously published separately in different outlets in India, the UK or US, their masterly gathering coheres this volume in impressive ways....

Cristina M. Gámez-Fernández reviews Tabish Khair’s Namaste Trump and Other Stories (Published by Interlink books,...

26/11/2023

In this short story, Arundhuti Das Gupta shares an eye-opening story about women and the burden of womanhood. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Sayani didi was my role model while I was growing up. Clad in kurtas of the brightest colours (with…...

In this short story, Arundhuti Das Gupta shares an eye-opening story about women and the...

25/11/2023

In this short story, Harsh*ta Nanda captures a tender moment that reinstates your faith in humanity making you send a prayer of gratitude to the Protector in your life. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) The jerk of the train engine made me look up from my book....

In this short story, Harsh*ta Nanda captures a tender moment that reinstates your faith in...

24/11/2023

In this short story, Evgeny Khvalkov shares a beautiful tale on the value of a warm word that can change the heart of the harshest trolls. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) There lived an old knight on the Norvid Сoast near the very blue sea....

In this short story, Evgeny Khvalkov shares a beautiful tale on the value of a...

23/11/2023

Paromita Goswami reviews Sara Rai's memoir Raw Amber (Published by Westland Books, 2023) observing how the writer leaves us with a vision of a past. Publisher: Westland Books Pages: 220 Price: Rs.699 If I were to use one word to describe Sara Rai’s Raw Umber, it would be ‘gentle’. Indeed in a series of essays written in lyrical, meditative prose Sara Rai recreates the Allahabad and Banaras of the 1960s – the two cities where she grew up – and introduces us to the two halves of her family who mediated and structured her imagination as an emerging writer....

Paromita Goswami reviews Sara Rai’s memoir Raw Amber (Published by Westland Books, 2023) observing how...

21/11/2023

In this heartwarming essay, Cherian Philipose talks about his introduction to Hindi literature as a young student. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Sometime in 1986, when I was in the ninth standard, a new Hindi teacher walked into our class. We had had a succession of teachers with no real charisma, so we didn't expect much from the new one....

In this heartwarming essay, Cherian Philipose talks about his introduction to Hindi literature as a...

19/11/2023

In this short story, Sarpreet Kaur narrates a heartwarming story about love and loss with unforgettable characters. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Present “Who is this girl, Dada?” asked a five-year-old boy looking keenly towards the portrait hung over the fireplace. ...

In this short story, Sarpreet Kaur narrates a heartwarming story about love and loss with...

18/11/2023

In this short story Mahim Hussain shares a poignant story that leaves the readers in shock and amusement towards the end. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Around nine in the morning, Khaier mia[1] is holding a cup of tea, sitting on his rickshaw....

In this short story Mahim Hussain shares a poignant story that leaves the readers in...

16/11/2023

Sutanaka Ghosh Roy reviews A Review of Rivers Going Home (Edited by Ashwani Kumar) ISBN: 978-93-92494-25-3 (Paperback) Edition: 2022 Price: Rs 2399. Published by Red River During the Lockdown when the world was suddenly collapsing around us, many of us struggled in trying to learn the language of a new grammar of life and death a common language that helped us to comprehend and combat was that of poetry....

Sutanaka Ghosh Roy reviews A Review of Rivers Going Home (Edited by Ashwani Kumar) ...

14/11/2023

In this literary essay, Dr. Ramlal Agrawal discusses Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey and its remarkable narrative technique, linguistic virtuosity, and intellectual insights. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Rohinton Mistry has been shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize. He won the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book twice, as well as other prestigious literary prizes....

In this literary essay, Dr. Ramlal Agrawal discusses Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey and...

12/11/2023

In this short story, Ashvani Sachdev captures an incident that promises to leave the readers thinking. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Whenever there was a long road journey to be made, Raj loved setting off before dawn. The satisfaction of beating the city traffic and hitting the highway while overlapping tints of grey were still struggling to define the sky more than compensated for the mild discomfort of overruling his body clock’s subliminal alarm bell....

In this short story, Ashvani Sachdev captures an incident that promises to leave the readers...

11/11/2023

In this short story, Dwaipayan Bose tells the tale of a couple and how their lives turn topsy-turvy in a short span of time EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Every night after dinner, leaving her husband Tanmay to the intrigue of television serials, Sucharita would pull a beanie over her head, slip into her sneakers, climb down a stone staircase at the edge of a green patch that is her garden and hit Ringking Pong Road....

In this short story, Dwaipayan Bose tells the tale of a couple and how their...

09/11/2023

Mir Arif reviews Rahad Abir's Bengal Hound observing how the book is all about reconciling communal violence and confronting South Asian History. ISBN: 9781958652022 Publisher: Gaudy Boy No. of Pages: 210 pages Price: $19.00 Rahad Abir’s debut novel, Bengal Hound, highlights a pivotal chapter in South Asian history: The 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising, which started a year earlier and demanded autonomy for East Pakistan, heightening political tensions that ultimately led to Bangladesh’s independence in 1971....

Mir Arif reviews Rahad Abir’s Bengal Hound observing how the book is all about reconciling...

07/11/2023

In this personal essay, Ankita Sharma shares her journey of reinventing life after marriage and relocation. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) I saw my nails turning yellow. This was the second time in a month. I hate it when this happens....

In this personal essay, Ankita Sharma shares her journey of reinventing life after marriage and...

05/11/2023

In this short story, R Srinivasan shares a heart-warming story with a clever narrative and an ending that will leave the reader guffawing. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) I wouldn’t call them ghosts or the place haunted. Except for being invisible to the human eye, the three did not have any ghost-like characteristics....

In this short story, R Srinivasan shares a heart-warming story with a clever narrative and...

04/11/2023

In this poignant story, Ghulam Mohammad Khan takes the reader on a journey to a faraway village Muqam, narrating the happenings that one day changed everything, beyond repair. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) Nobody knew when and who planted those majestic willows, their sprawling branches reaching for the heavens....

In this poignant story, Ghulam Mohammad Khan takes the reader on a journey to a...

03/11/2023

In this short story, Roxy Arora shares a poignant narrative capturing the essence of familial bonds between siblings and in tough times these bonds give us hope. Dedication Brothers and Sisters. 'Don't be afraid.' He said. 'I'm here, always. Just believe.' 'I do, Bhaiya.' I whispered. CHAPTER 7 Ma didn’t come to the hospital, to meet us. She had busied herself with prayers....

In this short story, Roxy Arora shares a poignant narrative capturing the essence of familial...

02/11/2023

Poet and Critic Gopal Lahiri reviews Three Witches' Songs by Aparna Singh, Nabanita Sengupta, and Sudeshna Chakravorty (Published by Hawakal Publishers) calling it a collection of emboldened female voices. ISBN:978-93-91431-32-7 Authors: Aparna Singh, Nabanita Sengupta and Sudeshna Chakravorty Publishers: Hawakal Publishers Private Limited, Kolkata/ New Delhi Price: INR-500/- There is a rich and complicated way that many women Indian poets writing in English, deal with their ancestry and past engagements....

Poet and Critic Gopal Lahiri reviews Three Witches’ Songs by Aparna Singh, Nabanita Sengupta, and...

01/11/2023

An exclusive excerpt from The Nigerian Mafia- Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue (Published by Abibiman Publishing U.K., 2023) You know, there is something in India that also happens in Nigeria: I am an Igbo person, and we have our own caste system. I remember a guy who said he was Dalit, and he was a police officer at Andheri police station. I went there to bail out a Nigerian they had arrested....

An exclusive excerpt from The Nigerian Mafia- Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue (Published by Abibiman Publishing...

31/10/2023

Sravanthi Challapalli writes a personal essay on a trip to the Rann of Kutch capturing its beauty in words. EDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK (As the editor’s pick for this week, this article will be available for free reading for a week) So this was the Great Rann of Kutch. We parked the car and moved with the rest of the walking tourists (some were taking camels) to the other side of the road, from where we began our approach to the salt marsh....

Sravanthi Challapalli writes a personal essay on a trip to the Rann of Kutch capturing...

Address

Singapore

Website

http://www.kitaab.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kitaab posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

New Book Launch by Kitaab International

Kitaab Insta Review I The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

In this new series of Insta reviews, Vaishnavi Sreenivasan from Ashoka University reviews Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Palace of Illusions Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Meet novelist Kavitha Rao at the #srmukitaablitfest at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University on 7-8 April!

Meet author Dr. Sherin Shervani at the #srmukitaablitfest at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University on 7-8 April!

Meet author and editor of The Best Asian Short Stories Anthology 2017 Monideepa Sahu at the #srmukitaablitfest on 7-8 April at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University campus!

Meet Malaysian author @Farouk Gulsara at the SRMU Kitaab Literary Festival on 7-8 April at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University campus!

Rochelle Potkar on SRMU Kitaab Literary Festival, Lucknow

Meet poet and author Rochelle Potkar at the launch of The Best Asian Short Stories Anthology 2017 at the SRMU Kitaab Literary Festival in Lucknow on 7-8 April at the Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University campus! Entry is free! Rochelle Potkar Novoneel Chakraborty Filmwallas