Patrick French (1966-2023): A historian and biographer who wrote with empathy and erudition

Patrick French died on March 16 in London at the age of 57.

Narayani Basu

· Mar 19, 2023 · 08:30 am

Shruti Kapila’s new book frames India’s political history in violence to explain the current reality

Unfortunately, ‘Violent Fraternity’ is written in a dense academic language that might elude the intelligent lay reader.

Narayani Basu

· Jan 22, 2022 · 12:30 pm

Biography controversy: How do you write the life story of someone who has long been dead?

The writer of ‘The Unsung Architect’, a biography of VP Menon, on how popular historians can go about their research.

Narayani Basu

· Oct 24, 2021 · 08:30 am

India’s national archives might go partly out of reach for writers. What happens to their holdings?

What does the delay in archival access following the imminent demolition of the Annexe to the National Archives of India mean for publishers?

Narayani Basu

· Jul 09, 2021 · 08:30 am

Yogesh Sharma was not done with his work in Indian publishing. Covid-19 put an end to it

Remembering the man who did a great deal to change sales and marketing at several of India’s publishing companies.

Narayani Basu

· Jun 13, 2021 · 12:30 pm

Why the prize money for Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2021 is going to Covid-19 relief

The Shakti Bhatt Foundation declared it would not select a literary winner this year, but give Rs one lakh each to three separate efforts to combat Covid-19.

Rohan Datta

 & 

Narayani Basu

· May 29, 2021 · 08:30 am

How a people’s library sprang up during the pandemic in the town of Roing in Arunachal Pradesh

Call it the brainchild or the dream of one woman, Ushimi Linggi.

Narayani Basu

· Jan 23, 2021 · 12:30 pm

How the founders of community libraries for children are raising money during the pandemic

Mridula Koshy, who conceptualised The Community Library Project in Delhi-NCR, explains the principles and the plans.

Narayani Basu

· Dec 14, 2020 · 05:30 pm

Mass publishing has a history of coping with pandemics. After all, it was born of one

It all began after the bubonic plague outbreak in Europe.

Narayani Basu

· Jul 10, 2020 · 08:30 am

With archives closed, libraries out of reach, and travel stopped, how will writers research books?

A writer explains how she researched her last book, and cannot expect to repeat the experience for the next one.

Narayani Basu

· Jun 17, 2020 · 08:30 am

This biography of VP Menon examines an important but backgrounded figure of India’s freedom movement

An excerpt from ‘VP Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India’, written by Menon’s great granddaughter Narayani Basu.

Narayani Basu

· Jan 22, 2020 · 08:30 am