Shows
Writing With A KnifeLonging & Love | The Day before the Revolution by Ursula Le GuinA strikingly good writing style that travels seamlessly across timelines building a narrative that is lucidly smooth and very simple to understand despite being in the science fiction genre. A story about longing despite having it all, this story raises the fundamental question - will anything ever be enough ?2024-10-0944 minWriting With A Knife9 Worried Hostages Protect The Even More Worried Bank Robber | Anxious People by Fredrik BackmanA heart touching story about characters dealing with anxiety with a broad spectrum of reasons possibly faced by ninety percent of humanity today.
The writing is clunky but the story has some excellent plot points and weaving a story seamlessly across so many characters without making it feel so overwhelming is a marvel that always pleases.
Centered around the incident of a bank robbery gone wrong and accidentally turning into a hostage situation is a premise that wants you to jump right in stay glued to see how these troubled people bond together over difficulty...2024-08-1846 minWriting With A KnifeHow Far Can You Hold Out For a Friend | Blythe by Lauren GroffBlythe is the story about two women who share a friendship which is in truth a symbiotic bond between the two where one needs attention and the other feels good about being needed by another whom she deems in certain ways better or superior in some ways.
Groff has an unnaturally canny way of gliding her readers through her stories. That happens here too. We are given hints and backstories as to why these women might have really formed a friendship and a wonderful portrayal of the human nature being dependent on the mould set in by...2024-08-071h 13Writing With A KnifeCan Humans Truly Detach | The Foreigner by Arun JoshiThis is a beautiful treatise to the flavours of loneliness. It is a work that talks of the fallacy of the idea of being detached and what keeps people aloof and alone. The story progresses into our protagonist discovering that detachment actually lies in taking action and his rise to prestige as he takes a stand for people is endearing.
Arun Joshi nails it in this one which is a commentary on capitalism, human suffering and the false notion that nothing matters and it is better to only mind one’s own business. The story talks of the...2024-07-151h 02Writing With A KnifeGreed & Justice | The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains by Neil GaimanYou know the writing is good when you don't even stop to question the supernatural or fantastical elements in a story. You know the writing is solid when all elements of foreshadowing fit perfectly right up till the last line.
We are absolutely floored with Neil Gaiman's writing in this story of a man whose mystery bounds you to the very end as he embarks on a dangerous journey with a hidden motive.2024-07-011h 06Writing With A KnifeWhat Depression Looks Like | Hyperbole And a Half by Allie BroshThis is a special episode - the first cross over episode between Writing with a Knife & Mind Mined, a podcast on mental health. This is an attempt to bring forward the world of writing to our listeners to introduce to them realistic yet entertaining portrayals of mental health struggles.
Hyperbole And a Half is a comic autobiographical portrayal in which we get glimpses of the author's life of incidents which sometimes directly and sometimes through very clever metaphors introduces to us the daily challenges involved with depression.
The narration is very funny, and the experiences...2024-06-0452 minWriting With A KnifeThe Imperfect Pursuit of Perfection | Kidney Shaped Stone by Haruki MurakamiA girl with a mysterious career, a writer carrying his father's curse, and the story inside this story about a very alive & magical stone.
Murakami takes us yet again on one of his musings.
Writers may note the excellent use of metaphors and their interlinkage. 2024-05-1631 minWriting With A KnifeOf Toothaches & Unspoken Pains | At The Clinic by Sally RooneySally Rooney amazes us with this short story that peels open the nuances of the egos involved in a relationship.
The 2 main characters cling to each other in seemingly nasty ways just so that they can continue to see each other without having to admit their insecurities, without having to reveal their soft side because it scares them to bare open themselves to each other. So they instead choose the excuse of their bare bodies touching each other, just so that maybe one of them will be able to see what they really want.
2024-05-0832 minWriting With A KnifeRetrospective Narration & The Acceptance of Flaws | After Caravaggio's Sacrifice of Issac by Rachel CuskAn incredibly written story, Cusk sweeps us off with her intelligent writing on the inside worlds of people. A beautiful example to understand how one can, with the simplest words used, create a solid portrayal of the inside world of a human mind.
This story is written in retrospect and the story shifts seamlessly between a pivotal point in the narration to which we keep coming back to and the general narration which describes the series of events that happened.
The writing is lucid. The intensity of certain emotions & feelings are displayed with such accuracy...2024-05-0341 minWriting With A KnifeThe Swan by Roald Dahl | Wings of CourageA beautifully written short story with such lucid nuances you want to read it again just to feel it all over again despite a seemingly sad but triumphant end. This is the story of Peter Watson - an unconquerable soul2024-02-1537 min
3 ThingsThe Catch Up: 14 FebruaryThis is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 14th of February and here are the headlines.Moments after the protesting farmers resumed their march to the National Capital today, chaos ensued at the Shambhu border. Security personnel fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowds. Meanwhile, Delhi’s borders were further fortified, with security personnel deployed in large numbers and barricades laid out across all possible entry points. Among other things, the farmers are seeking MSP guarantee for 23 crops, waiver of their debts and withdrawal of cases regi...2024-02-1403 minWriting With A KnifeOn Loneliness & FictionWhat does it mean to be lonely and what does one do about it ? What are some great works of writing about loneliness ? We talk about all this and why the protagonist in Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is such a remarkable character.
2023-11-3056 minWriting With A KnifeThat Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieChimamanda's writing will make you feel deeply for people and causes whom you would have felt have nothing to do with you, but the narration is so so good that you are the character ! You live her feras, hopes, disappointments and the looming unknow that her future is all the while just hoping that she gets to be happy. A brilliant portrayal of the life of an immigrant from Nigeria to the United States. A very well written character and probabaly the smoothest narration we ever came across in a short story. 2023-11-2955 minWriting With A KnifeDifficult to Read, More Difficult to Put Down | Darkplaces by Gilian FlynnThere should probably be a genre called Gilian Flynn by now. Darkplaces is an amazingly written book with 3 points of narrations, a plot far from predictable and characters so grey, you struggle whom should you be rooting for. This is a murder mystery moving to and fro between the past and the present till the last chapter and the killer reveal is just so, well, killer !
Join us as we talk about how the writing in this book is so special.2023-11-171h 08Writing With A KnifeHow Self Help Helped Us - Part 3 | Belief & FaithWe talk about books that helped us to see that life truly can be a construct of your imagination as long as you allow life to teach you what you need to learn. You will eventually get there, but be open to learn what " there " is, should be or shouldn't.
A few hours of strength in solace will give you what months of " thinking " will not. Allow yourself to grow, and grow well. In the midst of doubts is the way forward, so don't curse those doubts for they are the shrubs and bushes just before the the garden of...2023-10-2634 minWriting With A KnifeHow Self Help Helped Us | Part 2 | Spirituality & StrengthWe continue our 3 part episode about how certain books that Sonia and I read helped us by giving wisdom and insights about life that made it possible for us to grow better and move forward. In this one, we talk about books that built our perception on how to take life and what to do with when hit a wall. We urge our audience to share their stories about growth, and if a book has been behind it, we'd love to hear that too !
Send us your story on writespeakmedia@gmail.com2023-10-1628 minWriting With A KnifeHow Self-Help Helped Us - Part 1 | PerceptionA 3 part episode where Sonia and I talk about which books helped us to come to terms with the reality of life and taught us to adapt to it. In this one, both of us talk about how a particular book in our individual lives helped us to get to the first factor you need to fix your life - perception.2023-10-0216 minWriting With A KnifeWhat makes good characters ? | Writing With SoniaIs a story driven by its plot, or by its characters ? Why is it that certain characters make us feel so strongly about them that it's hard to keep the book down ? How can writers create such characters ? Is there a certain relationship that the writer shares with the character they create ? Sonia answers this and much more. 2023-09-2138 minWriting With A KnifeDignity & Greed | Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek ShanbaghShanbagh Ji has written a story that takes the reader through the mind of a protagonist whose family suddenly comes out of impoverishment. We discover the unique family situation that exists inside the walls of their house and how money has made these individuals weak. A new character joins the family and challenges the status quo on matter of principle. Uncomfortable situations in the house make the protagonist feel helpless, as he is unable to find any way out of his " Ghachar Ghochar". The pacing is steady, the story runs in and out of the past just as our...2023-09-021h 09Writing With A KnifeHow to Get Your Revenge : The Author's Edition | Nocturnal Animals - Part 2We continue our conversation as we dive deeper into the characters and what the antagonists as well as the supporting character truly represent in the story. We discuss how the parallel story lines are connected by certain scenes and how the novel comes to affect Susan so much. We close the episode by expressing gratitude to the creators of this film. Truly, a masterpiece. This movie has been inspired by the book "Tony and Susan" now published as "Nocturnal Animals"2023-08-1533 minWriting With A KnifeTom Ford's Masterpiece | Nocturnal Animals - Part 1Famous fashion designer Tom Ford makes one film in a decade. In Nocturnal Animals, he summons his artistic excellence to film making. Striking visuals go, excellent pacing, and amazing writing. In Part I, Sonia and Abhishek discuss the actions of every character that shape the story across genres and finally, changes their motivations.2023-08-0720 minWriting With A KnifeDrive My Car by Haruki Murakami - Part 2 | Misaki's Strength of AcceptanceIn Part 2, Sonia and Abhishek dive deeper into Kafuku's mindset and the purpose of Misaki's character. Murakami's writing in Drive My Car juxtaposes these two characters in a way that one of them can learn from the other - the 'shifting of gears' being another sleek metaphor.2023-08-0126 minWriting With A KnifeDrive My Car by Haruki Murakami - Part 1 | Understanding Kafuku's Blind SpotPossibly the most famous short story by Murakami, Drive My Car is a story about death and marriage. But, is it? The complexities of human nature tie in seamlessly with each other in this story and make the reader ponder upon the nature of companionship. In Part 1, Sonia analyses how the story builds up and what the protagonist's "blind spot" is supposed to signify.2023-07-2123 minWriting With A Knife4 Hearts Beat - What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond CarverSonia and Abhishek discuss a short story by the man who revived short stories in America. The plot is this. A conversation ensues between two couples sitting around a table, drinking gin. They start talking about love. The story does the phenomenal job of exploring the theme of love without actually doing it. That, says Sonia, is brilliant writing. The story summons more characters, each one representing a different from of love. At first confusing, the ending of the story is a class in clever writing.2023-07-1639 minWriting With A KnifeShinagawa Monkey by Murakami - What did it all mean ?We discuss a short story by Murakami about truth & identity. Sonia unpeels the several subtle layers that Murakami beautifully woven together in this surreal tale. Abhishek asks Sonia how the various elements in this story add up and her unpacking of Murakami's writing reveals a lot. We come closer to understanding the unique genre of Magical Realism that Murakami is known for.2023-06-1620 minWriting With A KnifeWhy Write?Sonia talks about what compels her to write. She reveals a suprising secret - something which is true for all writers. We learn what comes out when writint becomes a deeply personal experience.
What do you think moves people to write and share stories?
Reach out to us at writespeakmedia@gmail.com2023-06-1014 min
Indian Crime StoryAssassination of Indira GandhiInstagram link: https://www.instagram.com/nascent_carbon/
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:29 a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star. Operation Bluestar was an Indian military massacre carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984, ordered by Indira Gandhi to remove the Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab. The collateral damage included...2020-06-3006 min
The Indicast ShowIndicast #156: The Unsen-sibal move of the yearKapil Sibal is not the first Indian politician to trend on Twitter, but perhaps the first one to trend with a dubious adjective (or noun, whatever), idiot. His lack of knowledge about how the internet works was evident when he asked companies like Facebook and Google to prescreen content which is posted by Indian users after he found a few morphed pictures of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh which showed them in bad light. This year has seen quite a rew RIPs and Dev Anand and Indira Goswami get added to the list. In cricket, Sehwag scores a double century...2011-12-1219 min