Loving right now

A list of Indian Link’s current favourites

Read

And the Indian links continue at the Bookers with Perumal Murugan’s Pyre (Penguin). Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, it was translated from the Tamil original Pookuzhi (Kalachuvadu Publications) by Anirudhan Vasudevan. Set in a corner of Tamil Nadu, the novel is about Kumaresan, who takes his bride Saroja to visit his family. The community is not exactly thrilled at the nuptials, because the young couple come from different sections of society…

The longlist inclusion is a wonderful win for Indian literature, for the power of translations, and for Murugan himself, who returns to writing after a self-exile at the tumultuous response to an earlier work.

Listen

History must be reexamined by every successive generation, rethought and discussed over again from the ever-changing perspectives of the present. So says William Dalrymple, host of the hugely successful podcast Empire which he presents alongside Anita Anand. A surprise hit since it began in August 2022, it went on for 21 episodes, starting from the East India Company, to Partition, modern nationhood for India, and the diaspora that Empire spawned (following Rishi Sunak’s rise to Prime Ministership). No.1 in the UK Apple Podcast charts, it was nominated for Podcast of the Year. Series 2 has moved on to the Ottoman Empire.

Eat

It started as an impromptu street BBQ, as the local community marked Iftar after day-long fasting. Now it’s one of Sydney’s many cultural highlights. Ramadan Nights in Lakemba, organised by the Canterbury-Bankstown Council are on until 20 April, from sundown until 3am daily. Get yourselves to Haldon Street and Railway Parade, to taste the wares of 75 street food vendors. Satay from Christmas Islands. Kashmiri chai. Taiwanese bubble tea. Turkish coffee. Malaysian Murtabak. Egyptian Kusharry. Pakistani Haleem. Lebanese Felafel. Bangladeshi Beguni. Middle Eastern desserts Knafeh and Sahlab. Jalebis. Of course you’ll line up for the renowned camel burger, and bring home a box or three of biryani.

Watch

Looking to support brown comedians? Laugh out loud with some of the hilarious South Asian acts at the ongoing Melbourne International Comedy Festival. From homegrown heroes such as Dilruk Jayasinha and Nazeem Hussain, rising stars Suren Jayemanne and Guneet Kaur, and international names like Sonali Thakker and Anirban Dasgupta, there’s plenty of laughs to go around. Our picks? Singapore’s favourite drag comedian Kumar performing for the last time in Kumarsutra – Greatest Hits, and women comics like festival veteran Aarti Vincent doing a set in Hindi as part of Comedy Dhaba’s Shuddh Desi Comedy, also featuring Rajat Chopra and Ateev Dang.