Tessera

Nilesh

@nileshb.bsky.social

Trying painting, poetry translation. Good at cooking. Love reading. Getting paid for product strategy, leadership coaching. He/him. Mumbai. Have you read @unmana.bsky.social’s Chikkamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd? Bookstores and online links at https://unmana.com

292 Posts97 Follower 164 Folgt

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · last yr.

Prepping for tomorrow’s art viewing at home! If you are in #Mumbai and would like to see my paintings, please come (we are in Bandra West, dm for address). #artsky

Unmana @unmana.bsky.social · last yr.

Lovely review yesterday with a couple of quotes from me in the Free Press Journal.

Book Review: 'Chikkamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd' By Unmana Is A Breezy Yet Bold Mystery Ride

freepressjournal.in

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · last yr.

#booksky #delhi

Unmana@unmana.bsky.social · last yr.

Delhi friends, come to the Bookshop in Lodhi Colony next week Friday (25 April) at 6 pm! I'll be talking about Chikkamma Tours with Jai Arjun Singh. Tickets are 299/: rzp.io/rzp/chikkamma

The Bookshop Inc is excited to invite you for an evening with debut author Unmana, and critic Jai Arjun Singh to discuss Unmana's singularly unique mystery novel, Chikkamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd.

DATE: FRIDAY, APRIL 25
TIME: 06:00-07:00PM
Please note: Entry via RSVP only. (Full price of the tickets is redeemable against the purchase of any books of your choosing.)

The Doctor (Commissions open)@lucidillusions.in · last yr.

to the handful of IndiaSky people on bsky who will see it, if you know of anyone looking for a videographer/editor/photographer - connect them with me. I'm looking for assignments for April-May-June.

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · last yr.

41/n ગુમાવેલા જીવનનાં હાસ્ય તો પાછાં મળે ક્યાંથી ? જમાનાએ લૂંટેલા અશ્રુ પણ માગી નથી શકતો. *Gumavela jivan na hasy to pachha male kyanthi? Jamanae lootela ashru pan magi nathi shakto.* - Befaam #gujarati #poetry #translation #niltranslates

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

40/n નયનને બંધ રાખીને મેં જયારે તમને જોયાં છે, તમે છો એના કરતાં પણ વધારે તમને જોયાં છે. *Nayan ne bandh rakhi ne me jyare tamne joya chhe, Tame chho ena karta pan vadhare tamne joya chhe.* When I closed my eyes and saw you, I saw you even more than you are. - Befaam #gujarati #poetry #translation #niltranslates

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

Good morning, blue sky!

Ocean and rocks with a faint skyline. Water and sky both are blue.

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is kind of what I am feeling about BlueSky also :)

Nilesh@nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

39/n તમને છોડીને ગયો’તો એ પળો મળતી રહી, તમને આવીને મળ્યો’તો એ ઘડી મળતી નથી. Latin script: *Tamne chhodi ne gayo’to e palo malti rahi, Tamne aavi ne malyo to e ghadi malti nathi.* - Adi Mirza #gujarati #poetry #translation #niltranslates

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

You can read more about FLN's advocacy for reform and its People's National Library Policy PNLP here: www.fln.org.in/library-reform-demanding-the-peoples-national-library-policy/

Library Reform: Demanding the People’s National Library Policy

Public libraries matter. A large majority of Indians are not truly included in the world’s largest democracy. Amid political polarisation, communal divisions and glaring inequality R…

fln.org.in

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Today & tomorrow, activists of the Free Libraries Network will represent grassroots libraries & their members from across India at the #IndianLibraryCongress in Delhi. They will talk about the power of libraries when they are made free & non-exclusionary for all.

4 children, 2 girls & 2 boys, ages 10-13yrs are huddled over an Alphabet Book. They are seated at a library table and are surrounded by colourful bookshelves. They are deeply engrossed in the book.

A girl aged 8 yrs is in a red dress inside a mud hut, she is seated on the bare floor and is reading aloud a book called The New Sweater.

A girl in pigtails aged 7-10 yrs is reading an accessible books for visually impaired readers. She is reading by feeling the book with her hands. The book is a large green object, with cut outs of a tree, monkeys, dogs etc. A library facilitator holds up the book to her. A smiling older lady watched the read aloud.

A park scene. Children of all ages (6-14 yrs) are in a circle. There are books in the middle of the circle, on the grass. A bespectacled librarian does a read aloud. One of the children is pointing at the book excitedly. The grass is green and the sky is a dull blue. Two women (gardeners of the public park) are outside the circle but listening to the story.

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

I would warn you of Spring coming— but I sneeze in All the seasons now

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

Too much going on last week or so… haven’t been able to do poetry translation:/ Also have to pack and move at end of the month and then unpacking, setting up things — so don’t know when I’ll get back to it. But hopefully I will! 🤞🏾

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Sunday L💙VE for Libraries is real! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL @tashanmehta.bsky.social is making an amazing offer. So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

The image is a poster with several elements.
On a blue background, there are several elements of a flyer.
There is a photograph of a person looking at camera.
Below that, the person’s name, and a description:
Tashan Mehta
Author
Next to it is this text:
For a donation of ₹5000 to the Free Libraries Network, I am offering a one-on-one chat with me. We can discuss my work / your work / writing in general – you pick!
In a band across the bottom are two logos.
On the left, one logotype has a stylised image of three books on a shelf and next to it, the name of the organisation, Free Libraries Network, India & South Asia in dark blue letters.
On the right, the second logotype, which has a stylised image of a blue gift box opening and little red book flying out of it, and the name of the campaign, Library Love.

We can talk about my work and writing practice, or any potential issues you're currently facing in your writing practice, or writing in general – it's up to you. I will not be able to read your work (before or after the session) or give you feedback, but I can chat with you artist to artist. I am best versed with novels.

Tashan Mehta is a novelist whose interest lies in form and the fantastical. Her second novel, Mad Sisters of Esi, won the 2024 AutHer Award for Best Novel as well as the 2024 Subjective Chaos Kind of Award for Best Fantasy, and was on the 2023 Locus Recommended Reading List. Her first novel, The Liar’s Weave, was shortlisted for the Prabha Kaitan’s Woman’s Voice Award. She can be found at tashanmehta.com.

Below that, a QR Code, and these words:
To claim this offer (and view all the other offers), please scan this code, or go to https://www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

FLN is a collective of grassroots organisations and practitioners building, operating and advocating for free, anti-caste and feminist libraries that guarantee equal access to reading, learning and information resources for all.
We work with governments, civil society, national and international library associations, publishers and literary groups and individuals, to create policy and implement free-library curricula and models, and to reform India’s public library system.

Library Love (14–28 February)
Our storyteller friends are making an array of generous offers in exchange for donations to FLN.
Funds raised will go towards curating book sets for grassroots libraries, training library leaders, research and advocacy, and paying our team of educators, organisers, trainers, researchers and managers.
Donations to Free Libraries Network FLN are exempt from tax under section 80G of the Income Tax Act (old regime). FLN can only accept donations within India and in Indian currency.

The image is a poster with several elements.
In large text at centre are these words:
Our vision of a free library does not stop at delivering excellent library services to all. It must also be anti-caste, gender and disability-inclusive, and do the essential work of welcoming into reading and thinking, those who have been historically excluded.
FLN asserts that free libraries are a matter of right.
In a band across the bottom are two logos.
On the left, one logotype has a stylised image of three books on a shelf and next to it, the name of the organisation, Free Libraries Network, India & South Asia in dark blue letters.
On the right, the second logotype, which has a stylised image of a blue gift box opening and little red book flying out of it, and the name of the campaign, Library Love.

Unmana @unmana.bsky.social · 2y ago

Listen, I took five years writing and revising my novel before it got accepted. I will share what I learned so you get there faster! Sign up here www.townscript.com/e/library-lo...

Townscript | Online Event Registration and Ticketing Platform

Discover Events in your city and buy tickets online instantly. You can also create your event and start selling tickets online within a minute.

townscript.com

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Sunday L💙VE for Libraries is real! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL @unmana.bsky.social is making an amazing offer. So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click https://www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

The image is a poster with several elements.
One is a block of text which says:
This is for writers who have started a novel or have an idea, and are feeling stuck. We will discuss structure, characterisation, plot and setting, and how to revise your manuscript till it's compelling.

Tentative date and time: Sunday, 6 April, 2025, 3-5 pm.
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
Unmana’s novel Chikkamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd is a deliciously bookish mystery set in Bengaluru that features India’s first fictional queer detective.

Zac O’Yeah calls Unmana one of “the pioneers in the genre of Indian bibliomysteries” and “Asia’s own Alexander McCall-Smith”. Unmana’s short stories have been nominated for the Best of the Net and the Deodar Prize. They live in Bombay.

Below that, a QR Code, and these words:
To claim this offer (and view all the other offers), please scan this code, or go to https://www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Sunday L💙VE for Libraries is real! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL Jane Borges is making an amazing offer. So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click www.fln.org.in/librarylove

My workshop will be held at the end of April. It will be an hour and a half long and held over a weekend. The session is for people interested in using elements of oral history in their storytelling.
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
Jane Borges is a senior journalist, author and oral historian. In 2022, she won the National RedInk Journalism Award. Her debut novel, Bombay Balchão (2019), was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskar and Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. She has also co-authored the non-fiction Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands (2011) with S. Hussain Zaidi. A chapter from the book was adapted into the Bollywood film Gangubai (2022) by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She lives in Mumbai.

Below that, a QR Code, and these words:
To claim this offer (and view all the other offers), please scan this code, or go to https://www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

Valentine’s Day reading list by @unmana.bsky.social in yesterday’s Scroll… Queer romances that make hearts flutter and end on a happy note: Sultry, dizzying, cute romances in historical and contemporary settings by 12 writers around the world. scroll.in/article/1078... #booksky #queerlove

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · 2y ago

I'm helping raise funds for the Free Libraries Network with the offer below. Please donate so that @freelibsnet.bsky.social can continue to do the amazing work they do!

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is no ordinary L💙VE! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL @sridala.bsky.social is making an amazing offer. So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click https://www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

The image is a poster with several elements.
On a [final colour] background, there are several elements of a flyer.
There is a photograph of a person looking at camera.
Below that, the person’s name, and a description:
Sridala Swami
Poet. Amateur photographer. Gardening assistant.
Next to it is this text:
For a donation of INR 3000 I will send you one book from my personal poetry collection plus a copy of my book Escape Artist.
In a band across the bottom are two logos.
On the left, one logotype has a stylised image of three books on a shelf and next to it, the name of the organisation, Free Libraries Network, India & South Asia in dark blue letters.
On the right, the second logotype, which has a stylised image of a blue gift box opening and little red book flying out of it, and the name of the campaign, Library Love.

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

Happy Valentine’s Day :) “Love”, Acrylic on 12”x12” stretched canvas, September 2023. #painting #nilpaints #ArtSky @unmana.bsky.social

Photo of a painting on an easel. Painting is that of a selfie of a couple cuddling.

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is no ordinary L💙VE! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL @bijal.bsky.social is making an amazing offer. So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

The image is a poster with several elements.
One is a block of text which says:
If you donate Rs 5000, I will offer feedback on your picture book manuscript and a 20 minute Zoom call discussion.

I will be able to look at picture book manuscripts in English by the end of March and offer a critique and one call about the feedback.
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
When Bijal Vachharajani is not reading a children’s book, she’s writing or editing one. She’s the author of multiple planet-friendly, award-winning books including A Cloud Called Bhura, Savi and the Memory Keeper and When Fairyland Lost Its Magic. One of India’s first climate writers for children, she’s a commissioning editor at Pratham Books where she dreams up diverse, multi-lingual picture books.
Below that, a QR Code, and these words:
To claim this offer (and view all the other offers), please scan this code, or go to https://www.fln.org.in/librarylove/
In a band across the bottom are two logos.
On the left, one logotype has a stylised image of three books on a shelf and next to it, the name of the organisation, Free Libraries Network, India & South Asia in dark blue letters.
On the right, the second logotype, which has a stylised image of a blue gift box opening and little red book flying out of it, and the name of the campaign, Library Love.

A block of text describes the work that the Free Libraries Network does:
FLN is a collective of grassroots organisations and practitioners building, operating and advocating for free, anti-caste and feminist libraries that guarantee equal access to reading, learning and information resources for all.
We work with governments, civil society, national and international library associations, publishers and literary groups and individuals, to create policy and implement free-library curricula and models, and to reform India’s public library system.

Library Love (14–28 February)
Our storyteller friends are making an array of generous offers in exchange for donations to FLN.
Funds raised will go towards curating book sets for grassroots libraries, training library leaders, research and advocacy, and paying our team of educators, organisers, trainers, researchers and managers.
Donations to Free Libraries Network FLN are exempt from tax under section 80G of the Income Tax Act (old regime). FLN can only accept donations within India and in Indian currency.
In a band across the bottom are two logos.
On the left, one logotype has a stylised image of three books on a shelf and next to it, the name of the organisation, Free Libraries Network, India & South Asia in dark blue letters.
On the right, the second logotype, which has a stylised image of a blue gift box opening and little red book flying out of it, and the name of the campaign, Library Love.

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

It’s the season of love! Revolutionary library love! Share this with your friends & family (in India) and get them to follow us here in large numbers! As for the rest? All will be revealed tomorrow 🥸🩵

Poetry in Parks @poetryinparks.bsky.social · 2y ago

What’s even better than reading #PoetryInParks? Putting books in the hands of all who want them, particularly those from historically disadvantaged communities. That’s what @freelibsnet.bsky.social and their member libraries do. Follow, and reshare their post. Many goodies are coming your way.

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

All set for this :) HITCHENS LIVE Literary Salon Readings on Queer Desire with AKHIL KATYAL, ANIRUDDHA MAHALE, SHRIPAD SINNAKAAR, RAHUL RAI, PRAVEEN BASAVIAH, SHALS MAHAJAN, MAHESH DATTANI AND UNMANA 8 pm onwards | 13th Feb @unmana.bsky.social #mumbai #booksky #queersky

Poster of an event at a Bar in Mumbai: HITCHENS LIVE - Literary Salon. Readings on Queer Desire with AKHIL KATYAL, ANIRUDDHA MAHALE, SHRIPAD SINNAKAAR, RAHUL RAI, PRAVEEN BASAVIAH, SHALS MAHAJAN, MAHESH DATTANI AND UNMANA 8 pm onwards | 13th Feb.

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is one of my personal favourites — don’t think it works as much for others :) “Fantasy”, Acrylic on 16”x20” mdf board. #BlueSkyArtShow #ArtSky #nilpaints #painting

Close up of the butterfly in the painting.

Close up of the red and yellow flowers in the painting.

Unmana @unmana.bsky.social · 2y ago

I’m in a Hyderabad paper today! #booksky #queerbook

Page 5 of Hans India newspaper. The headlines are Unmana's Bibliomystery Explores Identity, Love. This Valentine’s Day fall in love with your skin. Priyanka Chopra turns bridesmaid for brother’s bride.

Unmana's Bibliomystery Explores Identity, Love.
CHIKKAMMA TOURS (PVT.) LTD.

Set in Bengaluru's iconic bookstores, the bibliomystery follows Nilima as she navigates love, loss, and an unexpected murder.
ASKARI JAFFER.
'Chikamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, emerged from a serendipitous moment in a writing class in Bengaluru, where a single scene laid the foundation for an intricate bibliomystery.
Reflecting on the setting of the novel, Unmana shares, "It might be more accurate to say that Bengaluru chose me. During a ten-week writing course in 2017, I wrote a scene for Zac O'Yeahs class that became the basis for the book. The conversation in that scene was infused with mentions of novels I had read set in Bengaluru, and those books had shaped my perception of the city.
When I returned to Mumbai, I couldn't transplant the story-Bengaluru had become an inseparable part of it."
What began as a short assignment soon took the shape of a murder mystery anchored in the city's iconic bookstores. "Bengaluru's bookstores are legendary: they were a reve-lation to me. I had grown up in Assam and had never seen something like Church Street before-so many bookstores, so many different kinds of books, and an abundance of affordable second-hand books.
This is how I came to write a murder mystery with a book-obsessed
heroine
and a murdered bookstore owner," they say.

Among the ensemble cast, certain characters left a lasting impression on the author.
"Nilima, of course,
is dear to me. Shwetha is the quintessential hero-
ine-feminine and charm-ing-while Poorna serves as Nilimas foil but also her peer.
Maniram's longing
for home, Pallavs desire to be cool, Mehnaz's love of libraries-all of them feel real. But two characters surprised me the most: Inspec-
tor Sharmila Lamani, for her courage and her ability to balance a demanding job with an unwavering, if partially concealed, love for Hafeeza. And Sampath, for his consistent kindness," they share.

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

As @unmana.bsky.social had pointed out, Shakespeare’s Hamlet had “One may smile, and smile…”. But that reads more literal * — as in it doesn’t mean more than what the words mean (I don’t know if I am making sense), compared to “Smite smite” where the repetition adds something extra.

Nilesh@nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

Seems very difficult to be able to get the same feeling while translating these in English. “With every smile” just doesn’t have the power or pain of “smite smite” :) #poetry #translation

Cultura @culturalgutter.bsky.social · 2y ago

I wrote a thing about The Snoop Sisters years ago if you are interested: culturalgutter.com/2018/04/19/s... #DriveInMob

Snooping Ladies Sensibly Solving Mysteries

We really should have had a mystery series featuring a sensible lesbian couple by now. Something like two Miss Marples sharing a sensible home and sensibly solving extremely–some might even s…

culturalgutter.com

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

38/n આગામી કોઈ પેઢીને દેતા હશે જીવન, બાકી અમારા શ્વાસ નકામા તો જાય ના. *Agami koi pedhine deta hashe jeevan, Baki amara shwas nakama to jaay na.* Must be giving life to some future generation, I refuse to believe our breaths are going to waste. # - Mareez #gujarati #poetry #translation #niltranslates

Nilesh @nileshb.bsky.social · 2y ago

37/n ગઝલમાં સૌ વિચારો મારા દર્શાવી નથી શકતો, ઘણું સમજું છું એવું, જે હું સમજાવી નથી શકતો. *Gazal maan sau vicharo maara darshavi nathi shakto, Ghanu samju chhu evu, je hun samjavi nathi shakto.* I cannot express all my thoughts in ghazals, So much I understand, but cannot explain. #gujarati #poetry #niltranslates