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Sridala

@sridala.bsky.social

Deeply committed to doing nothing.

451 Posts314 Follower 232 Folgt

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 6mo ago

Because I haven't found it anywhere else online, here's Hoban's "The Dragon underneath the Mat." Sometimes I hum a dragon song.

Russell Hoban - The Dragon underneath the Mat

The dragon underneath the mat,
he wore a shiny opera hat.
I always squashed it very flat
each time I trod upon the mat.

The dragon said that would not do,
the dragon said his wants were few:
a little peace, a little mat;
and no one flattening his hat.

I never thought how he might feel.
I trod him underneath my heel.
Yes, every day beneath that mat
his hat was squashed completely flat.

One day I found a little note
and this is what the dragon wrote:
'Goodbye. I'm leaving home. My hat
too often has been trodden flat.'

I know that I was very wrong;
I think about it all day long;
I wish the hat had been more strong.
Sometimes I hum a dragon song.

(from 'A Russell Hoban Omnibus', 802-3)

Simon Spanton@simonguy.bsky.social · 6mo ago

"Riddley Walkers ben to show Riddley Walkers on the go Dont go Riddley Walkers track Drop Johns ryding on his back Stil I wunt have no other track." Happy birthday Russell Hoban.

A photo of copies of Riddley Walker, Fremder, Turtle Diary, The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin Boaz, Kleinzeit, Pilgermann, The Medusa Frequency and The Mouse and His Child, all by Russell Hoban.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Honey, from a neighbour's hive. We got greedy and bought this jarful.

A huge glass jar of freshly harvested honey.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · 9mo ago

A JH Prynne poem, with a Chinese translation in Shanghai Poetry Lab. #poetry #JHPrynne #chinese #translation open.substack.com/pub/poetryla...

Nü Poetry｜From End to End 自末至终

by J.H. Prynne

open.substack.com

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Acting as Deepa D's informal publicity agent and letting y'all know that her show is ON from today, one performance in each city, starting today with Delhi, Chennai on the 13th, Hyderabad on the 21st, and other cities in between and after. Tickets here: in.bookmyshow.com/plays/8-by-d...

8 by Deep Design English Theatre Play Tickets - BookMyShow

Book online tickets for 8 by Deep Design on BookMyShow which is a English Comedy play happening at theatre near you.

in.bookmyshow.com

Amba Azaad @ambaazaad.bsky.social · 11mo ago

This campaign for an Indian queer theatre maker is only $250 away from being 3/4th funded. And she has 16 hours to go! She's done some really valuable work for fandom over the years (I didn't dream of dragons etc) so let's try to get her there!

Sridala@sridala.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Deepa D is raising funds for her theatre work travelling to various cities in September and today's the last day for the fundraiser. Please donate if you can! chuffed.org/project/1423...

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Deepa D is raising funds for her theatre work travelling to various cities in September and today's the last day for the fundraiser. Please donate if you can! chuffed.org/project/1423...

Get 8 to 9!

I’m Deepa, a writer, performance-maker and lighting designer who has worked in the US and India performing arts scenes for over 25 years. In 2023 I won a fellowship to create a one-woman show called ‘...

chuffed.org

Peter Coles 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇮🇪@telescoper.bsky.social · last yr.

R.I.P. Jayant Narlikar Professor Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (1938-2025) I heard this morning of the death at the age of 86 of renowned Indian cosmologist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. I understand he died peacefully in his sleep after a brief illness. Scientifically, Jayant Narlikar is probably best known…

R.I.P. Jayant Narlikar

Professor Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (1938-2025) I heard this morning of the death at the age of 86 of renowned Indian cosmologist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. I understand he died peacefully in his sleep after a brief illness. Scientifically, Jayant Narlikar is probably best known for his work with Fred Hoyle on a conformal gravity theory and as an advocate of the Steady State theory of cosmology.

telescoper.blog

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

For those no longer on twitter, but knew Kuffir from there and Round Table India, please donate if you can.

URGENT SUPPORT

NEEDED FOR KUFFIR NALGUNDWAR

Kuffir Nalgundwar, co-founder of Round Table India and a tireless anti-caste thinker, is facing a severe health crisis. After a brain stroke, Parkinson's, and now a debilitating neurological disorder, he is bedridden and in distress. His wife, Surekha Bedide, has been his only caregiver unable to work for two years.

Monthly care costs range from Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 2 lakhs, covering a full-time attendant, physiotherapy, doctor visits, medicines, rent, and food.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

When both mainstream and so-called alternative media-dominated by Brahmin-Bania elites-refused to carry anti-caste voices, it was Kuffir da who built Round Table India. He created a powerful platform where Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC writers could speak, think, and shape the discourse.

He stood alone for the Ambedkarite movement.

Now he needs us to stand with him.

Let's act, not out of charity, but out of solidarity.

TO DONATE

UPI/Phone Pe

9849625446

Bank Details

Axis Bank Ltd (Hyderabad)

A/C No 008010100586160

IFSC Code

UTIB0000008

Phone

9849625446

**If you contribute, please message the amount and date to help us track support.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

Do we see the problem in expecting military/police/security at tourist places or no.

Indrapramit Das @indrapramitdas.bsky.social · last yr.

The latest tragic massacre in Kashmir is further reminder that brutal military occupations are good for nothing and no one but the highest of state powers. You cannot expect an open wound being deliberately bled to heal into a magical and safe tourist spot.

Post nicht verfügbar.

scha·den·freu·de @blisterpearl.bsky.social · last yr.

There it is. The clam before the storm.

A clam on a wooden railing with a stormy grey sea in the background

Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · last yr.

Atmospheric CO2 has passed 430 parts per million. The last time atmospheric CO2 was at 430 ppm was during the ancient Pliocene Era, three to five million years ago, and humans didn’t exist.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

Not one single post (that I've seen; admittedly I haven't scrolled very far down) about the destruction of 400 acres of forest in the University of Hyderabad, the protesting students, the govt brazening it out, a stay order from the high court and the JCBs ignoring it to continue clearing the place.

Amba Azaad @ambaazaad.bsky.social · last yr.

April is #DalitHistoryMonth. It is also #PoetryMonth for a number of English-speaking netizens. A few years ago I had done a twitter thread of Dalit and Bahujan poets. This year, I will try to do women. (I apologise in advance for the lack of alt+text transcript, since I would have to handtype it.)

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

After years we made vadams because summer is here early.

Poha, onions, green chili, kothmeer vadams being sun dried on a plastic sheet.

Sabudana vadams in orange, green, red, dark purple and no colour, being sun dried.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

There are some amazing offers from the @freelibsnet.bsky.social for their fundraiser, so do go to their handle to check out everything. Mine is 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

Peter G @zigzackly.bsky.social · last yr.

Author @gautambhatia88.bsky.social is writing a sequel to his hit novel The Sentence, and for a donation of ₹5000, he will name a character in it after you or someone you would like to give a slice of literary immortality to. bsky.app/profile/free...

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · last yr.

We need you to show a whole lotta library L💙VE! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL Be in @gautambhatia88 's next book! Scan the QR code on slide 2 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:
Gautam Bhatia
Author
Next to it is this text:
For a donation of ₹5,000 to the Free Libraries Network, I will name a character in my next novel after you or a person of your choice.
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.

Peter G @zigzackly.bsky.social · last yr.

It is not every writer who will offer to give you detailed written feedback on your book-length manuscript. Jerry Pinto is not every writer. You can take his offer in exchange for a ₹50,000 donation to FLN. bsky.app/profile/free...

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · last yr.

We need a whole lotta library L💙VE! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL Jerry Pinto will read your ENTIRE manuscript! So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · last yr.

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction—and anyone can nominate work for this $25,000 prize! We hope you'll nominate books you love that meet this year's criteria:

Ursula K. Le Guin — Nominate a Book for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction

ursulakleguin.com

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · last yr.

This is no ordinary L💙VE! We kick off our Library Love fundraiser to campaign for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL Anjum Hasan is starting us off in style! #Swipe & scan the QR code on slide 2 OR Click 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:
Anjum Hasan
Author and former editor
Next to it is this text:
For a donation of INR 4000, I will constructively critique a piece of your writing.
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.

The image is a poster with several elements.
One is a block of text which says:
Your piece could be fiction or non-fiction and not longer than 10,000 (ten thousand) words. I will also offer reading suggestions and publishing advice.

You can email me your writing and I will send detailed feedback within a fortnight.
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
Anjum Hasan's novels are The Cosmopolitans, Neti, Neti and Lunatic in my Head, and the short story collections A Day in the Life and Difficult Pleasures. She has also published a book of poems called Street on the Hill. Her latest novel, History’s Angel recently won the Godrej LitLive! Fiction Book of the Year and FICCI Fiction Book of the Year awards. Anjum writes for various publications including the Los Angeles Review of Books and the New York Review of 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.

The image is a poster with several elements.

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.

Next to it, a block of text describes the Library Love project:
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.

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.

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · last yr.

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

Writing the Palimpsest Poem, an introductory level online workshop meant for those who have a strong interest in poetry, consisting of a presentation, close readings of poems, the introduction of a writing exercise and writing time.
Date: 5th April 2025
Time: 9.30 am -12.30 pm
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
K Srilata is a poet, fiction writer, translator and academic. Her novel ‘Table for Four’ (Penguin, India) was longlisted in 2009 for the Man Asian Literary Prize. Srilata’s most recent collection of poems ‘Three Women in a Single-Room House’ was published by Sahitya Akademi in 2023. Her critically acclaimed book ‘This Kind of Child: The ‘Disability’ Story’ (Westland) documents the disability experience. Forthcoming from Westland is her collection of poems based on the Mahabharata.

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.

Bijal Vachharajani @bijal.bsky.social · last yr.

Show some @freelibsnet.bsky.social love.

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · last yr.

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/

Free Libraries Network - India @freelibsnet.bsky.social · last yr.

This is no ordinary L💙VE! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL @kiranmanral.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 call will be specific to writing, either writing strategies or publishing queries you might have or about my own work. I will not be doing feedback on your writing.

This call would have to be during work hours on a weekday
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
Author, TEDx speaker, columnist and mentor, Kiran Manral in previous avatars, has been a journalist, researcher, festival curator and entrepreneur. She has published books across genres in fiction and non-fiction. She has received multiple awards, such as the Women Achievers Award by Young Environmentalists Association, the International Women’s Day Award 2018 from Indian Council for UN Relations supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, Government of India, for excellence in the field of writing.

She lives in Mumbai with her family.
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 · last yr.

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/

One book from my poetry collection acquired over the years, many of which are out of print or not available in India, along with a signed copy of my poetry collection, Escape Artist. There will be a list of selected books; however, which book you get is a matter of luck!

Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
Sridala Swami has written three books of poetry and four books for very young children. She has served on juries for Toto Funds the Arts, The Montreal Poetry Prize and The Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize.
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 · last yr.

Our L💙VE for free libraries just won’t stop! FLN's Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL Amitabha Bagchi is making an amazing offer. Swipe & 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:
We can do a standard book club format in which the members choose one of my books and read it before coming in and we discuss it.

In-person will have to be in Delhi, or an online meeting on Google Meet or Teams.
Next to it is a bio of the person making the offer:
Amitabha Bagchi is the author of the bestselling Above Average and DSC Prize-winning Half the Night Is Gone. He has also translated the ghazals of Muneer Niazi into English. His fifth novel, Unknown City was published in January 2025.
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/

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

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 · last yr.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

Today's harvest: avarakkai and murungakkai. I've got scars that can't be seen. And a workout.

Broad beans and morenga on a floor. A cellphone, walking stick and spray bottle in between.

A pile of broad beans, some with flowers still attached.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

A part of my yoot. Go well Tom Robbins. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Counterculture author Tom Robbins has died

His first novel, “Another Roadside Attraction,” was published in 1971 when Robbins was 39 -- more than three decades after declaring to his parents, at age 5, that he’d be a writer.

latimes.com

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · last yr.

Our poinsettia doesn't believe in seasons.

Sridala @sridala.bsky.social · 2y ago

First flowering of our himayat.