Akshay Gajria·Jun 18Tribal NatureLearning about who you are — Hello. I’ve been reading, rather sipping, from this delightful little book called Release the Bats by DBC Pierre. Here is one paragraph that gave me pause: There are writers who have yet to write a word who will go on to write masterpieces. There are writers who have yet to…Writing Life7 min read
Akshay Gajria·May 15The Seasons of ChangeHello! Living in Mumbai for an upward of 30 years, I’m quite familiar with the three seasons this city produces: Hot, not hot and oh look it’s raining today. The latter is usually met with delight or a groan depending on your location under a roof and your future plans…Change6 min read
Akshay Gajria·Apr 14The Long Month of MarchHello. March always feels so long. Maybe because it sits right next to February and in contrast March comes out as the bloated one? Or maybe it has something to do with the financial year ending in India? Everyone seems to be on edge. …Newsletter4 min read
Akshay Gajria·Mar 8“Times are Bad”But when are they not? — Hello! As a child in the 90s, there were times when I had to ask my father for permission. It was mostly to do with school picnics or some such similar outings. My father always said, “No, times are bad.” This was such an immediate and recurring answer that I…Newsletter6 min read
Akshay Gajria·Feb 15Do You Enjoy Animation?Recommending some of my favourite animated stories from recent years — In all the Writers Retreats I host, there is one evening dedicated to movie night. We all sit, grab our snacks, pour our drinks and watch short films. It’s a great time to get everyone to watch and study a single piece of storytelling together and later discuss it, and…Newsletter6 min read
Akshay Gajria·Jan 8Writing from the MountainsIncludes song recommendation’s for the end of 2021 — Hello! My fingers are frozen as I write this to you. I’m sitting in the Himalayan Foothills in a cottage on top of a hill. The temperature has been around 3–6 degrees and all I see outside my window is white. The white of the clouds. It’s not snowing yet…Newsletter5 min read
Akshay Gajria·Dec 21, 2021Become a Pro-ProcrastinatorIncludes Book recommendations — Hi there. If you are noticing a change in the layout of this newsletter, that’s because I’ve shifted to Substack (finally!). I’ve been meaning to make this change for a while now, but I’ve been procrastinating. There is nothing quite as satisfying as procrastination, right? To while away the hours…Books5 min read
Akshay Gajria·Nov 19, 2021Diwali GrinchNewsletter #17 — Note: This newsletter was sent on the 30th of October to all my subscribers. Hi there. How are things? It’s the time of the year I hate the most — Diwali season. Don’t mind me. I always have a lot going on during these months and Diwali sort of comes…Diwali3 min read
Akshay Gajria·Oct 17, 2021A Few Songs I Have on RepeatNewsletter — Septmeber 2021 — Hello. If you’ve been following me on my socials, you know I turned 30 in September. I don’t usually celebrate my birthday, and I didn’t this year either — not in the conventional sense. But turning 30 has taught me one thing: Not caring about what others think or say…Newsletter4 min read
Akshay Gajria·Sep 15, 2021Do You Read Short Stories?In the last Late Night Writing Circle I’d hosted, we had a hearty conversation about short stories. I’d been putting together my portfolio (more on that later) and I was thinking a lot about all the short stories I’d written and how having a bunch of stories not only looks…Newsletter6 min read