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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 20h

'Chamber of Mirrors' My in-depth essay exploring the themes & characters in Karthik Subbaraj's opus "Dorothy" medium.com/@weareji/cha... Not a conventional film review, more of an exploration of the issues this Tamil film has raised. It's jam-packed with spoilers #Dorothy #LGBTQ #cinema

medium.com

Chamber of Mirrors

An exploration of the themes and characters in the Tamil film ‘Dorothy’

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Sep 8 2026 marks the 4th anniversary of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. For the occasion I'm reposting the narrative tribute I wrote after her death - "The Second Elizabeth - A Life Appreciated" 👑 medium.com/@weareji/the... 👑 #History #monarchy #nostalgia #Commonwealth #RoyalFamily #remembrance

medium.com

The Second Elizabeth: A Life Appreciated

A tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at her passing

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Reposted by Vishwas Gaitonde

Nicholas Dawes @nicdawes.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Penguin Random House India was set to publish Sonia Gandhi's hugely anticipated memoir until they told her to cut passages critical of Narendra Modi, which she declined, obviously. They've been craven before, but this is a new low. www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/s...

hindustantimes.com

Exclusive: Penguin India sought cuts to Modi, RSS, China portions in Sonia Gandhi's memoir

Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin, is expected to release the memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, worldwide on November 10 | India News

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

On Aug 27, 1964, a magical nanny floated in from the sky & blasted into movie history: Mary Poppins, Disney's musical fantasy with Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke. Most people did not connect the film with the polio vaccine. Check it out here medium.com/@weareji/vir... 💉 #polio #history

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Madras Day falls on Aug 22; today is the 387th anniversary of the city's founding in 1639 I'm reposting my narrative essay 'Finding Madras in Chennai,' on discovering the city through its street names, a fascinating exercise medium.com/counterarts/... 🎠 @gdadvocate.bsky.social @ranjona.bsky.social

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

"Two Odysseys" My longform feature on Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey seen through the eyes of a writer born in India & now living in the West. A common Indo-European oral storytelling tradition lies at the core of the Odyssey, Ramayana & Mahabharata. Read on... medium.com/counterarts/... 🎦

medium.com

Two Odysseys

Perspectives on Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ from a writer raised in India and living in the West

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Post 🎼 Few Indian composers have composed Western symphonies. With 'New Beginnings', Lydian Nadhaswaram enters that lineage, composing a symphony while still a teenager. In my feature 'The People's Symphony' I examine the work, & the vision behind its creation serenademagazine.com/the-peoples-... 🎶

serenademagazine.com

The People's Symphony

Few Indian composers have ventured into the symphonic tradition. With 'New Beginnings', Lydian Nadhaswaram enters that lineage. Vishwas Gaitonde examines the work, its origins and the vision behind it...

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

'The Crème de la Crème of Tarzan Films' My essay on the one serious, literate attempt to treat Tarzan’s source material with genuine cinematic ambition medium.com/counterarts/... Other Tarzan films don't do justice to the Tarzan envisioned by creator Edgar Rice Burroughs #Tarzan #Literature #Cinema

medium.com

The Crème de la Crème of Tarzan Films

The one serious, literate attempt to treat Tarzan’s source material with genuine cinematic ambition

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Reposted by Vishwas Gaitonde

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 08/03/2026

Natural light from the sun offers a range of physical, mental and behavioral benefits. Even an extra 5 to 10 minutes of sunlight each day can help regulate your sleep, mood and more. Here are five ways natural light may boost well-being:

washingtonpost.com

Guest column | The surprising health benefits of natural light exposure

Sunlight can have positive effects on your sleep, mood, metabolic health and more. Here’s how much exposure you need to see benefits, and how to get it safely.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Marriages seemingly made in heaven can very well end up like hell on earth 😠😡😔 "Ghost Baby" - a short story of love & upheaval medium.com/@weareji/gho... 💘 #shortstory #fiction #literary #India #marriage #MarriedLife #traditions #bloodline #relationships

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

My remarks on undertaking the English rendition of The Thirukkural 1330 (குறளிசைக்காவியம்) at the public launch of Vol 6 of Lydian Nadhaswaram & Amirthavarshini's magisterial epic creation - the Thirukkural set to music youtu.be/LzwrzHS-y9A Broadway Theatre, Catford, London 17 Jan 2026 #Thirukkural #Music

youtu.be

The English Rendition of The Thirukkural 1330

YouTube video by Weareji

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

"Long Live the Old Year" ⌛️ As we approach the end of one year & the beginning of the next, a reflection on the old/new years, and on history, culture & meaning medium.com/counterarts/... ⏳ #Clocks #Calendars #HappyNewYear2026 #NewYear #Time #Transition #Cultures #Timekeepers #Hogmanay

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

On the Death of an Elephant 🐘 The wider implications of the killing of an elephant in Kerala, India, and of humans who have issues on sharing our planet with animals medium.com/contemplate/... 🐘 #wildlife #habitat #nature #deforestation #animalrightsmatter #AnimalCruelty #nature

medium.com

On the Death of an Elephant

The wider implications of a pregnant elephant’s death in India

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

At school, I had thought that Shakespeare, despite his brilliance, was overrated. Then, during the summer holidays when I was in Standard 8, something made me recognize Shakespeare for the genius that he was Here's that story: medium.com/@weareji/how... #Shakespeare #Literature #Education

medium.com

How I Changed My Mind About Shakespeare

I once thought him overrated before I discovered his genius

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Pictures from my book signing at Barnes & Noble in Cary, North Carolina. The neighborhood turned out in force, and I was so appreciative and gratified.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Some of the good people who came to my author event on Sep 5 at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC. Judging by the audience reaction, the reading was well received. It's always nice when that happens.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Event at HubCityBookshop, Spartanburg SC, on the 23rd was interesting. I read while seated in a comfy chair. Some walked out on me but then one gentleman took copious notes, & had many questions. And I signed the store's 'Author Wall' like the others who had read before me.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

A momentous occasion! Sep 21, 2025. The launch of my 1st book of fiction 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven' at Malaprop's bookstore in Asheville, NC, hosted by OrisonBooks& the Great Smokies Writing Program. My reading (excerpts from 4 stories in the book) was well received.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

These ladies in the audience are members of a book club, and they're going to collectively read & discuss the stories in my book along with other members of their club. So this is my first entry into a book club!

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

"I was terribly jealous of Tarzan's Jane. I thought she was a wimp and I'd have been much better as a mate for Tarzan myself — which is true. I would have been." ~ Jane Goodall The famed primatologist & conservationist Jane Goodall has passed on. #RIP www.npr.org/2025/10/01/4...

npr.org

Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91

Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

'Millions of books are published each year. Why should readers be interested in yours?' I answer this & other questions on The Authors Show: wnbnetworkwest.com/channel/6 Available today (Oct 1) in the US, & int Oct 2 in Europe, India, Aus & NZ Then it will be archived, with another access link

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

After years of hard work and waiting, and then working some more, THAT day has come 🎀 Publication day! vishwasgaitonde.com/works.htm 😊 My first book of fiction, the prize-winning story collection 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven' has been published today. 📕 #WritingCommunity #amwriting

The author Vishwas Gaitonde holding up a copy of his book 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven'

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Hey Madras! Live long and prosper! 💒 In celebration of Madras Day (Aug 22, Chennai's 386th birthday), my essay "Finding Madras in Chennai," published in Counter Arts magazine on Medium medium.com/counterarts/... #History #India #Chennai #Madras #madrasday #BritishRaj #streetnames

medium.com

Finding Madras in Chennai

To celebrate Madras Day, a look at the city of Chennai through its street names

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

My short story collection, 'On Earth as It Is in Heaven' releasing Sep 2 now available for pre-order from Amazon: amazon.com/Earth-as-Hea... Barnes & Noble: barnesandnoble.com/w/on-earth-a... Publisher: : orisonbooks.com/product-page... Winner, Orison Fiction Prize #Books #fiction #literary #writer

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

'Beyond India's Stonewall Moment' 🌈 To mark #PrideMonth, my feature in Counter Arts on Medium, tracing the recent history of India's #LGBTQ movement from Section 377 repeal to gay marriage medium.com/counterarts/... #India #Equality #Gaypride2025 #GayIndia

medium.com

Beyond India’s Stonewall Moment

The unfolding of India’s LGBT movement

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

Parents versus Teachers 😳 A timid teacher in an unruly class leads to a situation that rapidly escalates... My ballad in light verse in MuddyUm on Medium medium.com/muddyum/pare... 😅 #poetry #verse #humor #education #school #teacherstudent #discipline #administration #literary

medium.com

Parents Versus Teachers

A ballad about a class of unruly students and a timid teacher

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

The Hidden Sounds of Plague A devastating disease from centuries past is coded into children’s rhymes & ballads. My essay in Contemplate magazine on Medium 🐁🐀 medium.com/contemplate/... 🐀🐀🐀 #plague #language #history #childhood #poetry #epidemics #coping #literature #Rhymes

medium.com

The Hidden Sounds of Plague

A devastating disease from centuries past is coded into children’s rhymes & ballads

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

'Narnia Through Hindu Eyes' 🦁 What if the Christian allegories in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ are examined under a Hindu lens? ⁉️ My essay published in Counter Arts on Medium medium.com/counterarts/... 🦄 #Narnia #Literature #Christianity #Hinduism #literatura #religion #books #religion #philosophy

medium.com

Narnia Through Hindu Eyes

What if the Christian allegories in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ are examined under a Hindu lens?

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

To observe & honor #EarthDay - 'An Ecological Movement Sprouts from Literature' My feature article 🌳 medium.com/@weareji/an-... 🌲 The scale of #deforestation is truly frightening, but isolated incidents of #reforestation are inspiring, & must be encouraged to proliferate 🌱 #environment #literature

medium.com

An Ecological Movement Sprouts From Literature

To mark Earth Day, a story of reforestation

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

The Real Names of Jesus & His Disciples ✝️ During the Christian Holy Week, a look at the names of the apostles & their leader through the lens of linguistics medium.com/@weareji/the... ⛪️ #language #linguistics #Easter #Bible #Jesus #Apostles #Disciples #Christianity #HolyWeek #GoodFriday #PalmSunday

medium.com

The Real Names of Jesus and His Disciples

During the Holy Week, a look at the names of the apostles and their leader through linguistics

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

'Happy Days with Perry Mason' 🐿️ My 'slice of memoir' from childhood days has been published in Gargoyle Magazine. gargoylemagazine.com/vishwas-r-ga... 🐿️ #PerryMason #squirrel #Ramayana #India #animals #pets #Chennai #Madras #childhood #nostalgia

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

The Battle Royal of Kittipup 🐲 How a kingdom was rescued from the clutches of a fierce dragon medium.com/@weareji/the... My ballad in light verse #poetry #storytelling #dragons #bravery #heroism

medium.com

The Battle Royal of Kittipup

How a kingdom was rescued from a dragon’s wrath

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

'How A Schoolboy's Punishment Benefited America' 🤔 The teacher who punished Thurgood Marshall at school had no idea how that punishment would one day change the social landscape of the United States medium.com/@weareji/how... #history #Constitution #ThurgoodMarshall #SCOTUS #race #segregation

medium.com

How A Schoolboy’s Punishment Benefited America

A mischievous Thurgood Marshall was given an unusual punishment by his schoolteacher

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Red Shoes 👠 From popes walking the hallowed Vatican halls to fairy tales to movies, red shoes have always held an allure medium.com/@weareji/red... My piece, published in Medium, which brings the three together into one picture #pope #Fairytale #shoes #history #movies #PopeFrancis #Vatican

medium.com

Red Shoes

From popes to fairy tales to movies, the allure of red shoes

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

The Sly Minds of Cunning Men 😵‍💫 A folktale from India showcasing corruption, portrayed through the Emperor Akbar and his trusted courtier, Birbal medium.com/@weareji/the... #AkbarBirbal #folkstories #India #fiction #Mughals

medium.com

The Sly Minds of Cunning Men

Corruption will always thrive — a tale of medieval India

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Catsup or Ketchup? 🍅 The convoluted pedigree of America's favorite condiment from its origins in China/Singapore, & its transformation as it traversed the globe across centuries to Europe, USA & thence to other countries medium.com/@weareji/cat... #ketchup #food #condiment #culinary #history

medium.com

Catsup or Ketchup?

The convoluted pedigree of America’s beloved condiment

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

'Stop in the Name of Love' ❤️ The city of Chennai in India has turned its red traffic lights from circles to hearts. And I scribbled a few lines about it... medium.com/@weareji/sto... ...including a rumination on circles turning to hearts #traffic #Chennai #history #cities #technology

medium.com

Stop in the Name of Love

The city of Chennai in India has turned its red traffic lights from circles into hearts

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the approval of the polio vaccine in the U.S. In acknowledgement, here is my in-depth commentary, 'Virus, Vaccine, & Song.' medium.com/@weareji/vir... Jonas Salk & Albert Sabin came up with polio vaccines; neither got the Nobel. Why? #history #medicine #vaccines

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

My essay 'Jaya Hé! The Story of India’s National Anthem' published in Serenade magazine serenademagazine.com/jaya-he-the-... The inspiring & controversial history of the national anthem, the canards Tagore faced (& still does), & why this poem is a literary masterpiece #India #Tagore #history

serenademagazine.com

Jaya Hé! The Story of India’s National Anthem - Serenade

Writers whose compositions become the national anthem of their country surely regard this as a supreme honour. But what if you are the author of the national anthems of two sovereign independent natio...

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

'God Made Chardonnay, The Devil Made Merlot' 🍷 litromagazine.com/end-your-wee... My short story in the British magazine, Litro (Editor's Pick) 🍾 A young boy's curious mind uncovers the humour and heartbreak in his neighbours' relationship. #amwriting #fiction #shortstory #WritingCommunity #amreading

litromagazine.com

GOD MADE CHARDONNAY, THE DEVIL MADE MERLOT - Litro Magazine

A young boy’s curious mind uncovers the humour and heartbreak in his neighbours’ relationship.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

'Long Live the Old Year' 🙂🙃 Ring out the old, ring in the new. But can you? My contemplation on the transition from the old year into a new year... medium.com/@weareji/lon... #NewYear2025 #NewYearsDay #Tradition #History #calendar #NewYearResolutions #Life #culture #habits

medium.com

Long Live the Old Year

A meditation on the New Year

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

'The Seventh Wonder: The Riddle of Babylon's Hanging Gardens' 🪴🌷🌱 People reel off details of the pyramids of Egypt but are silent on the Hanging Gardens. How much do we really know about this wonder of the ancient world? medium.com/@weareji/the... #History #Babylon #archaeology #Iraq

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

"The Shackled and The Free" ~ To start off 2025, an exploration of 'freedom' in both Western and Hindu thought, and how the two fit together. Essay published in Medium medium.com/@weareji/the... 🐣 #freedom #philosophy #psychology #Hinduism #TheMatrix #society #India

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

His last goodbye 🌥️ Jimmy Carter has left for another plane. To honor the man, his legacy, and his memory, I'm posting the essay I wrote for his 100th birthday, 'Dear and Glorious Centurion' medium.com/@weareji/dea... 🌅 #JimmyCarterRIP #history #legacy

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Reposted by Vishwas Gaitonde

Boze Herrington, Library Owl @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

it's Jane Austen's 249th birthday and I hope you'll celebrate by taking a turn about the room, developing a passion for dead leaves, inadvertently falling in love with the last person you could ever be prevailed upon to marry.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

To mark the Yuletide season, 'Bringing in the Sheaves,' my multimedia essay on the three brothers who make gospel music hum in Chennai, originally published in Seranade magazine in 2003, has been republished on Medium medium.com/@weareji/bri... Also contains an overview of #gospelmusic 🎙️ #Christmas

medium.com

Bringing in the Sheaves: The Samuels of Chennai

How three brothers are enlivening Gospel Music in a city in South India

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Reposted by Vishwas Gaitonde

Andrea Junker @strandjunker.com · 03/12/2024

If you’re afraid that books might change someone’s thinking, you’re not afraid of books, you’re afraid of thinking.

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Vishwas Gaitonde @weareji.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

The govt bus that helped an auto-rickshaw amid the #Fengal cyclone in #Chennai youtube.com/watch?v=l6BX... This is tricky navigation. A little less, useless. A little more, disaster. And who these days goes beyond the line of duty to help others out? #ChennaiRains #community #helpinghands #India

youtube.com

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