Other Pursuits
Some of the creative writing and presentations that I have been doing over the years are what we call ‘shaukiya’ work – serious hobbies that have bloomed into a regular engagement with a variety of things that I enjoy doing.
- For actor Mohan Agashe, I translated a Marathi play, Jara Samjhun Ghya, into English.
- For filmmakers Govind Nihalani and Chaitanya Tamhane, I undertook the English subtitling of their films Droh-kaal and The Disciple.
- I coach young people on how to write SOP essays (without ghost-writing it for them) – helping reluctant writers to turn inwards, find their core competencies, and present them in an engaging and informative style.
- Have worked with a team to produce a curriculum for the Symbiosis distance learning creative writing course.
- For the well-known Almanac/Calendar company Kalnirnay, I have been writing topical/relevant content. The back-of-the-page features in these multi-lingual and very popular calendars are favourites with buyers/readers.
With First Edition Arts, I partnered to present one of their Desert Island Series – introducing audiences/listeners to 10 of my favourite Hindustani Classical Musicians in curated recordings. With them, I presented a Women Musicians evening, again curating a series of recordings from 8 outstanding performers of the early 20th century.
Distilling my experiences in the world of publishing over the years, I present a stand-up set on some of the indignities and absurdities, as well as the quiet triumphs, of being published in India.
- My book 3 Zakia Mansion was translated into Marathi and published by Rajans Prakashan.
- Writer Shobha Bondre and I present a talk at various places on Living the Writerly Life.
- I’ve written a screenplay ‘Second Marriage’ that is currently being looked at by various platforms.
- Food has always been a serious hobby, and I have done pop-ups, cooking tutorials, and provided bakes, dips, and fillings for cafes like The Fat Labrador Café and Pagdandi. Some of my own books contain recipes woven into the narrative!
- As an animal lover, I write about them, volunteer at stray dog programmes, and make dog biscuits! My blog: https://gouridange.blogspot.com/