A storyteller, writer, researcher-#JohnSteinbeck The Times of India, Gulf News
Calcutta/Gurgaon
Joined March 2026
- Tweets3.5K
- Following221
- Followers683
- Likes24.3K
Pinned Tweet
Here’s my latest piece, it’s spooky. No it’s not about Halloween. We Indians have our very own version of it-Bhoot Chaturdashi. Do read & leave your precious comments 👻
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…
Faith…can do wonders!
It may be Friday the 13th for some but for me it’s begun in an auspicious way.
Shreeji mandir in Barsana…
Dislike the author, demolish the ideology, tear apart the arguments. But throwing a book into a dustbin and flaunting it on SM? That’s not dissent it’s intellectual cowardice dressed up as activism.We worship books, the written word, & ink. not everyone understands their worth.
“The End of Everything” by M. John Harrison wins the Booker at a time when we can so relate to its dystopian content-“about a society undergoing a catastrophe that they don’t really understand.”
#BookerPrize
This is my first book club read. A collection of 5 stories by Fumio Yamamoto that give us a glimpse of Japanese culture, society & the quotidian issues that women face. The humour is subtly dark, the endings are abrupt and the writing is raw and honest. #Navreading
4
33
804
Navanita Varadpande retweeted
On the occasion of Kali Puja,here's a fascinating tradition from Bengal where Goddess Durga is worshipped in the form of Kali-the Blue Durga of the Kali Mohan Ghosh Ray family. The puja dates back to 1829 in Barishal (present-day Bangladesh) and was brought to Kolkata in 1947. +1
May the light of understanding illuminate your path, the strength of compassion guide your heart and the magic of kindness enrich your life. May wisdom bring clarity.
Wishing you and your loved ones a Diwali filled with light, love & meaningful beginnings.
১৪ প্রদীপ or 14 diyas to guide ancestors home or ward off evil spirits.
#BhootChaturdashi
Navanita Varadpande retweeted
Dance to your heart’s rhythm
Petnis, shakchunnis, dainis, bhoots and bhrahmodoittis
Today and always
🤖 Made with AI
Navanita Varadpande retweeted
Today is #BhootChaturdashi Bengalis halloween kind of (no trick treat) we eat 14 type of leafy veg(saag )& light 14 diyas to keep off the bad spirits...childhood lore is bhoot pishach come to recce the places before ma kali comes to see everything is done properly or not😁
Somehow I managed to gather 14 varieties of leafy greens today. The morning began with cooking the choddo shaak. It is good for health at this time of year, our rituals carry wisdom. Perhaps that's how traditions silently take care of us.
#BhootChaturdashi
Watched #Ramayana without any preconceived notions, tucking nostalgia away, & as a lover of mythological tales. What stood out for me: the intro & the making of Ravan, Jatayu fighting Ravan, Lakshman’s role played well, Sita not shown as a helpless woman. It was a good watch!
Navanita Varadpande retweeted
Moths on my windows at the end of Monsoon was a yearly sign of goodbye to the season.
This year none to be seen, clearly weird & certainly the El Niño effect.
It hardly rained like it used to in Mumbai. I'm worried for the rest of the year! w.r.t. city's water supply capacity.
Navanita Varadpande retweeted
Discarded fishing gear wrap around aquatic birds and may cause severe wounds, and even drowning or a slow death due to suffocation. This shocking picture illustrates what our carelessly thrown wastes can do to the vulnerable creatures.
#plasticpollution #waterpollution #pollution
Hook, Line, and Misery! Look closer at this Double-crested Cormorant—a fishing line and swivel are tangled around its bill and neck, likely with a hook caught in its mouth. A stark reminder of the dangers that discarded or lost fishing gear poses to birds and other wildlife—at Conowingo Dam along the lower Susquehanna River, Maryland. (2026-11-02) #NaturePhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity #BBCWildlifePOTD #ThePhotoHour #IndiAves #fishing
I love the power of the unsent letters!! It is cheaper than therapy and more satisfying than an argument. You tell that person exactly where they can shove their opinions, their attitude and their unsolicited wisdom. Then you flush it. No reply, no drama, no screenshot.
5
26
614
Halloween has its ghosts. Bengal has its own.
On Bhoot Chaturdashi, fourteen lamps flicker for ancestral spirits, while old tales speak of visitors from the other side.
My father once encountered a mysterious stranger in a circuit house in Assam. Coincidence, or something else?
Here’s my latest piece, it’s spooky. No it’s not about Halloween. We Indians have our very own version of it-Bhoot Chaturdashi. Do read & leave your precious comments 👻
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…