Priya Basil – författare

'Take off your clothes I want to see you' Karam said.Just a few words, spoken like a caress made Sarna start wondering. Where did he learn such new and passionate techniques?When Sarna Singh leaves the lustrous green hills of Uganda for England, streets of cramped old houses were not what she was expecting. Husband Karam has been seduced by the historical feel of the city of London. Sarna, however, is convinced they have moved to England so he can visit his secret London lady friends. Sarna has a secret of her own, but she is adept at hiding it. She impresses her English teacher with her attempt at a cutglass accent, and copious gifts of delicious food. With two children to educate, money is scarce, and soon, she is devising weekly shoplifting expeditions to the supermarket. But all the while, Sarna is tormented by a mistake she made as a young woman in India. To stifle unwanted memories, she cooks zealously, sweetening her thoughts with syrup, or suffocating them with the hottest spice she can find. But when she receives an unexpected letter from back home, her assumed equilibrium is shattered to the skies. It carries an ultimatum she cannot ignore ...Set on an epic backdrop from Partition, the Coronation and Churchill's funeral, to the present day, Priya Basil explores with compassion, the universal complexities of vanity and love. Her sensuous portrayal of the trials and tribulations of the Singh family carries universal truths for all of us.

'Take off your clothes I want to see you' Karam said.Just a few words, spoken like a caress made Sarna start wondering. Where did he learn such new and passionate techniques?When Sarna Singh leaves the lustrous green hills of Uganda for England, streets of cramped old houses were not what she was expecting. Husband Karam has been seduced by the historical feel of the city of London. Sarna, however, is convinced they have moved to England so he can visit his secret London lady friends. Sarna has a secret of her own, but she is adept at hiding it. She impresses her English teacher with her attempt at a cutglass accent, and copious gifts of delicious food. With two children to educate, money is scarce, and soon, she is devising weekly shoplifting expeditions to the supermarket. But all the while, Sarna is tormented by a mistake she made as a young woman in India. To stifle unwanted memories, she cooks zealously, sweetening her thoughts with syrup, or suffocating them with the hottest spice she can find. But when she receives an unexpected letter from back home, her assumed equilibrium is shattered to the skies. It carries an ultimatum she cannot ignore ...Set on an epic backdrop from Partition, the Coronation and Churchill's funeral, to the present day, Priya Basil explores with compassion, the universal complexities of vanity and love. Her sensuous portrayal of the trials and tribulations of the Singh family carries universal truths for all of us.

It's a hot, crowded train. Helen Summers is on her way to see her sister Jill to tell her an awful secret. Another passenger, Kerm, is on his way back from his grandfather's funeral.They are strangers, jammed against each other in a crowded carriage. Noisy school kids fill the train - and three of them are about to cause a whole heap of trouble. In the chaos, Helen and Kerm are thrown together in a way they never expected.Catching a train? Read Strangers on the 16:02 and you'll never feel the same way about your fellow passengers again.

An epic Romeo and Juliet for the 21st centuryIn a bustling London café, Anil, now a famous architect, sits waiting for Lina. It is years since he last laid eyes on her, the love of his life.Lina is running for the train - punctuality has never been her strength. After all this time she cannot be late to meet Anil.Together, they think back to tragedies both personal and political, betrayals large and small. A past played out across three continents that house their rival worlds: Sikh and Muslim, wealthy and modest, liberal and orthodox, corrupt and moral.... Lina has one more revelation that must be shared with Anil. Might it unite them once and for all, or has it come too late?

A reflection on the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace and its contradictory use as an ethnological museum.Having recently accepted German citizenship, writer and activist Priya Basil explores the Humboldt Forum from a deeply personal perspective. She delves into the question of what such a building, such a project, means for an understanding of the past and for belonging in the present. This much disputed, contested, celebrated monument now exists—but what exactly does it monumentalize? Basil writes, “In German, the word Schloss means a palace, and also a lock. The central question: Can a lock also be a key?”

Rooted in Mexican and indigenous practices, De-blading theKnife is Pulitzer Prize winner Cristina Rivera Garza's profound meditation on the erasure of violence against women. Inspired by a walrus-ivory Story Knife from the Arctic region, De-blading theKnife creates a multi-faceted narration that asks: what is remembered? How? For whom? The ephemeral strokes of a Story Knife were traditionally drawn by young Yupik girls into soil or snow to repeat old tales that would then fade away. Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza connects this empowering ancient Indigenous practice to the “violentometro,” a contemporary tool designed in Mexico to measure instances of intimate partner violence. The story of violence against women constantly disappears even as it is continuously told and re-told, but perhaps a Story Knife may play a role in reversing such erasure.