Rakesh Khanna
@blaftrakesh.bsky.social
650 followers 430 following 850 posts
(any/all) Books, ghosts, math, marine invertebrates. Co-founder & editor @blaft.bsky.social. Author of Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738269/ghosts-monsters-and-demons-of-india-by-rakesh-khanna/
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blaftrakesh.bsky.social
I edited/co-edited two anthologies that came out in December:

The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF

and

The Blaft Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction

Buy them here!

www.blaft.com/collections/...

www.blaft.com/collections/...
Gujarati Pulp Fiction front cover Anti-Caste SF front cover
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
indrapramitdas.bsky.social
ICYMI, my horror short 'You Will Survive This Night' (1st pub COME JOIN US BY THE FIRE s2, Nightfire), now free to read as a reprint. A woman in her 30s is dragged to a late night winter house party in the poshest part of Kolkata & regrets it even more than expected. Here be monsters, mundane & not:
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
blaft.bsky.social
Come hang out with @kuzhalimanickavel.bsky.social, @anjalialappat.bsky.social, Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, & Srividya Tadepalli at our Bandigoat Release Party Oct 25!!
Bandigoat Release Party! Oct 25 4:30 pm - 7::00 pm. Kannadi Cupboard Tambaram Kuzhali Manickavel, Srividya Tadepalli and Rashmi Ruth Devadasan in conversation with Anjali Alappat Jack O'Lantern Carving! BYOP or DM to reserve a gourd. Costumes Encouraged
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Since I had to hear about Modiji praising Netanyahu's "strong leadership" today 🤮🤮🤮, I thought I would repost this other incredibly vomitous thing: a 2009 promo for an Israeli arms manufacturer selling weapons in India.

www.youtube.com/watch?reload...
StratPost.com: Israeli Rafael's Indian promo
YouTube video by StratPost
www.youtube.com
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
The bookstore was full of cheery looking stuff yesterday
"Pestilence", "War", "Death" by Laura Thalassa "King of Greed", "King of Sloth", "King of Pride" by Ana Huang "God of Fury" "God of War" "God of Ruin" by Rina Kent
Reposted by Rakesh Khanna
manas-0.bsky.social
Don't watch Gandhi

Never watch Gandhi

Study Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
asharangappa.bsky.social
We’re in a moment now where it would be worth people taking three hours to watch Gandhi, particularly the scene of the salt march. There is value to making the brutality of your opponent so plain as day that no one can argue with it. The clarity of that brought down an empire
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Ambedkar getting completely edited out of that screenplay is up there with Disney's Pocohantas in egregious Hollywood historical distortions
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
If yougaiz do Instagram I really hope you are following @artwhoring's crusade against bullshit plagiarist AI slop peddlers in the Indian art world. She's also linking to a slew of incredible real deal artists you can support instead of the sloppers. The woman is a national treasure!
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Good morning new followers! I'm an editor & occasional author w/ @blaft.bsky.social. We have 2 new titles out this month (weird horror antho + anti-caste stories translated from Marathi). Check out our work:

www.blaft.com/collections/...

Free Palestine 🇵🇸, fight bigotry 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✊🏽, support indie creators
Bandigoat: A Collection of Strange & Horrible Tales The Seekers by Gautamiputra Kamble
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
& I'll keep you in the loop if @fabulatrix.bsky.social, Sirus and Gautamiputra get anywhere with the English translation :-)
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Thank you! Will contact for sure!!
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Yes! I can't remember if yours was the first article I read about it, but it's definitely the one that sent me to John Strong! Thanks so much!!
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Hope you enjoy! It was loads of fun to put together!
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
What is it with hiding stuff in your thigh fr? I've found this in a bunch of Indian folktales
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Unfortunately no I think.
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Thank you! 😁 Hope you enjoy! Always carry some mustard seed! And a piece of iron!
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
There's another couple of pages! The guy dies and his son takes his corpse back to Magadh and they remove data chip from his thigh and build the robots. Then Emperor Ashoka comes into the story, w/ elephant.

But I was working from synopses, didn't have translation. We may know more shortly!
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
the transnational multilingual geekiness of this whole endeavour just has me grinning ear to ear
blaftrakesh.bsky.social
Romanised version of the Pali manuscript annotated in French, & now we're trying to get the Pali translated into English, which we're doing with the help of a Marathi translator and a Marathi author who's been studying Pali as part of his interest in Navayana Buddhism, & (2/3)