Today I’m speaking with Aatish Taseer about his new collection of essays, A Return to Self: Excursions in Exile.
Aatish is a writer who found himself cut off from India after losing his citizenship following a critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But rather than just dwelling in loss, he explores in his book how exile can become a creative catalyst.
Aatish has crafted deep, literary pieces that use unexpected subjects—rice in Mexico, lotus flowers in Sri Lanka, the scent of oud—to interrogate what it means to belong, and what it means to be truly at home in the world.
We discuss the complex emotions of exile, the influence of his mentor V.S. Naipaul, and how approaching life from an oblique angle can often reveal more truth than facing it head-on.
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