A Blog by Ken Langer
In India philosophy, the word “vāsanā” denotes past mental impressions that are imprinted in the subconscious. Vāsanās are likened to seeds that sprout into thoughts, behavior, and personality traits.
This story was published in the Taj Mahal Review, June 2017 (tajmahalreview.com) Kesh marched into the living room, a glass of bourbon in hand. In the other, a pack of Gauloises, half crushed by his tight grip. He plopped down on the couch, set the drink on the coffee table, and ran a hand through […]
This essay appeared in The Satirist, February 11, 2017 (www.thesatirist.com) WASHINGTON, D.C. Following massive protests in the United States and around the world, President Trump has rescinded his ban on immigrants from seven Muslim countries. In its place, he has issued a new Executive Order (EO) banning non Indo-European words. “From this day on,” […]
At first, I thought my novel would be a thinly veiled autobiography. After all, wasn’t I Simon, the green architect who lands up in India? I dragged all the journals I had written during my years there and more or less envisioned the novel as a 350-page string of journal entries. But five years later, […]
Last week I was driving from one New England town to another with my wife and younger daughter, a junior in high school. During our gazillion mile tour of small liberal arts colleges, I was beginning to get desperate for Indian food – none was to be found anywhere. But it wasn’t just the lack […]