Vishwas Gaitonde
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weareji.bsky.social
Vishwas Gaitonde
@weareji.bsky.social
A man of the quill & of the pill
Of pens & syringes, say what you will
Writes fiction & essays & medical tomes
I wonder if one day he'll also write poems

Author of prize winning story collection ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, published by Orison Books
Pinned
After years of hard work and waiting, and then working some more, THAT day has come
🎀
Publication day!
vishwasgaitonde.com/works.htm
😊
My first book of fiction, the prize-winning story collection 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven' has been published today.
📕
#WritingCommunity #amwriting
At school, I had thought that Shakespeare, despite his brilliance, was overrated. Then, during the summer holidays when I was in Standard 8, something made me recognize Shakespeare for the genius that he was

Here's that story:
medium.com/@weareji/how...
#Shakespeare #Literature #Education
How I Changed My Mind About Shakespeare
I once thought him overrated before I discovered his genius
medium.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Pictures from my book signing at Barnes & Noble in Cary, North Carolina. The neighborhood turned out in force, and I was so appreciative and gratified.
October 7, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Some of the good people who came to my author event on Sep 5 at Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC.
Judging by the audience reaction, the reading was well received. It's always nice when that happens.
October 7, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Event at HubCityBookshop, Spartanburg SC, on the 23rd was interesting.
I read while seated in a comfy chair. Some walked out on me but then one gentleman took copious notes, & had many questions. And I signed the store's 'Author Wall' like the others who had read before me.
October 7, 2025 at 11:38 PM
A momentous occasion! Sep 21, 2025. The launch of my 1st book of fiction 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven' at Malaprop's bookstore in Asheville, NC, hosted by OrisonBooks& the Great Smokies Writing Program.
My reading (excerpts from 4 stories in the book) was well received.
October 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM
These ladies in the audience are members of a book club, and they're going to collectively read & discuss the stories in my book along with other members of their club. So this is my first entry into a book club!
October 7, 2025 at 11:27 PM
"I was terribly jealous of Tarzan's Jane. I thought she was a wimp and I'd have been much better as a mate for Tarzan myself — which is true. I would have been."
~ Jane Goodall

The famed primatologist & conservationist Jane Goodall has passed on. #RIP
www.npr.org/2025/10/01/4...
Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91
Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.
www.npr.org
October 1, 2025 at 8:26 PM
'Millions of books are published each year. Why should readers be interested in yours?'
I answer this & other questions on The Authors Show: wnbnetworkwest.com/channel/6
Available today (Oct 1) in the US, & int Oct 2 in Europe, India, Aus & NZ
Then it will be archived, with another access link
October 1, 2025 at 6:25 PM
After years of hard work and waiting, and then working some more, THAT day has come
🎀
Publication day!
vishwasgaitonde.com/works.htm
😊
My first book of fiction, the prize-winning story collection 'On Earth As It Is In Heaven' has been published today.
📕
#WritingCommunity #amwriting
September 3, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Hey Madras! Live long and prosper!
💒
In celebration of Madras Day (Aug 22, Chennai's 386th birthday), my essay "Finding Madras in Chennai," published in Counter Arts magazine on Medium

medium.com/counterarts/...

#History #India #Chennai #Madras #madrasday #BritishRaj #streetnames
Finding Madras in Chennai
To celebrate Madras Day, a look at the city of Chennai through its street names
medium.com
August 22, 2025 at 11:23 AM
My short story collection, 'On Earth as It Is in Heaven' releasing Sep 2 now available for pre-order from
Amazon: amazon.com/Earth-as-Hea...
Barnes & Noble: barnesandnoble.com/w/on-earth-a...
Publisher:
: orisonbooks.com/product-page...
Winner, Orison Fiction Prize
#Books #fiction #literary #writer
July 9, 2025 at 1:45 AM
'Beyond India's Stonewall Moment'
🌈
To mark #PrideMonth, my feature in Counter Arts on
Medium, tracing the recent history of India's #LGBTQ movement from Section 377 repeal to gay marriage
medium.com/counterarts/...
#India #Equality #Gaypride2025 #GayIndia
Beyond India’s Stonewall Moment
The unfolding of India’s LGBT movement
medium.com
June 11, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Parents versus Teachers
😳
A timid teacher in an unruly class leads to a situation that rapidly escalates... My ballad in light verse in MuddyUm on
Medium
medium.com/muddyum/pare...
😅
#poetry #verse #humor #education #school #teacherstudent #discipline #administration #literary
Parents Versus Teachers
A ballad about a class of unruly students and a timid teacher
medium.com
May 31, 2025 at 11:21 AM
The Hidden Sounds of Plague
A devastating disease from centuries past is coded into children’s rhymes & ballads. My essay in Contemplate magazine on Medium
🐁🐀
medium.com/contemplate/...
🐀🐀🐀
#plague #language #history #childhood #poetry #epidemics #coping #literature #Rhymes
The Hidden Sounds of Plague
A devastating disease from centuries past is coded into children’s rhymes & ballads
medium.com
May 15, 2025 at 2:50 PM
'Narnia Through Hindu Eyes'
🦁
What if the Christian allegories in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ are examined under a Hindu lens?
⁉️
My essay published in Counter Arts on Medium
medium.com/counterarts/...
🦄
#Narnia #Literature #Christianity #Hinduism #literatura #religion #books #religion #philosophy
Narnia Through Hindu Eyes
What if the Christian allegories in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ are examined under a Hindu lens?
medium.com
May 8, 2025 at 1:21 AM
To observe & honor #EarthDay -
'An Ecological Movement Sprouts from Literature'
My feature article
🌳
medium.com/@weareji/an-...
🌲
The scale of #deforestation is truly frightening, but isolated incidents of #reforestation are inspiring, & must be encouraged to proliferate
🌱
#environment #literature
An Ecological Movement Sprouts From Literature
To mark Earth Day, a story of reforestation
medium.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The Real Names of Jesus & His Disciples
✝️
During the Christian Holy Week, a look at the names of the apostles & their leader through the lens of linguistics
medium.com/@weareji/the...
⛪️
#language #linguistics #Easter #Bible #Jesus #Apostles #Disciples #Christianity #HolyWeek #GoodFriday #PalmSunday
The Real Names of Jesus and His Disciples
During the Holy Week, a look at the names of the apostles and their leader through linguistics
medium.com
April 16, 2025 at 1:44 PM
'Happy Days with Perry Mason'
🐿️
My 'slice of memoir' from childhood days has been published in Gargoyle Magazine.
gargoylemagazine.com/vishwas-r-ga...
🐿️
#PerryMason #squirrel #Ramayana #India #animals #pets #Chennai #Madras #childhood #nostalgia
April 11, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The Battle Royal of Kittipup
🐲
How a kingdom was rescued from the clutches of a fierce dragon
medium.com/@weareji/the...
My ballad in light verse
#poetry #storytelling #dragons #bravery #heroism
The Battle Royal of Kittipup
How a kingdom was rescued from a dragon’s wrath
medium.com
April 7, 2025 at 10:03 PM
'How A Schoolboy's Punishment Benefited America'
🤔
The teacher who punished Thurgood Marshall at school had no idea how that punishment would one day change the social landscape of the United States
medium.com/@weareji/how...
#history #Constitution #ThurgoodMarshall #SCOTUS #race #segregation
How A Schoolboy’s Punishment Benefited America
A mischievous Thurgood Marshall was given an unusual punishment by his schoolteacher
medium.com
March 27, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Red Shoes
👠
From popes walking the hallowed Vatican halls to fairy tales to movies, red shoes have always held an allure
medium.com/@weareji/red...
My piece, published in Medium, which brings the three together into one picture
#pope #Fairytale #shoes #history #movies #PopeFrancis #Vatican
Red Shoes
From popes to fairy tales to movies, the allure of red shoes
medium.com
March 19, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The Sly Minds of Cunning Men
😵‍💫
A folktale from India showcasing corruption, portrayed through the Emperor Akbar and his trusted courtier, Birbal
medium.com/@weareji/the...
#AkbarBirbal #folkstories #India #fiction #Mughals
The Sly Minds of Cunning Men
Corruption will always thrive — a tale of medieval India
medium.com
March 14, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Catsup or Ketchup?
🍅
The convoluted pedigree of America's favorite condiment from its origins in China/Singapore, & its transformation as it traversed the globe across centuries to Europe, USA & thence to other countries
medium.com/@weareji/cat...
#ketchup #food #condiment #culinary #history
Catsup or Ketchup?
The convoluted pedigree of America’s beloved condiment
medium.com
March 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
'Stop in the Name of Love'
❤️
The city of Chennai in India has turned its red traffic lights from circles to hearts. And I scribbled a few lines about it...
medium.com/@weareji/sto...
...including a rumination on circles turning to hearts
#traffic #Chennai #history #cities #technology
Stop in the Name of Love
The city of Chennai in India has turned its red traffic lights from circles into hearts
medium.com
March 2, 2025 at 11:07 AM
2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the approval of the polio vaccine in the U.S. In acknowledgement, here is my in-depth commentary, 'Virus, Vaccine, & Song.'
medium.com/@weareji/vir...
Jonas Salk & Albert Sabin came up with polio vaccines; neither got the Nobel. Why?
#history #medicine #vaccines
February 2, 2025 at 1:53 AM