Category: Cha Review of Books and Films
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [EXCLUSIVE] “You Are Not of Human Kind: A Freudian Comparison of Liaozhai and Nosferatu” by Angus Stewart Robert Eggers (director), Nosferatu, 2024. 132 min. Over Christmas, I finally lifted my copy…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “You Are Not of Human Kind: A Freudian Comparison of 𝐿𝑖𝑎𝑜𝑧ℎ𝑎𝑖 and 𝑁𝑜𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢” by Angus Stewart](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/nosferatu.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS ❀ Julie Otsuka, When the Emperor Was Divine, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. 148 pgs.❀ Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 129 pgs.❀ Julie Otsuka,…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Julie Otsuka: The Ideal of Justice and the Reality of History” by Jiahe Chen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/julie-otsuka_cha.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Idol, Burning. Rin Usami (author), Asa Yoneda (translator), Idol, Burning, HarperVia, 2022.144 pgs. Japan, for me, has long been a pop music paradise. On my…
![[REVIEW] “When a Passion Turns Toxic: Rin Usami’s 𝐼𝑑𝑜𝑙, 𝐵𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔” by Wendy Tokunaga](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/rin-usami-author-asa-yoneda-translator-idol-burning.jpg?w=946)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Annie Zaidi, Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation, Cambridge University Press, 2020. 166 pgs. Annie Zaidi’s memoir Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation…
![[REVIEW] “Lived Reality: Annie Zaidi’s Memoir 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑, 𝐶𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝐶𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑠” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/annie-zaidi-bread-cement-cactus-a-memoir-of-belonging-and-dislocation.jpg?w=971)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Half Sound, Half Philosophy. Jing Wang, Half Sound, Half Philosophy: Aesthetics, Politics, and History of China’s Sound Art, Bloomsbury, 2021. 232 pgs. Jing Wang’s Half…
![[REVIEW] “Overhearing 𝑄𝑖: Jing Wang’s 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦” by Maurice Windleburn](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/half-sound-half-philosophy-aesthetics-politics-and-history-of-chinas-sound-art.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yvonne Yevan Yu, Christine Vicera, and Julie Ham (editors), Ingat: An Anthology of Works by Migrant Domestic Worker Creatives in Hong Kong, Small Tune Press, 2024. 228 pgs. The…
![[REVIEW] “Sometimes Painful, Sometimes Uplifting—𝐼𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑡: 𝐴𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝑂𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝐵𝑦 𝑀𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐷𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝐼𝑛 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔” by Tim Pit Hok Yau](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/4670.jpg?w=500)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Lauren Walden, Surrealism from Paris to Shanghai, Hong Kong University Press, 2024. 152 pgs. In Surrealism from Paris to Shanghai, Lauren Walden has done modern Chinese art history a…
![[REVIEW] “Recovering Shanghai’s Lost Surrealist Tradition: Lauren Walden’s 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑎𝑖” by Paul French](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/surrealism-from-paris-to-shanghai.jpg?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Listen. Chan Kwan Ee Tom, Listen, Atmosphere Press, 2023. In monochrome, a fallen beast is manipulated by puppet strings that ensnare a hand. Upon closer inspection,…
![[REVIEW] “What Did I Hope to Hear?: A Review of Chan Kwan Ee Tom’s 𝐿𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛” by Lian-Hee Wee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/listen_chan-kwan-ee-tom.jpg?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Sawako Nakayasu, Pink Waves, Omnidawn, 2022. 90 pgs. When I received Sawako Nakayasu’s Pink Waves, I was drawn to its cover. Green, black, and blue arranged in shapes suggest…
![[REVIEW] “She Was Elegylight: Sawako Nakayasu’s 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑊𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠” by Tim Tim Cheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pink-waves.png?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦𝑒𝑛𝑑” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/happyend_cha.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Toshihiko Tanaka (director), Rei 莉の対, 2024. 190 min. Toshihiko Tanaka, an actor and photography enthusiast, crafts a compelling narrative in his minimalist yet emotionally resonant debut, Rei. The story…
![[REVIEW] “The Parallax Effect: Toshihiko Tanaka’s 𝑅𝑒𝑖” by Marianna Jaśniak](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rei-1.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Matthew Meyer (author and illustrator), The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai, Hardcover Collector’s Edition, 2015. 224 pgs. Images copyright 2015-2025 © Matthew…
![[REVIEW] “Tales of Japanese monsters, ghosts, and spirits: Matthew Meyer’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠” by Marsha McDonald](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/screenshot-2024-11-29-at-22.20.32.png?w=1024)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [REVIEW] “The Strangeness Within: On Rajyabardhan Dhal Mahapatra’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑑’𝑠 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒” by Kathiravan Annamalai](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/copy-of-copy-of-copy-of-untitled-design.png?w=600)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Beyond Stereotypes: Ronald Weitzer’s Sex Tourism in Thailand” by Akin Jeje Ronald Weitzer, Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asia’s Premier Erotic Playground, New York University Press, 2023. 337 pgs. Ronald…
![[REVIEW] “Beyond Stereotypes: Ronald Weitzer’s 𝑆𝑒𝑥 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑” by Akin Jeje](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/sex-tourism-in-thailand-inside-asias-premier-erotic-playground-1.jpg?w=1000)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Benjamin Hegarty, The Made-Up State: Technology, Trans Femininity, and Citizenship in Indonesia, Cornell University Press, 2022. 198 pgs. I grew up seeing transwomen day and night. During the day,…
![[REVIEW] “Dress Up for Indonesia: Benjamin Hegarty’s The Made-Up State” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/finalreadingsbooklaunch20april2023_poster.jpg?w=816)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yasunari Kawabata (author), Edward G. Seidensticker (translator), Snow Country, Vintage, 1996. 192 pgs. The short review goes a little something like this: Is it possible for one to love…
![[REVIEW] “Love Lies Wasted: Yasunari Kawabata’s 𝑆𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦” by A. B. Freeman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/yasunari-kawabata.jpeg?w=1000)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Paul French, Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties, and the Making of Wallis Simpson, St. Martin’s Press, 2024. 298 pgs. Wallis Simpson will forever be imprinted on British…
![[REVIEW] “Remembering Wallis—Paul French’s 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟: 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠 𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑠𝑜𝑛” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/f09d90bbf09d9192f09d919f-f09d90bff09d919cf09d91a1f09d91a2f09d91a0-f09d918cf09d9192f09d918ef09d919f-f09d90b6e2848ef09d9196f09d919bf09d918e-f09d91a1e2848ef09d9192-f09d9185f09d919cf09d918ef.png?w=1024)
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📁RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Shiori Ito (director), Black Box Diaries, 2024. 102 min. This review may contain spoilers. In Bangkok, I went with a friend to see Black Box Diaries, directed by Shiori…
![[REVIEW] “Shiori Ito’s 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝐵𝑜𝑥 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠: Documentation is a Political Action, Courage Too” by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/screenshot-2024-11-25-at-19.39.56-1.png?w=1024)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [REVIEW] “All in All, We’re Just Another Brick in the Wall—Saikat Majumdar’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑢𝑟: 𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑦” by Kabir Deb](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/the-amateur.png?w=600)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [REVIEW] “Violence, Guilt and the Weight of Inaction in As You Stood in Lee Jung-rim’s 𝐴𝑠 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝐵𝑦” by Dorina Tataran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/lee-jung-rim-director-as-you-stood-by-2025.-tv-mini-series.-60-min.jpg?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s 𝑉𝑖𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑁𝑎𝑚” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/viet-and-nam.jpg?w=753)
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[TIFF 2024] “The Master and Her Muse: On Jia Zhang-ke’s 𝐶𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠” by Nirris Nagendrarajah
TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “The Master and Her Muse: On Jia Zhang-ke’s 𝐶𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/caught-by-the-tides.jpg?w=560)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “Self-Studies: On Sook-Yin Lee’s 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑡” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/paying-for-it-sook-yin-lee.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Carlo Ledesma (director), Outside, 2024. 142 min. This review contains spoilers. Outside (2024), written and directed by Carlo Ledesma, is the newest entry in the ever-growing list of zombie…
![[REVIEW] “Imaging the Contemporary Filipino Zombie in Carlo Ledesma’s 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒” by Nick Garcia](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/carlo-ledesma-director-outside.webp?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “The Inheritance: On 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐵𝑒 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙 and 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑠” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tiff2024-asian-cha.png?w=1024)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “A World of Pain: On Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cloud.webp?w=1000)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “𝑀𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑦𝑚𝑒: On Lou Ye’s 𝐴𝑛 𝑈𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑖𝑙𝑚” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/an-unfinished-film_poster.jpg?w=705)
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TIFF 2024 ▞ Introduction▞ 8. Band of Outsiders: On Neo Sora’s Happyend▞ 7. The Soul of an Artist: On Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream▞ 6. The Two Maidens: On Trương Minh Quý’s Viet and Nam▞ 5. The Master and Her…
![[TIFF 2024] “Introduction: TIFF 2024” by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/tiff.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Kiriti Sengupta. Bibhas Roy Chowdhury (poet), Kiriti Sengupta (translator), Poem Continuous: Reincarnated Expressions, Hawakal Publishers, 2024.114 pgs. “My reader, I dip into the water just…
![[REVIEW] “Mesmerising Collection—Bibhas Roy Chowdhury’s 𝑃𝑜𝑒𝑚 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠: 𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠” by Malashri Lal](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/kiriti-sengupta-translator-poem-continuous-reincarnated-expressions.jpg?w=880)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224 pgs. The conventional…
![[REVIEW] “Thin Line Between Observing and Stalking: Natsuko Imamura’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑘𝑖𝑟𝑡” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-woman-in-the-purple-skirt.jpg?w=925)
Cha 