I spoke to Ms Sugandhi from the British Library last Sunday, and she said that 11 children had already registered! There are just 20 seats in all; now is the time!
Teachers’ Day
What a novel Teachers’ Day experience! The children impersonated the teachers; that was a treat. How funny it is to see how students see me! I couldn’t stop laughing. Another wonderful part of the day was a quiz about the 12th grade students, prepared by the students. And a treasure hunt in the block. I […]
Treason
The year is 1539. King Henry VIII is King of England. All three of his wives, Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour are dead. He has three children: Mary, Elizabeth and the long-awaited heir to his throne, Edward. Henry has broken away from the Church of Rome because the Pope would not allow […]
How Green Was My Valley
I read the book when I was eleven or so. It was among the very few books that made me feel I was too young to tackle that kind of emotion. I remember thinking that I would be able to feel everything better when I was older and did not need to look up words […]
The Emotions after . . .
I’ve lost track of the number of Arangetrams I’ve watched from the wings. But the mood of one that is well done is always the same. When I can feel what the dancer feels, I think it’s perhaps even more intense than a wedding day, except that I have no notion of how that feels. […]
Available worldwide!
Just discovered that The Story-Catcher is not available just in India and the US! It’s available in the UK too! (And perhaps elsewhere in the world that I have not discovered yet!)
Arangetram on Friday
Tejashree Natu, disciple of Guru Smt Mythili Raghavan, will be performing her Arangetram on Friday, the 30th of August, at Tilak Smarak Mandir at 5:45 p.m. Credits Nattuvangam: Guru Smt Mythili Raghavan Vocal: Sri Sivaprasad Mridangam: Sri Sankar Narayanan Violin: Sri Anantharaman Make-up: Sri Mohan and Smt Lakshmi Compères: Nisha and Varsha Programme Alarippu (Panchajati) […]
Arangetram – Tejashree
The Academy of Indian Dances cordially invites you to Tejashree’s Arangetram.
Seatbelt
During an exchange programme with a school in France, I noticed something I had never noticed before – rickshaws do not have doors! The first time I went in a rickshaw with my French correspondent, my eyes widened. How comfortable would she feel? Would she be afraid of a vehicle like this without doors? I […]
Advertisement
A banner I saw made me chuckle all the way to school: POSH ROOMS AVAILABLE ON COT BASIS
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Perhaps Peppy created “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper corn.” Because Peppy, Mr. Popper’s personal assistant, takes particular pleasure in paraphrasing paragraphs to produce passages that permit plentiful pronunciations of /p/. What a delightful movie! Why is it, though, that I cannot watch a movie with animals in it without wincing inwardly at […]
Dragonfly
Some pacy books are formulaic, and this one is one of them.Prince must marry Princess – it’s a political alliance. Prince and Princess hate each other; they have all kinds of adventures; then they love each other; then they get married.This fits in exactly. Yet, Dragonfly warmed me. There are some books that, like Disney movies, touch […]
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
I watched the movie two months ago, but did not write about it out of – I can’t find a better word – cowardice. The whole world seemed to like the movie. On Facebook, everyone who spoke about it seemed thrilled to bits. When I hinted at things I found revolting about the film, I […]
Independence Day
I have a dear friend who is half-French, half-Brazilian. She’s been living in India for about five years now, and is a unique blend of several cultures. Here’s what she said about the 15th of August, 2013. How I feel during Independence Day… So today is Independence Day and I went for Flag hoisting in […]
MRP
On the radio, I hear advertisements, urging the consumer to wake up and realise that the Maximum Retail Price is printed on all kinds of products. Consumers are duped by dishonest shopkeepers simply because they do not know that they should look at the MRP. I sometimes feel bad when I listen to these ads. […]
A Tribute: Prem Jeevan
I met her twice. Two memorable times. I know nothing or next to nothing about Osho, but once I had the pleasure of dropping this formidable lady, Prem Jeevan, to Koregaon Park. I had a long ride with her, during which she told me about her life, her daughters, and her association with the Osho […]
Asylum
For once, the amount of time I’ve taken to read this says nothing about the book. I remember reading Bloom of Youth. I was faintly unhappy with it. I then somehow ended up reading Grandmother’s Footsteps and was so bored with it that I decided never to read Rachel Anderson again. Thankfully, despite what the proverb says, […]
The Pursuit of Happyness
Yes, I know I ought to have watched this long ago. Yes, I know that practically everyone has already watched this. But it moved me to tears, and I cannot not write about it. The story of a struggle against all odds is always touching, but what truly moved me was love. When is it […]
Encyclopedias
I remember a time in school when a teacher asked what we liked to read, and one child replied, “Encyclopedias.” I inwardly rolled my eyes and thought, “Oh my God! What an unimaginative sycophant!” (Well, maybe not those words, but you know . . .) Today, I apologise. In the library, I opened a volume […]
Theory of Knowledge
I teach ‘Theory of Knowledge’. That’s part of my job description now. We have many questions that count as TOK questions. Epistemological questions, ethical questions, ontological questions, the works. For once, though, I have a very strong TOK answer rather than a TOK question. The question is, “Can I explain humour?” The answer is ‘no’. […]