I do not like oranges. I’ll write that again – just to make it very clear. I do not like oranges. In Athens, orange trees grow on either side of the road, utterly unwanted. It is true that juice companies are gradually beginning to market Greek oranges with eye-catching notes on their packs saying ‘Made […]
Arangetram!
Anushka Iyer and Riya Dash will be performing their Arangetram today! The Arangetram is the maiden performance of a dancer, during which she attempts to convey her understanding of her art form to a discerning audience in the presence of her guru. Venue: Tilak Smarak Mandir Date and time: 28th June 2013; 17:45 Credits Nattuvangam: […]
Monsters University
When humour, action, plot, story, character and setting are all rolled into one, how can I not leave the cinema hall smiling like I have a tummy full of food and am ready to sleep? Monsters University made me happy. Why should anyone (particularly me) pretend to write a review? I like Mike (and Sullivan). I […]
Can this be true?
In Nigeria, my grandfather was once invited to dinner for some ‘special festival’. Alone and interested, he decided he would go – but someone warned him against it. My grandfather doesn’t know who these people were who warned them. “We heard that you were invited for this function, but please take some sincere advice from […]
The Lost Years
When I first read Mary Higgins Clark, I remember how amazed I was. All Around the Town remains one of the most powerful books of all time in my memory. Yet, when I read this, there was the sense of something artificial. As craft, detective fiction shines. I enjoyed the intricacy of the narrative. Romance within a […]
Bangalore in a Nutshell
It rained when I didn’t expect it too. It didn’t rain when I did. I read five and a half books. I met a classmate from school. I probably haven’t seen her for a decade and when I saw her, I was utterly disoriented for a few seconds. “Am I really in Bangalore? Really?” I […]
Getting a Promotion
In the Air Force, it is compulsory to speak Hindi to get a promotion. Commands must be given in Hindi. So my grandfather, a recipient of the AVSM (Ati Vishisht Seva Medal) had to prove he could speak at least a little Hindi in order to be promoted. The problem was that he could not […]
Stormswift
Madeleine Brent, ah, Madeleine Brent. So many of your books are based on the same thing – an English girl in a foreign land, falling in love with an Englishman under impossible circumstances. How is it that I love them all? The power of the narrative just gripped me right through the book. A sense […]
Walkabout
Unbelievably moving. Two English children in the middle of the Australian desert – what are their chances of survival? But they come across a bush boy. A naked dark-skinned Aborigine. They cannot communicate to one another, but they have to because the ‘darkie’s’ attitude towards them is simple. He will not judge. Everyone is together […]
The Moneylender’s Daughter
I often shy away from thick books. I’m not quite sure why because I have read (more than once) and enjoyed (tremendously) books like Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. Maybe, somehow, classics escape my prejudices. But books like The Moneylender’s Daughter ought to as well. As I began the book and got […]
Impure Veg
‘Pure veg’ is such a uniquely Indian concept. I used to mock it. My grandparents are pure veg. (Somehow that sounds odd. A pure veg restaurant is different from pure veg food, which is different from pure veg people. My grandparents are people, not food or restaurants. Just making things clear.) When they went to […]
Prized Modern Inventions
I remember my great grandfather (who, incidentally, lived to be 105) watching cricket on TV. The volume was very low and that, for some reason, used to annoy me. It was like a constant buzz – neither silent nor noisy. His logic was that he was deaf and would not be able to hear anyway, […]
Magical Mail
‘Dear Sir or Madam,My name is Thor. I would like to work for the council recycling department. I think I would be good at this as I have lightning for melting and a big hammer for those items that are difficult to crush. I have passed an exam in art and I am also a […]
The Poison Garden
I finally finished reading The Poison Garden only because I forced myself to. I turned page after deliberate page, skipping sections, skimming over larger sections and wondering who would read the book. And then, I had a rather startling thought. I understand where the inspiration comes from. I understand a fascination for plants and power […]
Adjust
Sometimes, I cannot even believe that the word ‘adjust’ is really an English word. It seems to belong uniquely to the Indian context. Anything can be adjusted. I remember how amused I was when I learned that people even adjust Raahu kaal – the Inauspicious Time. Traditionally during this Inauspicious Time, you can’t do important […]
Ideas and Institutions in Medieval India
Paperback ISBN 978-81-250-5174-9 Hard cover ISBN 978-81-250-5175-6 Author: Dr. Radhika Seshan (Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Pune) Publisher: Orient BlackSwan
Buying a Fridge
My sister came to Kolkata and helped me buy a fridge. It was a long and detailed exploration, comparing brands, sizes and prices at various places. We wandered around, visiting shop after shop before we finally decided what would suit me and made the purchase. We spoke to my parents that night, relieved. “What brand did […]
Imagination
I sometimes think about what other people must be thinking about what I’m thinking. Cycling home from my grandfather’s place early this morning, I was amused at bystanders waiting for buses. I thought about what they would be thinking about how dedicated I was about exercising everyday. I imagined conversations with real people and recollected […]
The Harry Potter Phenomenon
“You must read Harry Potter,” a friend of mine told me when I was in the eighth standard. I glanced at the book lying on her desk and nodded. The book she was so impressed by was not yet available easily in India. A relative had given it to her and she was passing it on. I […]
Nritya Tarangini
Day 1: I wondered whether I would get anything out of the workshop conducted by the Dhananjayans. I wondered whether it was all worth it. We were learning a piece that was getting totally jumbled in my head. There were too many episodes and at the end of the day, I could not even remember […]