Comfortably Numb

BOOK REVIEW: SUNDAY HERALD/POSTSCRIPT by CECILIA AHERN

A measured journey of picking up the pieces and carrying on Cecilia Ahern debuted with PS I Love You in 2004, which went on to be No 1 on the bestseller lists in Ireland, the UK and across the pond, in the US too; win awards and get adapted into a movie with Hollywood stars…

FEATURE: TNIE SUNDAY EXPRESS/MILLENNIALS AND THEIR MORALS

Home Magazine Voices The morals of the millennial Published: 16th February 2020 Where there are millennials, there must be Baby Boomers. In fact, a congregation of Baby Boomers, shaking their head censoriously, waggling disparaging fingers, muttering sibilantly and not always below their breath. Just what is bothering all these Boomer uncles and aunties? Many things, actually; but…

Brief takes: In Search of Heer by Manjul Bajaj

Having decided on a retelling of the fable of Heer and Ranjha, writer Manjul Bajaj has dipped her pen verily in a lyrical stream. Lushly packed with evocative descriptions of young men and old, of nubile girls and timorous old women, of men with evil on their mind, a swiftly flowing river, cattle both fine…

PHOTO FEATURE: SNAPS FROM THE TIMES LIT FEST, BANGALORE, FEB 2020

So, it was mighty fun, the session on Sex, Marriage & Morality at the Times Lit Fest. Despite the fact that I had to live down the descriptor `renowned` which the PR people handling the fest chose for me. Which was rather like saying `world-famous- in- east-Bangalore-SK!` We managed to draw a full house, an…

Brief Takes: A Step Away From Paradise by Thomas Shor

A Step Away From Paradise by Thomas Shor (Penguin Ananda Books) We have been taught from the earliest age to separate fact from fiction. We can read Alice in Wonderland, marvel at it yet know Wonderland doesn’t really exist. We suspend the line between fact and fiction, and we assume that is what Lewis Carroll…

LITERARY REVIEW: THE SWAP BY SHUMA RAHA

DARK ROMANCE | REVIEWS Love, sex and dhokha: Review of Shuma Raha’s ‘The Swap’ ‘Soon to be a major web series,’ a blurb announces on the cover of The Swap by…

Brief Takes: The Sixth Finger by Malayatoor Ramakrishnan

The Sixth Finger: Malayatoor Ramakrishnan, translated from Malayalam by Prema Jayakumar Publisher: Ratna Books Genre: Fiction Extent: 372pp Price: Rs 399 You would imagine that the origin story of a nascent godman would make for a compelling read. This, unfortunately, is not entirely the case here. Malayatoor Ramakrishnan`s protagonist Vedaraman is introduced to the…

TRAVEL: THE HINDU WEEKEND: MEANWHILE, IN GOKARNA….

This is Woman Central and I sense it the moment I arrive. The place has that vibe exclusive to spots where women congregate. A couple of women in white yoga gear are walking down a tree-laden path. There are women doing languid lengths in the blue waters of the pool beyond the reception…

Brief Takes: Panjab by Amandeep Sandhu

I open my New Year account of book reviews with a book I read slowly, attentively, absorbing everything it had to give. Amandeep Sandhu`s PANJAB is many things to many readers. There are those like me, who was once familiar with the pinds and the jind of what Sandhu calls the outlier state (and you…

Brief Takes: Perhaps Tomorrow by Pooranam Elayathamby with Richard Anderson

This stark tale, told absolutely without the slightest frill to embellish it, is basically a tale of triumph, of navigating one`s way through all the odds stacked in one`s path and coming through, banner held aloft. The `one` here is the co-narrator Pooranam Elayathamby alias Sandy. Born into a poor Sri Lankan Tamil household, any…