Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: The SRK Revelations, a Fangirl Story

This ran in FEMINA, where I was working at the time I met the Bollywood superstar. I cannot, in all honesty, say that meeting Shah Rukh Khan changed my life. But yes, it shattered some long-held myths and reinforced some others. The meeting occurred when SRK was shooting in my office for his home production …

Book review: Hurree Jamset Ram Singh in the Billy Bunter books

I wonder if anyone else on here was as conflicted about the character Hurree Jamset Ram Singh of the Billy Bunter books, he of the supposedly sage and incomprehensible pronouncements like “the wishfulness of the jug that goes to the well is terrific.“ Apart from the confusion regarding that name, which inferred the character was…

Book review: My Father`s Garden by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

And once in a rarish while, along comes a book, the contents of which are seamlessly compatible with its jacket pic. Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar`s MY FATHER`S GARDEN (Speaking Tiger Books) is one such book. The reader`s eye is caught and held first by the sumptuous illustration on the cover. And once they start to read…

Feature: Has humour lost its edge in Covid times?

ARE JOKES PERSONA NON GRATA DURING COVID-19? Coronavirus times. Tough times. As the infection is sweeping across country after country, toppling people, economies and virtually the world as we know it, it is being made clear to us that we need to recalibrate ourselves, our beliefs, our lifestyle. But we also need to hold onto…

Guest column: Staying alive, staying relevant

Staying alive, staying relevant The weeks of social distancing are stretching on, becoming as elastic as time itself. All the multitudes who displayed remarkable fortitude, a biting sense of humour and admirable pragmatism in facing the situation are now, understandably, chafing at the bit. Think about it. The new virus is the wild animal out…

Travel: Magical Mostar

This is beauty after strife. Mostar sparkles anew after the terrible years of the Bosnian War. You will find a reflective mood settling upon you at Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a lovely little town through which the River Nevretska flows swiftly, steadily, a deep teal-blue in colour. At the designated times, the melodious…

Pandemic posts

Tuesday larfs… or why I shouldn`t read the Live Chats during a Pink Floyd concert. Fan A: Aaaaaaaah. Fan B: Any PF fans from India here? Fan C: Meeeee! Fan D: is this a live concert? Fan E: Bro, how can it be a live concert?…

Book Review: Dara Shukoh, The Man Who Would Be King by Avik Chanda

A mystic’s misfortune Dara Shukoh’s vision for a just, tolerant, secular and humane India seems today as unrealised as his dream of becoming the king. A contemplative ‘what if’ nebula hangs over Avik Chanda’s gripping book on Dara Shukoh. Dara was Emperor Shah Jahan’s eldest, most favoured son and heir apparent. He, however, does not…

Guest column: Hikikomori or Modern-day Hermits

Pulling inwards: The modern-day hermits Hikikomori is a severe withdrawal from love, from life, from people. The concepts have come from Japan, wrapped in words, sometimes uplifting, sometimes baneful. There is Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, an abstraction every bit as delightful as it sounds. There is Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery by mending…

Book review: Aranyaka by Amruta Patil and Devdutt Pattanaik

The year is yet young but ARANYAKA (Tranquebar Books) is for me, the best read of 2020, so far. This wonderful 2019 collab by Amruta Patil and Devdutt Pattanaik (story and art by the former, based on concepts by the latter) pulls you into the heart of the forest from the very first page and…