Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: The Shooting Star by Shivya Nath

The Shooting Star by Shivya Nath. Penguin Books. It`s been just under five years that Shivya Nath has impinged herself on the traveller`s consciousness and made us all compulsive readers of her blog posts. The Shooting Star (Penguin Books) is a lovely travel memoir, exuberantly soaring one moment reflective the next, curious and questioning the…

Book review: The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S Laskar

R is for racism `Where are you really from?` That question, with its inherent prejudice and bias, lies at the heart of Devi S. Laskar’s debut novel, The Atlas Of Blues And Reds. It is not the American Dream but the American nightmare of racism that is centrestage here. At the start of the story,…

Book review: Requiem in Raga Janki by Neelum Saran Gaur

A mellifluous tale, this rich re-telling of a diva`s saga. The unidentified narrator of the tale is an elderly singer pushing 90 from what we can discern, who sings for her supper these days in a new way…she tells the tales of the famous courtesan Jankibai Illahabadi. However, she firmly states, `at my age things crowd…

Book review: A Bend in the River of Life by Marianne de Nazareth

A Bend in the River of Life by Marianne de Nazareth. Leadstart Books. Now here`s a dilemma. Can one label a book that deals with the onset and relentless progress of Parkinsonism in a set of parents, a happy read? Impactful, yes. Informative, very much so. Disturbing, well, that`s a given, dealing as it does…

Book review: Fortune`s Soldier by Alex Rutherford

History as entertainment The story is as much about the two men as it is about the insidious way that the East India Company worked to eventually establish British rule in India. The friendship of two men, the fictional Nicholas Ballantyne and the actual historical figure of Robert Clive, forms the basis of the story…

Book review: Killing Time in Delhi by Ravi Shankar Etteth

A capital send-up Tongue firmly lodged in side of cheek, the author spins a tale about the denizens of Delhi. In this, Ravi Shankar Etteth`s seventh book, he has turned the spotlight mercilessly on the haut monde, the seriously wealthy and even more seriously powerful, the wheelers and dealers, the circles that trade in…

Book review: Twin Tales from Kutcch by Saeed Ibrahim

This quiet story, told in a quiet manner, opens a window into the lives of Kutcchi Memons, allowing us a close look at their lifestyle, their rituals, their dress and customs, and makes for a most interesting read. The author presents to us the tales of Aisha Jan Mohammed and Aisha Usman, two women orphaned…

Travel: Taratarini Temple, Odisha

Where beauty and power meet The origins of the TaraTarini temple in Ganjam, Odisha, is shrouded in the mists of time. Our trip from Behrampur starts off well enough, with the sun shining bright and stray, fat clouds dotting the startlingly blue skies. `The last time we visited the TaraTarini temple, it suddenly…

Feature: Is Comfortwear All About Slouchy Elegance?

Cozycore’s Formula of Comfortwear With cozycore officially anointed as trend of the season, where does that leave the woman on the street? They tell me cozycore is having a moment now. Of course, this less-than-stylish meld of comfortwear and style has been spotted on celebs everywhere for at least three years now. Think track…

Book review: Trick by Domenico Starnone

A battle of wits A battle of wits between a grandfather and his four- year- old grandson is at the heart of the deceptively simple premise of Domenico Starnone’s latest book ‘Trick.’ Witty, observant and melancholy by turns, it is a deftly layered book, a wonderful read. One of Italy’s most accomplished writers and the…