Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: The new face of humour

As the times rapidly change, the rich seam of humour we tap into is also rapidly changing. It`s black humour, but of course. The other good-natured, gentle ribbing really would not stand up to what we are seeing and experiencing in life these days. It`s black humour and it is everywhere; it has…

Feature: Artisanal coffee is a thing!

Artisanal Coffee Is A Thing So. Have you heard the one about the woman who walks into a coffee bar, eyes the toothsome barista and says, `Make me happy, Joe.` The barista looks at her with a smile, then says, give me a mo. The woman seats herself at a table nearby….

Book review: Nutshell by Ian McEwan

This is more a brief take than review. So, this is about pretty Trudy who is cuckolding her failed poet husband John with his brother Claude, a property developer. John is getting rather inconvenient, even intractable, and so they decide to do away with him. Yes, poison. What they don`t know is they have a witness-…

Book review: Himalaya, an Anthology edited by Ruskin Bond and Namita Gokhale

This is more a brief take than review. In high places Every book I read which fixes its focus on the Himalaya mountain range, as well as the world`s highest peak Everest, further feeds my fascination with the mountains, with that mountain. This book is a varied collection of mountain tales from some highly acclaimed…

Book review: Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbagh; translation by Srinath Perur

This is more a brief take than review. The ties that bind…hard Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag. Translated by Srinath Perur. Harper Perennial Books. This little gem of a story deals in domestic doings, and the teller of the tale is an unnamed male at the centre of everything that is happening to his family….

Travel: Borra caves, Araku Valley

Of deep dark structures These caves are really the jewel in the Araku Valley`s crown. A recent visit to Andhra Pradesh`s Araku Valley near Vizag was just that bit underwhelming for someone who has lived in the Nilgiri hills. The Araku valley is a nice enough hill station which is part of…

Book review: Always A Parent by Gouri Dange

Roadmap for rapport A guide to traverse a tricky relationship road. It`s a fact of life. Children grow up, marry, beget children themselves. Parents stay parents, just growing older. They continue to view their offspring as appendages to be forever kept under wing, protected, fussed over, guided, led. The (grown) children see this as intrusions,…

Book review: The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

Spy on the run The Twilight author pens a spy thriller with mixed results. I have to start with a confession – I have enjoyed Stephanie Meyer’s other books; the Twilight series, as well as The Host. Yes, they were flawed and definitely cannot be considered as literary fiction but I was kept engaged by…

Photo Feature: Jaipur`s jharokas and more!

All photographs by Sheila Kumar. Images are subject to copyright. Links to my other Photo Features: Photo Feature: Picture Postcards Photo Feature: Critters of Odisha Photo Feature: Eden and its serpent! Photo Feature: Eating Chinese food in China Photo Feature: Paths in the Kumaon foothills Photo Feature: China chronicles Photo Feature:…

Excerpts: Suspected Poems by Gulzar

Suspected Poems by Gulzar. Translated by Pavan K Varma.