Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: Dev Lahiri on Educational Reform

`Schools today are not about education, they are about certification` Highly intelligent. Quicksilver character. Maverick. Impassioned. Born educationist. All these words fit Devapriya Lahiri , former Headmaster of Lawrence School, Lovedale as well as Welhams Boys, Dehradun, to a T. It has been an eventful, even chequered career for the educationist who has recently written…

Book review: With a Little Help from my Friends by Dev Lahiri

The Headmaster`s Story Highly intelligent. Quicksilver character. Maverick. Quick study. Impassioned. Born educationist. All these words fit Devapriya Lahiri , former Headmaster of Lawrence School, Lovedale, as well as Welhams Boys, Dehradun, to a t. It`s been an eventful, even chequered career for the educationist who has recently written his memoir, called With A Little…

Feature: The Lionel Shriver Interview

‘I prefer characters who break the rules’ Lionel Shriver, author of the 2005 Orange Prize-winning `We Need to Talk about Kevin,` in a freewheeling chat about her writing, the immigration crisis, and how she navigates her way around the excessive curiosity she seems to arouse in fans. Margaret Ann to Lionel. No, this…

Humour: Cara Delevigne and I

For those who live in blissful ignorance of the fashion world, the Cara I refer to in the headline of this article is the British supermodel Cara Delevingne, she of the bountiful brow. Actually, there may be people who are not familiar with her name but who know her by those brows. Because…

Feature: In The New Year….

Make it a happy 2016 ! If the passing of time is inexorable, it is also slightly ridiculous. Ridiculous because before we know it, the year has shut shop, another year is about to dawn on us, and there we are, pretty much where we were last December. As the saying goes, plus ça change,…

Book review: A Hero for Hire by Zac O`Yeah

Hari, namma hero Back in 2013, when Hari Majestic made his appearance on the Bangalore gumshoe shuffle, my book blogpost had this to say: The hero is utterly irresistible with his well-oiled hair, a startling addiction to chicory, and a heart of gold. Everyone greets everyone else with “oota aiytha?” (had food?), there are people rejoicing…

Book review: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin

Even as winter is coming This book needs to come with a disclaimer: it is being reviewed by one who remains untouched by the Game of Thrones saga by the redoubtable George R R Martin. That is because I have not — yet — read the books or watched the cult television series. This book…

Book review: The Noodle-maker of Kalimpong by Gyalo Thondup with Anne F Thurston

The Noodle Maker Of Kalimpong: The Untold Story Of My Struggle For Tibet by Gyalo Thondup with Anne F. Thurston (Random House India). Jeremy Bernstein says in his 1987 New Yorker article: There is something profoundly moving about the Tibetan way of life. About its religious essence. One feels instinctively that if this civilization were crushed…

Book review: Aleph Books` City Monographs

Cry, the beloved city It is neither compulsory nor mandatory but I feel the need to make this admission: I am not an outsider. Though not of Kannada origin, I have been a resident of Bangalore/Bengaluru since the start of the 80s. That`s been over three decades, during which I have lived, worked, married, learned…

Feature: How Relevant Are You?

How relevant are you? We don’t analyse it much, but it’s astonishing what we do to stay relevant. Relevant to who? Why, to our kith and kin, our friends and neighbours, the people we work for, the people we work with, the people who work for us, indeed, to the section of the whole wide…