Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: When BFFs Break Up

Heartbreak comes in pink, too I don’t want to sound like I’m writing the sequel to Men are from Mars…. but let’s take the masculine parallel first. When two men move back and away from what seemed to be a convivial friendship, for reasons best known only to the two, and about which they will…

Feature: Khadi Goes Haute

Khadi in the limelight Humble? Coarse? Beige? Not any more. Reincarnated in gossamer-fine, supple and coloured avatars, India’s freedom fabric is having a fashion moment all over again. Danish textile designer Bess Nielsen’s store in Paris is named after it. It has made it to the Star Wars films. Designer Christina Kim’s haute label Dosa stocks it….

Travel: Chimi Lakhang in Bhutan

Blessed by the phallus Bhutan’s mystifying phallicgraphy is a tradition dating back to the 15th century. The Chimi Lhakhang was not on my list of Bhutan must-sees. In fact, I did not even know about it. And then, en route to the hill station of Punakha, where the current king wed his pretty wife,…

Feature: How We Gave Ourselves A Food Upgrade

Even as haute cuisine deliberately downgrades itself, are diners willy-nilly undergoing an upgrade? The movement has all the subtlety and finesse of a glacier melting. Everything has happened at pretty much the same time. Lalitha, give or take a ‘ji,’ now finds a wide gamut of ready-to-eat, hatke packaged meals on the store shelves. Kitchens transmogrify…

Humour: The UI goes abroad

Old Habits? We’ve all seen the Ugly Indian on his own home turf, says Sheila Kumar. This character takes those characteristics abroad too! CARTOON: OUTLOOKINDIA.COM Don’t get…

Travel: Jageshwar Temple, Kumaon

Temples of solitude It is a hot April day, but not too hot. I am gazing at the cluster of stone temples that makes up the ancient Jageshwar complex, 125 temples devoted to Lord Shiva. In turn, I can feel someone gazing at me; the compelling intensity of the scrutiny is like…

Book review: The Hunters by Chris Kuzneski

Good ol’ treasure hunt A crack team, a legendary treasure and a train named Ludmilla….This has all the ingredients for a rollicking potboiler. Chris Kuzneski seems done with the Payne and Jones series of thrillers for the time being. In his new thriller, The Hunters, he employs the familiar direct, forceful style of storytelling that has…

Humour: After the Jethro Tull concert in Bangalore

The visit The ageing rock star smiled. He liked what he saw of the Garden City. Balmy weather, with the plush hotel’s air conditioner taking the biting edge off the heat. Masses of exotic greenery. Lots of exciting food offered every few minutes by his hospitable hosts. He continued to…

Kith and Kin: Media Reviews IV

THE HINDU: METRO PLUS CHENNAI Arts/» Books Chennai, October 8, 2012 All in the family Zara Khan Sheila Kumar’s book Kith And Kin narrates the saga…

Kith and Kin: Media Reviews III

FEMINA Gita Mohan’s Blog Literary Notes and Beyond… MONDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2013 An Enchanting Evening With Two Women Writers On Saturday evening, my local library, Easy Library, had arranged yet another fantastic author meet with not just one, but TWO women writers whose works reach out to all of us. They were in conversation with…