Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: Is Sexual Freedom just a Myth?

Is sexual freedom just a beautiful myth? The Oxford Dictionary refers to sexuality as sexual practice, sexual preference. Sexuality is also an emotion, the condition of being sensual, a way in which we view our bodies. And here’s the truth: all the kaanta lagas of yesterday, the Rakhee Sawants of today, don’t change the fact…

Travel: Mysterious Ireland

ON THE EMERALD ISLE The entrance to the Newgrange chamber and (below) the Round Tower at Glendalough PHOTOS: SHEILA KUMAR This history is mystery! Ireland’s fascinating ancient monuments conceal more than they reveal, says SHEILA KUMAR W e stand before the large mounds containing the monolithic graves of the Bru na Boinne. Up…

Feature: Memories of Another Bangalore

Have we lost more than we’ve gained? It was a balmy night. Up on the floodlit stage at the Kanteerava Stadium, Biddu Appaiah (he hadn’t dropped his surname then) was belting out some good hard rock. The crowds were giddy with delight, and we were part of that singing, dancing crowd. When the show was…

Travel: Singapore`s hawker centre food

A culinary carnival A serious but delicious search for the true taste of Singapore I’M in heaven. This is bliss. I have just bitten into a bright green sweet, with coconut shavings scattered atop it. The sweet has released a spurt of cane sugar. Garry, sitting across from me, smiles knowingly. He knows all…

Travel: Olavipe, Kerala

Backwater idyll They call the homestead Olavipe, `gift of the waves.’ Set in the south of an isle off Kochi, the place is a lotus eater’s delight, says SHEILA KUMAR. FOR a structure supposedly risen from the waves, Olavipe stands rock solid, a sprawling manor in the old Kerala style, naalukettu, tiled roof, fretted gables, stone…

Travel: Ranganathittu, Karnataka

Wingtips on water makes for a lovely picture and that`s what you get at The Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary Once upon a time, there was water aplenty, in and around Bangalore. And where there was water, birding sites came up, with a host of birds big and small: pelicans, herons, black kites, white-breasted kingfishers, red-wattled…

Travel: Tipu`s Fort, Palakkad

Silent sentinel In the heart of Palakkad town sits Tipu’s Fort, a majestic edifice with a chequered past. Sheila Kumar takes a ramble. It is Tipu’s fort but it was built by his father Hyder Ali in 1766. The sizeable fortress is a striking feature of Palakkad town, one which most locals take entirely…

Travel: Kadavu Resort, Kerala

FOOTLOOSE Riverine reverie As you sit gazing enthralled at the swollen Chaliyar river near Kozhikode, you discover anew the many simple pleasures of life. The next time you want to get away from it all, really get away from it all, do a spot of lotus eating, write that long overdue Booker-potential magnum…

Travel: Rainforest Resort, Athirapally, Kerala

Rainforest revels Cascades of white water, lush forest and a spiffy resort make for an ideal idyll. Also, Ash was here! Raavan shoot Okay. Bollywood preceded me to the Rainforest Resort at Athirapally. And by Bollywood, I mean none other than Mr and Mrs Abhishek Bachchan, when they were shooting in these parts…

Feature: Women in the Army

Women…they excel in the army too! As of 2004, the figures show that there are about 600 women in the Army, 420 in the Air Force and about 100 in the Navy. INCREASINGLY, WOMEN are viewing the armed forces as a good career choice. The attractions are varied. It could be that they have father,…