Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: Anil Kumble, The Comeback Kid

Kumble, the Comeback Kid Flashback, fall 2000. Anil Radhakrishna Kumble, test spinner, record-breaker (who can forget that perfect 10?), pin-up for women who wouldn`t know a googly from a leg-break, Mr Really Nice Guy, had it all. And then, while playing in Sharjah in October 2000, an Act of God happened. Kumble hurt his shoulder….

Feature: The Jerry Pinto Interview

‘One per cent writing and 99 per cent rewriting’ Jerry Pinto speaks to SHEILA KUMAR about craft and the catharsis involved in telling the story of a mentally ill mother. Jerry Pinto is a writer who explores all the avenues of writing that open before him. His resume includes teaching mathematics and journalism, writing television scripts,…

Feature: The Silence of the Bangalorean

The (selective) silence of the Bangalorean The uglification of Bangalore seems well and complete. Our individual and collective silence has done us in. As with all such pieces, I open with a set of bulleted incidents that happened in the heart of Bangalore. Bangalore, mind you, not Bengaluru, because the focus of this article is…

Book review: Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Joy, despair, and a moral A modern retelling of an old fairy tale is also a compelling account of frontier life. The original version of this charming tale, by Eowyn Ivey, is titled Snegurochka and is in Russian. It is about an old couple who are visited by a fey creature of snow, a little girl…

Travel: Red Earth Kabini Resort, Karnataka

On a visit to the lovely Red Earth Kabini Resort, my first impressions is that the Kabini is such a beautiful river. In full spate now, whirlpools and eddies glimpsed in the far-from-still waters, the colour of gunmetal. Every now and then, the backwash rocks our reinforced coracle. But I have full faith…

Travel: Mother Mary`s House, Turkey

The house on the hill Legend has it that after the crucifixion, Mother Mary went to live in Turkey. We go explore the site. Our guide Cengiz is telling a fascinating story as the vehicle climbs the steep inclines of Mt. Koressos, the Bulbul Mountain, on the outskirts of the famed historical site of Ephesus….

Book review: When Mira Went Forth and Multiplied by Shinie Antony

A whole new spin on the old cliché: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Mira’s tale does not have the smoothest of starts, and the reader is more than a little startled to be set down bang in the middle of what appears to be a meltdown being suffered by the eponymous heroine….

Travel: The Bosphorus, Turkey

I just can’t help it. As I stand looking at the rippling swath of blue water, a line from an old Hindi film song comes to mind: “…tumsa nahin dekha.” I’m on the European side of Istanbul, staring at the Bosphorus. Over the last four days, I have taken in all of Istanbul’s many delights….

Travel: Bhutan

Kingdom of happiness Every step I take is hard work. My breath has started coming out in gasps. I am more than halfway up a very steep gradient. I just can’t turn back. Is this a time to measure my happiness quotient? Not really. It’s a cool day, mercifully, and the hills that…

Feature: Friendships that fade away

Those fading friendships Even BFFs grow apart, the physical or emotional distance resulting in a split. There is always the olive branch… provided you need one. Let’s begin with a true story. Shylaja and Hajira had been best friends, closerthanthis from the time they both went to the same primary school. They saw each…