Features Archives - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: The Kdrama Fashion Reveals

Men in greatcoats and women in ruffles: Kdrama reveals So, let me plunge those of you who aren’t really too conversant with Korean dramas straight into the deep end. Be warned, this deep dive into the hallyu (wave, referring to the tsunami-strength popularity enjoyed by Kdramas) will involve some startling adjustments of your hitherto held…

Guest column: The grim and the whimsical

The grim and the whimsical exist side by side today To misquote Dickens, it certainly is the worst of times and not so much the best of times. The seemingly interminable banks of dark clouds haven’t drifted off yet, they continue to darken our skies and our lives. Anxiety levels are still peaking, optimism is…

Guest column: Seeking that elusive silver lining

Desperately seeking that silver lining Just yesterday, a Charlie Mackesy cartoon landed on my Instagram feed. It featured the now famous little boy, the horse and the dog. The boy was asking `What`s the best thing you’ve learned about storms?` and the horse answered, `That they end.` In better circumstances, that positive note would have…

Guest column: This is us

This is us The basic truth is, we are operating on a twin level of new normal now. And there is a sizeable population which believes that this new normal is perfectly alright, feeds off on the oftentimes toxic adrenaline released by this new normal, and has slowly integrated it into the mainstream. Covid-19 is…

Guest column: Time to create a personal beyul

Time to create a personal beyul Now that the virus is back with us again, and the more sensible among us are all huddled indoors wfh, binge-watching movies and generally giving in to feelings of despair, may I offer a suggestion? Let us shore up our personal beyuls. What is a beyul? The word stands…

Feature: The Mita Kapur Interview

`I think the pandemic really drove home the fact that literature and art are more than just for leisure; they are necessary to fully appreciate life and keep sane in difficult times.` Mita Kapur took over as Literary Director of the JCB Prize for Literature just a few months before the pandemic wrapped itself around…

Guest column: Nostalgia, with a Side of Wistfulness

So, I`m no Luddite but neither am I a Stevie Jobs, with a cutting edge understanding of tech change. However, all those Whatsapp forwarded- many-times clips singing a nostalgic tune about Flit spray cans, bicycle bells and Dalda tins bring forth the merest of smiles, nothing more, in me. Because nostalgia notwithstanding, some things wrought…

Feature: Still in Seoul

Happily drowning in the hallyu Where I fess up about coming late in the day to Kdramas but becoming an addicted consumer soon enough. Maybe I need to check myself into a de-addiction clinic, like now. A Kdrama de-addiction clinic. The hallyu crept up on me so slowly, so stealthily, I didn’t realise I’d caught…

Guest column: The 10 Percent Solution

The ten percent solution I wish to state at the outset that I`m not an employee of the Mari Kondo Foundation, and not in that legendary Sorter`s pay, either. But yes, I am making a case for letting go all that we gather and hold like, forever. Let`s face it, we are a species of…

Guest column: A Tale of Four Cities

A tale of four cities A quartet of places that showcases the best of human resilience. Drubovnik. Plitvice. Budapest. Prague. Places I visited a few months before the pandemic swept over the world and effectively locked us down. While I was rubber-necking as hard as any other tourist, taking in the stunning sights and tucking…