Features - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Guest column: Staying stylish in Covid times

With Covid blowing about in the wind, has style gone with the wind? I find myself gazing repeatedly at this photograph of a corona party (cue eye-roll), a Whatsapp forward I`m weirdly unwilling to delete. What I`m looking at is this pretty young thing in a canary-coloured miniskirt dancing madly, her Goth-black nails on defiant…

Profile of a Malayali Nurse – Sr. Florrie (Nightingale) Thomas

On the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale, and the year of COVID-19, the spotlight falls on the life-saving force that is the Malayali nurse. Meet Sr. Florrie (Nightingale) Thomas We are back to singing the praises of our homegrown Ladies in White, our newly consecrated frontline COVID-19 warriors. In the usual scheme of things, in…

Guest column: Distancing? Perish the Thought!

Distancing? Perish the Thought Now here’s the thing: distancing is not only an alien concept to us Indians, it also goes against our grain. Migrants who arrived from Maharashtra by a special train follow social distancing after deboarding at Charbagh railway station during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in Lucknow. (Photo | PTI) Now here’s…

Humour: The Song That Reduces Anxiety

Weightless worries during Covid times In which soothing music increased, not decreased, worry My sleepless nights are getting to be a matter of concern for my kith and kin. I`m a certified worrywart and the Virus-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named has worsened my…

Feature: The SRK Revelations, a Fangirl Story

This ran in FEMINA, where I was working at the time I met the Bollywood superstar. I cannot, in all honesty, say that meeting Shah Rukh Khan changed my life. But yes, it shattered some long-held myths and reinforced some others. The meeting occurred when SRK was shooting in my office for his home production …

Feature: Has humour lost its edge in Covid times?

ARE JOKES PERSONA NON GRATA DURING COVID-19? Coronavirus times. Tough times. As the infection is sweeping across country after country, toppling people, economies and virtually the world as we know it, it is being made clear to us that we need to recalibrate ourselves, our beliefs, our lifestyle. But we also need to hold onto…

Guest column: Staying alive, staying relevant

Staying alive, staying relevant The weeks of social distancing are stretching on, becoming as elastic as time itself. All the multitudes who displayed remarkable fortitude, a biting sense of humour and admirable pragmatism in facing the situation are now, understandably, chafing at the bit. Think about it. The new virus is the wild animal out…

Pandemic posts

Tuesday larfs… or why I shouldn`t read the Live Chats during a Pink Floyd concert. Fan A: Aaaaaaaah. Fan B: Any PF fans from India here? Fan C: Meeeee! Fan D: is this a live concert? Fan E: Bro, how can it be a live concert?…

Guest column: Hikikomori or Modern-day Hermits

Pulling inwards: The modern-day hermits Hikikomori is a severe withdrawal from love, from life, from people. The concepts have come from Japan, wrapped in words, sometimes uplifting, sometimes baneful. There is Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, an abstraction every bit as delightful as it sounds. There is Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery by mending…

Guest column: Millennials and their Morals

The morals of the millennial Y`know what? The millennials are doing well. Where there are millennials, there must be Baby Boomers. In fact, a congregation of Baby Boomers, shaking their head censoriously, waggling disparaging fingers, muttering sibilantly and not always below their breath. Just what is bothering all these Boomer uncles and aunties? Many things,…