Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: Memory of Light by Ruth Vanita

A poignant passion A febrile strand of melancholia runs through the story, adding heft to a tale rich with detail, feeling and emotion In corona times, along comes a book that is best read slowly, leisurely, a meditative reflection on a found, lost, then recaptured love. Sumptuously descriptive, this love story has stately Lucknow, the…

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…

Book review: Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce

Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce. Hachette india. About halfway into this book, an account of the author`s foray into Iran in 2011 on her motorcycle, I realised the book was less travelogue and more a political account of modern-day Iran. However, I had no grouse with that because Pryce stays on-point all through, and the…

Photo Feature: Ullapool on Isle of Skye, Scotland

Sometimes, you pull out a plate to heap sliced tomatoes on, and it opens the door immediately to a Nostalgia Trip: to Ullapool, a fishing village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. All photos by Sheila Kumar and subject to copyright. The crockery cupboard at the charming B & B, Rosslyn Cottage, where…

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 …

Book review: Hurree Jamset Ram Singh in the Billy Bunter books

I wonder if anyone else on here was as conflicted about the character Hurree Jamset Ram Singh of the Billy Bunter books, he of the supposedly sage and incomprehensible pronouncements like “the wishfulness of the jug that goes to the well is terrific.“ Apart from the confusion regarding that name, which inferred the character was…

Book review: My Father`s Garden by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

And once in a rarish while, along comes a book, the contents of which are seamlessly compatible with its jacket pic. Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar`s MY FATHER`S GARDEN (Speaking Tiger Books) is one such book. The reader`s eye is caught and held first by the sumptuous illustration on the cover. And once they start to read…

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…