Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Travel: Seven Things to Marvel at in New Zealand

Seven Things to Marvel at in New Zealand From natural beauty to fabulous food and unique local culture, this island country is pure magic The amazing waterbodies The deep blue of Lake Wakatipu; the ice-blue Waikato River With 4,25,000 km of rivers and streams, 4,000 lakes and over 200 underground aquifers at last…

Book review: Pyjamas Are Forgiving by Twinkle Khanna

Pyjamas are Forgiving review: Not much of a twinkle A tale of love and longing within the confines of an Ayurvedic spa. This is the third offering from the sharp and witty chronicler of our zeitgeist. Now, it may be an asset for the author or it may be a liability but there`s no getting…

Photo Feature: Sylvan Sri Lanka

All photos by Sheila Kumar and subject to copyright. The sea at Negombo On the road to Sigiriya At the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage The magnificent ruins of Pollonoruwa The Buddha`s feet in one the caves at Dambulla The pathway that leads to the…

Photo Feature: Views from a Bangalore Window

This appeared in The Hindu Metro Plus HASHTAG THIS column on 25 September 2018. All photos by Sheila Kumar and subject to copyright. And here are the snaps separately…. All photos by Sheila Kumar. All images are subject to copyright. Links to my other Photo Features: Photo Feature:…

Photo Feature: Kiwiland Calling!

All photographs by Sheila Kumar. Images are subject to copyright. The Southern Alps, freshly dusted with snow after Cyclone Gita. A symphony of colours. Big sky country. The Pacific Ocean in all its shimmering glory Lake Benmore at Omarama. The NZ troika: cows… . …bales…

Book Review: The Friend by Teresa Driscoll

A child is fighting for his life in hospital. The mother is far away, stuck on a train and desperately trying to reach that hospital. She may be responsible for her child having come to grievous harm. Then again, she may not be. Teresa Driscoll’s psychological thriller begins on this explosive note. Former…

Book review: Rebel Sultans by Manu S Pillai

Rebel Sultans by Manu S Pillai. Juggernaut Books. Manu Pillai, where were you when I was swotting for my History finals in high school, confusing the Bahmani rulers with the Qutb Shahi kings, the Bijapur rulers with the Gulbarga ones?! If I`d had your Rebel Sultans to hand, I`d have aced my paper! Plaintive question…

Travel: Milford and Marlborough, the Sounds of New Zealand

Speechless in the Sounds A strong ice-tipped wind is blowing through the Fiordland in New Zealand`s South Island when I board the launch that is to take me through the Milford Sound. This is big sky country and the gigantic, chubby clouds moving at a rapid clip overhead makes for a most dramatic sight….

Book review: The Baptism of Tony Calangute by Sudeep Chakravarti

The Baptism of Tony Calangute by Sudeep Chakravarti. Aleph Book Company. Chakravarti`s book was released in 2008 with the title Once Upon A Time In Aparanta but he felt it didn’t reach enough people. A decade later, it`s out again with a new title and a new publisher. I`ll confess I preferred the earlier title…

Travel: Zen Sites in Sri Lanka

Walking the path to Zen Where I take a trip to three well-preserved heritage sites in Sri Lanka and learns some lessons for life along the way Ritigala, deep inside very dense forests (`Strict Nature Reserve,` announces a signboard), ringedby the high and dense Ritigala mountain range, is not the most…