Comfortably Numb

Feature: A prolific chef and his new venture LUPA

From strength to delectable strength We all know of prolific authors/artists/musicians but Bangalore has the happy distinction of having one very prolific chef, the uberpopular Chef Manu Chandra. Having burst onto the local food scene in 2004 with his Olive Beach, the past years have seen Chef Manu helming pleasing and profitable eateries both in…

Book review: Bangalore Blues by Kirtana Kumar

BANGALORE BLUES by Kirtana Kumar. Little Jasmine Press. So, this delightful book is in a category of its own: it`s an IFYYK book. There are 32 short stories (and one poem) in here, along with a very moving essay, and all of them are guaranteed to strike a chord with ye olde Bangalorean (YOB). By…

Book review: Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

The good, bad and the ugly Deepti Kapoor blew readers away with her 2014 debut novel, A Bad Character. Nine years on, she`s back with Age of Vice and it would be no exaggeration whatsoever to say that this book too, is blowing readers away. Adopting an almost austere style in telling the old- old…

Book review: The Half Known Life by Pico Iyer

The Half-known Life, In Search of Paradise by Pico Iyer. Penguin Books. The gifted writer sets out in search of a paradise on earth as well as in the mind. No prizes for guessing where the true paradise is to be found, of course. Iyer gets in a deeply reflective state of mind as he…

Book review: Ambapali by Tanushree Podder

The courtesan`s story Historical fiction has been having its day in the sun for some time now and the story of Ambapali has been considered so fascinating that it has spawned books, movies, as well as a television serial. In this retelling, Tanushree Podder does more than justice to this familiar story which translates here…

Book review: Spare by Prince Harry

The Spare strikes back So here are the facts as we know it: The book flew off the shelves in the prince`s home country, as fast as that other Harry`s broomstick on the Quidditch field, selling 1. 4 million copies on its launch day itself. That it`s one big whinge-fest from a seriously troubled not-so-young…

Column: Getting into all kinds of stuff

Getting into all kinds of stuff Tell me something. Is it just me or have you too noticed a recent trend where one word is freely and frequently misused? I`m talking about the word `into` used as a preposition. For far too many years, I`d been introduced at parties as my husband`s missus, who was…

Book review: Way of the Witch by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti

The Wiccan way Everything you wanted to know about witchcraft, says the tagline, and India`s First Wiccan delivers on that promise. Long credited for bringing the practice of Wicca out of the fog of ignorance, superstition and calumny, Ipsita lays it all out in this book, as clear as the crystals Wiccan use in their…

Book review: Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin

PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOTHER by Kyung-Sook Shin. Hachette India Books. Alright, I`ll confess: I picked this book up only because of the buzz that has surrounded it ever since it released a decade ago. Written by one of South Korea`s most widely read writers, a million-copy bestseller, winner of the Man Asian literary prize, the…

Photo feature: Kochi, Biennale sidelights

Sidelights at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022-23 All photos by Sheila Kumar and subject to copyright.