Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: Uncommon Type, Some Stories by Tom Hanks

Pounding on the keys So, here it is, Tom Hanks’s literary debut. But then Hanks has had stints with the written word before, having written screenplays for the HBO docudrama From the Earth to the Moon. He is an intelligent and articulate man as has been clear to those who have followed his…

Travel: Mudigere getaway

MUDIGERE Hinterland holiday Going with the flow is a good way to go while on vacation in Mudigere. The first epiphany hit about 5km beyond Belur. We were headed to our getaway at a Chikmagalur lakeside resort and so, were duly listing out all Chikmagalur tourist attractions. The road from Bengaluru, actually the national highway,…

Book review: Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent

This is more a brief take than review of the book. Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent. Simon and Schuster. And once in a while, along comes a book which informs every bit as much as it entertains. This travelogue is one such. Bolingbroke-Kent hires a Hero motorbike and rides off into Arunachal…

Book review: The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

This is more a brief take than review of the book. The Golden House by Salman Rushdie. Penguin/Hamish Hamilton I don`t know what to make of this book, I really don`t. After Arundhati Roy offloaded her somewhat chaotic treasure chest on the unsuspecting reader a short while ago, Salman Rushdie follows in her footsteps, much…

Book review: American Assassin by Vince Flynn

Skip the book, watch the movie! America`s James Bond is written up in a very unoriginal style. American Assassin by Vince Flynn, is the first of a series of books that feature the protagonist Mitch Rapp. Visit Flynn’s website and you see fans sending in emails about how Rapp is their favourite character,…

Book review: When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy

When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy. Juggernaut Books There`s no getting around it, this book is a wrenching read for the reader, all the more so for the female reader. The unnamed narrator, a poet flying high but yet to get to the top of her game, decides to, rather suddenly, marry a man…

Humour: Indians lazy? How dare you!

The flip side of laziness A new study recently dubbed Indians the laziest people in the world. Sheila Kumar attempts a languid rebuttal What is this, I say. Why has this magazine study said that we are the laziest lot in the world? Do not believe this for a moment. The matter is deeper…

Book review: Small Towns, Big Stories by Ruskin Bond

This is more a brief take than review. Small Towns, Big Stories by Ruskin Bond (Aleph Publications) Another little gem from the inimitable Bond, Ruskin Bond. Herein are tales from the villages, hamlets and townships of his beloved hills, accounts of interesting and eccentric people, sundry leopards, bears and birds, and all of it infused…

Book review: Khullam Khulla by Rishi Kapoor

This is more a brief take than review of the book. My holiday reading was Rishi Kapoor`s Khullam Khulla, (HarperCollins) and a thoroughly enjoyable read it turned out to be. All through, you sense the polish given by co-author veteran film journalist Meena Iyer but it is Rishi Kapoor`s strident voice heard in the book,…

Photo Feature: An Eden with a serpent in Konni, Kerala

From lush greenery to pristine rivers, the stunning beauty of Kerala’s Konni Even given Kerala’s propensity for verdant vegetation, one could well believe that this is some part of the Amazon rainforest! All photos by Sheila Kumar and subject to copyright. Sheila Kumar / September 27, 2017 Konni is a hill town in Pathanamthitta district,…