Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: In The New Year….

Make it a happy 2016 ! If the passing of time is inexorable, it is also slightly ridiculous. Ridiculous because before we know it, the year has shut shop, another year is about to dawn on us, and there we are, pretty much where we were last December. As the saying goes, plus ça change,…

Book review: A Hero for Hire by Zac O`Yeah

Hari, namma hero Back in 2013, when Hari Majestic made his appearance on the Bangalore gumshoe shuffle, my book blogpost had this to say: The hero is utterly irresistible with his well-oiled hair, a startling addiction to chicory, and a heart of gold. Everyone greets everyone else with “oota aiytha?” (had food?), there are people rejoicing…

Book review: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin

Even as winter is coming This book needs to come with a disclaimer: it is being reviewed by one who remains untouched by the Game of Thrones saga by the redoubtable George R R Martin. That is because I have not — yet — read the books or watched the cult television series. This book…

Book review: The Noodle-maker of Kalimpong by Gyalo Thondup with Anne F Thurston

The Noodle Maker Of Kalimpong: The Untold Story Of My Struggle For Tibet by Gyalo Thondup with Anne F. Thurston (Random House India). Jeremy Bernstein says in his 1987 New Yorker article: There is something profoundly moving about the Tibetan way of life. About its religious essence. One feels instinctively that if this civilization were crushed…

Book review: Aleph Books` City Monographs

Cry, the beloved city It is neither compulsory nor mandatory but I feel the need to make this admission: I am not an outsider. Though not of Kannada origin, I have been a resident of Bangalore/Bengaluru since the start of the 80s. That`s been over three decades, during which I have lived, worked, married, learned…

Feature: How Relevant Are You?

How relevant are you? We don’t analyse it much, but it’s astonishing what we do to stay relevant. Relevant to who? Why, to our kith and kin, our friends and neighbours, the people we work for, the people we work with, the people who work for us, indeed, to the section of the whole wide…

Feature: The Hindu Bridal Book Articles

Bridal Aunty is back! This time she tackles the problems that unwittingly arise from those around the bridal couple. Q. I`m getting married in two months` time. Everything should be fine and…

Travel: Chinese Checkers

Chinese checkers It took a 20-day trip for me to ascertain some things about China All the literature I had read, which, admittedly, was of China of the old, not the modern glitzy country I saw, had led me to believe that it was not the cleanest of places. Not true. Not true at all….

Feature: The Sathya Saran Interview

Chronicle of a ghazal singer Sathya Saran talks about her book on ghazal singer Jagjit Singh. Sathya Saran is as busy as ever. The former editor of Femina now writes articles as a freelancer, books as an author, and edits and assigns books as Consulting Editor, HarperCollins Publishers India. She also teaches fashion journalism at…

Feature: Shopaholics Galore!

Shop till you drop? Don’t! SHEILA KUMAR Retail therapy makes for good jokes but not good advice. One can easily cross the line between enthusiastic shopper and compulsive shopper We are forever hearing that retail therapy is the best cure for all sorts of blues, and your bank balance be damned. We also know…