Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: Pradyumna by Usha Narayanan

A karmic burden There is valour, cowardice, glory, shame, sex, lies and deception in Pradyumna’s story. What do we know of Pradyumna? That he was Krishna and Rukmini’s eldest born who, even as he lay in his crib, was snatched away by an asura. Taken deep into the netherworld, the boy grows up to be something…

Book review: Ahmedabad, A City in the World by Amrita Shah

This is more a brief take than a review. Ahmedabad, a City in the World by Amrita Shah (Bloomsbury).Gandhi`s chosen city. Ahmed Shah`s domain. Commercial stronghold. Textile treasure-house. Crucible for the diamond industry. Land of the Sabarmati. Home to the prestigious IIM-A. Hindu revivalist lab. A city brought to heel by a flamboyant strongman who…

Travel: China Diary

China Diary The overarching impression is of a country where everyone has turned consumer with a vengeance. The Mao suit is grey I am in Beijing a week after the PLA parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of China’s war against Japan. On subway trains, the TV screens are beaming the visuals in a loop:…

Book review: Mrs Funnybones by Twinkle Khanna

Neat cute Mrs Funnybones by Twinkle Khanna (Penguin ) does that difficult to do thing: it sheds the baggage naturally accruing to a book written by a former starlet now star wife. What`s more, it sheds that weight while not repudiating a single fact of the author`s life and lifestyle. Meaning, it isn`t quite tales…

Book review: Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

Unboxed Writers We Write Stories. We Tell Stories. We Sell Stories. A phantasmagorical tale So I fell upon the latest book by the Master as befits a diehard fan and one who has avidly read all the pre-release breathless prose about how Rushdie had tweaked the ancient and eternally fascinating tale of `One Thousand and…

Travel: The Legend of Kung Fu, a Beijing Show

Broadway Style Ballet in Beijing I promise you: you could hear a pin drop. This is Beijing’s Red Theatre, with a façade so red that it hurts the eye! And this evening, the compact auditorium is silent but packed to the gills. Those waiting for the curtains to lift on The Legend of Kung…

Feature: The Vinay Sarvotham Interview

The Spine Whisperer Over the last few years, Dr Vinay Sarvotham has emerged as a non-invasive spine therapist of repute. In an interview, he discusses the challenges of treating spinal issues. What would you call your specialised field of healing? Are you an accupressurist? A chiropractor? Neither, actually. I am an acupressure and craniosacral therapist. But…

Book review: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Healing while walking Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed is not a fresh- off-the- press book. Wild released in 2012 and has been successfully made into a movie; the author has now branched out as a podcasting star with a `Dear Sugar` show online and of course, dealing with the multiple…

Photo Feature: Eating Chinese food in China

All photos by Sheila Kumar. All images are subject to copyright. Bouza. They made for a great breakfast and kept one going through the day. Jianbing. A fried egg crepe with all kinds of delicious fillings, veg and non-veg. We were gorging on these in the mornings when not scarfing down bouzas. Platter at an eatery…

Feature: The Writer on writing

Why does a Writer Write? By Sheila Kumar Published: 13th October 2015 I could be facetious and say I write because I can. But that wouldn’t be the whole truth. I write because I must. The ideas pour into my head at all times of the day and night and stay there, jostling around, till I discharge…