Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Feature: So, What`s the Goss?

Don`t tell anyone, okay? Like it or not, gossip makes the world go round. The savvy thing here would be to stay on top of the rumour mills. A few lessons on managing the eternally thrumming grapevine. Ask me all about gossip. I know. I was living and working in the capital…

Books: Me and my favourite reads

SHELF ESTEEM The Ayatollah and I weren’t on the same page What are you reading right now? The Patna Manual of Style by SIDDHARTH CHOWDHURY, though in a mystified fashion. Which book, author or series do you reach out for when you just want a comfort read? Life at Blandings or any of…

Travel: Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh

The notional vacation In Hudhud`s wake It’s been more than six months since cyclone Hudhud tore through these parts, but the traces of devastation still haven’t been completely wiped out — at least not in Vizag and its surroundings. Trees stand curiously aslant, like drunk sentinels, but with new green shoots emerging tentatively. In the…

Humour: The post-metrosexual man

The Post-Metrosexual Man When the metrosexual man made his appearance, half- mincing, half-strutting across the world’s stage, I curled a lip, but kept quiet. I told myself this creature won’t last long in Mardistan, a country that flies its macho flag at nauseating heights. Those were famous last words. Even as I was bidding a…

Feature: The Hindu Bridal Book Articles

Wedding Day questions? Ask the Bridal Aunty! BA is a combination of your favourite aunt and a desi Emily Post. Here, she has some straight and not-so-straight answers to all those big day qs! Q. My BFF is getting married and with three weeks to go, she`s turning into a classic Bridezilla. She wants her…

Feature: The Hindu Bridal Book Articles

THE HINDU BRIDAL BOOK Notes to oneself Some matters should be kept between the bride and herself! The big day is finally here, or almost. Your big day. Even as…

Photo Feature: Paths…

Paths….. All photos by Sheila Kumar. All images are subject to copyright. These are tracks, bridle paths and trails I took on a recent holiday in the Kumaon foothills. We each are on a journey Each journey has a path As we travel to our futures We…

Book review: A Clutch of Indian Masterpieces

Briefly, but with feeling First, the good news. They are all here: Tagore, Premchand, Manto, Chughtai. R K Narayan, Amrita Pritam, Ruskin Bond, Gulzar, Anita Desai. Thakazhi, Basheer, Paul Zacharia, Mahasweta Devi, Ambai, U R Ananthamurthy. Vikram Seth, Irwin Allan Sealy, Cyrus Mistry, Shashi Tharoor, Vikram Chandra. And the cherry on the icing? This compilation…

Book review: Urnabhih by Sumedha V. Ojha

Love in the shadow of intrigue Sumedha Ojha has set this fast-paced thriller in the Mauryan age, a little after the adventurer turns king and is crowned Chandragupta Maurya. The story gets off to a somewhat stilted start and the awkward language (more about that, anon) only serves to drag it down. However, the turnabout…

Travel: In Brughes

In Bruges This Flemish town is easily one of the most picturesque spots in Europe. To say I was charmed is putting it mildly. My boutique hotel stood next to the huge St. Salvatore Cathedral. Every time I opened the curtains, the dun-coloured stone of the church walls took on a new hue; partly…