Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Travel: Waterford, Ireland

Chasing crystals For all its chequered past, Waterford Crystal still holds all the magic you expect from a legend, writes Sheila Kumar, after a tour of the crystal factory in Ireland. “Why Waterford,” asks Bryan, mine host. “They have fallen on bad times. Most of the products are now made in eastern Europe.” In…

Humour: Travelling with the Paleface

Brownfaces amongst palefaces beside the Tiber Being an Indian in a coach full of foreigners in Italy has its advantages and disadvantages, discovers Sheila Kumar To be fair, we had insisted that we tour foreign parts, as it were, with anyone but Indians. Don’t get me wrong, I am as fond of my fellow Indian…

Feature: That Sugar Rush!

Drowning in a sugar rush at Olive Beach restaurant The strawberry consommé-drenched yogurt sorbet slides down my throat, smooth as honey but with a deliciously gritty undertaste. I take a deep breath of appreciation which coincides with my dinner companion’s rueful comment. “This is splendid. But omg, shouldn’t we be thinking of the damage it…

Feature: When Did I Become That Mom?

When did I become that mom? It’s well past midnight and SK and I are as tense as a pair of wound-up violins. Our daughter, our only child, had called an hour ago to tell us she was setting off homewards … and home is just a 15-minute drive from where she was. We were…

Travel: The Mesquita in Cordoba, Spain

Spain’s secular structure The traveller touring Spain cannot but notice the fact that right across the country, Moorish architecture sits peacefully alongside Roman and Baroque styles. Monuments containing both Islamic and Christian influences are all well maintained and shown off to visitors with much pride. Cordoba, to the south of Spain’s capital Madrid, is…

Travel: Assisi, Italy

A Medieval wonder Assisi, the hometown of St Francis, is the prettiest hill town ever, according to Sheila Kumar. It is a grey day, leaden clouds scudding over dull skies, a threat of rain in the moisture-laden air, the day we visit Assisi, in the Umbrian region of Italy. I refuse to be cowed…

Feature: BB Creams

The cream behind many a dream The BB cream promises to be many things in one tube. What’s more, it seems to deliver too, as users swear by it. Let`s take a close look at this wonder cosmetic. Oh, it’s a good life for women. First there was foundation. Then there was make- up base,…

Feature: Monkey Bar Restaurant Review

LIVING IN THE KITCHEN Good food served at a pub? Why not? The concept of a gastropub is fast catching on. I am probably outing Bangalore’s newest secret: a neat mix of good, unpretentious food, innovative cocktails, mocktails, and some fabulous old-fashioned rock and retro music at Monkey Bar, India’s first gastropub. In that order….

Travel: Khajuraho, all sexed up

All `saxed’ up A woman tourist goes unescorted to Khajuraho and gets a whole new perspective on the place THE guide’s voice is leer-laden, hissy. “Want to see a sax,” he asks me, insistently. I stare at him and contemplate replying, “No thanks, I’ve been rocked enough.” That would have been the god-given truth,…

Feature: The `Mazing Macaron

The cult cookie First, a question. Is it macaron or macaroon? We need to tweak that old Shakespearean saying here: confectionary by any other spelling just does not taste the same. But more on that later. Macarons have been around for a while but when cupcakes began their run on fame, the former retired to…