Comfortably Numb - Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Travel: la Rambla, Barcelona

Rambling down La Rambla If Barcelona is an amazing city, la Rambla is its very heartbeat. It is hard to be in Barcelona and not be slack-jawed. There is so much life, living, and vibrant splendour all around. In ways small and large, Spain’s vital port city stands as a tribute to beauty. The blood-red…

Feature: The Deepika Govind Interview

‘A fabric for all seasons…’ Bengaluru’s Deepika Govind, who continues to stretch her job definition from designer to protector of ancient textiles and weaving methods, talks about her experiment with Eri silk. What inspired the Eri journey? I feel I have finally found my true calling with Eri. The collection enables me to work upon…

Travel: Vellore Fort

Jewel in the city of spears One of the things that hold endless fascination for me is the way life weaves itself around fort towns. For good or bad, dwellings, shops, a bustling marketplace, temples,all spring up around the mammoth granite walls of what hitherto was a place of war. Bells ring from temple courtyards…

Travel: Chartres, France

Catatonic in Chartres The beauty of the ancient cathedral as well as losing her wallet rendered SHEILA KUMAR utterly speechless in Chartres. OK, first things first. The shrine is all it claims to be. The oldest and most beautiful cathedral in Europe, say the guidebooks. On this chilly, late autumn morning, it stands in…

Feature: Litany, A Poem

Litany Don’t. Don’t dislodge that face veil, that head covering. Don’t sit with your thighs apart. Don’t refuse to open those thighs for him. Don’t let your eyes dance. Don’t let your voice lilt. Don’t lock gazes. With anyone. Don’t forget to cover your mouth when you laugh. Oh, and don’t smile so much. Don’t…

Travel: Hampi, Karnataka

Going around Hampi is a practice session in rock climbing —but the intricate and expansive work around is totally worth the effort. So, there we were, bowling along a fairly good road, on a day that had yet to switch from merely warm to sweltering. We were off to immerse ourselves in…

Feature: Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand: The enduring saga of Atlas Shrugged October was a special month for fans of Ayn Rand. It was the 50th anniversary of the publication of her grand polemic, Atlas Shrugged. And of course, there were celebrations, in the US as well as in India, the latter lot organized by the Delhi- based Liberty…

Feature: The Dangers of Detoxing

The dangers of detoxing Relentless fasting, fad dieting and colonic irrigation…not all of it is very good news. Detoxing has, for some years now, been the mantra for just about anything to do with the human body and mind; the way to a better skin, lustrous tresses, shining eyes, and of course and a calm…

Feature: Jaipur Lit Fest Sidelights

Jaipur Literature Festival: Can you repeat the answer, please? One quick question. Who was the rock star of the LitFest? ‘Twas Vikram Seth. Behaving like a distracted, sometimes dithering Oxford don, he launched on chatty monologues, read poetry in truly divine fashion, had the audience at ‘hello.’ Then he took one look at the snaking…

Travel: Samtse, Bhutan

Samtse symphony A haven in the land of the Thunder Dragon The crossing into Bhutan was made so seamlessly, we were in the Land of the Thunder Dragon (the capital letters add to the mystique!) before we knew it. We entered from the south-western tip, from Siliguri in sub-Himalayan West Bengal, to use the…