Sheila Kumar - Comfortably Numb

Feature: Down with Brown!

Fashion in Dune, Tan, Walnut, Cinnamon? No, Thank You I`m anti-brown. Not where terra firma is concerned. Not in furniture, though brown sofas invariably give me a nagging headache. Not on footwear and handbags, though I did bin my LV Neverfull tote for a Michael Kors bag the colour of blood on the dance floor….

Book review: Where the Indus is Young by Dervla Murphy

I agree that this book was written back when times were less complicated, when people generally minded their own business and didn’t waste time or energy in trolling others. However. Where the Indus is Young is Dervla Murphy`s 1977 account of three months spent in the wilderness of Baltistan, living the rough life, subsisting on apricots…

Feature: In conversation with Andaleeb Wajid

‘I write constantly, consistently’: Andaleeb Wajid Andaleeb Wajid is a household name in Bengaluru, with a large oeuvre —18 novels and counting — that spans genres like Young Adult, romance, sci-fi and horror. Recently, a couple of her books have been optioned by film production houses. Wajid started off with slice-of-life stories about…

Book review: Lullaby by Leila Slimani

Cradle fall and all This book is such an immersive experience, you find yourself exhaling long and deeply when you come to the last page. It’s the kind of book where you sit up as something strikes you; where you wince as you see what`s coming before the characters do. Where you sharply draw…

Photo Feature: Critters of Odisha

All photos by Sheila Kumar. All images are subject to copyright. A collage of creatures seen across Odisha during our recent trip therein Outside the Lingaraja temple complex in Bhubaneshwar. Making light of history at the Rajarani temple in Bhubaneshwar. Two comrades outside the Khandagiri Caves outside Bhubaneshwar. Calmly appropriating…

Travel: Indian Tourists: The Way We Are

Nightmare tourists on steroids When on holiday, we desis know just how to jump from being bindaas to crass. I read of the incident that happened last month where the Royal Caribbean International line had to refund passengers after 1,300 Indian men from a gutka company came on board the Voyager of the Seas for…

Travel: Dambulla Caves, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka`s Dambulla Cave Temple stuns the viewer into an awed silence. Of late, I have broken a long-time habit, that of reading up on a place before I visit it. Because, when you go someplace you know little or nothing about, the visual pleasure of what you come across is underlaid with…

Book review: Pyjamas Are Forgiving by Twinkle Khanna

Pyjamas are Forgiving review: Not much of a twinkle A tale of love and longing within the confines of an Ayurvedic spa. This is the third offering from the sharp and witty chronicler of our zeitgeist. Now, it may be an asset for the author or it may be a liability but there`s no getting…

Travel: Milford and Marlborough, the Sounds of New Zealand

Speechless in the Sounds A strong ice-tipped wind is blowing through the Fiordland in New Zealand`s South Island when I board the launch that is to take me through the Milford Sound. This is big sky country and the gigantic, chubby clouds moving at a rapid clip overhead makes for a most dramatic sight….

Travel: Zen Sites in Sri Lanka

Walking the path to Zen Where I take a trip to three well-preserved heritage sites in Sri Lanka and learns some lessons for life along the way Ritigala, deep inside very dense forests (`Strict Nature Reserve,` announces a signboard), ringedby the high and dense Ritigala mountain range, is not the most…