The New Sunday Express Magazine

Book review: Bimbisar`s Curse by Tanushree Podder

Burden of a king When we first meet the great king of the Magadh Empire, Bimbisar, he is weak and infirm, imprisoned by his son in a cold dark dungeon. As he reflects on the circumstances that brought him to this sorry pass, history unfolds before us. Early on in the narrative, Bimbisar vows to…

Book review: Nautch Boy by Manish Gaekwad

Bittersweet memories Nautch Boy is a companion piece to the author`s affecting 2023 memoir of his mother, The Last Courtesan. Here, while still training focus on the formidable Rekhabai and her life after retiring/giving up the career of a tawaif, he opens a door into his own life and growing up feeling unloved and unwanted…

Opinion: A brief meditation on grief

Grief is a many-splendoured thing With all that`s happening around us – war, genocide, displacement, disease – this is as good a time as any to talk about the nature of grief and grieving. Grief, say clinical psychologists, is a universal emotion, a natural response to loss. It hits us in small and big waves,…

Opinion: Do You Have A Special Friend?

I`m a big believer in that special friendship between a man and a woman who might or might not be connected to each other by ties of blood but are very definitely connected by ties of the emotional kind. This is a relationship forged over time, where they`ve seen each other through times thick and…

Column: When enough is enough

Enough, already! Let`s play a quick word game. I`ll throw a word at you, and you make the necessary associations. The word, used as a noun, is: enough. In response, I hear you say: ordinary. Limited. Average, tepid. No more, no less. My turn now. And I`m saying: equanimity. Balance, liberation. Happiness. I`m saying we…

Column: Happy is as happy does

In the pursuit of happiness, being kind is key Could we dwell for a few moments on the concept of happiness, please? Truth to tell, after Pharrell Williams` catchy tune of the same name, we haven’t really paused to think too hard about the state of being happy. Again, truth to tell, we lead uber-hectic…

Column: All who wander are lost but happily so

The Popcorn Brain syndrome Tech terminology has unleashed another kicker on us, telling us all about the popcorn brain and how to avoid developing one. The term refers to a multitude of kernel-like thoughts jostling about in one`s brain, rather than one or more substantial concepts. It was coined by a researcher at the University…

Column: Widen your circle of friends

Widen that circle and you`ll be happier A couple of things I read recently has stayed with me. One is an Eli Shafak quote which goes like this: humans think they know with certainty where their being ends and someone else`s starts. With their roots tangled and caught up underground, linked to fungi and bacteria,…

Column: On the Sanitisation of Well-loved Books

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater I recently watched Roger Waters, former Pink Floyd songwriter and bassist, the man who wrote the most scathing lyrics that shone a spotlight on war, violence, twisted men and women, twisted politics, defending himself against charges of anti-Semitism. After I intently searched Waters` monologue for any signs of…

Column: Deadlines and a Couple of Cappuccinos, Please

Coffeeshop chronicles: How WFC works for some, not all Soon after WFH became the ante-Covid and post-Covid norm, WFC — Working from Cafes — got its moment in the sun. WFC always had its devotees who had been quietly slipping into the nearest café, there to set up their notebooks, laptops and smartphones, order a…