No, it’s not fun to be young now. I was browsing through television channels idly at my hotel and came across a programme telling people what not to wear. This young girl of 21 – 22, pretty but plump. Wears loose clothes and covers herself with a stole all the time – it’s become part… Continue reading (N)oh, to be young again!
This time, it’s personal
Enough and more has been said and written about the Delhi gangrape and the reactions of the nation to that horrific crime. I shed tears, along with many women I know, the day she died. I went for a peaceful protest demonstration at Shivaji Park, I discussed it endlessly with my husband and followed every… Continue reading This time, it’s personal
Battle of the beverages
It is early evening, still a couple of hours to go before the sun sets. In a roadside stall, a blackened pan sits on a single stove, a brown sludgy mixture of milk, tea, and sugar brewing in it since morning. And in front of the stall, a dozen men of all ages exchanging the… Continue reading Battle of the beverages
A moveable commune
Shakespeare and Company is a bookstore in Paris where one feels like being in one’s own apartment, just exactly how founder George Whitman wanted it to be, says Charukesi Ramadurai George Whitman liked to call himself the Don Quixote of the Latin Quarter. His windmills were the faceless bookstore chains and one-size-fits-all websites that threatened… Continue reading A moveable commune
Chills and thrills
My story in The Hindu on marking 60 years of The Mousetrap, celebrating good crime writing and lamenting about all that gore in modern day crime fiction. I’ve already ranted at the Scandinavians once long ago on this blog – just treat this as a longer rant. Sixty years after The Mousetrap’s premiere, there is… Continue reading Chills and thrills
Brands from a childhood in Chennai
Adman Santosh Desai has this interesting little piece in Outlook about his the malted drinks of his childhood days – Horlicks and Bournvita. He says, rightly, that drinking Horlicks was an awful experience, especially given that the brand was sold aggressively in milk-scarce states as a substitute for milk, just Horlicks mixed with hot water.… Continue reading Brands from a childhood in Chennai
Bollywood romances the rains
With the arrival of the rains, the scorching temperatures of summer in most of India have abated. The dry, parched browns of the cities are slowly turning a lush green. The Mumbai monsoon rains are like a much-anticipated guest – the first few days are magical; everything you longed for and waited for through the… Continue reading Bollywood romances the rains
Celebrating pure and absolute nonsense
This year marks the bicentenary of the man who gave us the delightful image of the owl and the pussycat who sailed away together, married in the land of the bong tree and ate quince with runcible spoons. Edward Lear (1812- 1888), the acknowledged master of the limerick, described his own work as “nonsense, pure… Continue reading Celebrating pure and absolute nonsense
In sickness and in health
Barbara had been diagnosed as depressive and was under treatment for the condition for several years before she discovered that she was bipolar. She signed up on a networking website and rigorously monitored her moods through charts on her profile page. It was here that she noticed how frequently her mood fluctuations went from being… Continue reading In sickness and in health
Tell me a story
Long time no blog. For now, here is a longish story I wrote for The National on oral storytelling traditions in India. I had great fun researching for and writing this story. To watch Jeeva Raghunath tell a story is a bit like being transported back to one’s childhood; those days of innocence when you… Continue reading Tell me a story