She stood at the end of the long gali. He was waiting still. Standing patiently, peeping from behind the yellow minaret next to the big gate. Hundreds of pigeons sat on the gate's rusted iron rods and the pale, cold cement of ...Read More
Freedom of speech is increasingly becoming an anomaly in India, especially in the creative arts and like theatre personality Nadira Babbar recently said about the absence of collective liberalism, “Sab bura manne ko tayyar baithe hain." Or as the catchline of the play says, ...Read More
You could have stepped into a science lab. A hand drawn human brain connected to jumbled up wires sits precariously on one wall. Several similar drawings across the remaining space create an anatomical collage of the brain’s journey and make ...Read More
One balmy afternoon,
I built a house with cloth and bamboo shoots.
walls splashed with yellow and brown roses.
Egyptian cotton, I still remember!
Soft and warm I curled in them.
Empty utensils bubbling with joy,
on a fire stoked by my dreams.
A cabbage patch wrapped ...Read More
We've all heard those sayings: "beauty is only skin-deep", "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Clichés? Sure, but many of us find them reassuring too. Sadly, societal expectations and pressures can make it so hard for us to ...Read More
Chef Sanjay Tyagi never uses the garam masala in his cooking. "Haven't used it for over 20 years," he says. The reason? In his food, as in his life, he wants different flavours to speak for themselves. To stand out. To be ...Read More
Imagine this.
You are floating. Like a dreamy cloud in the starry sky. Like a leaf in a cool pool. Like almond slivers on a hot cup of kahwa. Like a lingering kiss on a cheek.
You are still, but it is ...Read More
First things first. It is the sheer tactile beauty of Kung Fu Panda 2 that takes you by the scruff and bounces you across the three dimensional world of a Chinese countryside. We float over trees and watch them meditate in swirly mists. We skim tapestries of ...Read More
If you remember the seven minutes of Shefali Shah in Ram Gopal Varma's Satya, you will remember also that she was the only beam of credible innocence in the film.
If you remember her in Meera Nair's Monsoon Wedding, you will remember also that she ...Read More
Have you ever tried to open the window and see what lies behind?
The little blue window that lies framed in the crimson wall.
The loose latch through which a stream of dust pours in, made visible by the straw coloured sunlight.
I am ...Read More
It began with Emosanal Attyachar. When I watched Dev D a few years ago, I felt as if my insides had been churned and that Sarat Chandra Chatterjee had died once again. There was nothing wrong cinematically with the film. The first half was visceral and brutally ...Read More
I have bathed in my tears several times
Hoping to relieve my soul and wash away the pain….
I have broken and shattered my heart
to once and for all find a way to repair its core…
I have a ‘to-do’ for every wakeful moment
so that ...Read More
