Food shows in India often turn into vanity projects with celebrity chefs faffing around, putting up uninspired stuff and garnishing it unfailingly with a mint leaf. The requisite research, the detailing of atmosphere, an interesting context, good production values and hosting skills that hold your attention are by and large missing in Indian food shows. […]
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Month: June 2015
A Dose Of Design Inspiration
I recently gave away a decade -old collection of interior design magazines. Packed in them were my dreams of owning a space I can call my own. A home made with sun-baked bricks, lime-washed walls embedded with coloured glass to let in the sun in rainbow beams, recycled wood doors, a verandah that has […]
No Nuance In Prejudice
A few important things were noted by the social media in the past few days. The Daily Show’s host Jon Stewart spoke his mind about America’s response to the mass shooting in a South Carolina church. The birth anniversary of slain Pakistani activist Sabeen Mahmood was observed with a Qawali recital at T2F, the […]
Why FTII Is Up In The Arms..
When an institution produces artistes who are going to possibly shape the way we perceive the world, it must have inspirational administrators and teachers. The enormity of the influence an enlightened guide can have on a student can be seen in the way former FTII (Film and Television Institute) students talk about mentors like Kumar […]
For a Free And Fair World
“May I be protector for those without one, A guide for all travellers on the way;” ~ Shantideva, in A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. The gorgeous Goan monsoon is washing my windows squeaky clean, and as I’m lying around in bed, I’m suddenly thinking of Sealdah railway station. I was there just […]
How Different Am I?
If you thought it was hard not being the best, or rather being the second best, wait until you discover what it feels like to not even be in the top three. To cut the long story short – losing sucks! So I am a part of a group called Toastmasters International, which basically is […]
No Quick Fixes Possible
No this is not yet another ode to Maggi noodles, so you can stop groaning. Maggi was on my black list for a while now after I heard about the wax coating on the noodles and that it is difficult to digest. Anyhow over the past several years I have been slowly weaning my family off […]
Heartless
You and me dancing together Our steps .. in rhythm with each other Our hands understand Our minds sing together We walk, we skip, we jump, we fly, we soar You thrust.. I parry I move ..you respond We are locked in time And lost too The mind stops tracking details Rhythm Reprise Resonance And […]
Correa :The Architect Of Inclusion
At about 7.50 am on Wednesday, architect Bijoy Ramachandran of Hundred hands messaged his acquaintances: “Sad news. Correa passed away at 11.45 pm, Tuesday night.” For those who had heard 84-year-old architect, planner, activist and theoretician Charles Correa at the JN Tata Auditorium in Bengaluru last year, this moment brought a sense of personal loss […]
Of Grief, Loss And Hope
Confessional writing can tear you apart, plunge deep into your darkest memories and like EM Forster would say, spread them out in the sunlight so that you as well those reading you can know the meaning of them. But there is confessional writing that seeks to understand and resolve pain and writing that just wants […]
Daddy’s Little Girl?
“My Dad always wore the pants in the family,” shared Avika, my buddy. She is married and expects her husband to do the same. She avoids confrontations and standing up for herself. She is a people pleaser. She is even willing to give up her high-paying job and her identity to get the affirmation from her man. When I […]
Take Me Back
Take me back where dreaming was the only goal Life wasn’t a race… Playing, the only chore Everyone had one face Noise was just the waves ebbing No rules applied to choices Freedom spanned like the sky Peace was a meadow Little was enough for you and me Take me back To the perfect […]