Guess who vroomed into town recently. The first stunner groomed by Aston Martin’s ‘Second Century’ plan, the heir of the illustrious ‘DB’ bloodline, the most powerful Aston to wear a DB badge, the most awaited all new Aston Martin DB11! This beautiful beast was showcased at ITC Gardenia, Bangalore on October 17, 2016. We […]
American satirist Sarah Silverman recently sat down with New Yorker’s editor Andy Borowitz and said that Trump was infact a mirror of a section of the American society that believes in the xenophobic, narrow version of American nationalism. A nationalism that hates, excludes and wants to always be ‘Number One.” In what she asked, […]
In a world where hate is normalised through conversations, social media exchanges, images, sound bytes, war is a constant news ticker and pain has lost its pungency because it is so pervasive, how do we stay hopeful? By not just noticing beauty, but creating it. By focusing on light. And colour. For Japanese American artist […]
Calvin breathes gently. Despite the pain and exhaustion, despite the air of resignation that hangs around him, he seems peaceful. The morning sun is brutal, but Calvin continues to lie in the blinding brightness that escapes the curtains. Calvin. Our sunshine. Father, Mother, and I have locked our gazes on the boy. If our thoughts […]
Lakshmi Kannan’s debut novel in English charts the life of two remarkable women, Kalyani, a child bride, and Vishalakshi, a young widow in pre-Independence Madras. Both the women display admirable grace under pressure and at some point, the story becomes a celebration of woman power. Kannan deftly highlights the various issues women had to face […]
Lost in Terror by Nayeema Mahjoor (Published by Penguin Random House India) is about one woman’s battle against the forces within and without. About the book: Cast in the background of the uprising against the armed forces in Kashmir in the late 1980s, Lost in Terror is the tale of a young, educated, career conscious woman […]
“I am a forbidden name in my country now, as in my beloved West Bengal, a prohibited person and a banned book. … I should most definitely not be read lest it sparks rage and unrest. This is me; thus I have always been.” Penguin presents Exile: A Memoir by Taslim Nasrin, a account of the author’s journey […]
In 1987, Roopkuvarba Kanwar, a Rajput woman was celebrated by a huge number of people in her community for committing Sati at Deorala village of Sikar district in Rajasthan. She was just 18 and had been married for just eight months to one Maal Singh Shekhawat. Thousands of people watched her immolation into a heap of […]
Kaale kale pig pe peeli peeli daant”, reads the letter somebody placed inside my desk. It takes my eight-year old mind a few seconds to process the message scribbled in pencil. To realise, that because of my plump build and dark complexion, I am the aforementioned “kaala pig with the peeli daant” to some of […]
I cannot recall the exact number of times I have interviewed or spoken to Yusuf Arakkal in the past 21 years. Possibly one of my first stories with him was when I interviewed him and his son Shibu Arakkal (a celebrated photographer) for a Sunday edition of a national daily. I remember meeting his […]
In my first year of college, a questionable decision I made (read: boyfriend) said the following to me: “You’re not as hot as the girls I usually date, but you’re really sweet, know what I mean?” As an 18- year-old with major self esteem issues and social anxiety, no, I didn’t know what he meant. […]
Don’t be surprised by Prem Chopra ji gaslighting Tannishtha Chatterjee and telling her that her rage doesn’t count just because he did not get offended when he was called bald on Comedy Nights Bachao. Yes, she and her dark skin need the publicity, Mr Chopra doesn’t. Also please do not be surprised by the Pink […]