Seen them all, he said. Really, I asked?

Seen them all, he said. Really, I asked?

Between seeing and seeing again lies an entire universe of change. Changes happen faster than one blinks an eye. What this means is that one visit is never going to be enough. Not ten. Not even a hundred visits. There will always be some new addition or some perceptive insight...
It’s not that simple to be simple, says Chetan Bhagat

It’s not that simple to be simple, says Chetan Bhagat

I saw him from a distance and waved. He smiled and waved back. No airs. No snooty looks thrown at anyone. Chetan Bhagat loves to retain his easy and communicative personality… and I guess this is exactly how he has shaped his writing through the years. As we walked around...
Redefining ‘Sanjeevani’ at the Valley of Flowers

Redefining ‘Sanjeevani’ at the Valley of Flowers

It was sometime in the nineteen thirties that Frank S Smythe ‘came upon the lush and colourful Bhyundar Valley, the Valley of Flowers’ and he describes his adventures in the lower and upper Himalayas in his book. Smythe discovered that ‘the predominant note was peace; not the faintest breeze ruffled...
Ashwin Sanghi and the secrets of writing a thriller

Ashwin Sanghi and the secrets of writing a thriller

I remember reading Chanakya’s Chant a few years back and knew then that the time for Indian readers to get high on thrillers written by Indian writers had come. In the years that followed, I read and reviewed The Krishna Key and Private India as well. Obviously then, it was...
Terrorism is a monologue in a subverted mind

Terrorism is a monologue in a subverted mind

Defining terrorism isn’t easy. Kamalhasan calls Nathuram Gadse the first Hindu terrorist but Madhu Purnima Kishwar retorts by tweeting that some people ‘can’t tell the difference between a terrorist and an assassin. The latter is not a complimentary term. Kennedy’s killing was an assassination and never called a terrorist act....
Poaching is a terror unleashed on wildlife

Poaching is a terror unleashed on wildlife

Poaching isn’t a word that exists only in political parlance around the world. Employees can be poached by corporates, ideas are often poached by unscrupulous writers, and of course lots of people love poached eggs. However, it is time to connect the word back to the world where it rightly...
Radio is the theatre of the mind

Radio is the theatre of the mind

If any of you thought radio was only for driving on packed highways or it was just a lot of words without the boxing gloves of statistics or that only preaching happened there, you are probably the sort who has never listened to ‘Mann ki baat’ by Narendra Modi, the...
Holy cow! Why in the world will we want to move away from traditions?

Holy cow! Why in the world will we want to move away from traditions?

Jarping. Songkran. Ruzzola. Namaste. This post is about understanding traditions and why need a contemporary make-over.
Comedy, creativity, and green tea

Comedy, creativity, and green tea

Comedy, creativity, and green tea. Read this post to know the secrets of a super boost in creativity. #SuperBloggerChallenge #Instacuppa
That’s how stories happen

That’s how stories happen

I tried rubbing the edge of my study table, whispering, ‘Appear, my lovely story. Appear!’ It didn’t. I tried this with the walls in my home, with trees in the park, and once even slyly tried rubbing the end of the shawl of a woman I didn’t know at all....
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Stories move us, stories shape us

Stories move us, stories shape us

Each of us can tell stories. Even Indra, my two and half year old grandson, tells stories. Most are, of course, those that he has heard, liked, and loves to hear repeatedly. But whenever there is a chance, he is now able to create one easily. Look around and you’ll know how well artists, filmmakers,...
The thin line between pride and desperation

The thin line between pride and desperation

We have all come across incidents of publicly expressed bitterness from professionals after retirement. Sehwag and his openly vocal insistence for some national award, the way Aamir Khan questioned the credibility of film awards when the National Film Awards committee chose not to honor him for ‘Dangal’, and Kathak dancer Sitara Devi declining the Padma...
Words, Wordle, and Intuition

Words, Wordle, and Intuition

Words, Wordle, and Intuition Arvind Passey 28 February 2025 Those who know what the Wordle is about will also know that one gets only six chances to reach that 5-letter word that the creators of this game have decided for the day. Those of you who will now mutter, ‘That seems easy enough’ have overlooked...
Brushstrokes of discovery

Brushstrokes of discovery

I have begun to paint. Well, this includes drawing, sketching, and using a wide selection of available mediums. If completing nearly 30 A4 watercolour sheets in a few months appears fine, then I am going on fine. For decades I have been fascinated with buying colours. Watercolours. Pastels. Blendable pencils. Watercolour pencils. Graphite pencils. Stencils....
It is time to binge-everything

It is time to binge-everything

Binge-watch TV shows is the last thing I mean. Though if you are the sort who sits in front of a TV and discovers that his personal universe is smiling, so be it. Go ahead. A happy person is what the Big Creator above loves. But then there is hardly any art involved in switching...
Writers and a fragile moon in a ruthless sky

Writers and a fragile moon in a ruthless sky

There are a few quotes that are used often and have been attributed to several people. One of them is: ‘If it is truly yours, it will come back to you.’ There was one presenter who thought it was written by Ian Fleming for James Bond in some film. Many think it is Richard Bach...
A visual storyteller called Varna_Katha

A visual storyteller called Varna_Katha

This world needs more visual storytellers like Sheetal Verma. This artist calls herself Varna_Katha which is what a tale of colours would mean and her artworks, in her own words, reflect her journey of self-expression. The artworks on her Instagram page are an inspiration to not just aspiring artists but also pull in people towards...
Those who see something in what others never see

Those who see something in what others never see

Art is in every heart. We are all artists, just as we are all poets and writers. Just as those who are not literate may have the heart of a poet, those without the means or time to paint or draw can live a life that is just as expressive. Pause and listen or see...
Coining unfamiliar words is always possible

Coining unfamiliar words is always possible

Trust words to come together and coin new ones. Words have this innate ability to get together and form new ones that not only reflect the truth better but can sometimes have a forceful impact. Let me give a few examples of words that one may never find in a dictionary but are, nevertheless able...
Spam calls and predatory deceivers

Spam calls and predatory deceivers

One of those catchy headlines in online news clips that caught my attention was one where a man mistakes an international recruitment call from Amazon as spam and does not receive it. This man missed an opportunity all because of the deep-seated fear and hatred that we have all begun to have for spammers. This...
Memorable interludes of Dev-vrat

Memorable interludes of Dev-vrat

We have ‘Pushpak di wedding’ in the family. This is when we get an opportunity to meet friends and relatives who we have not met for some time. Well, sometimes a lot longer than ‘some time’. Discussing the past years is a small part of all the other rituals and celebratory stuff. There are comparatively...