Interviewing a bulldozer
If you think it was easy to fix an interview with a bulldozer, think umpteen times. These massive machines have no time these days as a zillion sarkari farmaans (government notices) make a beeline to them even before they are fully awake. No coffee or fresh lime in tepid water for them. They must rush...
If only we weren’t ruled by such idiots
India and Pakistan may be two different countries now but have a lot in common…. And reading ‘City of Spies’ by Sorayya Khan made me sit back and smile. Yes, of course, like our friends in the neighbouring country, we too often think we are ruled by idiots, we too are constantly killing ourselves, we...
Like having a bisi-bele-baath in Paris
Off the beaten track. Not the way most murder mysteries travel in and out of violence. Well, as Arjun Iyer, the protagonist of this novel might have chosen to express, the book is like having a bisi-bele-baath in Paris. His deeply loyal but irascible, devil-may-care Inspector Munuswamy might pick up some other custom-made analogy or...
The humour files
I have recently taught a pigeon how to remain seduced by humour. He no longer finds comedy a threat to his convictions. I convinced him that humour isn’t scary. Not even if it happens inside the parliament or a place of worship. Or the office when facing a serious conflict. Or even at home when...
A birdwatcher reaching out to the soul of intrigue
A sense of great possibilities, a space to explore and discover, and a world that wins a place in a reader’s world can be transformative enough to not just give us a massive adrenaline rush but also add life to our life. This is how my mind perceives a thriller and this is way better...
War
If you think war is an unacceptable word, think about our war of words, a war of nerves, tug of war, or even all being fair in love and war, and you will agree that we are forever in some or the other war zone. Always. Big businesses in a turf war, political parties on...
Defining travel
Sitting inside with travel on my mind I can clearly see The long disappearing-into-the-unknown road That goes from me to me. I am excited By the possibility of a long journey — Meetings with untested tastes, Novel feelings, and neoteric things to do or see. I move through twists and turns And darkened passages until...
Hats, turbans, scarves, ghunghats, and hijabs
To wear or not to wear a hat, a cap, a turban, a gamchha, a scarf, a ghunghat, a hijab, or even shaving your head is a choice that need not ever be the cause for a controversy. It is in the same league as wanting to have the freedom to wear torn jeans, short...
Looking for a better way to find a way
No forest is ever without a wayShrubs and fallen leaves may hideLow boughs may make you look awayYet they are there, sometimes wide.Why yearn for wings to fly aboveWhat seems to be a push or shove? I lift the veil to see the wayNo need to saw, break or throwOr crush, burn, spurn, or slayWhen...
My echo, my shadow, and me…
The unexpected is one super reservoir of joy but it is equally true that the unanticipated sound or a visual that is like a detour from the usual will inevitably trigger fear in us. Like our own shadows that sometimes scare us. Or an echo that seems linked to the unnatural. It is not just...
Listicles are no longer a raging trend anywhere
For quite some months now, my email inbox has grown obese. You know what too many calories can do to a body… right? Well, even my inbox has had an over-dose of empty info-calories that has persisted for months now. I believe this is because new products, technological or otherwise, have kept a low-profile and...
Sci-fi disguised as an affordable accessory is real
Accessories are forever on every tech buyer’s mind today… and when I say this, I also mean those who are ostensibly giving every excuse to stay away from them. There is such a dream-like ambience to accessories that most of us may not any more wish to use a simple smartphone. It reminds me of...
