I have a distinct memory of a ride in a local train when I was two years old. I remember crazy traffic on Mumbai roads – the reason why my […]
On Being Outdated
The other day, I saw that the window of a friend’s car had not been raised. She had just parked, and was using the remote to lock the car. Helpfully, […]
Apricots at Midnight
Many would say that Apricots at Midnight is an outdated book: old-fashioned and preachy. Yet, the simple childlike stories made it altogether loveable. Imagine a patchwork quilt, in which each little bit […]
Reflex
If I don’t read, I can’t write. It’s as simple as that. My mother introduced me to Dick Francis years ago, and I never imagined I would like more than […]
Performed today!
Nothing is the same without our teacher, but we did what we could anyway. The good news: We carried off Pinnal Kolattam well – no mistakes, thank God for that! […]
Performing Tomorrow!
As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of St. Mira’s College for Girls, the Academy of Indian Dances will be putting up a programme of Bharatanatyam and folk dances on […]
Walking in Varanasi
Varanasi, the immortal, eternal city, is one with narrow lanes and even narrower by-lanes. Getting to the hotel was like winding our way through a maze, where we had to […]
Peach Juice
My sister and I coined a beautiful parameter for comparison. “It’s like peach juice” means something special to us. Backpacking in Greece, we did something very smart. We realised that […]
The Awful English Language
Teaching English is impossible. Words like ‘enough’ are enough to put anyone off, but they don’t even begin to scratch the surface. It so happened during one class that I […]
The Ant Colony
Books that I’ve loved and re-read time and time again have nearly always emphasised character over plot. Take, for example, Anne, Emily, Little Lord Fauntleroy and the little princess. There’s […]
Plea for Justice
At one of the places where I teach, many of the children are brought up in the belief that the teacher is next to God. They are silent in class, […]
Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater
Before going to Tadoba, we talked about the fact that sometimes, we see no animals at all. Two of us had been to wildlife sanctuaries before, and wanted everyone to […]
Automated People
I went last evening for dance class, as usual. I’ve been going there for nineteen years, so I walked in as I always do, briskly, sure of where I wanted […]
A Problem I Never Solved
“This is my favourite! I like it more than you.” This argument always bewildered me as a child, and bewilders me even now. I can never know how much anyone else […]
Flat-Hunting
I think flat-hunting is one of those jobs that is most tedious, yet most adventurous, when done alone. After one year in Calcutta, armed with my knowledge of Bangla (largely […]
Thank you, Santa!
Yesterday, I went to my old school to meet my librarian and give her a copy of The Story-Catcher. She still had the book in her hand about half an hour […]
Toto Funds the Arts
Long-listed (but not short-listed) three years in a row. Surely, that’s a record of sorts! For The Story-Catcher (now published) and Vanilla: http://totofundsthearts.blogspot.com/2011/01/toto-awards-2011.html For Ridhima and Sacrifice: http://totofundsthearts.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html For Laying an Old Ghost to Rest and Ethics: http://totofundsthearts.blogspot.com/2012/12/long-lists-for-toto-awards-2013.html
The Generation Gap
Children who know me as didi, a senior in dance class, often have trouble figuring out whether I belong to their generation or their parents’ generation. Sometimes, I have trouble with […]
Detective!
From the time I was about seven, I wanted a mystery to solve every vacation. It was not fair that only Enid Blyton people (for me, they were people, not […]
Surviving in the Jungle
Eight safaris with the same guide ensured that we became friends of sorts, and once he realised that three people out of five in the jeep understood Marathi, he opened […]