Reasons To Live: Richard Roper’s debut novel, How Not To Die Alone, is about a loner, who reminds the reader of the lead characters in Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called …

Wicked Women: In common usage, the word chudail describes an aggressive or quarrelsome woman—could be said to be the Indian equivalent of bitch.  But the origins of the chudail (often …

As a child, Kamlesh Mota auditioned for a school play, and expressed the intention of taking up theatre. His mother took him to the Bhangwadi Theatre in south Mumbai (a venue, now defunct, …

Hope Floats: Of all the characters in Angie Kim’s bestselling debut novel, Miracle Creek, Young Yoo gets the most  sympathy. The Korean woman comes to the US in the hope …

Fragrance Of Simplicity: Vidya Sinha, who passed away on August 15, was among a band of girls-next-door, who appeared in Bollywood around the same time in the Seventies; many of …

Rocket Science For Dummies Rating: *** When there are budget problems in the Mars Orbiter Mission undertaken by an ISRO scientist on a dare — because a NASA snob said it …

Trigger Unhappy: Rating: *** Delhi police could not have got a better PR job if they had actually commissioned Batla House. However, in the best stranger-than-fiction mode, Nikkhil Advani’s film is …

A one-woman stage presentation, Cast Off All Shame, by Ulka Mayur (in picture above), brought into focus the women Bhakti poets of India, who predated the feminist movement—as we know it …

Bridezilla Strikes:   There can be no wedding in our country, without high stress and drama, some of which playwright-director Veena Bakshi has captured with humour in Ank’s production of Hamari Neeta Ki Shaadi. …

Land Of Half Lives:   News footage coming out of Kashmir is full of violence, and soldiers watching over an uneasy calm that could blow up in their faces if …