Over the last two weekends, INTACH, in collaboration with ThisDay, organized a Heritage Walk-Leader Training Programme in Delhi. On a whim, I joined it and found it thoroughly enriching. The programme was a blend of lectures and on-site walks stressing the Dos and Don’ts of conducting heritage walks. The star-studded lineup of speakers included Swapna … Continue reading Heritage Walk-Leader Training Programme
As I had written earlier, I read Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Miserables’ last month and I’ve been busy dipping into the commentaries and analyses of the work. Mario Vargas Llosa’s lectures on ‘Les Miserables’ is collected as a volume called ‘The Temptation of the Impossible’. Reading it, I discovered that our man Hugo was a sex-addict … Continue reading The Sexual Exploits and Secret Diaries of Victor Hugo and Keynes
Last year, I spent half a day riding a horse in Pahalgam. Though it was a typical touristy thing to do when in Kashmir, the experience was exhilarating. To get a sense of a horse’s power, its intelligence and to appreciate why it was so central in human civilization, I would highly recommend getting on … Continue reading On Horses
I read Jonathan Haidt’s ‘The Anxious Generation’ over the weekend. His work, which examines the impact of Social Media on Gen Z, didn’t have too many ideas that I wasn’t already familiar with. The rise of social media coupled with the introduction of the dual camera in smartphones was the pivot that marked the rise … Continue reading Hikikomori
I did a day trip to Patna which was also my maiden trip to this historical city. The little that I saw of the city from the airport to the Sardar Patel Bhavan looked very much like Ranchi and Rourkela. Somehow, the poverty was also starkly evident – rundown buildings sharing space with incongruous flyovers, … Continue reading Day trip to Patna
Rob Henderson, the psychologist and writer grew up in nine different homes before his eighth birthday. He was born to an unwed drug junkie who died when he was three. His childhood, as described in his memoir ‘Troubled’ was typical of orphans growing up in foster homes in the US – abuse, neglect, teen gangs, … Continue reading Luxury Beliefs
I heard Sandeep perform in Delhi this evening, after almost a decade. It was a short 90-minute concert and hence, had a hurried feel overall. Bantureeti in Hamsanadam Thyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam in Ananda Bhairavi Mahalakshmi in Shankarabharanam (Main piece) Chandrachooda Siva Sankara in Darbari Kaanada Ramanai Bhajittai in Mand Thillana in Purvi An Abhang in … Continue reading Sandeep Narayan’s concert at Chinmaya Mission, Delhi
When le Carré died in 2020, he was believed to have been the greatest spy novelist of all time. Writing in the heydays of the Cold War, realism was his forte and all his works were marked by a sense of pathos and tragedy. Over the past few years, the British writer Mick Herron has … Continue reading Herron’s Slough House
It’s fashionable to be in therapy these days. Unlike the previous generation, youngsters and adults alike have no qualms in reaching out for help and the stigma around mental health is also on the wane. All good news. But the flip side of this has been the increasing phenomenon of ‘therapy’ speak in the lives … Continue reading The Flip Side of Therapy
Last year, I joined my children and watched a few minutes of Disney’s Little Mermaid. Unlike the Little Mermaid that I knew (white skin and red hair), this one was a Black and essayed by Halle Bailey. Something seemed a bit off to see a 19th century Danish character being anything other than white. I … Continue reading Disney, Gemini, Wokeism…
