Even as a child, when I knew nothing of Roman history, Caesar’s assassination and his famous ‘Et tu Brute’ dialogue were familiar to me. Looking back, I wonder if Caesar’s enduring influence in popular culture is all thanks to Shakespeare. What if the play was never written and the assassination never dramatized? Would he have … Continue reading Julius Caesar
I was in Jodhpur for the Independence Day weekend. Like any other city of Rajasthan, the main attractions are the fort and the palace. (The view of the fort from the city is its most impressive aspect.) I discovered that Christopher Nolan brought his entire crew to film a 40-second scene for Dark Knight Rising, … Continue reading Jodhpur Notes
I read David Szalay’s ‘Turbulence’ a few years back and loved it. It was a series of interconnected stories of characters that encounter each other on random flights (or something like that). This year, when Szalay again made it to the Booker shortlist, I decided to pick him up. ‘Flesh’ has its flaws but Szalay … Continue reading Szalay’s ‘Flesh’
With Finland and Sweden joining the NATO, the Baltic Sea is now often referred to as the NATO Lake. The alliance controls more than 95 per cent of the Baltic’s coastline and all of its sizeable islands, as well as the western entrance through the Kattegat and both sides of the Gulf of Finland, Russia’s … Continue reading The NATO Lake
You can land up in trouble if you publish a map of India that doesn’t represent the ‘official’ borders of the country. While we often take our present borders for granted, few of us realize how different ‘India’ looked less than a century ago. Sam Dalrymple's 'Shattered Lands : Five Partitions and the Making of … Continue reading Shattered Lands
I got to hear Abhishek live after ages. He sang for close to three hours at the India International Center. Varnam in Sree Ragam Nada Tanumanisham in Chittaranjini Mayateeta Swarupini in Mayamalavagowla. (Hearing this for the first time) Thyagaraja's Aarabhi Pancharatna was the main piece. What a delight! Thaamasam En Swaami in Todi (Papnasam Sivam … Continue reading Abhishek Raghuram at IIC
Thudaram: was too dark for me. Honour killing isn’t a commonly explored theme in Malayalam cinema. The wait for Mohanlal’s magic continues. Shobana, on the other hand was totally wasted in the movie. Also check out this well-argued piece on Middle-Aged Women In Malayalam Cinema Thug Life: The duo that made the greatest gangster movie … Continue reading What I Watched – July 2025
When Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, the ecosystems of the Western and Eastern hemispheres had remained isolated for millennia and were strikingly different. His voyage set in motion what has come to be known as the Columbian Exchange, a vast transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds. This … Continue reading The Columbian Exchange and the Dawn of the Homogenocene
I re-read Hamlet after 15 years. Now, with some additional accumulated wisdom, I was able to see glimpses of why this is considered to be Shakespeare’s magnum opus. When Achilles slaughters Hector, he is consumed by vengeance and glory. Divine punishment or suffering in the afterlife had little meaning for him. The Homeric Greek heroes … Continue reading Hamlet
Last month, a professor-friend invited me to a storytelling session by a Hindi author. My immediate response was a firm no. First, the session was in Hindi—a language whose literary world I’m largely unfamiliar with. Second, I hadn’t even heard of the author, someone named Divya Prakash Dubey. But, on the day of the event, … Continue reading Discovering Divya Prakash Dubey
