When we think of Nelson Mandela, we have this statesmanesque vision in our minds. A man who suffered incarceration for 27years and then emerged to lead and heal a country torn by Apartheid is always bound to evoke such imagery. Jonny Steinberg’s ‘Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage’ gave me a reality check of … Continue reading Winnie and Nelson
My commute to office is the time I usually listen to music – mostly Carnatic Classical. As most this happens through YouTube, I usually end up listening to the same superstars and mostly tracks that more or less cover the most popular ragas and compositions. In October, on a whim, I thought of bringing in … Continue reading Shyama Shastri’s Compositions
Last night, just after publishing the post on theContemporary Art Market, I got to know about the passing away of Frank Gehry – an architect and personality with a close connect to the contemporary art market. In the early 1990s, the Guggenheim Museum in NY decided to lend its name and collection to an outpost … Continue reading Frank Gehry’s Iconic Masterpiece
One of my friends was recently commissioned to write the catalogue for a contemporary art exhibition. In solidarity, I attended the gallery walk-through on the day of the inauguration. I understood very little of what was on display, and I suspect that most in the room were equally flummoxed by the pieces. But what I … Continue reading The Contemporary Art Market
This November, although I was physically in Delhi, I spent most of the month mentally wandering the streets of Naples. I was immersed in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet, and I’m still not sure how to fully describe the experience. The four books, spanning 1700 odd pages was one of the most powerful literary encounters I’ve … Continue reading Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet
Shame: Steve McQueen’s Shame - a deep dive into the psyche of a sex addict had Micheal Fassbender pull off a great effort. The inability to get aroused with romantic partners, the porn-addiction and his eventual spiral towards a violent climax was a gripping watch. Hunger: The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of … Continue reading What I Watched – November 2025
In his lecture on Othello, the critic Harold Bloom has this memorable line: “Shakespeare was the greatest theorist of sexual jealousy the world had ever seen before the advent of Freud and Proust”. While ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ had jealousy as one of its themes, it is in Othello that Shakespeare explores this in all … Continue reading Othello
I’ve never been to Goa. If I had to travel all the way from Delhi to visit a state that has lush greenery, beaches, Portuguese monuments, good food and a rich history, I’d rather go home to Kozhikode and spend time with my parents. Goa is now a ‘destination’, a ‘vibe’, a ‘lifestyle’ and a … Continue reading I’m yet to visit Goa
My little one recently represented her school in an inter-school quiz competition. True to form, she got eliminated in the first round itself. On reaching home, she tested my knowledge of the questions that tripped her. Authoritatively, I was informed that Pani-Puri was discovered by Draupadi. For someone who has read the whole of the … Continue reading Draupadi and Pani Puri
A. Kanyakumari performed at the Kerala School, RK Puram this evening. The two and a half hour violin recital was lively and the 74-year old Kanyakumari kept engaging with the audience. Vatapi Ganapathim, Hamsadhwani, Muttusamy Diskshitar composition Endaro Mahanubavulu, Sri Ragam, Thyagaraja's Pancharatna krithi Janani Ninuvina, Reetigowla, Shyama Shastri composition Composition in Ragam Ganga which … Continue reading A. Kanyakumari at Kerala School, RK Puram
