You walk into a bookstore. You find the book you’ve always been searching for. Or the Book finds you, the one which will tell you everything. Or amidst the shelves, you meet the redheaded girl. * * * “If you have read 6,000 books in your lifetime, or even 600, it&
The leaves, once green, looked slightly wilted and as yellow as a stack of hay. The garlic-infused butter refused to show itself. The crunch that defined the first bite was now gone. No doubt about it---my bok choy was depressed. Okay, maybe not the bok choy itself. But the person
Often referred to as India's answer to Bridget Jones, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, or eM, is the author of the popular blog The Compulsive Confessor. Her bestselling semi-autobiographical debut novel You Are Here was published in 2008, followed by Confessions of a Listomaniac, a coming-of-age novel aimed at young
One day, back when thick rimmed glasses hadn't "come back", quite simply because they hadn't left yet, Dave Brubeck set out to look for his mojo. This story has a happy ending: he found it soon afterwards. He and his Quartet cut Time Out
She moves across swiftly with a dagger in her hand and an intent that’s difficult to decipher amidst her rage. Her blue and white dress is splattered with blood, as she searches for peace in the ruins of a devastated land. She is Alice, Lewis Carroll’s admirable creation,
I am flustered. I am going to hold my first village meeting, talking to women from a self-help group, and I am terribly anxious. I look around at the circle of women sitting with me; they are honest-faced and clear-eyed. I give them a watery smile. The President of the
It might come across as a rather shoddy introduction, but ever since I have known him, my dear friend M has been unfortunate enough to be in a long-distance relationship with M. Over the years, the miles between the two have only increased, giving most of M’s friends the
If you come to think of it, all families are dysfunctional, and dysfunctional in a way only families can be. The Chackos are no exception. Mariamma Chacko, an otherwise sharp-witted and intelligent woman, is often seen entertaining the walls in her house. Wagging her finger with her saree hitched at
We know, we know. We haven't published too many articles over the past month or so, but we swear, we've been busy! We've been hard at work on this, the new version of our web site. Welcome to the new Helter Skelter. Apart from
Attend a workshop on veganism or one of its offshoots---raw food, anyone?---and you’re given a list of reasons to adopt said diet: “Veganism has ‘reduced’ my diabetes.” “I haven’t fallen sick in 7 years!” “It controls cholesterol and heart diseases.” “It is against cruelty to animals.” “You
In the literary world, names have a tendency to fade away, but Aditi Rao’s hasn’t. She recently won the Toto Funds the Arts Award for Creative Writing in 2012 after winning the Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize last year. Her poems have been published in journals such as The