“Tu nahin jaanta?” You didn’t know? Sushil asked when we had checked into a tenement in the Air Force Station in Tezpur, Assam. Sushil Sharma was then with The Dainik Hindustan (Hindi) […]
The Elephant in the Roam
Take A Diagonal Ride
Do you know what a ladicycle is? It is pretty much like a bicyle as we know now. There was a time when women like my Ma couldn’t ride a bicycle that […]
Bullets in a Steamship, Shackles in a Plane
Cuckoo News goes to Budge Budge to track a story from 1914. The Komagata Maru was a Japanese ship which sailed to Canada but was denied entry. The passengers on board were […]
The Hidden Camera and the Khyber Pass
I think it was this one. It definitely looks like the camera brought from the Soviet Union for me in the mid-1970s by my Ma. She had a stint as a teacher […]
It takes decades to dive deep into the solitude of a hundred years
I want to be Colonel Aureliano Buendia all over again. I want to smell Macondo all over again. I also want to be Ursula and I want to be Arcadio. In the […]
The Country on the Other Side of the River
In the tree-lined road to the studios of the Film Institute of India a chariot drew up. Upon it the woman who was cast in white was looking beautiful. In that moment […]
Buddhadeb and Bangladesh, A Tribute
The week that just went by was dominated by news of boiling, burning Bangladesh. The steady stream of reports flowing in from across the border was interrupted with the news of the […]
The Grass Is Greener, The Jackfruit Is Fatter
The jackfruit tree was in the middle of a concrete and sand platform. It was laden with the green and golden fruit that bowed its branches to kiss the ground. The ampleness […]
Tongues of Our Mothers
Today is Bishwa Matri Bhasha Dibosh, International Mother Language Day. For Bengalis it’s especially significant, because ours is the language that started it all. On this day, 72 years ago, our fellow […]
Minimalism: The Simple Life… or Renunciation Chic?
A lifestyle trend that was much in vogue in the 2010s (before the pandemic era scarcity panic turned us all into preppers and packrats) was “minimalism”—the art of living with less—and it […]
Reflections
How do beings communicate with the world? First and foremost through reflection. Reflection is the mechanism for broadcasting and perceiving the fact that one thing (or being) has, in some way, registered […]
Old Years’ Eve
The “New Year” thing is so old, isn’t it? Starting from the banal (resolutions to do what you wanted to do last year) to the quietly sublime (not being able to help […]
Christmas Caravan
I was out for a walk with my partner yesterday evening. It was unseasonably balmy for Christmas Eve. I had to unzip my coat. It was also unusual for other reasons. Many […]
Whom to Elect, and Why?
It’s pretty much axiomatic in any democratic society that voting is important, maybe even a civic duty. But how often do people look deeply—or at all—into their own mental process behind their […]
Yellowstone, Part 4: North American Serengeti
[continued from Yellowstone…] Cradled in the highlands of Roosevelt Country, lies Lamar Valley, nicknamed “Serengeti of Yellowstone” or “North American Serengeti” for its striking and diverse wildlife. We learned from the ranger […]
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