Krishna Gowda of Bookworm, one of our city’s prominent literary advocates, alerted us to a lovely set of books. Published by Aleph, these books carry English translations of the greatest Indian language “stories ever told” – for instance,

… Continue reading “Reading Telugu Stories: Chalam explores forbidden desires”

When I met Sowjanya Shetty at the Green Theory café/restaurant, in the kind of setting that the erstwhile city prided itself in – colonial bungalow, chiming bird song, leafy garden, white gazebos – I couldn’t help but dwell on how apt our meeting place was.

… Continue reading “When A Corporate Leader Gets an Inventive Makeover”

When I conduct writing workshops, I break my process into a simple and even dishearteningly imitable series of steps:

Step 1: Toss your phone into a pond

Step 2: Read

Step 3: Write

Step 4: Rewrite

Why is this disheartening?

… Continue reading “Why Writers Should Be Deliberate Readers”

All our lives are imbued with uncertainty. While the pandemic has only exacerbated our consciousness of fragility, our material realities have always been stitched with tenuousness. In a world or even universe, where nothing is certain,

… Continue reading “Gandhi’s Shocking Death Wish”

I was raised in a family where the parental thrust was almost entirely on academics. At school, we had the athletes and the sports “B-Division”. Those of us who were clumped into the B-Division, according to the school’s classification,

… Continue reading “Nourishing The Nation’s Athletes”

A recent issue of The Economist (June 25, 2022) recounted the story behind one of my all-time favorite songs: It’s a Sin by Pet Shop Boys. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the British band or its haunting lyrics,

… Continue reading “It’s a Sin: Why The Pet Shop Boys Still Command Such Interest”

When An Investor Infuses His Soul in The Game

In a world where people are often expected to inhabit polarities – pro-capital or pro-labor, liberal or conservative – Vitaly Katsenelson dwells in a rare liminal or middle space.

… Continue reading “When An Investor Infuses His Soul in The Game”

Let me start with a favorite song. I’m not sure if many millennials or GenZs are familiar with the 1983 movie, Flashdance. The plot revolves around a working class woman, a welder called Alex,

… Continue reading “When Authority Figures Unwittingly Foster Failure”

In a world saturated with noise – podcasts, audiobooks, videos, talk shows, webinars – what the world doesn’t lack is content. Yet, there are scores of new podcasters, new writers, new TV shows, new films,

… Continue reading “Turn Listening Into A Superpower”

Jigyasa Labroo, who is ushering a critical change into Indian public schools and into the lives of low-income children, won a well-deserved spot in the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. As the co-founder of Slam Out Loud,

… Continue reading “Jigyasa Labroo Champions Kids’ Voices From The Margins”

Neena Gupta, at the age of 62, after winning two National awards and essaying several memorable television and film roles – including the iconic Ketaki in Khandaan – had put this message out on Instagram,

… Continue reading “Neena Gupta: Zesty Into Her Sixties”

I am as intrigued by the stories of books as I am by stories in books. Especially with intensely researched projects, I am fascinated by the author’s impetus to launch on such arduous and even perilous quests.

… Continue reading “When a Scholar Dives Into Japanese American History”

I’ve always enjoyed Aparna Piramal Raje’s pieces in  The Mint, her profiles of business icons like Rahul Bajaj, or her vivid narratives about workspaces, buildings and cities. While reading her latest book, 

… Continue reading “Succeeding With Bipolarity: Aparna Piramal Raje’s Awe-Inspiring Account”

Reading Queeristan feels like you’re sitting across an intelligent, high-spirited and intentionally campy writer, at a friendly café, with Bollywood songs playing in the backdrop. Not just any Bollywood song, but Hema Malini in Naseeb,

… Continue reading “Journeying Into Queeristan: Ushering Inclusivity Into Indian Workplaces”

Pico Iyer has lived in Japan for more than thirty-two years but has consciously avoided learning Japanese. This despite, being married to a Japanese woman, whose grasp of English is as feeble as Pico’s knowledge of Japanese.

… Continue reading “Traveling To Japan With A Perceptive and Sparkling Guide”

My husband has long since snatched the cool parent title. Since my ‘kids’ are no longer, well, kids – they are both in their 20s – I thought I would dwell on one of the reasons for the crown slipping well beyond my reach.

… Continue reading “Why I Listen To Retro Songs”

Working for the thriving family business at Banswara Syntex might have been an expected or inevitable end for Dhruv and Udit Toshniwal, the grandsons of R.L. Toshniwal; striking out on their own with a new-age,

… Continue reading “When Bespoke Speaks Volumes: Insights From The Pant Project”

I have no intention of founding a startup. But I do dwell in a city that carries an exalted status inside the global entrepreneurial ecology. Because of this, I have friends and relatives who are associated with startups in various ways: as founders,

… Continue reading “When A Harvard Professor Studies Startup Failures”

When I started hearing a buzz about  Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh  from reader friends, I ordered my copy but allowed it to inhabit the clumsily stacked pile of “To-be-Read.” As an unabashed practitioner of 

… Continue reading “Why India’s Young Women Still Seek Shah Rukh”

It’s been a while since I have formally inhabited an office. Though there are times, as a writer, when one constructs a make-do office, by heading out to a café or a library, to escape the ennui or annoyances of home: the doorbell,

… Continue reading “Reliving the Pleasures and Perils of Offices”