The fan whirred above her with a dull rattle and persistent hum. It usually lulled her to sleep, but not tonight. She had been lying in bed, turning and tossing incessantly, feeling hot and sweaty and miserable. She leaned over and turned on the lamp beside her bed and picked up a book lying on …
Mulla Hasan looked out at the ocean. Moonlight reflected from the undulating surface and made it shimmer like a satin sheet. An occasional wave broke in the distance with a burst of bright white surf. Waves lapped the sides of the dhow and a few spilled over onto the deck. He leaned over and let …
The books were all covered with brown paper, creased perfectly at the sides, with perfect pointy corners. It had taken a few hours but it was satisfying work. Measuring and cutting and folding and pasting. “Ma, where is my school bag?” he shouted out.“It’s drying out in the balcony, open your eyes” his mother yelled …
His long white robe puffed up as a gust of wind rushed across the football field kicking up dirt and dried leaves and grass and a plume of sand that spiraled ominously skyward. Marching up and down the sideline, shouting out instructions and gesturing widely he tried to perk up the team that had become …
Naqshe-faryadi hain kis ki shoikiye-tahriir kaKaagzi hain pairahan har paikare-tasvir ka Glossary naqshe – picture faryad – complain shoikiye – mischievous, capricious tahriir – writing pairahan – clothes paikar – portrait tasvir – image TranslationWho is the mischievous writer of this picture of plaintiffsEvery portrait in this image is wearing clothes made of paper CommentaryThis …
There is a new series on Netflix, The Big Day. Indian weddings are supposed to be mental, I think it’s what the goal is, a participant in the documentary proclaims. The weddings portrayed in the series are lavish, extravagant affairs with the mega rich trying to outdo each other. One of the trademarks of the …
Twenty twenty has been an eventful year. A year for the ages. A year we will remember for a long time. A year that will be remembered long after our time. The year of the pandemic. Covid. Coranavirus. Bats in Wuhan. The virus ignored and dismissed suddenly became real and closed in. Friends and family …
I was at a Lindt outlet store recently. The buckets of truffles, dark and white, hazelnut and pistachio, the pralines, the beautiful chocolate figurines, the Swiss Luxury Selection, the large, blue Champs-Elysses Box, the smell, that sweet, velvety, luxurious cocoa smell. Heaven. Growing up, the closest I came to this experience was the Cadbury’s Eclair. …
There are certain delicacies that I have never quite appreciated. The durian, hailed by so many as the king of fruits makes me want to throw up. It smells like rotten eggs and has the texture of phlegm I just gurgled up. Anchovies, supposedly a perfect blend of smoky, salty and fishy, are just plain …
Growing up in Pune, we never had access to fresh fish. There was fish caught from the local rivers and lakes but to us snobby Konkanis, it tasted like mud, and surely no one wants to eat mud. The Konkan is an area along the western coast of India that runs roughly from the beaches …