KL and the Circus Called Life
In the summer of 1985 Arun KL confided in me. He was in love with a girl who was in my class. I was in seventh grade and he, in the eighth. He seemed quite disturbed by his lack of courage in approaching the girl and letting her know what he felt for her. So I […]
The Dream Is No More A Dream
Early 2016. An open-mic comedy night is in progress at Take 5, Bangalore . Aamer Peeran–possibly one of the wackiest comics around–is on stage, eating shit like it’s Thai food. Only a few days back he’d opened for Matt Davis and killed it, like a boss. Matt, sitting by the bar, smiles at Aamer’s predicament. As […]
A Quick Update On Ranga Half Pants
Jaico, my publisher, had originally planned to launch Ranga Half Pants, my debut novel, in January 2016. But after consultations with the editors, we decided to push the book-launch out to April. The new financial year plus the summer holidays in May, are something we want to ride on. So if the three of you […]
A Long Cherished Dream
So all the readers of my blog, all three of you, yes, here is why I was not updating my blog. Read no? The past three years were tough. I quit my job, became a stay-at-home-dad, rekindled the chase of a long cherished dream: writing. I started writing very early in life. I used to […]
The Sceptical Patriot
Sidin Vadukut has found his niche methinks. And boy, has he nailed it! Sidin’s The Sceptical Patriot is a racy, fun read. Writing non-fiction is easy and tough at once. It is easy because, unlike fiction, you needn’t design characters, plot, and story arcs. It is tough because to make it engaging you need to […]
Ismail
“I sleep in the railway station.” Ismail said. I tried not to display my shock but I kept staring at him, biscuit dunked in my tea. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, held it for a moment, and exhaled clouds of smoke. I met him after my game with a 10 year old […]
Be Calm and say Ram, Ram
The monkey’s (Bonnet Macaque to the foaming-at-the-mouth naturalists) exterior calm belied his cruel intentions. I should have known better. Monkeys in Chittoor, back in 1984, were omnipresent. They stole your utensils, ransacked your kitchen, terrorised kids, and violently shook innocent boy’s head( who was reading a book in the verandah). Yes, the last one featured […]
An Evening in Kalimpong
It hit me in Kalimpong. Not one commercial establishment had ‘West Bengal’ on their signage. It was always Gorkhaland. I could always shield my ignorance with the excuse that I am from south India, which is far removed from the politics of West Bengal, leave alone Gorkhaland. But that is just plain lazy and lame. […]
Notes from a Mountain Hamlet – Part 2
Continued from part 1 26 Feb 2013, Lava The next day our plan to to go Chaudaferi didn’t materialise. A bunch of people were trekking through the trail, and Joseph thought it might hamper our birding exercise. So I spent the day outside the Forest Department’s Guest House: a colonial structure whose garden attracted birds […]
Notes from a Mountain Hamlet Part 1
23 February 2013 “We are building a Church.” Joseph Lepcha said and shook my hand. “Sorry I hope you didn’t have to wait for too long!” he continued. I dismissed his apprehension. I stood in the small living room and was trying to make sense of the place which was going to be my home […]