When the Book of Knowledge Slams Shut
I’ve just come back from a funeral. She was the mother of one of my dearest friends. Last night, I would have said ‘she is’.
Rich Beyond the Dreams of Avarice
A friend said something very interesting the other day. She said she wouldn’t know how to spend a billion dollars even if the money was...
How, and Why, to NOT Write a Book
Just for once I’d like to meet someone who is not writing a book. Forget the retired bureaucrats, ageing journalists and hausfraus.
A Passion that Needs to be Fed
Have you noticed that when you’re headed, willy nilly, in the wrong direction, life—or some superior force—inexplicably opens up a U-turn for you?
Durga Arrives with Thunder, Lightning
Esha su chandana gandha pushpa billo patranjali, ong r’hing Durgaoi namoh. It was Maha Ashtami, the most sacred day of the Durga Puja.
Are you Heading for the Heels
People dress up to fit in, says a team of psychologists after studying the habits of over 2,000 women in 180 American cities. We didn’t really need science to tell us that...
Enemy within the Gates
They were four colleagues who had become friends.
They devoted their weekend to their families but Friday night was theirs. They finished work, touched up their lipstick...
Giving a Leg Up to the Ladies
Why are women’s legs taboo in India? Why is baring your midriff all right in mixed company, but not your knees? Why is it ok to wear a saree even if it comes with a hanky...
First 50 Dates
I’ve spent the last fortnight going on a series of first dates. I’m too old-fashioned and fussy to go the classified way, so I choose to rely only on word-of mouth references.
Listen for the Laugh of Love
We were running up a set of smelly steps when my friend said something about the ‘holes in the stairs’ (there were gaps where the risers usually are) staring at her...
Old in Years, Bold in Spirit
I’m too old to ever be young again but I can’t wait to get older.
I had the epiphany, rather improbably, during a visit to Zara, the high-street fashion store...
Old Age is Just a Number—That No One Dials
Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle, old age a regret, they say. I believe it’s not regret that haunts the elderly; it’s yearning. Yearning for company, for conversation...