My friends and therapist were equally surprised that craving for a pork curry has made to excitedly plan a solo trip! Neither could I. But when I reached Coorg after about 6 hours journey in train and bus from Bangalore, I knew it was all worth it. The lush landscape of Coorg with the mountains imposed on its sides was truly a wonderland. The beautifully built cottages of Ayatana adorned the green scapes of the resort. After their warm welcome, I stepped into the cottage. I dropped myself on to the cloud-like soft bed and breathed in the fresh air peacefully miles away from the noisy and polluted city. I made myself a coffee and walked into the balcony. The view was mesmerizing, the slight drizzle made the trees sparkle.

Anees Salim, the reclusive writer hailing from the small sleepy town of Varkala as he himself describes is a recent arriver in the realm of Indian English fiction, who came to media attention after winning The Hindu Literary Prize (2013) for his Vanity Bagh and Crossword Book Award (2015) for his Blind Lady’s Descendants. What enthused me into giving Anees Salim novels, a try beginning with Tales from a vending machine, is the ‘author’s’ life and profile which is very different from the other I

BOXING THEIR CREATIVITY IN OUR NORMALITY She was crying loudly, shrieking with anger. I asked her mom why Fatima was crying. “Look at this, we are going out and she won’t dress properly.” Her mother said pointing to the three year old’s tiny feet, one wearing pink and the other blue, both from a different pair of socks. Fathima was just three, she had her own sense of colours, but her mom, her dad and everybody else thought it was senseless. How will the child ever understand she ‘must’ wear th

Note: In June 2017, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry denied the screening of “In The Shade Of Fallen Chinar” at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, no specific reason has been cited so far. The fallen chinar tree is a symbol of the undefeatable rage, protest and spirit of the Kashmiris expressed in multiple forms. The film features the Kashmiri artists Syed Shahriyar for his photojournalism, Saba Nazki, Ovais Ahmad, Mu’Azzam Bhat for his music, Ali Saffudin

Casting : Channegowda, Thammegowda, Abhishek , Pooja S.M, Singrigowda and others of the villages of Mandya district of Karnataka, India. The locally renowned and cantankerous 101 year old patriarch, Century Gowda dies. His eldest son Gadappah who always roams around the village happily, sipping Tiger-brandy and smoking beedis, often found playing the stone game of Tiger -catching-sheep with school kids, has “no-worries” that his dad has passed away almost as if”its quiet ordinary for a man to d

“Well, I never supposed that you were brave enough to wear a hijab inside the department.” “You know, the very sight of a woman wearing a ‘hijab’ hints at oppression” “Why do you wear this thing in the horrible summer heat?” These are some of the personal comments that I got in the beginning of my college life. It was problematic and incomprehensible. How could someone be judged and labelled as on the basis of a piece of cloth? This provoked me to defend the hijab as my right to practise the

This book of plays has been written keeping in mind an age group of six and above. The children who will be reading this book will be able to apply quite easily the exercises and techniques that the book describes. Some will require facilitation by a trainer, of course, but many can be practiced at home as well. The book aims to be a guidebook for lessons in theatre and performance arts and is designed keeping in mind international syllabi for the same. The language used has been kept as simple