The world is, according to a saying, only the size of each man’s head. Deodar trees, misty hills, night trains, haunted spirits, leaping langurs, mountain air, unhappy women and lonely children make the world of Ruskin Bond. And for 60 years, millions of readers have shared this world. “I’m a little more successful than I thought [...]

Walking down Marina Beach with the sea breeze bringing in uncannily familiar and soothing olfactory sensations, I cannot help thinking to myself how this city perched on the shore of the Bay of Bengal has managed to make itself dear to me in a relatively short time. Maybe it is my fascination for seaports, maybe [...]

Recently the article Periods of Light, Periods of Darkness that I wrote last year and first posted on this blog was published as part of the Lichtwechsel (Change of Light) art project. As a result of an invitation for an exhibition in connection with the advent of Turku, Finland, becoming the cultural capital of Europe in [...]

Disc 1: 1 Spanish Key 19:44 2 All Blues 9:21 3 Ife (Fast) 8:41 4 In a Silent Way 2:33 5 It’s About That Time 10:00 6 Jean Pierre 11:36 Disc 2: 1  So What 8:09 2 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down 9:03 3 Blue in Green 13:07 4 Great Expectations 8:39 5 Ife (Slow) [...]

As I strolled into the Odyssey bookstore I found it bustling with activity and anticipation. I asked one of the stackers and was told that a very famous writer was arriving soon. I had to press him a bit more until he confided that Jeffrey Archer was the man of the hour. Not that I [...]

I reproduce here some vintage photography of Chennai or Madras as older generations still like to call the city. These photos have appeared elsewhere before and in my understanding the copyrights on them have expired. Quite nostalgic they give glimpse into the city that still lies beneath the modern high-rises, concrete flyovers and shopping malls. [...]

இளையராஜா - The Music Messiah / Agi Music 2006 After listening to and reviewing Ilaiyaraaja’s magnum opus Thiruvasagam, I made my way to Spencer Plaza in Chennai and bought myself this CD. I thought I would be in for another meeting point of western classical music and Tamil traditions, but not quite. What we have here [...]

Avial – Debut Album / Phat Phish 2008 I’ve delayed far too long in writing about this folk-rock outfit. It is beginning to look like Kerala is a real breeding ground for original artists. Avial has already convinced audiences in the state since 2003 but now during the last year or two they have really [...]

By Atula Ahuja I visited him for the first time, in February 2007, and since then, the bond has slowly strengthened. We connect to him well and he too has grown fond of the lively spirit of the Reading Rainbow children. He was most willing to talk to me candidly. “We are friends now,” he [...]

I must confess I don’t have a clear idea on how popular or widely read Ruskin Bond is outside of India. Here in India he’s without a doubt a much loved figure who has painstakingly documented the disappearing ethos of quiet towns and hill station romanticism for the past fifty years or so. Maybe that’s [...]