Rani ni Vav: The queen among stepwells
Have you had a chance to look at the new lavender-coloured hundred rupee note? Turn it to the reverse side and you will see a motif of Rani ki vav. Rani ki vav (or Rani ni vav…
The reward for a lifetime of work
I received this picture on a family Whatsapp group yesterday. And this morning it was all over the papers. The lady in the blue saree is my Bua, my father’s youngest sister. Dr Geeta Kumari. She heads…
The revival of Ajrakh
I have always been fond of the Indigo range sold by Fab India and own several of their block-printed kurtas and some sarees. The patterns and aesthetics of Ajrakh have always appealed to me. But I knew…
Jeffrey Archer: I’m more a story teller than a writer
Jeffrey Archer sells more copies of his novels in India than in any other country in the world. He narrates an amusing anecdote where he stepped off the plane in Mumbai and was on a taxi to…
Gandhi and leprosy
When he lived in Sevagram, Mahatma Gandhi used to take long walks. One cold winter day in December 1939, as he stepped out of the ashram, he encountered a man who was carrying a bundle in his…
Movies are like a kidnapping: Books versus their film adaptations
Do authors like to see their work portrayed on celluloid? And when that is done, are they satisfied with the final product? Of course, they do want the film based on their book to succeed. But isn’t…
Jiya jale: Gulzar and his lyrics
Writing subtitles for Hindi film songs can lead to hilarious situations. Famously, the song from Mangal Pandey: The Rising called ‘Mangal mangal’ was translated as ‘Tuesday, Tuesday’! But imagine the chagrin of the person who has to…
Tumbbad: A fable of greed
Gloomy grey skies, incessant dreary downpours and an eerie emptiness that echoes through the length of the film. An abandoned waada enveloped in green moss, antique locks which creak and resound in a lonely house, flickering lanterns…
The art of Rogan block printing
We were in Ahmedabad and my friend Deepa asked us if we would like to see the craft of Rogan block printing. So we hired two auto rickshaws and went off to find Khan Chowk. After some…
Lippankaam: Kutch’s mural art
We travelled into the interiors of Kutch and the walls of the mud houses that we saw all had beautiful murals on the exterior. This art of wall decor embedded with mirrors is called lippankaam. Lippankaam is…
