Finding my muse at Keats-Shelly Memorial House
Very early in school, my first English teacher, Mrs Beatrice Hawkins introduced me to John Keats, as she taught me cursive writing, by making me repeatedly write “A thing of beauty is joy forever” in my four-lined…
Bael sherbet: The summer cooler
Just behind my house, is a Bael tree. It caught my interest last year, when I found a pair of yellow-footed green pigeons making a nest in its branches. This year it is the koel’s favourite haunt.…
The Gondoliers of Venice
“Will you sing for me?”, I asked as I gingerly tiptoed into the gondola. “Of course, my lady!”, said Cristiano, our gondolier. Cristiano is one of the 400 gondoliers who has a license to operate gondola rides for tourists.…
The Curse of the Upper Berth
I glare at the computer screen. My entire mood of making that train trip vanishes in an instant. Not again. B4. 54. UB. The Indian Railways has this peculiar penchant of allotting me the upper berth whenever I travel.…
The Dance of Fate
I saw Fate dance today. She lifted her skirts a little Stood tiptoe And twirled across my canvas. A canvas I had kept secure since long And yearned to paint With my imagination. But she arrived unannounced…
Degrees of separation
They choose to walk away from my life And I learn that game of masquerade- Pretend their absence doesn’t affect me. How do I explain the insomnia And your constant presence In all my dreams? I wonder…
Lost and found
Venice is full of alleys. We stepped off our vaporetto and pulled out the map trying to find our way to our hotel. It said it was just 5 minutes away. That we were rolling four suitcases…
Venice: Queen of the Adriatic
Venice is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon, connected by 409 bridges. Before this trip I talked to people who had been there and I received diametrically different opinions.…
102 not out: Seasoned acting, but weak screenplay
Umesh Shukla’s directorial venture, ‘102 not out’ is a celluloid adaptation of a Gujarati play of the same name. The story revolves around the sweet and sour relationship between 102 year old Dattatreya Vakharia (Amitabh Bachchan) and his 75 year old…
