TRENDS
The changed rules on mingling: Two is a party, three a crowd
We remember to socially distance from time to time, making us dancers in a new dance where we dart forward and then lean back at a whim. To hug or not to hug is the new question.
TRENDS
Bridgerton: Bringing sexy back
Bridgerton takes us back in time only to tell us that the sex was perhaps better in the days of yore, that there was nothing fuddy duddy about our dada dadi. From the gravity-defying cleavage served on lace-trimmed trays, to the tight corset that leaves shoulders bleeding, it is wink, wink, nudge nudge all the way.
WORLD
Who moved my Christmas?
Days have been purloined from our weeks, and weeks from our months. At the end of the year, we stand cheated out of all our clocks and calendars. 2020 was kidnapped, held hostage, and no ransom sought. Which is the worst kind of daylight robbery!
TRENDS
Bad sex writing prize pulls out this year
Now we will never know this year’s contenders, or indeed the crown prince, of strangely worded sexual encounters between fictional characters.
TRENDS
Bangalore Literature Festival wears a mask
Bangalore Literature Festival this year is both online and offline, giving you the choice to be or not to be there.
FEATURES
Pope and passion
Pope Francis’s recent statement in support of the gay community is a step in the right direction for all of humanity, gay or not.
FEATURES
Where do you go to (my lovely)?
So next time you are busy lambasting your face in the mirror for being less than perfect, do think about what a burden it would have been if you were a beauty queen.
TRENDS
The pursuit of happyness...
Tranquility was always seductive in a ‘catch me if you can’ way, but its context has shifted in the current ‘nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to meet’ climate.
TRENDS
In the grip of chaos
Books on dystopia were always a good read. But now that it has actually descended upon us–in a rain of confusing headlines both global and mofussil–dystopia feels like a cooked up word on Scrabble.
TRENDS
Love in Tokyo
The Japanese connection in Indian cinema and literature got more discerning and subtle over the years.
FEATURES
Around the world in eight days
As COVID continues to tap-dance on our heads and Christmas seems to be a couple of years away, here are some of the intrigues that kept the globe going since last Sunday.
FEATURES
The joys of being a madcap
If head is permanently crystal-clear and breath never speeding or slowing, if the heartbeat is always rock-solid and steady, then we are sure to live long and healthy but, oh, what a tall mountain of dullness we climb….
TRENDS
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me no match...
Thanks to Indian Matchmaking on Netflix, audiences across India are chattering about this sudden broadcast of our mating habits to the world.
FEATURES
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain...
There is something about the word ‘rain’ that brings out our inner Romeo or Juliet. The sound of even the lightest drizzle glues us to the window, or sends us rushing in to make a cup of steaming tea. It is like a signal from the sky to go slow, take it easy.
FEATURES
I, me, myself
We are so busy monitoring the Princess Complex in others that we miss the invisible crown on our own heads.
FEATURES
The undying permanence of dates
In a childish attempt to rectify my previous reticence in matters of sentimentality, I now compose emotional outpourings of appreciation to those who matter to me.
FEATURES
Movie review: Bulbbul says boo
Clean Slate Films and Anushka Sharma seek to spook us again with this brand new production of theirs called 'Bulbbul', after 'Pari, Phillauri' and the ghost-less but more chilling 'Paatal Lok'.
TRENDS
Bollywood ready for retake?
Cinema keeps its make-up on round the clock on its 70 MM face. Like any other commercial sector, it has its ups and downs. Money woes, psychological damage, exploitation and inequalities of all kinds – the glitz and glamour are no insurance against human factors.
FEATURES
What’s Gilbert Grape eating?
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape attained cult status immediately upon release. In the current scenario of needless sequels and indefinite number of seasons, we could idly wonder what happened next.
TRENDS
The brief wondrous life of us all
The boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘me’ and ‘you’ are blurry. It is our personal capacity to contribute to the current crisis that is vital.
FEATURES
Someone do the costing
These are somber times, yes, but also a period to set the frivolous and the fancy apart from bare necessities.
FEATURES
Us old married folks
In sunset years one appreciates being around a familiar face, someone who knows you from scratch.
FEATURES
Making it alive through lockdowns
In close quarters frequent meeting of the eyes can lead to imaginary duels. Wearing dark glasses at home may help.
TRENDS
Tracking locker-room chats
'Toxic masculinity’ is not some exotic faraway term coined by a feminist who got out of the wrong side of her bed, it is a contemporary reality for most women.
