Of Music and Irrerapairable Holes in Your Soul

They say you leave a little bit of yourself with everyone you have loved -- and lost. No wonder then that we eventually remain just a skeleton of who we once were: when you give away parts of your heart, soul, mind, and sometimes even body away skeletons are the only things that remain, isn't …

Beauty

She never thought she was ugly, on the contrary, she believed herself to be charming and pretty. Her belief lent her a poise and grace that was not easy to find in girls her age. She often admired herself --  the long slender fingers, the curvy eyelashes, the little button nose, Her eyes, she thought, were a bit …

A town called Jamshedpur

I first saw it in the stories of my husband’s boyhood: when he told me about fishing in the local river with his bare hands and when he described the tough climb of the adjoining hills. When he told me about the ghost that changed shapes and the tortoise that came home. There were also …

A taste of Sichuan at The China Kitchen

As strange as it may sound, it is not wrong to say that Chinese is the most popular Indian cuisine. It is after all India's most popular food -- from Gobhi Manchurian in Bangalore to Chilly Paneer in Lucknow, from Hakka noodles in Calcutta to cheese fried rice in Udaipur Chinese food is everywhere in …

Calcutta’s Durga Puja: the biggest art festival in the world

http://www.instagram.com/reel/CU40N9HFAsp/ Many refer to Durga Puja as world’s largest art installation; others think of it as a 5-day carnival open to all. The festival might mean different things to different people but Durga Puja pandals remain the undisputed pivot around which the festival is centered. While every pandal and idol in Kolkata is unique in …

How Bengal got its Badi Pujos – and how they became community events

Durga Puja may be an ostentatious community festival now, but it has its beginning in the humble harvest festival of rural Bengal that was celebrated in the courtyards of the wealthy landlords to pay respect to the farmers.  At the cusp of winter, when the winter chill is a few months away and the summer …