This temple may appear to be unimaginable to the foreign gaze, a forage for filth and disease. One can call it madness, but it is unwavering faith of the worshippers that they hold the rats sacred. Read More
Until I set foot in sunlight, the notion that a sketchy neon lit bar could hold any sort of sentimentality within seemed incredulous Read More
There was an air of silence and magnanimity that the building took onto itself as the people descended a narrow slope to get through its small front door with a green grill, where the noise of the city would be detained before it. Read More
But, in some way or the other, I hope that this partially chronological reminiscence lets you see the Bangalore I know and love, from up above. Read More
Born in the artists’ Bombay, I grew up in a comfortable envelope of family, Shergil, jazz and ‘good’ conversation. South Bombay in my eyes, was far from the privatised and cavalier landscape that reveals itself to me now. Read More
Hotel Alka Classic is different from everything and everywhere. And in writing about this singular anomaly, I have put myself in the unpleasant position of describing and distinguishing its timelessness. Read More
The South Indian ‘meal’, as it is widely sold today, my mother laments, has fused into a strange, generic set of dishes that are now rendered stateless. Read More
Delhi is known for its delectable chaat, there is a vendor in every nook and cranny of the city and every dilliwalah has his or her own favorites. While there are a number of establishments that serve what could be called a more ‘hygienic’ and ‘safe’ version of Papdi Chaat there is something almost ‘bland’ about eating it sitting on chairs in an air-conditioned restaurant Read More
Whether it is in Shahpur Jat or Srinagar, Hill Road or Hauz Khas, Dharavi or DU, street art maintains a purpose. Unfortunately, the art world has revealed a hierarchy of canvases - one that privileges an urban-elite proclaimed to be ‘woke’ and ‘cultured creators Read More
There’s a platitude that’s associated with this city, one that’s constantly repeated by the Bombay defenders: Mumbai is a city, but Bombay is an emotion. I’ve often felt that this sentence doesn’t come close to the true representation of the city - so I turned to contemporary television shows to help me distinguish and make my choice. Read More
