Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I gatecrashed an event. I’ve known people who have gatecrashed in the past. The motivation has generally been the free alcohol or narcotics. Occasionally a gatecrashed party has held the promise of some “action”, especially if one could last till the end when the soundtrack goes from […]
We had the first bout of rain last night. Once upon a time, I’m told the monsoon used to come to Mumbai on June 10 with the regularity of a cuckoo clock. It’s become less punctual over the years and his lack of punctuality has given rise to what is rumoured to be a $2.5 […]
Obviously only those who hang upside down in the sylvan neighbourhood of Bandra, Mumbai, need heed this warning.
Bodhi Art Gallery organises talks with reasonable regularity. It is generally sparsely attended. A good show is one where 80% of the chairs are occupied. Yesterday, critic Ranjit Hoskote was in conversation with Atul Dodiya, one of the few artists who can cheerfully call himself a figurative painter without any fear of being outdated, and […]
(Beta also means son in Hindi and is used fondly rather than formally)
Wyclef Jean wears tighty-whities. He can play the guitar with his mouth with the kind of dexterity that makes me think his wife is a very happy woman. He sweats like a pig, climbs like a monkey and will possibly one day regret […]
When I came to Mumbai for the first time, years ago, I was certain that the city had a strong Japanese community. What else explained neighbourhoods being called things like “Saki Naka” and “Oshiwara”? A couple of months in the city and I realised my chances of getting miso soup were about as high […]
It’s mindless, messy and, when the next day you remember exactly what you did, potentially highly embarrassing. If we were talking about sex, then at least one could hope for an orgasm. With Holi, no such luck. Not in contemporary India, at any rate.
The popularity of this festival probably originates in it being the one […]
I love our newspapers, sometimes more than I love the Guardian whom at present I love most intensely since they’ve shared with us an extract from Philip Pullman’s Once Upon a Time in the North, the book that will be the background to the Northern Lights trilogy. Newspapers in India realise that we live in […]
Manish recently linked to a WaPo piece about the Blue Frog Acoustic Lounge and Studios, sadly devoid of pics. The Mumbai complex is designed by British-Indian outfit Serie.
The Blue Frog incorporates staggered booths so that everyone has an unobstructed eyeline to the live stage. The building also provides home to recording studios, a restaurant […]
My uncle nicked my granddad’s old camera a little before I was born. This is why, until the age of three, every jiggle of my adorable baby fat has been faithfully recorded in my uncle’s black and white photographs. After that he got bored, which is a good thing because the last thing I need […]
I upped my hip quotient last night by going for a Mallu rock concert. Kerala, home to the Malayali people whom we lovingly call Mallus, is known for many things - the backwaters, massages, communism, fluffy appams, moustachioed men, rum and damn good toddy, among other things. Rock music isn’t one of them which is […]