An edited version of this piece is available here. Mantralayam, Aruna Sairam’s residence, looks like a cheerfully resolute chunk of butter in the Chennai heat. Lord Krishna, manifest in myriad mediums inside the house, would approve of the simile. Step in and a framed four-foot image of the enchanter, in line-art, greets you in the drawing … Continue reading My music is never isolated
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Baby Driver – Whatever the Heist, the Biggest Payoff is the Score
John Hamm and Jamie Foxx chew up the scenery in a movie that puts even the sound of a gunshot to work for the real star – the BGM When writing about Baby Driver, giving away spoilers isn’t a major concern. Plot is as important to this movie as it is to a music video. … Continue reading Baby Driver – Whatever the Heist, the Biggest Payoff is the Score
He Knew Nothing Else
"He knows nothing," Kannadasan said of MSV, launching into an anecdote. The iconic Tamil poet and lyricist loved to hold forth on a variety of subjects, including politics, love and other intoxicants, and his peculiar, inseparable friend, M.S. Viswanathan. "We boarded a plane and he misread Toilet and asked me what the rent was. We … Continue reading He Knew Nothing Else
Gay and Happy
Illustrious gay men and women laud the Pope’s forward views on homosexuality. Anand Venkateswaran reports. Gay men and women went ‘Yay!’ as Pope Francis, during the course of a single conversation, said homosexual orientation wasn’t a sin, that gay people should not be marginalised, that they should be integrated into society. Christian or not, alive or not, … Continue reading Gay and Happy
The forgotten ones
There’s a chasm between wonder and imagination; of hidden width and depth. While we are all struck with wonder on occasion, few of us allow it to propel us into the realm of imagination.When we revisit the past, for instance — back to our ‘old house’, in the city we grew up in but never … Continue reading The forgotten ones
Spiral
Writer's block. Misnomer, because it seems to strike non-writers as well. Over the last month, I must have written, in all, maybe 5,000 words. That's really not much. That's abysmal. In fact, I'm stopping right now to go and find a job that involves repetitive physical work; the sort said to dull the brain and … Continue reading Spiral
When I wrote to Sharika
I read a few musings and poems of a colleague of mine, a gentle girl named Sharika. I wrote to her. Dear Sharika, If someone where to chance upon your writing, that someone would be surprised, moved and inexplicably grateful for the words you write and the way you write them. This must be evident … Continue reading When I wrote to Sharika
Make good art
I was having a bad day. On a scale of 1 to 10, mental stress wise, it figured 273. Some muddled thinking and random browsing led me to an illustrated excerpt of Neil Gaiman's speech at the zenpencils website. I have often seen my father produce brilliant poetry or break out in song every hour, … Continue reading Make good art
Pain
From an itch you hardly notice, to an incandescent membrane that you can't see beyond, is the zone of pain. There is no limit to pain. Even when you're in the prime of your health, lying in your soft bed, simply letting your body do what it does, there's pain. That unpleasant pull at the … Continue reading Pain
Hesitantscribe 