I have fond memories of Marine Drive in Mumbai for the little joys that it has offered me every time that I have been there. I capture those in this piece.
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Categories: Essays
RJ-ing is Definitely Some Serious Business!
Plenty of energy, vivacity and lots of songs. That’s what hits you first when you think of RJ-ing. Well, that’s true and yet, there’s more to it than fun too! I am happy to present an interview with RJ Pavitra, touching on her job as an RJ, the fun and serious aspects of her work and more.
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Categories: Interviews
I Want People to Use their Imagination!
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include women, immigration, the South Asian experience, history, myth, magic and celebrating diversity. In this dream-come-true interview for me, she shares her thoughts on her writing journey, her books as well as some advice for aspiring authors, among many other things. Excerpts.
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Categories: Interviews
I Paid Heed to the Call of My Soul!
Abha Iyengar is an internationally published freelance writer and poet. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, magazines and literary journals, both in print and online. She is a Kota Press Poetry Anthology contest winner. In an interview, she talks about her poems, stories and writing in general.
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Categories: Interviews
The Cup of Joy
India has won the 2011 Cricket World Cup and yes, it isn’t a dream! It is indeed a historic victory. What could be a better time than this to discuss cricket, India’s phenomenal affection for the game, the World Cup itself and of course all the euphoria after India finally lifted the treasured cup? What could be a better time than this to say ‘Jai Ho’? My write-up on cricket, the cup and the euphoria.
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Categories: Essays
Motherhood
Giving Voice to Women : Urvashi Butalia
Urvashi Butalia, Director, Zubaan Books, is an Indian feminist and historian. She is also the co-founder of Kali for Women, India’s first feminist publishing house, of which she was the Director. She talks about her journey with Kali for Women, Zubaan and feminist literature and publishing in India.
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Categories: Interviews
Fighting Educational Inequity : Shaheen Mistri
As an 18-year-old, Shaheen Mistri walked into a slum in Mumbai and began teaching. She then went on to set up Akanksha Foundation, an NGO that works primarily in the field of education. Now she is the Chief Executive Officer of Teach For India, a nationwide movement that aims to end education inequity in India. In this interview, she tells me about her personal journey with Akanksha and Teach For India, her views on the Indian education system and the relevance of social entrepreneurship in today’s world. Excerpts.
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Categories: Interviews
I Don’t Believe in Writing Fearfully!
Mridula Koshy is the author of ‘If It Is Sweet’, a collection of short stories released in May 2009 by Tranquebar Press. The book won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for 2009 and was shortlisted for the 2009 Vodafone Crossword Book Prize. In an interesting interview, she gets talking about writing, her book, and exploring relationships through writing.
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Categories: Interviews
Entertainment, Enlightenment
All the world’s a stage, said Shakespeare! How true that is! It’s just that we are so caught up in our fast-paced lives, that we hardly realize the simple truth behind that profound line! Quite ironically, it’s these guys on stage, the theatre folks, who more often than not, remind us of our absurdities and foibles, making us laugh at our own gaps and sometimes tell us what we could have been. Entertainment, Enlightenment and much more. My interview with Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, Director of Version One Dot Oh, a Bangalore-based theatre group, as part of a special cover feature that I did for the first anniversary issue of my magazine, Spark.
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Categories: Interviews