GENRE: Features

Mother and father are discussing family matters. They deplore the mischief of their two boys, and also express wry amusement at the younger one's original thinking, that lies behind the mischief. However, the father predicts that this boy will leave footprints on the sands of time, and go on to become famous. Almost a scene played out in every home, one may feel...but it was, actually, a scene from a play on Tipu Sultan, by the late Dina Mehta, who was an award-winning playwright and Fiction Editor at the Illustrated Weekly of India. The father in question in this play…

It's been my experience that when re-introducing people to Nature, two kinds of instruction are necessary. I call the process a re-introduction, because all of us are part of Nature; it's only that in the rush and stress of urban life, many of us lose touch with the environment that we were created in. We are fortunate to have Bannerghatta forest at our doorstep, with so much scenic beauty! Here's a photo of a pond near the Bannerghatta Zoo: Kingfisher Pond in the Bannerghatta Zoo area. Pic: Deepa Mohan On one hand, I feel strongly that a hands-on approach works…

Noel and Lindsey are good hospitable souls. When a troupe of 10 of us landed up at their house this Sunday, December 22nd, they welcomed us warmly into their beautifully decorated Christmas home. We gorged on Marzipan, rose cookies and kul kuls, sipped mint flavoured lemonade and admired their Christmas tree decorations. A quiet house tucked into a corner of the heart of the city, it is graced by one of the tallest Christmas trees I had ever seen. The lovely Christmas decoration at the Noels' house. Pic: Rajeev R We were a bunch of people part of a Christmas…

At the Bangalore Literature Festival last week, I adopted a cautious, rodent-like approach to finding the best seat in the capacious front lawn. I took, at first, a modest seat by the aisle, encountered a wall of tall people obstructing my view of literary greats; shifted to another seat, this time on the other side, a little further up. I spent five minutes paying full attention to Ashish Sen speaking about Mahesh Dattani's works as the playwright himself sat beside and sagaciously offered agreement until the aged gentleman in the row before mine began to rise every five minutes; perhaps…

There's a slight nip in the early morning air these days; For me, this holds the anticipation of the winter garden - carrots, peas, cauliflower, cabbage, oranges, apples, guavas, strawberries, tomatoes and much much more - either from your own little patch of green or from the nearest organic store. This season, not only am I keen to try out various recipes that use these different vegetables, I am also happy to rediscover the joy of preserving and drying many of these winter fruits and vegetables so as to savour them through some part of next year too! Tomatoes. Pic:…

The year ends with a big bang for Hindi cinema. Just about two weeks after Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son of Sardar played to 'Housefull' cinema halls, Talaash released to audiences. A week later Khiladi 787 wooed the crowds, and by December 21st it will be time for Dabangg 2. So while it has been a spectacular closing at the box office, what does it mean for Hindi cinema? Clearly, it's the first week's performance that determines the commercial success of a film. But while Talaash may finally emerge as the least successful of the year's final releases, it…

In order to develop sports activities in Bengaluru and around the country, more and more sports management companies are engaging directly with schools.Attribute it to the lack of playground or lack of space in the schools or sports in itself being not inclusive, various schools have employed a cluster of companies like Edusports, Leap Start, Khel Point and Sports Mentor to kickstart sporting activities. These companies primarily provide sports coaches and train in various sports to students. Pic courtesy:edusports.in Bengaluru-headquartered Edusports which started in 2009, feels that the kids around the country are not playing up because the sports is…

We build ourselves many different types of houses, but Nature provides a great variety of housing for Her creatures, too! Let's look at some of the smaller beings...Here's a Weaver Ants' nest; the ants "weave" together the leaves with a paste that they generate, and make a water-proof home. Pic: Deepa MohanHere are two Paper Wasps, beginning the construction of their nest (yes, it is a kind of papery material, hence their name. Pic: Deepa Mohan When they finish, the wasps' nest looks like this... such a beautiful globe, with its crescent-shaped patterns. However, do not approach too close, for…

This November, it's Hindi cinema's season of film launches. So first, there was an overdose of Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif in promos for "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", and now Aamir Khan takes over with the release date for "Talaash" just around the corner. While it was Aamir who first set the trend of intelligently aggressive film promotion, other Indian filmmakers have been quick to join the bandwagon. "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" promos had Shahrukh on every English language television channel, and even holding forth in a keynote address at the Hindustan Times' "Leadership Summit". The questions he fielded here…

A few days ago, I jumped at the opportunity of 'converting' yet another fellow urbanite. My cousin wanted some help in planting pudina (mint) in his balcony and we soon got talking about various aspects of plant care. Watering can. Pic:Vinita It was then I realised that while watering appears to be a simple activity, it is in fact one of the most misinterpreted, often with disastrous consequences for the plant. When understood and carried out properly, it is capable of significantly influencing the relationship with the garden. So, let’s start at the very beginning. We don't water plants, we…