Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Profile of art historian Dr. BN Goswamy for Mint Lounge
My profile of Professor B. N. Goswamy in Mint Lounge this week. Here and pasted below. Look at art intently, and with patience As someone who loves abstract and contemporary art, I am a little rattled by Prof. Goswamy’s obvious love for ancient Indian art Prof. Brijendra Nath Goswamy is in Bangalore to deliver Tasveer Foundation’s inaugural lecture. I have been allowed to take him out for an hour. Where does one take a man who is arguably India’s foremost art historian? I consider a ride in our new Metro to Angadi Silks or Vimor to buy a sari for [...]
Why I’m raging against Kolaveri for Mint Lounge
Why I’m raging over ‘Kolaveri’ In the end, it is only a song, not world peace The Good Life | Shoba Narayan Why don’t I like the Kolaveri Di song? That’s the question that’s been bothering me all last week. Am I not Tamilian enough to like it? Am I too Tamilian? It has morphed into a full-blown identity crisis. Everyone around me— family, friends—is raving about it. Interestingly, though, the other Tamilians who populate my life (milk lady, flower man, ironing man, vegetable vendor, help) don’t mention the song during our daily conversations about news and views. Out of sync: The [...]
In the Mood for Love
Lust and danger in particular make for a compelling combination. In my view however, the directors who truly understand the nuances of lust and danger are Wong Kar-wai and Ang Lee, two Asian directors who operate in a global milieu.
Bengali Films for Mint Lounge
In the midst of a Kolkata Ferment Cultural ‘adda’: Generations have grown up watching movies at Kolkata’s Priya Cinema. 5 min read . Shoba Narayan I feel like I am in a Bengali movie. Wait, that’s too easy. I am in Kolkata, after all, at the top floor of Priya Cinema, which, according to some, is the hub of Bengali cinema. I want a better [...]
About A Pet. Inji darling. RIP.
A very very hard piece to write. I wrote reams of prose and then rewrote it countless times. This has been in the works for the last four months. Finally worked up the nerve to send it and have it published. Not going to show it to my kids. Don't know if they can handle it. Luckily, one is on a school trip and the other doesn't read my column. Here is the link to Mint's page. Pasted below is my longer version, which needed to be cut for space. The night before my dog, Inji, died, she and I lay [...]
On Indian Rock music for Mint Lounge
The (rock) music is someplace else Posted: Thu, Nov 10 2011. 8:54 PM IST Someplace Else is cozy and dark. It has uncomfortable bar stools that jiggle when you crane your neck to watch the old-timers hum to the songs The Good life | Shoba Narayan I am doing something I haven’t done in a long time: asking a perfect stranger out to a nightclub in a strange city. Now that I have your attention, let me tell you that this piece is about music, not blind dates. His name is Prasanna Singh, and I found him online. He [...]
Art and Articulation for Mint Lounge
My column in Mint this week, here on the website and pasted below Art and articulation often don’t go together What do we art lovers expect from our artists? Do we want them to be worldly and articulate like the late M.F. Husain or reclusive and free from market influences, like the late Tyeb Mehta or Biren De? The Good life | Shoba Narayan I have a trick question for Pratiti Basu Sarkar, who runs the Centre of International Modern Art (Cima) in Kolkata. It’s a fair question but there really is no good answer—or so I think. I find Sarkar through [...]
The Leela Delhi: Hotel Review: Mint Lounge
Is anyone listening to the guest? 4 min read 27 Oct 2011, 09:23 PM IST The Good life | Shoba Narayan Small bites: Try the fresh salads from Egypt, Morocco and all over the Mediterranean, at The Qube, at the new Leela in Delhi It was 12.45 when I walked into the new Leela in Delhi to check in. I had scheduled a business lunch at the hotel’s Qube restaurant at 1pm and was worried I’d be late. All I wanted to do was go to my room, drop my bag, wash my face and get to the restaurant in [...]
The Noble Useful Art of Telling White Lies
The human urge to cheat and lie goes against the desire to feel good when you look in the mirror. Yet, humans lie and cheat.
Kolkata Durga Puja for Mint Lounge
This piece came out in Mint Lounge this week. When Kolkata Turns into a Temporary Museum The Good Life | Shoba Narayan It is 1am, but the Shiv Mandir para(neighbourhood) in Kolkata is hopping. Shorts-clad young men named Deb and Dickie are working alongside about 20 artisans who are erecting what seems to be a gigantic bamboo stage set, but is in fact a homage to Ma Durga. Tall tribal musicians made of bamboo are hoisted upright as five men anchor them to the ground. About eight bamboo musicians stand at the entrance to the pandal, serenading a multi-hued peacock made by [...]