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Just returned from a solo trip to Shantiniketan! My first trip without family or friends! I had gone for a couple of days to attend a literature festival at a resort on the outskirts of Shantiniketan.  Since it's almost sharatkaal, the kaash phul was in full bloom along the roadside! It had just rained, leaving everything verdant all around with different shades of green! I started out from Bolpur station to my resort in a toto, passing fields and stretches of green. The resort - Raktakorobi Karugram was in quite a remote area, and there was no mobile network in my room, so my first reaction was, "Where have I landed?"  Thankfully wi-fi solved the problem a bit. The atmosphere was of calm and solitude, and gave a feeling of peace. My next day passed in the festival, making new acquaintances, talking about my book, and networking with like-minded people. It was an exhilarating feeling, listening to interesting discussions, as well as being appreciated and feted for my talk...

A curious phenomenon has taken place over the years. Technology has advanced in leaps, modern medicine has become far more effective, we can control pain and disease far better, mental health is getting due attention, there are more avenues for creativity and entertainment.  Yet.... We are no longer able to be really happy. We are a chronically unhappy people. Forever dissatisfied, never content. Always thinking about the past or the future, never enjoying the moment. Think about it. When was the last time you were really, truly, wholly happy? Blissful, joyful? You slog hard at office, get that deserved raise/promotion, party hard to celebrate, and yet at the end of the day, a hollowness creeps in. An emptiness, a feeling of futility. You have a grand wedding - its the stuff Instagram dreams are made of. Your sweetheart looks like a million bucks with the latest designer lehenga, you yourself are spruced up, your family and friends are beaming, the event is going on swimmingly. Yet...

Does motherhood belong solely to the birth giver? Or does it encompass anyone who nurtures and cherishes the child? Does an adoptive mother- busy with her career, disqualify as a mother? Or is a nanny cum housekeeper the actual mother? She who mothers both mother and daughter with a fierce loyalty.  Image - IMDb Or is it the father, who embraces both roles of mother and father with a natural flair, become the child's prime mother, the safe place she so badly desires? Aniruddha Roy Choudhury's Dear Maa provokes you with these prickly questions....it's a rare Bangla film that actually prods your brain and heart. In today's gadget-addicted world, who is actually the mother or the parent whom the child seeks? Is it wrong if she "betrays" her adoptive family by seeking out her original mother? No easy answers to these messy posers. Better to follow the heart, and become a heart mother or father. And allow the child to choose her path, without resorting to emotiona...

"Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaae to Kya Hai:" This heartfelt anguish was literally personified by film maker and actor extraordinaire - Guru Dutt, whose birth centenary happens to be tomorrow (July 9).  Maestro or Failed Genius? All his life, he strove to depict his vision, his dreams on celluloid. Yet, even as he strove for success, for renown, he was a bit of a recluse, a black sheep himself. It was as if he wanted to challenge the language of popular cinema by being within the format, from the inside. His women had brains, taxi drivers and masseurs were philosophers, sex workers pined for spiritual ecstasy, and friendships blossomed between unlikely people. Common people on the street spoke wiser logic than academics or high-nosed editors. The topics of the films may seem dated now, but the eternal truths voiced in them remain relevant.   His films were distinctly different from other popular Hindi films. They had all the commercial elements of song, dance, comedy, romanc...

Shillong , the Scotland of the east, is a charming hill station and tourist favourite. Expectedly there are some touristy spots that every visitor is urged to visit, as if to tick off on a checklist. But, this beautiful place is much more than a few must-see sights. It is a tapestry of clouds playing hide and seek with the blue sky, the sun intermingling with the rain, rolling meadows, lush green and laid-back vibe. You needn't fill your days with "things to do". Just sit back and watch the clouds sailing past. Smell the woody scent of the pines. Breathe in the brisk, refreshing air. Let the breeze play with your hair. Just as you come out in the sunlit porch, feel the tip-tap of a light drizzle. The sky changes from blue to grey to white in minutes. And when you have soaked in the atmosphere, you can check out a few destinations at your leisure. Must-visit Places of Shillong Ward's Lake - This pretty, winding lake set in an equally pretty park is ideal for a leisure...

Iranian writer, Marjan Kamali's The Stationery Shop of Tehran is a remarkable and touching book. Like all literature set in countries with a deeply troubled history, this book too revolves around disillusionment, pain and the desperate struggle to live a normal life.  Akin to Khalid Hosseini, Kamali intertwines the political in the personal lives of her protagonists. Class struggle also plays a major role, like education or the lack of it. The story spans over six decades and two continents, starting from 1953 Iran to New England, US in early 2013. Love lost, Lives Shattered Young lovers, Roya and Bahman try to hold on to their love in the face of all pettiness and politics, but the aftermath of trauma runs too deep.  Just as their country plunges into another political upheaval, their lives are shattered and they are thrown apart.  Yet, Kamali makes her story deeply human and optimistic. Her lovers are genuinely good human beings, kind, forgiving and full of empathy. In...