Ms. Chinoy’s Oscar win is a cause for great jubilation. She has shown the world that there is more to Pakistan than drone attacks, terrorists and corruption. This award, unfortunately,will not solve any of our problems but it has, temporarily, given us hope that all is not lost.  Will this win, which is a source [...]

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The first Dickens’ book I read, at age nine, was an abridged version of Oliver Twist. Oliver’s tragic story was probably my first exposure to tragedy in literature. I cried tears of joy when everything fell into place for little Oliver and all was well in the end. All was not well for my younger [...]

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 ‘Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure’. This is the sort of opening line which is discussed, torn apart and chewed at in creative writing workshops. And it is just the beginning of this bizarre novel. The Outsider, also known by the title – The Stranger, is an unusual piece of work. [...]

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Anger is an emotion which we’re all familiar with regardless of age, height, weight, social status, race, creed, sect and gender, especially gender. And even though men are the ones who display their anger in the form of fist fights at the first opportunity they get, it’s the fairer sex who’s the ugly gorilla in [...]

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I’m not very fond of cats and the title of this book, which has a slightly sinister feel to it, filled me with foreboding. This cat, I thought as I settled down to read, is going to create trouble. The Cat revolves around three characters; Alain, his Chartreux Saha and Camille, his fiancée. They are [...]

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Dear Insha jee, Today marks your 34th death anniversary. There was almost no mention of you in the morning news on any television channel. It is heartbreaking but you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that PTV is no longer supreme. In fact, it is on the list of endangered species as far as television channels [...]

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[While in London, a mystery writer offered to do a column on beanbag tales. My guest writer wants his/her identity to remain under wraps. For the record,I bear no responsibility of the views expressed by him/her]. Why Me? There is nothing that pisses me off big time and reeks more of self pity than these [...]

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Endings are difficult; whether of books, relationships, or a year. But endings are followed by beginnings and beginnings always come with a great deal of promise.  Or so we like to believe. Unlike other beginnings in our life (marriage, child birth, relocation) we make a lot of hoopla about the new year and chalk out [...]

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Insha’s London A basement flat in Gloucester Hotel owned by a matronly Mrs.Watson sounds an extremely scary place to live in. And that is exactly where Ibn-e-Insha stayed when he visited London in Sept 1967. I was rather lucky in terms of the location, ownership and view of the apartment where I resided. The magnificent [...]

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