Kaleidoscope

Witchy Brew

In common usage, the word chudail describes an aggressive or quarrelsome woman—could be said to be the Indian equivalent of bitch.  But the origins of the chudail (...

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Fighting Time & Tide

A Better Man is the fifteenth book in the Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny, readable as much for the setting of the novels, as for the crimes committed and solved. Three...

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Suspense Is The Key

Alfred Hitchcock made Frederick Knott’s stage play Dial M For Murder immortal by making a film based on it (in 1954).  Vijay Kenkre has directed a Marathi version c...

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Sisters Under The Skin

Jennifer Weiner’s sprawling novel, Mrs Everything, captures an era in American life, through the criss-crossing lives of two Jewish sisters, Jo and Bethie Kaufman. Grow...

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Murder, He Said

The Gujarati play Shaatir, starring Tiku Talsania in a role quite different from the comic roles he is known for, has been running successfully. It has been directed by Manges...

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Wild Child

Where the Crawdads Sing, the debut novel by Delia Owens, a wildlife scientist, has been on the bestseller lists for over a year. Reportedly, Reese Witherspoon, who has champio...

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Shock And Aargh

This is the kind of thing that one could imagine happening in Mumbai.  A woman returns from a holiday to find strangers moving into her house. In Louise Candlish’s ...

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Father Of The Groom

Makrand Deshpande’s new play Pitaji Please—should count among his best so far—deals with parental anxiety caused by an offspring's inter-community romance. T...

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Cannibal On The Run

This new John Sandford book, Neon Prey, 29th in his bestselling Prey series, is not for the squeamish, featuring as it does, a cannibal as the villain. It is also a bit offens...

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Wedding Woes

There can be no wedding in our country, without high stress and drama, some of which playwright-director Veena Bakshi has captured with humour in Ank’s production of Ham...

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THE STING BEHIND BOLLYWOOD PAPARAZZI

Khalid Mohamed, without being judgmental, reports on the love-hate relationship of the c...

May 12 2026

MAHOGATHA REVIVES MAHASHWETA DEVI’S LEGACY

Prof Dr Avinash Kolhe reviews Mahogatha, a powerful Hindi theatrical adaptation of three...

May 11 2026

DAADI KI SHADI REVIEW ANALYSIS

Arnab Banerjee reviews Daadi Ki Shadi, examining its progressive premise, hesitant story...

May 10 2026