There’s a fair bit of travel involved in Kanishk Tharoor’s debut collection of short fiction, Swimmer Among The Stars: Stories, fuelled by the writer’s “far-reaching interests in social and cultural history”. From tracing an elephant’s journey across Morocco to imagining the epilogue to climate change, Tharoor traverses time and space in these brightly original stories. And he’s found… Continue reading Name to know: Kanishk Tharoor
If your scrolling habits are eating into your reading time, you’re probably not scrolling in the right places. Twitter fiction has emerged into a legit lit genre, especially with the participation of heavyweight authors like David Mitchell, Margaret Atwood and Alexander McCall Smith, who created four short stories for last year’s Twitter Fiction Festival. While 140-character tales are… Continue reading Get started on Twitter fiction
Salman Rushdie mentions in a recent interview that science-fiction, that oft (unfairly) maligned and (overly) defended genre (most recently by the great Ursula K. LeGuin, whom Rushdie names as his most “generous” critic), was one of his “earliest interests” as a writer. It’s clear that Rushdie’s always had a taste for pulp. If his most… Continue reading Should you read Salman Rushdie’s new book?
Salman Rushdie might enjoy Twitter more than any other writer. He frequently baits trolls and engages with fans, and, occasionally, comments on pop culture. We picked our favourite barbs: He keeps up with the Kardashians; in 2011 he tweeted about Kim Kardashian’s divorce (in limerick form!): 1. The marriage of poor kim #kardashian was krushed… Continue reading Salman Rushdie’s greatest Twitter hits
Jonathan Franzen puts you in mind of a shy person whose destiny it is to attract attention, and he doesn’t always submit with grace. For instance, our interview began inauspiciously with him saying: “The part [of book promotions] I don’t like is the interviews.” While this truth bomb is unpalatable on a personal level (I… Continue reading Jonathan Franzen on his new book Purity
In what came as no surprise to anyone, the launch of Twinkle Khanna’s book, Mrs Funnybones, was full of laughs. Khanna gave us a sense of what to expect from the book, when we interviewed her (read it here). But we honestly weren’t prepared for such a star-studded launch! Check out the pics to see… Continue reading Twinkle Khanna launches her book, Mrs Funnybones
I’ve been noticing them for some time now — mysteriously masked young girls, often on scooters, sometimes on foot. They fasten scarves around their heads and faces, only anonymous eyes looking out. Others go further, combining the scarf with full-bodied clothes, elbow-length gloves and socks, leaving not an inch of skin visible. They are on… Continue reading The disappearing urban woman
On May 16, 2008, Aarushi Talwar, a 14-year-old girl living in Noida, was found murdered in her room. A day later, the body of Hemraj, a 45-year-old help, who worked in Talwar’s house, was found on the terrace of the same home. The case is perhaps one of the greatest whodunits in the country’s criminal… Continue reading Revisiting the Aarushi Talwar murder
Even though his velvet trousers and shaggy hair days have given way to a perfectly groomed middle-aged respectability, there’s still a bristle about Hanif Kureishi — in the sneer, the swagger, the stare. By his own admission he’s a “bloody-minded fellow,” and would prefer to be clubbed on the “Genet” end of the artist’s scale… Continue reading Exclusive: In conversation with Hanif Kureishi
