Lounge

Sunil Khilnani: Past Master

Nandini Nair

Sunil Khilnani explores the idea of India through the profiles of fifty Indians who shaped history

The Age of Genius

AC Grayling

The tumult of the 17th century led to a breakdown of systems but also to greater freedom and even greater innovation

Feluda@50: Forever Hero

Chatura Rao

Essays by Feluda fans on their affection for Satyajit Ray’s enduring detective

Kanishk Tharoor: Past Forward

Nandini Nair

Kanishk Tharoor creates fiction not from a castle of fancies but from the realm of history

Galle Literary Festival: Stories by the Sea

Padmaparna Ghosh

The Galle Literary Festival, back after a four-year hiatus, had unusual vistas, accessible authors and novel experiences to offer

The Originality of Evil

Shylashri Shankar

The best of crime fiction tells us that murder is sometimes the solution to greater malevolence

What adds spice to the memoirs of Padma Lakshmi, model and celebrity chef whose story stretches from conservative Madras to haute Manhattan, is the portrait of her ex-husband Salman Rushdie, ‘all arched-eyebrows’

An Empire Redeemed

Prabha Chandran

Audrey Truschke goes deep into the fundamental flaws of Hindu-Mulsim distrust

‘They were Indian kings’

Prabha Chandran

A Sanskrit scholar from America returns to the Mughal court to trace its Indian cultural roots

The Crayon Revolution

Nandini Nair

What is the lure of the adult colouring book? Is it a sign of boredom and loneliness? Does it alleviate stress? Is it a return to childhood? Or is it a symptom of ‘rage against the machine’?