An Englishman living in the United States in the late nineteenth century wrote stories about an Indian boy that continue to captivate children and adults alike around the world. Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book when he was residing in Vermont. The house where he resided is now owned and preserved by The Landmark Trust USA. They hold an annual…
There was a clear bifurcation in the milieu in which the books that I read as a child were set. On one hand were the Amar Chitra Katha comics, which were set in India but mainly based on mythology and history, and then, there were comics such as Tintin, Asterix and Obelix, Phantom, etc., and books that I read, which…
“Chalti ka naam gaadi! Jitna din chaltha hai, uthna din chalenaka!” That was my Papa’s response for the last couple of years whenever I or anyone else asked how he was doing. “Chalti ka naam gaadi!” is, of course, a playful reference to the 1958 Hindi movie and can be loosely translated as “That which moves is called a car”.…
When the rare Pankaj Mullick song played on the radio in the 1970s, we would stop whatever we were doing and listen to the song. After the song had ended, my dad would remark wistfully, “That was a great song, but not like his songs from Yatrik. Those songs were something else.” Those were our pre-cassette player days, when we did not…
“Max Home,” said Nikhil on his iPad. It was dinnertime. I was feeding Nikhil, my wife and daughter were in India. Max is Nikhil’s classmate and buddy. “Yes, Nikhil. Max is at home,” I replied. “Max Home,” repeated Nikhil. “Yes, Nikhil, it’s 7 pm. Max is at home, and so are you.” “Max Home,” he said again, this time looking…
Comics were an integral part of my life growing up. I read them all without discrimination. However, there was a clear hierarchy within the world of comics. The Amar Chitra Katha series (Eternal Stories in Pictures) was probably the most ubiquitous, as it was printed in India. It was also the kind you were most likely to receive as a…
In my last post, I wrote about my visit to a few temples in Kyoto with my friend Ashish, and now, I’m back with a few more to share! Fushimi Inari Taisha is among the most important Shinto shrines in Japan. The Taisha, or grand shrine, is located in Fushimi and is dedicated to Inari, a revered deity or spirit…
The earliest lesson I can remember from any of my textbooks is one from my first-grade English textbook, “New Horizons.” It’s a tale of two frogs—one from Osaka and the other from Kyoto—who decide to explore the world. They journey toward each other’s cities and meet at the top of a mountain. As they raise themselves to peer over the…
It’s spring, and Nikhil has a new activity to look forward to. Each morning, as soon as he wakes up, Nikhil points to his knee. He keeps pointing to his knee until we tell him the magic words, “Yes, Nikhil, we’ll go for a walk on the trail.” Nikhil is satisfied and continues with his day. But since he knows…
Forty years ago, on a late sunny afternoon in March, I left school with an overwhelming sense of relief. I had just completed my ICSE exams, and for the first time in weeks, I didn’t have to go home and cram for exams. I suddenly seemed to have a limitless supply of time with nothing to do. Freedom! The “Indian…