These days, whenever I write, I feel like Alex Murphy in RoboCop — rebuilt stronger and more efficient, yet quietly haunted by the fragments of my original self. As he says in a moment of painful clarity: “I can feel them… but I can’t remember them.” "This version keeps the critical tone while thoughtfully exploring... Continue Reading →
The Grey Interludes of Stirling: A Quiet Rue
Last night I watched the movie Snow White and the Huntsman — an adult take on the fairy tale that I enjoyed far more than I expected. It had a peculiar effect on me. The film was shot partly in Scotland, Kent, and Wales, with generous helpings of CGI. I had braced myself for indifferent... Continue Reading →
The Guava Tree Murderer and Other True Stories
Behind my house stands a magnificent guava tree. It is an old, generous giant with a wide, low, and impossibly thick canopy. When it fruits, it bears the sweetest pink-centered guavas I’ve ever tasted. My neighbor Murali, who lives directly behind us, has never shared my affection for it. The very day he moved in,... Continue Reading →
Magpie-Robins, and the Small Pains That Anchor Me
A few mornings ago in Mysore, I stepped out onto the porch, wincing from kidney stones. The Farm is usually my happy retreat — binoculars glued to my face, ridiculous grin in place. But that day, pain was winning. The previous afternoon, I had hobbled deep into the property, stick as a crutch, very aware... Continue Reading →
I Blame the Orange Minivet (and I’d Do It Again)
Just two days back, I drove 300 kilometers back home with a broken foot. All because of an Orange Minivet. Wherever I stopped on the way, mostly for waterbreaks, I hobbled out, leaning my weight on my car, wincing with pain. Despite the gritting of teeth and sweat pouring down my back, I was ecstatic.... Continue Reading →
The Quiet Counterpoint: Why a Blue-Faced Malkoha Outshines Man-Eating Myths
Bangalore has been especially cold this year. Most early mornings for the past two months, I have been surviving with a steaming cup of golden-brown kattan tea and a shawl wrapped around me. Last week, I picked up Jim Corbett's Man-Eaters of Kumaon—it's gripping stuff: those tense stalks through the Kumaon hills, the way Corbett... Continue Reading →
The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo: A Guide to Organized Mimicry
The Greater racket-tailed drongo is one of the easiest birds to describe visually. If, of course, you are familiar with how the "regular' Drongo looks. Picture the sleek black drongo with two long, twisted pendant-like extensions trailing from its tail. Its body is silky, glossy black. In our part of the world, black drongos are... Continue Reading →
Rufous Treepie: Ghosted in Bangalore, Reunited in Mangalore
Given how ridiculously common the Rufous Treepie is supposed to be across Peninsular India, it's frankly embarrassing that this bird has me acting like a hopeless groupie. Perhaps it's because Bangalore has been thoroughly colonized by the villainous Rock Pigeons (those sky rats) and their slightly less offensive cousins, the Spotted Doves (I'm team spotted... Continue Reading →
Demon Hunters (2025): When the Power of Christ Compels You… But the Power of Don Lee Uppercuts You Into Next Week
Look, if you told me five years ago that my favorite genre of movies was the kind where Don Lee (the human equivalent of a refrigerator with feelings) suplexes a nine-tailed fox spirit through a convenience store kimchi display, I’d have called you a shaman. Demon Hunters is that movie. It’s Train to Busan on... Continue Reading →
Riddick-ulous: How Vin Diesel Outruns Physics, Bioraptors, and Good Writing
When the World Ends, At Least We Won’t Have Emails (Or Good Acting). The Therapeutic Allure of Apocalyptic Cinema In an era where daily life often feels like an endless cycle of trivial obligations—commutes, emails, and fleeting distractions—apocalyptic films offer a peculiar form of solace. Philosophers of modern psyche have noted that imagining total collapse... Continue Reading →
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