Smells like Science Fiction: Reviews of Ghost in The Shell and The Chronicles of Riddick
Good science fiction movies are hard to come by. And you notice I don’t call them sci-fi, the way most people do. Whatever you may say, call me a purist, anything, I’m sorry, but I still like the old true name of the genre, Science Fiction. Sci-fi (often pronounced “sky-fi”) is what ignoramuses used to [...]
Wordplay in a time of war: Book review of Ali Smith’s The Accidental
This one appeared in HT, and I now (finally) have the pleasure of seeing my reviews in print, since HT is out in Mumbai at last. I like HT a hell of a lot. So much so, that to support it, I actually cancelled my copy of TOI (yes, incl. the free copy of Mumbai [...]
The Armies March On: Ramayana 4 wins over readers and critics worldwide
Since the publication of Armies of Hanuman: Book 4 of The Ramayana recently (April in the UK, June in India, July in the USA) I’ve been deluged with a torrent of email and links to reviews. The shocking thing is that so far at least, all of them are raves. Or even better, intelligent, questioning-analyzing [...]
I’ll Be Back: A post-flood word from Ashok
Hi there. As most of you know by now, the torrential rains in Mumbai on 26 July and thereafter disrupted infrastructure and caused immense damage to the city. My family and I were luckier than most. Except for a harrowing few hours swimming (I do not exaggerate) through six-feet deep filthy floodwaters, we escaped the [...]
