Borgub's Lair

Child sex abuse: The horror show stats and signs to watch out for

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:35:21 +0530

As the country reels under the sheer number of cases of child sexual abuse and brutal sexual attacks on little children, it bears repeating that India has a history of

Sexist is as sexist does

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:55:58 +0530

The MLA who told the national kabaddi women's team coach that she should wear appropriate clothes - that is, a sari instead of shirt and pants ("shirt-pant" is really the

Aghast at New Delhi

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:08:44 +0530

It's no surprise that our national capital is a horror story - or a series of horror stories that play out, often far from the limelight. Often we turn away.

On the election trail: race for White House

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 04:05:29 +0530

A hectic day in - just hours to go now till we know who the next US President is going to be. There's a lot of rhetoric, I

Aung San Suu Kyi in the house

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:41:35 +0530

Aung San Suu Kyi has been drawing the crowds right through her US trip. It's the pro-democracy activist and Nobel laureate's first trip to the States since being released from

On Rushdie (being Joseph Anton)

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:59:16 +0530

Salman Rushdie seems in his element, chatting to a crowd, reading from his own work in his sonorous voice - pitch-perfect, except when the mikes fail him, the lapse almost

The right to bear arms

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 01:01:26 +0530

Another morning, news of another shooting. This in New Jersey, where an employee returned after his shift to shoot out the store he worked at, where his co-workers were getting

What's to celebrate about India?

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:08:48 +0530

The annual India Day Parade in New York and the flashy display of all that patriotism by NRIs made me start to wonder what it's all about. Watch it here:

Of loving and leaving Bhutan

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 28 May 2012 06:50:00 +0530

Bhutan is one of those places that just leaves an imprint - but as I write that, I think of other places visited, people met, and wonder what the difference

The hills are alive: hugged by the Queen, blessed by the Abbot

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:37:39 +0530

The sound of music resonated in the most unlikely fashion - After being treated to a dose of "high culture" music, if you'll allow me that distinction, on Sunday evening

From the Land of the Thunder Dragon

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:07:17 +0530

Mountain Echoes has kicked off to a promising start here in Thimphu, Bhutan. There's usually only so much you can say about a literary festival, but here's one whose location

It's a wrap : On the Jaipur Lit Fest, fatigue and censorship

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:52:15 +0530

Festival fatigue has indeed set in, but I must remember not to keep asking people if the massive crowds leave them feeling wiped out! The crowds have thinned, the hysteria's

Failing our children: India's capital shame

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:00:06 +0530

Delhi's not supposed to be on this list - not on a list of shame, for heaven's sake, when it comes to child mortality and child malnutrition. As the national

World Mental Health Day

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:28:19 +0530

It's world mental health day today -something none of us can afford to ignore. First the disturbing stats: The World Health Organisation estimates that 1 in 4 people will

India: Literature festival central

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:19:13 +0530

What is it about literary festivals? The thought of one can drive some people into rhapsodies, or have others pull their hair out, and that's not just organisers and their

From Anna to Binayak, one short week in the news

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:02:23 +0530

Thank goodness for the Supreme Court, I have to say right at the outset. But it's really incredible how important the spotlight the media offers is, or media glare, even,

Day two: Counting down to the Grammys

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 07:09:03 +0530

Just a quick note as we dash out this morning, downtown LA beckons... We're going to meet Chandrika Tandon today - nominated for a Grammy in the best contemporary world

Grammys: Dispatch one from the City of Angels

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:07:19 +0530

So many songs in my head - so little time to choose an appropriate soundtrack, to this blog. You pick - from California Dreaming... to LA Woman or Cah-lii-fforr-nnia Gurrls.

Jaipur Lit Fest: We coulda danced all night

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:18:15 +0530

I have to announce right at the outset, that I've been to the Jaipur Literature Festival so many times, I have to double check whether this is my fourth or

Where the world is a stage...

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:54:30 +0530

It's impossible to sum up the Jaipur Literature Festival in a few words -- it's stunning, sun-drenched, sublime and chaotic all at once. You could name-drop here till the

Reality Bites

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:38:48 +0530

Who's your favourite star? A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not too far away - let's call it the Nineties - it would've been easy to pick your

Making Hay in Kerala

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:01:23 +0530

Highlights of the Hay Fest and why it's win-win for Thiruvananthapuram With two literary festivals in Thiruvananthapuram in just two months, what's the buzz? Well, The Hay Festival's Kerala

Dancing to their Own Tune

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:47:44 +0530

Reading young writers Samit Basu and Tishani Doshi I've read and thoroughly enjoyed Samit Basu's Terror on the Titanic - I'm not the target audience by a long shot

Tea party calling

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:24:56 +0530

It's the perfect season for book launches and tea parties, if you ask me, and there's an enviable line-up if you're in Delhi. This coming week, I'm sad to

David his own Goliath

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:50:04 +0530

If you're not in the publishing world, you may or may not be aware of the massive tremors underfoot as David Davidar, a veritable giant in that world (both Indian

Beatrice and Virgil: Martel's Holocaust tale gripping

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:29:12 +0530

I'm in the peculiar position of not remembering whether or not I've read a fabulous book. I know Yann Martel's Life of Pi is incredible, but now for the Life

Philip Pullman's latest relives the Jesus myth

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 17 May 2010 04:00:21 +0530

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ is not what you'd expect. It's that simple. The book - part of a re-telling of myth series - is thought-provoking, more

Book of the Month: 'The Temple-Goers'

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:48:08 +0530

Where to start with Aatish Taseer's The Temple-Goers? I've already read one review with its knives sharpened, and a couple of others that are way more receptive. (Always a bad

Summer reading

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:43:36 +0530

What are you reading this summer? I made the most wonderful (belated) discoveries till date! The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by the Dominican-born Pulitzer-Prize winner Junot Diaz

Booked and floored in Jaipur

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:52:42 +0530

The fifth annual Jaipur Literature Festival has just about wound down; you can practically hear the drum beats receding in the distance. After making my fourth annual pilgrimage, I have

A-Literation: Dispatches from Jaipur

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:35:03 +0530

The fifth annual Jaipur Literature Festival has just about wound down, you can practically hear the drum beats receding in the distance. After making my fourth annual pilgrimage, I have

Talk about being Open, Mr Agassi

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:42:01 +0530

I'm a huge fan of humility and self-discovery. Strange that I should use that to descibe the punk god of tennis, the "enfant terrible" of the '80s , Andre Agassi?

December Book Club

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:54:04 +0530

As we bid yet another year adieu, what's on your reading list? What's on your bed-side table? What's the best book you discovered this year? I'm going to have to

BOOK CLUB NOVEMBER

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:05:53 +0530

Nothing like falling sick to make you pensive, contemplative over the transience of everything (good health, life, and so it goes...) So it was certainly some sort of a cosmic

The Indomitable Gauls

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:17:42 +0530

Asterix turns FIFTY this week. Fifty! I have to say, growing up reading Asterix comics, I always loved him best ... but who could resist the bumbling charms of great

BOOK CLUB SNIPPETS

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:56:15 +0530

Coming in a month of awards (the Nobel and Booker, anyone?!), possibly one of the most potentially blockbuster-like releases this year, should be from Eoin Colfer, the author of the

Finding The Lost Symbol

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:43:34 +0530

Dan Brown is no stranger to best-sellers ... The Da Vinci Code itself has reportedly sold some 40 million copies worldwide ... and now, six years later, there's The Lost

The Difficulty of Being Good

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:54:14 +0530
The Ambani brothers are like Duryodhan? Ramalingam Raju of Satyam infamy (India's biggest corporate scandal) as Dhritashtra? No, these aren't gimmicky comparisons, but come out of a fairly scholarly work

Meeting Ali Sethi: Pak writer, aspiring classical singer

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:14:15 +0530
I got a chance to meet 25-year-old Ali Sethi, Pakistani writer and aspiring classical singer. "I wanted to be a painter, then a musician, then I tried to be

Swine Flu: Health check

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:29:24 +0530
The H1 N1 flu is still considered a moderate infection - healthy people will even clear the viral infection from their systems, without medication, we're told. Having said that,

CNN-IBN Book CLUB: Books Buzz

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:55:07 +0530
My pick of the week has got to be Bad Science by Dr Ben Goldacre (he's also got a regular column in the Guardian). As always, he pulls off being

Michael Jackson RIP

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:36:09 +0530
It's shocking how many theories float around about his death. Abuse of prescription pain killers, or sudden cardiac arrest induced by intense sedatives? Was he in a constant state of

Book Club: Author Mohsin Hamid shares snippets

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:34:07 +0530
SNIPPETS SNIPPETS SNIPPETS News of the new Haruki Murakami book 1Q84 that's hit stores in Japan this past weekend, and sold out already! It's 2 volumes, and 1,055 pages

CNN-IBN Book Club: Between the Lines

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:05:45 +0530
Of course with all the reading between the lines post-elections, you haven't had much time for actual reading, and I don't blame you one bit... what with the number-crunching, analysis,

CNN-IBN Book Club Edition IV: What to do in IPL breaks!

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:18:46 +0530
Is the IPL packing heat this year? And I don't mean rain god laments... Where's the frenzy, glitz and glamour, and all that excitement kicked up along with the cheerleaders'

CNN-IBN Book Club Edition III

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:41:02 +0530
The London Book Fair begins Monday, and there's a host of Indian writers, some FIFTY of them (including Vikram Seth, Amartya Sen, Ramachandra Guha, Javed Akhtar) taking part ... India

CNN-IBN Book Club Edition II

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:34:22 +0530
SNIPPETS SNIPPETS SNIPPETS The Prime Minister no less is releasing NR Narayana Murthy's A Better India A Better World in the Capital next week, though I'm sure we'll all

Your one-stop shop to all the books news

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:04:59 +0530
Some snippets first, the late Michael Crichton left behind ONE finished novel, which will be released next year, according to his publishers. Also there's a half-finished one that they will

Jade Goody, RIP

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:13:24 +0530
Jade Goody's tragic death, captured like most of her life in full public glare, put the spotlight firmly back on cervical cancer. She was 27. By

Ring out the old, ring in the new

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:57:20 +0530
Bombay's rise from the ashes, they're calling it... The Taj and the Trident re-opening after a horrific ordeal no one's going to forget. People will go in, amidst hyper-security, because

Happy Birthday, Superman

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:48:08 +0530
Superman turned 70 this month... and wouldn't you know it, he's not aged a day on celluloid - in fact he's gone back in time - at least judging by

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:08:51 +0530
Before you start frothing at the mouth, all you self-declared guardians of all that's pure, it's a quote from Heroes (Tagline Season 1...But I digress.) Why cheerleaders are the

Shock and Horror

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:16:14 +0530
A 15 year old is raped and murdered ... preyed upon in her youth, in her weakness. Preyed upon by a society whose fabric has been so badly decimated that

2 feet from Aamir … and other Literary Stories

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:26:54 +0530
So you don't exactly expect to see Aamir Khan at a literature festival - that too, in Jaipur. Sure, he was scheduled to "hold a session" with Tehelka Features Editor

"Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters..."

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:17:42 +0530
Every once in a while, someone writes a book that's crying out to be written - but even more, crying out to be read... Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters - The

"Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters..."

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:17:42 +0530
Every once in a while, someone writes a book that's crying out to be written - but even more, crying out to be read... Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters - The

Spiritual healing?

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 04:12:55 +0530
This is probably just ASKING for trouble in these religiously charged times, what with national debate revolving around the authenticity of claims that Ram may have been a mythical figure...

Better...(the Hippocratic Oath Reviewed)

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:58:56 +0530
Atul Gawande is a general and endocrine surgeon of Indian origin, practising in Boston. So what makes his latest book Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance relevant to us half

Harry Potter & The Final Review

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:49:01 +0530
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS It begins with death. Right there in black and white in the first chapter of The Deathly Hallows. And it ends with death...and the

I'm Ok...You're Ok...With Harry or Without

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:31:58 +0530
I think I have to say this right at the outset...whether you love Harry Potter or can't stand him, let it go! Live and let live. The world's moved to

After Dark

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 10:14:42 +0530
Japanese author Haruki Murakami's latest novel, After Dark, tracks its main characters from 11.56 pm one night to 6.52 am the next day... But of course it doesn't feel like

What Goes Around...

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:29:53 +0530
It's not surprising that not much of a fuss has been made about Justin Timberlake's latest video - not surprising because of the changing face of the corporate mass-marketed cross-promoted

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 09 May 2007 05:08:00 +0530
REVIEW: The Reluctant Fundamentalist By Mohsin Hamid Published by Penguin/Viking Price: Rs 295/- Now here's a book that pulls in you in from the get

Inhaling the Mahatma - Review

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 05:38:01 +0530
REVIEW Inhaling the Mahatma by Christopher Kremmer It's a catchy title, and there are clever little quotes - the back flap has "When a Gandhi dies, nobody is safe",

Why a Lit Fest in Jaipur, you ask?!

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:25:56 +0530
What's the point of a literary festival? Ostensibly it's a meeting ground for authors and publishing moguls and intellectuals, and let's not forget, their fans and...the media. Ah,

What do you mean Happy New Year?

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 05:56:31 +0530
What a miserable year to wake up to. It's a year where we're all talking child abuse and perversity and serial killing. But it's miserable on so many levels, I

Through the Looking Glass: Will Dalrymple's Rising

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 01:12:53 +0530
The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple It's hard to know where to begin...everyone's got a favourite Dalrymple, whether it's City of Djinns, or In Xanadu, or even White Mughals...

Tellin' Everybody...

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 04:02:30 +0530
I just met two sets of adoptive parents for a lifestyle story on adoption - and of course while you're busy looking at things in terms of "case studies", you

Sacred Games...Up Close and Personal

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 02:56:54 +0530
It took Vikram Chandra some seven years to write Sacred Games, currently being touted as the big Indian release of the year. And they're not kidding about the "big" -

Review: Shooting Water

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 01:37:49 +0530
Shooting Water Author: Devyani Saltzman Publisher: Penguin India Price: Rs 295/- Shooting Water is an emotional, even turbulent ride. Sure, you'll probably start it with some amount of scepticism.

Review: Iran Awakening

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 07:14:18 +0530
Iran Awakening From Prison to Peace Prize: One Woman's Struggle at the Crossroads of History By Shirin Ebadi Random House Shirin Ebadi is of course now a known name

Missing the Wood for the Trees

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 11:37:46 +0530
Right now, there's no denying it, the big news is Mahajan Jr's fall from grace. Though the powers that be have of course known all along about young Rahul's propensity

We've come a long way, baby

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 27 May 2006 03:11:20 +0530
Yes, Aamir Khan is back!! All over the place and not too shabby either...Is it me, or is he quite the articulate star?! I particularly admire the way he uses

How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Went Wild...Get a life!

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 01 May 2006 08:45:31 +0530
So, the plagiarism debate has been done to death, you think? With anyone and everyone waxing eloquent on how it's immoral/unethical/plain stupid, or was Kaavya Viswanathan just a poor young

of fashion and fillers

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 05:27:54 +0530
Politics and death and destruction dominate, as always. The fashion week is finally over, thank god, people can finally get back to talking about babies or the heat or whatever

The unholy art of celebration

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 11:35:46 +0530
Oh doesn't everyone hate to be a party-pooper. You never wnat to be the loser in the corner, who doesn't know how to have a good time. Me, I have

Missing the bush(es) for the trees

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 09:58:52 +0530
So much drama, so much hype!! Yes President Bush was here...But no the world didn't stop for a minute, let alone a day. He didn't have the good sense to

Chicken little

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 02:33:26 +0530
This bird flu panic is beginning to get me down. Yes, we know the H5N1 bird flu virus has the potential (POTENTIAL) to perhaps mutate and combine with the human

Jet, Set, GO!!!

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 03:15:22 +0530
So the Book Fair is on, it's all madness, fun and excitement, but after you're done trudging from hall 1 to hall 18 (ALL the way across Pragati Maidan) for

Technicolour and Loving It

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 10:49:00 +0530
Brokeback Mountain is sweeping awards all over the place and I'm already waiting to get tickets to see it. Just read it's based on a short story by Annie Proulx

Books, covers, bursting blood vessels

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 04:06:46 +0530
Karan Thapar's book was released yesterday...He said some interesting, not quite self-effacing things, but one of the things that struck me was when he said that one shouldn't judge a

The (second to) Last of the Mohicans

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 12:15:07 +0530
Borgub is a Nordic stone goddess (no, not troll!) Goddess, or god, even, why bother with gender when you're divine. But unfortunately Borgub's Lair is no longer the fjords of

Bigger, Faster, Newer!!....Yawn

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 06:13:54 +0530
It's a brand new year!! Well, not brand new but still not dusty yet around the edges. A time when really anything seems possible...not for long though, ha! The crime

Don't hold your breath

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 10:24:50 +0530
We're not safe anymore. Noone, nowhere. Bad guys worldwide have had the last laugh. When professors will think twice before going for academic conferences, far from the so-far clearly demarcated

On the reindeer trail

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 05:04:22 +0530
NORAD might have tracked Santa this Christmas, but I'm not so sure about his living in Reykjavik. I know for a fact that he set up home in Rovaniemi, bang

Breaking out the bubbly

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 05:22:27 +0530
So another year's drawing to a close, and normally that would panic me no end, Bridget Jones-style. A quarter of a century next year and I'm definitely freezing the sands

"Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters..."

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 12:00:00 +0530
Every once in a while, someone writes a book that's crying out to be written - but even more, crying out to be read... Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters - The