It’s the Da Vinci showdown As protests against The Da Vinci Code gather momentum, Mumbai comes out strongly in favour of freedom of expression I was invited by the Censor Board to watch The Da Vinci Code. The film drags on and, to me, is not very special. The book was much better. It was… Continue reading Whats the Fuss About: Da Vinci Code
Category: Books
Rediscover the Axial Age ethos
complained to Lord Mazda (Aryan god of harmony): ‘For whom did you shape me? … Fury and raiding, cruelty and might hold me captive.’ ” Lord Mazda replied that Zoroaster, a priest, would protect her, and the cow’s response was something like – big deal, he’s got no power. Zoroaster had a vision of a… Continue reading Rediscover the Axial Age ethos
In The Song of Kahunsha
In The Song of Kahunsha (Doubleday Canada, $29.95), the second novel from North Vancouver’s Anosh Irani, paradise is a place of no sadness. Or so believes his protagonist, 10-year-old Chamdi, an orphan who winds up on the streets of Bombay just as Hindu-Muslim violence is tearing the city apart. This paradise–Kahunsha–will be a place of… Continue reading In The Song of Kahunsha
Of myths, legends and fabled Parsi gems
SHAPURBAUG: A retired school teacher is trying to cull out fables and legends about the Parsis in a bid to retrace the path trodden by the community and record people’s lives for posterity. Article by Supriya Thanawala | DNA India “The Parsi community cannot simply be allowed to forget its culture,” says Ratti Wadia, former… Continue reading Of myths, legends and fabled Parsi gems
Love, death and adjectives in Mumbai
Two for one, three for two: no noun without an adjective, never a single adjective where two or more will do. Silence is “utter”, hatred “raw and naked”, puddles “brown, murky and stagnant”. The quirkiest of all appendages in this novel is the heroine’s nose: not only “long, straight” but also “impervious”. That misplaced “v”… Continue reading Love, death and adjectives in Mumbai
The Space Between Us;
A new novel by Thrity Umrigar; WHEN was it that you last thought of your household help as human? More importantly in a crunch who would you trust — the help or your own family? Sera Dubash, a Parsi housewife, is bound to her home and hearth and her only daughter Dinaz and her son-in-law… Continue reading The Space Between Us;
Parsi History: Objective documentation or hagiography?
Enduring Legacy: Parsis of the 20th Century Edited and published by Nawaz B. Mody 4 volumes Pages: 1,168 In my early years at school, I was frequently embarrassed by the clannish appeals of my Parsi friends. This was not a Parsi school, but a fine Jesuit institution with a thoroughly cosmopolitan mix of boys. Yet,… Continue reading Parsi History: Objective documentation or hagiography?
