A few days ago we had our first guest in 135 days. Just one person. We made sure the three of us — wife, guest and me — sat at the regulation distance from each other. Thankfully our drawing room is just about large enough for that.

The extended lockdown has had one good outcome that no one is talking about: Indians are reading more, reluctantly perhaps but how long can you watch TV and play on your phone? For me the biggest plus has been the discovery of a completely new genre of

Some months ago, some of us who often take trips together decided to go to Munnar in Kerala where the Kanan Devan tea estate is sprawled over thousands of acres. The estate has these far-flung bungalows dotting the hillsides on which live planters breathing clean air and

As we get older, I find that you start to reflect on what has really mattered to you, I mean really… Most people I talked to said parents, children, wife, teachers, books, music, all the usual things. But in my life what has mattered most are my

Having heard so much about New Zealand last July three of us classmates from college and our wives decided to go there. It is very far away, around 12,000 kilometres and takes almost 20 hours to get there with a four-hour-stop at Singapore, which is an experience

Having heard so much about New   Zealand last July three of us classmates from college and our wives decided to go there. It is very far away, around 12,000 kilometres and takes almost 20 hours to get there with a four-hour-stop at Singapore, which is an experience

Ever since I retired six years ago, I have had all the time in the world to do whatever I want. So mostly I watch TV and read low-brow fiction. Sadly, travel has been pretty much ruled out because my wife teaches in a university and gets

Travelling abroad poses two major problems for people who read a lot. One is what books to carry; the other is how many. I know Kindle and Google between them have taken care of this problem now but for older people who prefer printed books, it is

Life, over 60-odd years, takes curious turns. When I finished school in 1967, I had no idea what I was going to do in college. It was the sheerest accident that I joined the honours course in Economics in Delhi University. Then, when I finished my Masters

Many people ask me if they should write a book. By all means, I tell them but be warned, it is an exercise in futility if you are looking for glory and fame. I know because between 1975 and 1980 I worked in a large British publishing