Krazy Kochi

The novel begins by addressing The Lady Reader and it suggests, that as she begins reading the text of Zero Degree , she maybe upto anything—working, having sex, fantasising, chanting, screaming with labour pain etc… As Charu Nivedita spews his critique, or a disguised critique of magic realism that is undergoing an existential crisis—it gets a wee bit complicated here—one witnesses the throes of one literary genre getting transformed into another. Whatever Charu Nivedita likes to call this form of writing it is far from boring. It is a laugh riot and you are sucked into the novel not knowing how to tackle it. I am warning you that there is no easy method to read this, you will get lost in the sea of ideas and words and there is no looking back. Don’t bother to go back to unravel things—I suggest you just flow with the words. Then it gets more complicated—the existential crisis of the author gets intertwined with the existential crisis of the genre and that gets intertwined with the ex...

The Great Spoiler: It is great to be the first for a buffet. To run the spoon through the artfully designed dishes. It's hot: the chutney and preserve section Really that is not kichadi but pachadi: The bittergourd pachadi is an interesting idea If there is one dish that I like at The International Hotel it is their Seafood Au Gratin. That afternoon I had that yearning for the cheesy gooey melt with its small bits of seafood- squid and all. The rings of squid or sear cube nudge against the softness of your inner cheek and urge you to sink your teeth into them while the cheese spreads slowly over your tongue. The texture is amazing against your palate. It was one of those moments when I just had to have the au gratin with warm buttered rolls. And believe me I am not even pregnant to have that sudden onslaught of yearnings. But I guess it was one of those moments. But what greeted me at the Coq D’Or restaurant was a spread of the buffet. We were the first to arri...

yy (The Image above courtesy Moonward) The relationship between the text and the visual is perhaps most intimate in a graphic novel. Each complements the other to hold the novel together. But, there are often times when the page or the frame is devoid of text. However, the narrative remains uninterrupted. The reader then has the liberty to assume control of the space and interpret the visual to give it a language that is exclusively his own. Undoubtedly, all this is complex and gripping. Yes, these are exciting times for both the graphic novelists and the reader in India. Hardly five years in the Indian market, the graphic novel is on the threshold of a new phase. It is alluring more and more writers to the craft and interesting experiments in the structure of the novel are underway. The genre has grown by leaps and bounds and more than half a dozen graphic novels (by Indians) are expected to hit the stores in 2010. What is it all about? The term ‘graphic novel’ conjures up images of a...

If used with the right intonations, gibberish can appropriate the garb and grammar of any developed language. And how! Rajat Kapoor used it to perfection in his play Hamlet, The Clown Prince that was staged in Cochin. Almost mocking the literary intellectual, the play began with a dose of gibberish-Shakespeare was reduced to just that. And yet the language of nonsense was used craftily to bring a new meaning to the classic play. Rajat Kapoor speaks his mind in this interview. It is obvious Hamlet, The Clown Prince is very dear to your heart? How much research went into creating this brilliant play. Not much research. No research actually. That is not my way of working. But a lot of work on stage- in rehearsals- the process was great fun, never work. The use of gibberish, the language of nonsense, can be used so well in theatre. What made you use this for this script? Well, that is something we discovered in the earlier play - C FOR CLOWN. And we continue using it in this-it was good t...

Hamlet, The Clown Prince Hamlet, The Clown Prince, is an award winning play directed by Rajat Kapoor. It is a laugh riot. However, it cannot be left unsaid that this play in English and Gibberish, is made of several layers that is profound in meaning. And even while you laugh you cannot stop thinking. It seeks to look at things in a different perspective. The play: A bunch of clowns is putting up a show. They have taken the Shakespearean tragedy, ‘Hamlet’ and are trying to enact it. They sometimes misinterpret the text, sometimes find new meanings in it, sometimes try to understand it and very often make a mess of it. They choose to use phrases from the play mixed with gibberish. They even edit th e t ext, throw out important scenes and often reverse the order of things. But through this all they look for the essence of Hamlet and try to find a context in our own times. It is performed by The Company Theatre and the performers are Atul Kumar, Puja Sarup, Sujay Saple, Namit Das,...

Free masonry- the 'spiritual society' of sacred brotherhood with its origins in antiquity has always been shrouded in mystery. Their initiation rites, rituals, symbolisms, secret signs and code of conduct have further enhanced the aura of mysteriousness. Is Free Masonry a remnant of an ancient religion that worshipped the Sun or is it just an exclusive, elitist boy's club that indulges in secret charity missions? In 1961 the Grand Lodge of India, which is an off -shoot of the Grand Lodges of Scotland, England and Ireland was constituted. The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India Mr.Arun Chintopanth was recently here in Kochi to preside over the meeting of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. In an exclusive interview with the Grand Master sought to demystify the Masonic Lodge. Arun Chintopanth in full regalia. Dont miss the apron. What is Free Masonry? It is not a service organisation. It is not a religious group. It is not a mutual benefit society ...