Lessons in Chemistry
We read “Lessons in Chemistry” at our book club recently which everyone loved. Dr. Lakshmi Rajgopal, retired Consultant Radiologist, reviews the book: “Lessons in Chemistry”, by Bonnie Garmus, is a debut novel about a scientist in the 1960’s who is opinionated, inflexible and intelligent. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Zott has been brutally sidelined by male colleagues. How, exactly, […]
Sibling Rivalry
Kusum Saxena, based in California, writes on the ups and downs of sibling relationships I first met Sarah on a visit to my sister’s house. They were good friends and Sarah used to make a yearly sojourn from Germany to my sister’s place in India. On one particular morning, while at breakfast and sharing […]
Childhood is a precious time
Some of the most evocative memories of childhood are of the home one grew up in, the street that ran adjacent to it and the people who gave it its character … My home in New Delhi, India where I was born and grew up has a galli, or lane running conterminous to the huge […]
It’s not just playing a game; it is painstaking hard work!
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, children have spent a lot of screen-time, often being admonished by their parents. Rohan Woodcock tells us what he has learnt while he has been, according to his mother, playing games! Of the many games in my collection, Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is easily one of my favourites. Behind what […]
Chapman reminisces “…the ‘Pirates Coast’ to the ‘Trucial Coast’ and beyond”
Consequent upon the expulsion of the Portuguese from Bahrain at the beginning of the 18th century and the lack of any maritime authority in the Gulf, the Qawasim – the tribe inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula who originated from Qishm Island – tended to dominate this region. During the latter part of the 18th century, a […]
Gourmets could rapidly turn into Gourmands
We stayed at home for thirty months or more during the Covid lock down. It was a feat we will not forget in a hurry. Although it was tedious, at times boring and very uninspiring, we eventually had to spread our wings, move out of our comfort zone and start investigating … what were people […]
Before the Coffee gets Cold
‘Before the coffee gets cold’ was reviewed at our book club recently. Darika Bhatia, who lives in Muscat, gives her take on the book: Before the Coffee gets Cold ‘Before the coffee gets cold’ was reviewed at our book club recently. Darika Bhatia, who lives in Muscat, gives her take on the book: Who would you […]
Petula Clark: “As soon as I walk on stage to sing, I feel free”
She has danced with Fred Astaire, sung with Frank Sinatra and joined John Lennon and Yoko Ono in bed. She has sold over 70 million records and was the United Kingdom’s first female to win a Grammy with hits such as ‘Downtown’ and ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway Darling’. She is, of course, PETULA CLARK!
Man Is What He Eats
An avid enthusiast of inventing healthy recipes and of entertaining, Kusum Saxena, who lives in California, combined both interests in a book written for her daughter’s benefit. This interest in healthy recipes “that also please the senses” informs her diet plan for her students. For those looking for a natural way to treat certain chronic […]
The Hakim has the Cure
The tradition of apothecaries and hakims, sellers of salves and spices, tinctures and medicinal herbs, is still wide spread in the by-lanes of the Muttrah souk in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Entering this bazaar, with its maze of alleyways, its age-old charm and its untold secrets of curative herbs, potions and balms, is an […]