I grew up knowing that there were certain things I could never do: date boys before marriage, get less than perfect grades, get inked – the list goes on. Being a good, traditional, Indian daughter was an important concept for my parents. They had a path already laid out for my older sister and me….
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Image via Ron Henry Photography Bigger is better. The age-old phrase rings startlingly true at certain points in our lives (think: tracksuit pants, that glass of wine after a hard day, Anne Hathaway’s smile). However, certain people will still frequently disagree, claiming compactness is the new black. Being of the generation who reached puberty just…
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In pop culture, plotlines are awash with strong male friendships. We are bombarded with “buddy movies”, bromances, and J.D. & Turk style “guy love” in everything from Superbad to Supernatural. While equivalent female relationships are not exactly in short supply – Lena Dunham’s Girls has been one of the most successful programs of 2013 – there is a disproportionately abundant representation…
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Emmy season is coming. It’s almost the time of year when the American television industry rewards ingenious storytelling and immortalises actors and actresses as they sweep the red carpet, demigods in evening gowns and designer tuxedo. Prompted by fever for the September 22 event, US writer Cory Barker decided to crunch some numbers regarding the…
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I hate to be a burden. At the supermarket register I frantically grab my groceries, change and receipt and bolt away somewhere less conspicuous to organise myself. I know that when someone asks, ‘What do you want to eat?’ answering ‘I don’t mind, whatever you want’ is NOT helpful. So instead I will try to…
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Upon discovering that Kevin Spacey and David Fincher are working on a new production, it would be natural to assume the project from the director of Fight Club is a big budget film. Wrong. House of Cards explores betrayal in US politics within 13 one-hour episodes: it’s a television show. Spacey and Fincher aren’t the…
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I spent two weeks in an ashram in India earlier this year. While I was there I wrote a few tips. * On my first day in the ashram I enjoyed the yoga, I enjoyed the vegetarian dinner and I enjoyed the chanting. I took in the statues of Shiva and the swamis and contemplated…
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I spent two weeks in an ashram in India earlier this year. While I was there I wrote a few tips. * Today as my karma yoga I cleaned a fridge. Karma Yoga, or selfless service, refers to the duties each person in the Ashram must carry out each day. When I arrived here last…
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According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey, India is the 4th most dangerous place in the world for women to live in. From January 2002 to October 2010, 153 acid attack cases were reported in the Indian print media, while 174 judicial cases were reported for the year 2000. Of course these figures are believed…
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So often in life I am a walking exhibition of a mini tornado behind reinforced concrete: listen closely and you may hear it rattle and rile me up. I refer to, in perhaps not the best metaphor, my aim to portray myself stoically and negate all evidence of emotion in my places of work.This isn’t…
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The morning of July 24, hundreds of paparazzi and thousands of fans wait outside St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, after hearing confirmation that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will soon introduce their new baby to the world. At 7.15am, one of the largest doorstop press conferences in the world begins when Prince William and…
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**Spoiler Alert: Scandal fans, you’ve been warned** It’s unfortunate, but Scandal, Shonda Rhimes’s successful network drama, has mostly come down to one word: Olitz. The show’s protagonist Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and her lover Fitzgerald ‘Fitz’ Grant (Tony Goldwyn) have a romance so extraordinarily dysfunctional that a portmanteau was inevitable. It is a nifty hashtag…
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**Trigger Warning : this article contains discussions of sexual assault, which may be triggering for some readers** 1. I need feminism because I need an ideological foundation of respect toward myself and others around me. Self-respect and self- worth doesn’t come innately, unfortunately. 2. I need feminism because I used to think it was okay…
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Back when I was around fourteen, I was really into Lost. We still had dialup so I couldn’t Limewire it; I did it old-school, waiting for Christmas when my Grandad would buy me the latest season on DVD. I’d chew up four, five episodes at a time. My little sister, who would have been about…
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