Chatting with Remo

The maverick musician and singer. The face of Goa. The artiste with a conscience -- Remo wears many hats. Whatever he does, his personality comes across forcefully, whether it is crooning "Yeh hai Jalwa" or admonishing politicians because they didn't "know how to rock 'n roll." His take on God and religiosity also makes for refreshing reading. Read his thoughts about spirituality and you'll understand what I mean.

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Return of the Magician?

Magic shows have always had a fascination for most people. However, stage magic shows in the country have been declining since the past few years. Blame it on the lack of availability of resources or the lack of initiative on the part of magicians, to come up with fresher approaches to appeal to today's audiences. But, the era of great stage performers has faded to a large extent in our country compared to the past. This is in contrast to the West, where magic is big business. However, the future holds hope, as newer formats of magic shows like one-to-one performances and street magic are coming up. Also efforts are on, to revive the stage format and bring it to international standards.

Click here to read about the return of the magician.

Click here to read what PC Sorcar Jr had to say about the state of Indian magic.

Conversation with Taslima

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has had controversy following her every move. Forced to leave her country in 1994, she has spent more than a decade in exile in various places, before finally settling in Kolkata. However, she was asked to leave the city a few days back because of fundamentalists, who were protesting against remarks made in her autobiography, 'Dwikhandita'. After being shuttled from one city to another in hiding, Taslima agreed to withdraw the controversial pages. A day after her withdrawl, I spoke with her on a number of issues like the reason for her conciliation, her plans for the future and also on her newest book, which incidentally is about her cat, Meenu!

Click here to read what Taslima had to say.