When I started reading From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple, I struggled to put things in context as it covered the history and the current existence of Christian monasteries in the countries of Turkey. I figured to make sense of it all, I needed to read the history of Turkey – Wikipedia wasn’t going to be enough. I chanced upon “A Traveller’s History of Turkey” in the library. This book is a cliff notes version…
Culture
With the explosion of technology in the world of multimedia, the possibilities of visual effects are limitless. And because of that, it’s driving the type of movies that are being made. Though I don’t have any statistical data, I am pretty sure that the numbers of sci-fi, fantasy, animated movies that are coming through are much higher than ever before. This also means that there are few movies that stand out. However, when I saw…
I do admit that St. Louis may not exactly be the most happening place in the US of A, but if you keep track, there is always a bunch of stuff happening over the weekend. One of our favorite things is to keep track of the University Theater circuit. There are still student performances and some good visiting actor groups. Here is a round-up of a few that we caught! The Crucible (Production by USML)…
Directed by Kamal Amrohi, Mahal is one of the first gothic horror movies to be made in Bollywood which would later inspire a series of Haweli main bhatakti aatma genre of movies. It also launched the careers of Lata Mangeshkar with her haunting rendition of ‘Aayega, Aayega’ and Madhubala with her expressive face. The review contains spoilers and if you plan to watch the movie don’t read ahead. So, What’s it about? Our hero, Hari…
The plot is based a decade or more after the French revolution and the Age of Terror, just after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. The story follows a young medical student, Daniel Connor into the bedlam of Paris. Paris then, is the beating heart of Europe – the scientific, cultural and political center. As the city is coming to terms with the new regime, students from all over Europe are travelling to Paris to make their…
It takes a truly talented mind to take the day to day life of a country house wife and convert it into a journal of light satire and human observation. It is a little wonder why The Diary of a Provincial Lady was a bestseller when it was published in 1933 and why the reprints are still so popular. To be honest, when I got through the first fifty pages or so, I wasn’t entirely…
As the winter keeps you at home, it’s a great time to catch up with movies you have wanted to watch but could never make time for. The Princess & the frog was one such movie on my bucket list. I had seen its trailers a few months ago, but hadn’t gotten around to watching it. I am honestly a little bored with the animation genre. The graphics are improving, but sadly not the story…
I am betting you have never heard of this movie, I certainly hadn’t, which is why it was such a surprise when it turned out to be gripping. Exam starts in a dark, modernly furnished room where eight people are waiting. It becomes clear, shortly, that they are about to take an exam. The tension is palpable and we learn that this group of people are the finalists for a very coveted position. These eight people have reached…
