A Grandmother Remembered
by Ramesh MahadevanThere is something universal about all Indian grandmothers. It is almost as if they all went to some sort of an IIT of grandmothering and took the same courses. For one, they are always…
The Thousand Pillared Hall
Big grownups are all bad. ShenbagaKuzhalvaimozhi, the little girl with the long name, has come to this grand conclusion before she arrives at the Hall of Thousand Pillars. This is one place within the temple…
Tales from Gemini Studios
Recently, my American nephew asked if we could visit Gemini Studios, the next time we both find ourselves in the old hometown Madras, present-day Chennai. I tell the American teenager the studio had stopped making…
A Film Buff in Madurai
LION OF THE DESERT, Anthony Quinn as Omar Mukhtar (holding child), 1981, © United Film Distribution We had reached the theater late that day. A temple procession on the main road made it impossible for…
The Athai who Turned into an Ayah
In a 1977 black-and-white film set in Madras, a rich widow sets out to work as the ayah of her grandson – a bit like Avvai Shanmugi, except there is no big disguise involved. The…