Mama's Day Out
When: May 11, 12pm
Where: The Market at The Ritz-Carlton, Residency Road
Call: 90354 16155
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Scroll.in
02-08-2025
- Scroll.in
How writer Prajwal Parajuly's nephew's birthday celebrations led to his new book for children
In Karma and Lola, his latest book of fiction, author Prajwal Parajuly goes back to the Himalayas, only this time it's for young readers. After The Gurkha's Daughter (2012) – a collection of short stories offering glimpses into the life of Nepali-speaking communities and Land Where I Flee (2013) – his debut novel focusing on an estranged family of an octogenarian matriarch from Gangtok, Sikkim, 12 years later, Parajuly has ventured into a different genre. Three significant events led to this literary detour. One: he ate cake. Two: he spent six years writing a historical novel, which his family of lawyers strongly advised him to shelve (and he did). And three: a social media post that unexpectedly nudged him into writing. If the arithmetic seems off, Parajuly does not mind clarifying. Speaking after a jog through historic Mayfair in London, he recounted: 'On February 10, 2023, I posted on social media a photo of myself, in a tie too short for me, smiling over an assortment of pastries. 'Nephew turned 11,' the caption read. 'I ate cake. Tie became noose.'' He had just flown into London ten days ago to celebrate his nephew's birthday. 'That meant I had come out of six months of sugar embargo. I tend to deprive myself of sugar for months on end and then go crazy when I finally eat it. The birthday gave me an excuse to eat cake – kilos of it – every day for the next two weeks.' That was why he consented to a date at the Ritz-Carlton. 'I mean it was sugar,' Prajwal said. 'As afternoon teas go, I find nothing more pretentious than the one at the Ritz. There's a dress code. It's a spectacle – with passersby gawking at you while you concentrate on your scone in what is essentially a glorified corridor. It's like you're a monkey in a gilded zoo. But I wasn't going to say no to a date with that much cake. I promised myself that it would be my last bit of sugar consumption for six months. I borrowed a tie from the Ritz reception, donned a jacket too tight for me and asked for seconds of the dill and mint on bread. The date went well. The social media post came from a place of delight. Little did I know what would happen next.' What followed was literary agent Hemali Sodhi – founder of A Suitable Agency – spotting the post and commenting: 'One of the greatest short stories of recent times.' 'Yeah, people keep telling me to write another book,' Prajwal replied. 'Here's one!' She urged him to write a book and let her represent him. Parajuly had just spent six years working on a historical novel based loosely on his home state, Sikkim's merger with India, which would invite every legal battle known to an author. 'At least that's what my parents said. I was heartbroken to have to abandon a 99,000-word project I had given everything to. But I am not an idiot. I value my sleep. I value my family's peace. That might make me a fraudulent writer who places his sanity above his craft, and I am okay with it. But I didn't have it in me to start another adult novel right away. I still don't!' Sodhi offered three suggestions: a travel book, a collection of essays, or a children's book. Parajuly joked: 'There has to be a dog in it.' She agreed. And so was born Karma and Lola, the story of an eight-year-old girl who lives in a whimsical hotel in the Himalayas with her parents and a dog. When the dog goes missing, a cascade of adventures begins and in Parajuly's hands, the Himalayas come into focus. 'I might be flitting between Paris and New York, or London and New York, or, more recently, between Sri City and New York, and all I do is I write about the Himalayas. To this day, I think of the mountains – specifically the eastern Himalayas – as home. I am a mountain man through and through. I am the happiest when hiking up mountains and feel the most productive when I write about mountains.' 'Home' has served as the backdrop for much of Parajuly's work, which spans themes of identity, social hierarchy, class disparity and diasporic alienation. At 26, he became the youngest author to be signed by UK publisher Quercus. His writing has been nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Mogford Prize in the UK, the Émile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature and the First Novel Prize in France and won the Prix Littéraire Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Franco-Indienne 2024; he later served as a juror for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2018 and again in 2024. Personally, Parajuly's writing has been captivating because of its tone, which is at home in any setting and not necessarily in any vernacular context. There's a deftness in words, a lightness of touch honed over time. 'What a remarkable 13 years it has been,' he said. 'I've become a more critical writer in the process. Writing has been tremendously rewarding and tremendously frustrating.' Writing for children has been a shift in gears. 'When you are writing for children, you inhabit this magical, difficult world you forgot existed,' he remarked. 'It's been joyful trying to transmit that into words. I wasn't writing with the aim of getting published. I wasn't writing to work out my writing muscles. I was writing in that lazy, haphazard way you write when you have no desire for anyone to read your work. It's an innocent way of writing, one I like teaching my students to embrace. There's no greater joy than writing for writing's sake. You're unencumbered by writerly pretensions, saleability and marketability.' Famous last words, perhaps – but ones Parajuly may now be happily forced to eat. Before he and Sodhi could even circulate the manuscript in the UK, his French agent, Jérôme Bouchaud, connected them with Cherise Lopes-Baker at Tate Children's – the publishing arm of the Tate Modern. The deal was pre-empted. Tate declared the manuscript a perfect fit, buoyed by illustrations from Ubahang Nembang. In India, HarperCollins has acquired rights; in Nepal, it's Nepalaya, the Nepali-language publisher, for Nepal. Sodhi finds it well-deserving and comments, 'The writing is so lovely. It's a great story. It's highly cinematic. The hotel setting is whimsical. It's the Himalayas. It's so Prajwal. All of which would lend themselves to a perfect illustrated book.' As for Parajuly, he now wants to write a children's book every year! 'It's the most fun I've had as a writer. With Karma and Lola scheduled to be published worldwide in late 2026, I am curious to know how it will be received. If nothing, I can seek comfort in the fact that it will have an assured lifelong presence in the bookstore at the Tate Museum.' And so unfolds the story of Karma and Lola – born of a weary author, several slices of cake, a fortuitous Facebook post, and the enduring pull of the mighty Himalayas.
NDTV
31-07-2025
- NDTV
Big Boss 19 Makers Unveil Teaser Of Upcoming Season, Salman Khan Returns As Host
Mumbai: As viewers eagerly wait for the latest season of the popular reality show Bigg Boss 19, the makers have unveiled the teaser. The makers further announced that the show will get its grand premiere on August 24, 2025. Hosted by Salman Khan, the show will stream on JioHotstar at 9:00 PM and air on COLORS at 10:30 PM. Bigg Boss 19's theme this year is Gharwalon ki Sarkaar! This indicates a seismic shift in power from outside to inside the house. Unlike the other seasons, the power will not lie in the hands of one, but the BB house will run as per everyone's advice. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ColorsTV (@colorstv) The teaser further showed Salman returning as the host for Bigg Boss 19 in a sharp Nehru jacket, flanked by black cat commandos. Talking about the latest season of the reality show, Salman shared, "I have been a part of Bigg Boss for very long now, and as we all know, Bigg Boss reinvents the game every year, aur iss baar, it is gharwalo ki sarkar. And when too many people start pulling the strings, it's bound to get messy. That's when the cracks show, and the house turns into a warzone." "After all these years, I can honestly say I'm just as kicked as you are to see how it all plays out," added the actor. Going by the reports, Bigg Boss 19 will have some renowned television personalities such as Ram Kapoor, Munmun Dutta, and digital star Mr Faisu as contestants. In addition to this, Dheeraj Dhoopar, Anita Hassanandani, Ashish Vidyarthi, Apoorva Mukhija, Gaurav Taneja, Kanika Mann, Krishna Shroff, Raj Kundra, and Sreerama Chandra are also speculated to be in talks for Big Boss 19. The official announcement of the confirmed list of participants is awaited.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Time of India
Merry Kills People: A Groundbreaking K-Drama Exploring Assisted Death with Humor and Heart
Not Your Typical K-Drama: Thrills, Morals, and a Dash of Humor Imagine a K-drama thriller where tough choices about life and death are center stage, but with the signature Korean flair-heart, tension, and even some laughs. ' Merry Kills People ' presents Lee Bo-young and Lee Min-ki in an intense story centered around ' assisted death ,' a topic rarely explored on primetime TV. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The series is directed by Park Joon-woo of 'Model Taxi' and 'Crash' fame, and written by Lee Soo-ah, celebrated for films like 'Venus Talk.' That's a pedigree that would put most Bollywood blockbusters to shame. At a flashy press conference held in Seoul's Mapo district on July 31st, cast and crew openly discussed the challenge of bringing this controversial topic to the small screen. Rather than side-stepping the difficult ethical questions surrounding , they faced them head-on. This fearlessness sets the drama apart and invites viewers into a deeper conversation about life's hardest choices. Lee Bo-young Shares Honest Thoughts About Life's End Lee Bo-young recently revealed how the drama's script made her reflect deeply on assisted death, sparked by a real story about an elderly couple choosing euthanasia abroad. She explained, 'When I received the script last July, I heard about that couple, and my husband Ji Sung and I talked about it a lot. We wondered if making such a decision-to avoid being a burden on our children-could be justified if it means living a happy life until then.' Yet she admitted, 'I still don't know what's right or wrong in this matter.' For young people in societies just beginning to openly discuss aging, dignity, and end-of-life choices, Lee's candidness is refreshing-reminding us that these are complex questions without easy answers. It's like a conversation you'd rather avoid at the dinner table but realize is necessary someday.
