Today is my Dad’s first death anniversary. The accompanying piece contains...
When the sheltering tree fellBy Shevlin SebastianAt 10 p.m. on February 18, 2021, I went downstairs to see my bed-ridden father, Joseph (‘Appachen’) Sebastian, at our home in Kochi. This was a daily...
View ArticleMemories of KPAC Lalitha
Pics: KPAC Lalitha; The actor (fourth from left) in a scene from ‘Su.. Su... Sudhi Vathmeekam’ The Malayalam character actress KPAC Lalitha passed away on February 22, at the age of 74.Here are some...
View ArticleCrossing the Rubicon
SHORT STORYPhoto: The River Rubicon in Italy By Shevlin SebastianA woman is standing in an elevator in her stiletto heels and knee-length black skirt. Her legs look flawless except for a dark brown...
View ArticleMaking Dogs Experts
23 dogs had a passing-out parade at the Dog Training School of the Kerala Police Academy at Thrissur recently. A look at how the animals are taught to detect drugs, and explosives, clues at the scene...
View ArticleA Malayali in Haiti
Following a job opportunity, Jerome Geevarghese went to Haiti in 2004. He married a local woman and has two children. After a few years, he took his family back to Kerala, settled them there, and...
View ArticleWhat goes around comes around
By Shevlin SebastianPhoto: Many Anglo-Indians live in Bow Barracks, Kolkata. This is a representational imageSteve Smith, 54, and his 50-year-old wife Virginia stay in an old-style bungalow. A few such...
View ArticleThe Governor's gift
This is flash fiction: a short, short storyBy Shevlin SebastianIt was a white bungalow. There were pink bougainvillaea flowers growing along the walls. Outside, near the imposing black gate, two police...
View ArticleOn the highway
By Shevlin SebastianEDITOR’S PICK OF THE WEEK – KITAAB.ORG (April 3, 2022) Sawant Singh pressed the accelerator. There was a roar from the exhaust as the truck gained speed. He was on the...
View ArticleMy Mother and I
Photo: My mother, Ritty Sebastian (extreme right) with family friends (from left) Ramany Paul, Mercy Antony, and the late Jose KadavilBy Shevlin Sebastian At 9.30 p.m., on a Saturday, I told my mother,...
View ArticleA brief halt
(Flash Fiction) By Shevlin SebastianOn a cloudy morning, an Army Shaktiman truck was parked beside a tea stall on the outskirts of Baramulla in Kashmir. Several soldiers remained sitting in the back...
View ArticleA Day in the Life
This short story is set in the Mumbai underworldBy Shevlin SebastianA man was sitting behind the steering wheel of a Kia Seltos car. The car had stopped at a traffic signal at Byculla in Mumbai. On the...
View ArticleHitting 90 with panache
Photos: AM Chacko; From left: Jeena and Vinod Mathew, Anoop Thomas and Elsy Paul, Chandrakanth Viswanath, yours truly, Anil S and his daughter, AS Hareesh Kumar and Pradeep PillaiAs a former boss...
View ArticleLessons from Laal Singh Chaddha!
Laal Singh Chaddha is a beautiful movie. There are several history lessons in it. Riots are shown at ground level. You watch, with horror, the use of a tyre as a burning necklace to kill people. You...
View ArticleAn encounter in New York -- Flash Fiction
By Shevlin SebastianA woman is walking at a quick pace down a New York street. Because of the clouds, there is a greyish tone to the day. She is a slim woman with close-cropped hair, which reaches the...
View ArticleAn ode to swimming
By Shevlin Sebastian Photo: At the Raviz Hotel in Kollam, KeralaHeavy rains hit Kochi in the last week of August. There was lightning, cloudbursts, and furious winds. This resulted in flooding in the...
View ArticleStaying the course
Venu Kunnappilly made his debut as a producer with the hit, ‘Mamangam’, in 2019. He talks about his experiences in MollywoodPhotos: Mohanlal and Mammootty with Venu Kunnappilly and his familyBy Shevlin...
View ArticleAtlas Ramachandran is no more. A look at his life and career
Renowned businessman and film producer Atlas Ramachandran died on October 2 at Dubai at the age of 80, following a heart attack. A high-flying entrepreneur his jewellery business came crashing down,...
View ArticleThe magical world of books
Photos: The American Centre library in Calcutta; the National Library By Shevlin Sebastian The other day, I received a few cartoons regarding the foreignness of physical books for children on...
View ArticleThe pernicious effects of war
By Shevlin Sebastian Leaders throughout history have always stressed the need for their countrymen to march to war, to defend the nation against the ‘enemy’, to uphold values and to preserve society....
View ArticleAnd Then There Were None -- a short story
By Shevlin SebastianAhiga, the Red Indian of the Cherokee tribe, with a shaved head, stood on a flat outcrop of rock. He was a lean man with bulging biceps. He wore a beaded necklace with the claw of a...
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