Theatre and Travel in Austria

Panel discussions give me the heebie-jeebies. First, there is the pressure of sounding intellectual. Not intelligent. Intellectual. To sound intellectual, one’s conversations must be peppered with a fair quantity of textbook words, words which no regular person would use in daily parlance. Yes, parlance is one such word. I could have just said speech right? Then there is the fact that panel discussions happen generally in well-lit halls and not darkened auditoriums, which means you can see the audience. And, clearly read their expressions. Was that a smile or a smirk? Was that yawn a response to my gabbing? Is he laughing with me or at me? And, of course, if you are camera shy like I am, the cameraman darting around for candid shots does not make it easy to focus. And with my luck, he is almost certain to click me mid-speech which will make me look like a yawning baboon. To read the rest of my blog, click here https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/the-playwrights-...

... On the walk back to my hotel, I consider this point about limiting words. As an editor, my work is all about economy of words and eliminating the superfluous. But, it is also about adding the necessary. The decision is mine, and therein lies the power. What words would I have used today if I had to confine to a stipulated number? Would I have been misunderstood or better understood? Thankfully, the day is coming to an end and a two-word ‘Good Night’ to the concierge is all I need to utter. For the rest of the post, read... https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/words-and-their-limits/article65514105.ece

It is well past 10 p.m. when I walk back to the hotel, but the long summer days are here which means it is more like twilight. A faint moon is visible in the darkening blue and the stars are not quite out yet. The body is exhausted by the traipsing around on the cobblestoned street, a new sensation for my unused-to-walking-around-Mumbai feet. But the mind is exploding, and that powers me through to my waiting bed. To read the rest of the story, click on the link below and create your free account.  https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/graz-theatre-festival-theatre-across-borders/article65510265.ece