Any witch way

Our friendly neighbourhood witch, Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, has moved on to more exalted experiences with her new book, Sacred Evil: Encounters With The Unknown launched this month. When not sending a chill down your spine, the book will present the two sides of the supernatural. “I have written episodes that I encountered. It’s the X-Factor and the beyond,” says the glamorous spiritualist. And her next spell (of writing, that is) will try to prove that Every Strong Woman Is A Witch. “It will take the ‘bitch’ away from the ‘witch’,” she claims. Huh?

Uma Sharma

Love, actually

Kathak dancer Uma Sharma is all starry-eyed these days. Just back from a 10-day dance tour of Pakistan, she is full of stories about the great reception she was given there. Sharma, who travelled to Lahore and Islamabad, says she got a standing ovation after she danced to the poetry of Iqbal and India’s unofficial Poet Laureate, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “They gave me so much of love and respect,” Sharma gushes. “They kept telling me that I have to go back there again,” she says. That’s one smitten danseuse. And this time, it’s not the usual suspect — the playful makhan chor — behind the palpitating heart, but the sound of warm applause from across the border.

Pico Iyer

Lonely planet

What does Pico Iyer do when he’s tired of travelling to magical lands? He writes about them, of course. Iyer’s new book, out last week, Sun After Dark, talks about the loneliness one feels in an ever-expanding comfort zone in the global village, which has the same McDonald’s and pizza joints everywhere. Food for thought!