Sears, the big book and America

It was a Sears’s catalog that my shippie (merchant navy officer) uncle had brought back from America. He had brought it along to show samples of life in the new world, to his mother, sisters and brother. . .More. . .

Nixon unmasked

...just published book “ Nixon and Kissinger Partners in Power’ throws much light on the deep-seated hatred Nixon had developed towards Indians whom he described as ‘slippery, treacherous people “, while his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger described them as “insufferably arrogant”. . .More. . .

Roping in Bollywood for Hillary campaign?

Involving them in a poll campaign, even in India, has been little more than a media hype. In the recent UP elections the Samajwadi Party featured Amitabh Bacchan in TV promos. The super-star probably was more effective flogging Dabur Chyawanprash on TV. . .More. . .

NRI Parents meet: A non-starter?

On the privacy issue I believe that transparency is a key pre-requisite for social networking among visiting NRI parents. Of the 38 Yahoo group members I find no more than 11 have chosen to declare online their name, age, and location. I don’t find it encouraging, or even worthwhile, to interact with a bunch of unnamed persons, about whom I know nothing other than ‘encrypted’ e-mail ID. . .More. . .

Father’s Day at the St. Francis

I ordered some roses from the hotel florist. The bill: $84 and 32 cents. I have the precise figure because the sales girl handed me back 68 cents when I paid out $85, in tens and five-dollar bills. If the florist found me weird, she didn’t show it. I must have been the only hotel guest who got away without tipping. . .More. . .

America: Guns and Losses

In the babble, on the very first day, I heard an opinion that if only more professors, more students had guns for self-defence, the lone deranged gunman Seung-Hui Cho would have been shot earlier, that lives would have been spared. At first I did not believe that I could be hearing this. But over the next weeks, I heard this argument being made time and again, by pundits of a particular ilk. . . More. . .