Celebrate womanhood

It's really heartening that there aren't any massive protests against the Women's Day celebrations, like we had (have) for Valentine's Day. After all, celebration of womanhood is no less or no more Western than the celebration of love...More...

Bad soil, a tree's enemy

Most important reason cited by the local people for the lack of trees is soil condition. The soil seems to be hostile for any sort of vegetation and the survival rate is a bare minimum. The person who manages the Jain temple on the road to Sri Ranganathaswamy temple says: "I tried to plant some flowering plants and trees in front of the temple. The soil sucked up all the water and the plants did not survive.". . .More. . .

Ormakkayi – Kozhikode Abdul Khader

Khader was known in Calicut as the Malabar Saigal and Calicut was a place where people understood Hindustani classical, Ghazals and followed Hindi music always. Almost all the Hindi greats of yesteryears have sung in Calicut. . .More. . .

Coping with household junk

We all like to give away things. But feel it must reach the right people. -I’ve been sending clothes to our local municipal school. It gives me a real kick when I visit the school and see my duppatas being used to cover computers and tables. . .More.. .

Can Tantric power kill ?

I missed the live coverage of the strange event on TV on Monday, but saw a report in the print media. It was, according to the news item, a rather unique performance – one man was trying to kill another who willingly offered himself as the potential victim.. . .More. . .

Mahema

She needed help for everything – including getting into the wheelchair...Manohar considered it his privilege to take care of her every need,day and night, though his failing eyesight, owing to an incurable complaint (retinitis pigmentosa) made his vision very weak over the years. And she, drawing on her inner strength, faced life positively...More...

Of the poor girl child...

We had an interesting discussion on the government incentive for “Girl child”. This scheme looks like a good step but then there always the other side of it..and though it sounds brash, don’t we all feel like doing what Raj is suggesting?. . .More...

Tilled Earth

Tilled Earth by Manjushree Thapa is a collection of not just stories - but notes too about Nepal.About a spectrum of subjects. . .More. . .

The Gadar movement

Posted to San Francisco from Delhi, I had wondered as to why the Indian government, soon after our Independence had set up an office in this city to cover the western part of the United States. After all, in the fifties there was no Silicon Valley, no technology tie ups, . .More. . .

Hertz self-drive cars for Bangalore airport

Idea is new to India. I can’t see Premji, Mallya or Kiran Mazumdar Shaw stepping out of the arrival lounge and taking to the wheel to drive home from the airport. My middle-class mind wonders why well-heeled guys would want to self-drive through a maddening traffic in Bangalore city. . .More. . .

Vriksha archane: making it work

the devotee would have two options. He can either carry the sapling with him if he knows of a place where he can plant it. Otherwise, he can leave it there so that we will collect it back and plant it at a pre-designated place.. . .More. . .

Kashmir comes home, after 35 years

It was way back in 1973 that a young, 32 years old Kashmir was arrested in Pakistan on charges of espionage, and was put on a death row in a jail in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Since then his wife Paramjit Kaur had been patiently waiting. . .More. . .

Let's hope for the best

Of course this will not solve all the problems since as reported, in states like Punjab, it is the rich who selectively abort female fetus and the poor are just copying them. So for this, the government is considering giving life sentences to doctors convicted of the offence. . .More. . .

Kalyani's 10-point memo, to herself

Practise meditation for a year before.So you become single minded and decisive. You could then call up something like Asian paints ( or the local equivalent) and tell them, I want this colour here,and that shade there. . .More. . .

Tick Tock Doc, Santos and Cartier

The wristwatch had already been invented by Patek Philippe, decades earlier, but Santos-Dumont played an important role in popularizing its use by men in the early 20th century. Before him they were generally worn only by women, as men favored pocket watches.. . .More. . .

Abraham's vintage TT table

Enter Paramu, one of our regular carpenters. .. . He loved a challenge, new ideas that he could transform into near perfect creations in wood. He took the measurements of the table at the church (I don’t remember from where that one was acquired) and went to work. . .More. . .

Aurangabad caves

The less known Aurangabad caves is a worthy prelude to the well known Ajanta and Ellora caves. Situated at a distance of nine kilometers from Aurangabad, they can be easily accessed by the local modes of transport there...More...

How about a vriksha archane ?

The thought of offering saplings at temple occurred to us during a recent visit to Ambegal Krishna temple...If every such couple offered a sapling to Ambegal Krishna to mark the birth of their child, we would see the area around the temple turning green in a few years...More...

Talking Chennai footpath

Last month, the city Corporation spent a tidy sum on advertising its tenders calling for contractors to lay footpaths in different neighbourhoods. Such documents can astonish you if you read closely...More...

Crisp newness about my house

I feel rather uneasy in the house.Everything is crisp and clean and strange. I hesitate to put grubby hands even on a light switch. I can't be casual.It's like living in someone else's house...More...

iReport: CNN's new site

Mainstream media marries alternative media! A media revolution of sorts! But, before I explain this path-breaking development of CNN's iReport.com let me take you through some background...More...

Wolves and she wolves

at the same time there are “real men” who is strong enough to accept and appreciate the strength in a woman. It is only when men tends to become the “man of the house” by default that trouble sets in ...More...

Jalta Hii Jaye...

Does the time span that one lives matter? No generic answers to this. Again to each it's own. For some small is big and for few big is small...More...

FORT-Mysore: Why can't we...

And we have the horticultural Dept. sitting next door planning flower shows for Dasara.Can't we have a greenpathway leading to the Palace? Why can't we have Ashoka trees all around. . .More...

Common man and roadside trees

Most people would plant trees, if could do so in a no-hassles manner. Almost everyone knows that the cities are getting warmer because of the lack of trees. Problem is: Everyone thinks someone else will do something to correct this situation.. . .More. . .

Kalyanaparisu: movie or a pack of memories

This Tamil film of the fifities brought back student-day memories in us, senior citizens. Our mother, belonging to an earlier generation, had her own take, and a cascade of memories it triggered in her...More...

Western women and the saree

One question that I get asked often is "Do you like wearing it?"...perhaps the person asking wishes to really understand what's going on inside my head...why do I drape six yards of fabric around my body, when I could be more comfortable in other clothes?...More...

Google talk chat back

what if your reader wants to clarify with you on a specific issue or what if the reader doesn’t want his or her query to be made public and what if you have disabled anonymous comments. Also those shy and lazy readers, all taken care of once you embed this live chat window...More...

Six o'clock

Back in India, every evening, I was wafted into a sea of devotion, thanks to MSS, whose enchanting voice rendered the complicated slokas of Sanskrit in perfect clarity. The pristine voice filled the surroundings with a sense of calmness and everlasting composure...More...

Joe Da Akbar

Total eye-candy, Hritik and Aishwarya, the latter being so wooden in some scenes that they could have used a portrait of hers....and Hritik has put me personally in a tight spot. He has these rippling muscles which he displays at various times in the movies causing the missus to swoon and ask ME when I'm going to get pecs like that...More...