Zheng He (Cheng Ho) in Calicut

Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions. Emperor Zhu Di designed them to establish a Chinese presence and impress the foreign people in the Indian Ocean ...

Cobwebs

"A cobweb!' he's saying,
Just looking around,
And I start in praying
Just one will be found!....

Sharing toys

Asked if he would at least take Nikhil on a drive in his Ford Mustang Siddarth had this to say – ‘Ford Mustang doesn’t have a car-seat’. Children below five can travel only in children's car-seat, under the law.....

Monsoon: Rath and Wrath

Yesterday in Banarhat, I caught a glimpse of the Rath as it went ahead of several vehicles and large scattered crowds of people. Little children were out on their way to the fair, smartly dressed, and all of them had hair that looked as if it had been combed very fiercely by their mothers.....

Rath Yatra in Old Delhi Friday July 4 '08

Last Friday, some American guests of mine went on a Delhi Magic tour - the Bazaar walk through Old Delhi. They were right on time to witness the annual Rath Yatra of Jagannath....

Their day out in San Francisco

Their mom's plan for an early start for San Francisco, so as to be back home in time for their afternoon nap was upset by Siddarth who took his time over the morning oats meal, and potty; brother Nikhil took a nap......

Kudampuli for good taste and better health

Interesting Bengaluru

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

My sympathies are with this young, upcoming model, Fadhya Asif. The reason being Lakme Salon has made a mess of her hair. It was sheer indulgence on the part of the reputed salon when they offered the “Refresh Indulgence” hair treatment to Dimpy ....

White socks

His outside self was very small, puppy-sized, no less.
But inside he was mountain-large, and we didn't even guess.
We fed him little scraps of food in a dainty plastic dish.
We held him gently in our hands, docile as one could wish...

Raji's Half Inch of Fame

She said, “Hey Raji, did you know your blog is mentioned in Indulge Express today?” This is the Friday supplement of the New Indian Express.....

Mount Road, Film Studios and more . . .

My invitation in this column to fill me on stories on our city's most important road drew quite a response.Sethuraman used to work in that area from 1946 and 1975 and he has been sharing a few stories and providing me web links to stories I should read......

Feel this veteran's pulse in his writing!

Justice VR Krishna Iyer's articles are always forceful, and his packed messages are fervent calls for immediate action. 'A bizarre nuclear deal pursuit' is one loud and mercilessly-worded wake-up call for Indian legislators....

The Hunter effect

I guess I need to withdraw what I wrote about Siddarth’s uneasiness in trying out the race-car simulator at the mall. This might have been the case three days back. But yesterday, at the Stoneridge Mall, Pleasanton, Ca, our 30 month-old friend wanted to revisit the play area...

Kerala: It's different

In a way, hartals have some plus points. Which country gives its people so many paid holidays? And, in Kerala, it is a tourist attraction as well. The hartals and the allied activities like slogan shouting processions, stone throwing and grappling.......

Of Jasmine buds and Water Lily flowers

Brenda's Inheritance

My Dad had rheumy eyes; the tears kept dropping.
The winter winds caused many bouts of mopping.
But he was old; that's how it had to be.
And what had rheumy eyes to do with me?

Grandson at the swing

On a Road Trip

No Words

Connexions

Now everyone knows that, with the kind of revolution and global tie-ups happening in the telecom domain in India today, more Indians than citizens of any other nation would be signing up for mobile telephone services each month.....

Are Reality shows doing more harm than good?

I wish Shinjini Sengupta hit the headlines for some other reason. Unfortunately, we are all saying, 'Let what happened to her not happen to anyone." This cheerful, bright, immensely talented 16-year-old school student is struggling to get on with her life at Nimhans........

The temple beats and the Pallavur trinity

Also, there is a story of Tippu Sultan attacking the temple where he used an elephant to take out the Pratishta, but in vain. Even now, it is said that you can see the Pratishta slightly tilted as a result of the push by the elephant......

Elders: Sunshine in sunset years

Whether the grandparents in such cases are being treated as glorified servants mainly depends on attitudes. Provided they have no serious health problems, the senior citizens would be generally happy to look after their grandchildren.....

Lesson to Learn

Zeenat Mahal - Palace of Beauty

Hanging On!

Purloined Poem! Someone else's joke! But the jokes that 'go the rounds' have no copyright so that leaves me free to embroider....

Children of the Earth

The lady was still there, standing in the rain stoically. I gave her the food and told her in Hindi to give the kids too. There was no expression on her face. She called out to the kids and they appeared one by one from under the half constructed stairs, looking at me wide eyed...

First Friends

I find it pleasant to spend my evenings on my brand new bicycle (meant to say bike), watch those feathered friends squabble over the food (inevitably reminds me of my squirrels back home), ....

Would you shout at me Thatha?

His impression that I am the only bloke around the house who shouts stems from a noisy disagreement I had with my wife the other day; and Siddarth was a witness to the proceedings. And he thinks that if I do this to his patti, I could do it to him as well....