Greening the fence

In the coastal belt of Kerala, fences used to be made with plaited and dried coconut fronds. This practice is mostly discontinued now because of reduced availability of the fronds, lack of sufficient workers (mainly women) for plaiting, and the high cost of material and labor..More...

Doing Without Diapers: a grandpa's perspective

Now his son Siddarth goes to play-school at San Ramon, CA; and he has had parents worried over his apparent reluctance, nay, refusal, to give up diapers. This can be embarrassing, particularly if most others in his play-school were potty-trained...More...

Petrol Shortage

The situation is scary. There is every possibility of acute shortage of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. And, it's impact can be frightening. Already in Mumbai petrol bunks have put up "no stock" signs.

Death of a nurse

Everybody here has only nice things to say about Elizabeth. Many households in the village had benefited from the healing touch of this kindhearted lady. She was available to provide medical aid to the needy any time of the night or day. And she never took money for the humane service she rendered.

De Nobili-The Roman Brahmin

An important cultural and commercial center since 250AD, the capital of the Pandya kings, Madurai hosts the very famous Madura Meenakshi temple. The story I will now tell takes you to the 17th century, when Madurai was ruled by the popular Telugu speaking Nayak Emperors.

Lakshmi, on finding herself

What makes a teenager tick? Career choices!...It is an easier matter to be swayed by the torrents of advices, suggestions which flow perennially from all sides. Being a spirited person, I looked for answers from within myself...More...

Her last word...

The support system of family, friends and church doesn’t work here in Gulf for most of us and we are left on our own during the initial years. But God was there at every difficult moment of my life...More...

Attrition among new recruits...

Most of the cases of attrition thrive on the thread that firms place their priorities ahead of employees' goals, without understanding the employees' basic aspirations resulting in friction...More...

Window with many views...

Don't crib when you are stuck in the traffic. Keep your eyes open and I can assure you a wide kaleidoscope of human emotions, expressions and behavioral patterns to view...More...

The Odisha files

The thing that takes the cake is Naveen Patnaik's great effort to change his state's name to Odisha from Orissa and the name of the language to Odiya from Oriya..Here you have a state which is the poorest in the nation,...and what do you give them? A spelling change...More...

Re-reading ,A Passage to India

A recent article in The Guardian*, from which my brother Raja sent me an excerpt, helped me to understand some issues in the book.. . .More. . .

Drinking Glass of the Working Class

One,not so fine evening...

Death knocked again

Death knocked the doors of working class

who found comfort in their

drinking glass! . . .More. . .

Playing mother of the bride

- I got sent a 100 point checklist for weddings by mail. My first reaction, was Oh God NO, I dont need this. .... It must have been put together by someone who has been through a lot. ... NO TAPPANKUTHU SONGS''. .....''Fix two persons to settle any dispute of any nature. Dont allow any other crowd.. . More. . .

Lion people of Gujarat

Unlike the Masai, the Maldharis are vegetarian and do not slaughter their livestock for meat. They live instead, by selling milk and milk products, and use the earnings to barter or buy vegetables...More...

Rediscovering Mumbai

Autos and taxis are wonderful. They take you right wherever you want to go. On the meter and its cheap.But, they are not going to chat with you. In fact, no one is. The anonymity is both wonderfully freeing and depressing...More...

At the Captain s dinner

The bride looked fabulous, did not know they have such petite sized waists for such tall women! Jim was of course dismissal of the whole thing saying that this would only last a few months after the wedding. ...More...

Temples in Devanahalli

The Venugopalaswamy temple is one of the oldest here. The sculpture in this temple is said to be comparable to the temples of Belur and Halebid.. . .More. . .

Painting Mysore with a touch of green

Devaraja Urs Rd.could do with tree-cover that can provide much needed shade for shoppers and traders alike during long summer months. . .More. . .

Where Raji takes on menfolk

High time this culture of tolerating liquor consumption by men was changed. What is good for the women (stay away from drink) should be just as good for the men. . .More. . .

Hillary as running mate?

First, I don't think any time in the recent past a US presidential primary has generated so much interest. Whoever becomes the President s/he will create a record as the first Black, woman or the oldest President. . .More. . .

Someone egged...

Unlike his team-mate, Bill Gates, who was smashed with a cream pie on his face, a decade ago, Ballmer was attacked with eggs when addressing a group of business and technology students at Budapest's Corvinus University. .. .More. . .

Service for a fee, in airlines.

Airlines in the US are charging fees for services that passengers used to take for granted - for checking your bag (some airlines used to charge only for second bag, more recently American Airlines has started charging for security-checking your first bag too; charging for requesting an aisle seat/more leg room seats like the bulkhead/exit aisle seats . . .More. . .

Meme : Time for Tables

After reading Nandita Iyer's blog, I really felt like cooking, and never mind that the kitchen is a furnace at this time of year! . . More. . .

Mysteries of a 'chellapetti'

The thoughts of this decadent object and the peculiar habit of betel leaf chewing in India entered my mind when I saw these two ‘ambis’ in conversation. They were Kamal Hassan and Delhi Ganesh (from the movie MMKR). . . More. . .

Hibiscus, Queen of Shrubs

They have several medicinal properties. The famous karkade or hibiscus tea is considered invigorating. Excellent jams and squashes can be made from the flowers. Dried hibiscus flowers are delicacies in some countries. A shampoo made by wet grinding the flowers is considered very good. . .More. . .

250 saplings; a single objective

These are approximately 10 feet in height and of various varieties. Indian Tulip, Rain tree, Mahagony, Wild Almond, CannonBall tree, Maulsari, Saptaparni, Kassod, Indian Almond, Neem, Champak, Bhadrakshi, Rudrakshi, Bilvapatra, Soapnut, Kadamba, Weeping fig, Dhalichandra and Bauhinia. . .More. . .

Calculate your 'human footprint'

Ever wondered about the impact of one human in one lifetime on the environs? How do the volumes of consumption of daily necessities, luxuries and extravagances add up? . .More. . .

Choice

In a country whose rivers are overflowing with female fetuses, posts like this are I guess laughably immature!This post might seem confusing. It is…because I am confused about the topic!. . .More. . .

Saving honey bees

The hapless bees end up making their hives in the balconies of the sky rise buildings. Understandably the residents of the flats are not too happy to coexist with them. . .More. . .

Dishkooo.....Dishkooo....

The hero finds the perfect mark, and singlehandedly, destroys the villains. You almost let out a gasp of disbelief; this guy is a killer. What style! Of course, over a period of time, we realize that this is more unbelievable than fiction,. . .More. . .