The Three Types of Friends/Relatives In Terms Of How They Treat Us

From what I have experienced in my life, I feel we can broadly classify our friends/relatives into three types in terms of how they treat us. More

The “Mass Movement” Chain Reaction Unleashed By Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution

It is really interesting to note how an apparently internal matter of a country can eventually have international political ramifications, thus significantly affecting the political scenarios of other countries. Such incidents always enjoy special attention from current affairs enthusiasts in general, and life long students of Political Science in particular. More

Happy Republic Day

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“Hi, Nice Meeting You” – Height Of Social Anomaly

There was a time when people used to say “Hello” and “Hi”. There was also the custom of saying “How do you do”, apart from some other forms of greetings.

Then, around 12-13 years back (if I am right) came this style of saying “Nice meeting you”. And now it has become the most common way of greeting one another after getting introduced for the first time.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

So exactly what is the problem that I have with it? More

You are Invited

It’s the way you invite people that matters. And the biggest mistake is to take people close to you for granted. Of course Im so so guilty of this and that’s why I am impelled to write this to help other less prepared mortals in what lies ahead......

The sun will shine

Is it possible for a single day to change your entire existence? One word: Cancer. One thought: let him live. One hope: God. One binding force: Love. One expression: I cannot do without.

And today morning, the only thought that occupied me was which eye-shadow would suit wedding wear. .....More

Photos: Hibiscus, Red and White

See photos...

Pankaj Advani

Recently a small function was held to mark the funding of 2000th patient’s open heart surgery. Pankaj Advani made a generous contribution to this deed. Pankaj Advani is a World Champion in snooker and billiards from India. Read more...

Advani, Jinnah and the question of secularity

Advani had made a similar statement in 2005, in Pakistan. He was the BJP President then. The comment that Jinnah was a secularist upset his party colleagues and the RSS which he had joined at the tender age of 14. As a result Advani had to step down from the top spot in the BJP. It was only by December 2007 that his party condoned him.

How will the BJP and the RSS react this time?....

Road Rage capital of the country

From the corner of my eye I could see a huge mass which said “big massive truck” too close for comfort and I froze .
But before I could say , well, Khan Market , my good man at the wheel, AZ, was out of the car and all set to take on the driver of the truck . Soon choice Marathi swear words were clashing with robust Punjabi slang as the truck driver , a blur of orange turban and wild , flowing beard swung his big bulky self from the truck . Injured Maratha pride was no match for good, full blown Jat bluster but it was still a free for all. More here

Bangalore, cricketers’ Pushkar

The Hindu cartoonist had in mind a vegetables mart.To put a spin on the veg. analogy, I would place Gambir in the onions basket...More...

Hotel Dasaprakash at Chennai to go

....... I had to read it with some curiosity because the great Hotel now stands for sale to give way to a multi-storey residential complex in a multi crore project.  My curiosity about this was because of its imprint in my memory from 27-4-1966 .... (read more.. )

Maryknoll, A Dream House

Last month I went to Maryknoll again. [Do these words remind you of the most famous opening sentence in English fiction? See Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.] More...

A New Year in Kerala

I spent the New Year in Kerala, at our ancestral home. It was nice. Would you believe that I was able to photograph a grasshopper there who it seemed, was trying to get a sip of beer.

Poor chap. He didn’t get any, though Kerala reportedly drank Rs.92 crores of liquor for Christmas and Rs.45 crores for the New Year!

See photos.

All is well

Looking back at my blog, I realized that I have stepped into this New Year with nothing but complaints :)


Like many I joined Facebook and last year I also succumbed to Farmville (FV).

A SCHOOL REUNION... and One That Did Not Happen

They were the batch of students who had passed out of Vidya Mandir in 1985 to have a reunion and make their bond with the school further stronger. They were the batch of students who had passed out of Vidya Mandir in 1985 to have a reunion and make their bond with the school further stronger. More here.

Belum Caves, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

104kms from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh are the Belum Caves. The very mention of the word ‘caves’ creates images of mountains in mind; surprisingly there were none around and in fact none in the vast stretch of land around. For a moment I thought... read more...

Corruption kills one more.

Yet another RTI activist has been killed, when none has been punished for the earlier deaths.

Knitted with Love: A favorite sweater story

"The cardboard box had arrived late that evening and I wasn’t particularly charmed. They had practiced hoarding these boxes like it was all a matter of safety, by some insane standards of measure. When another was dragged in, I was presumptuous enough as to think they’d take it back to the storeroom to craft something of their proud garbage. But they left it abandoned at my feet, partially opened..." Read More

2010 - No Title worth giving

2010 is nearly over. If we needed to be reminded about how fragile we are in the fabric of life, this year showed that with great clarity.

I finally got a long term goal in mind. Something that I can continue to do for a long time to come or at least till my time's up on this planet. None of that involves making tons of money, power or position for myself. Read more here.

A wish list for greening Mysore

I wish the govt. does not renew the licence (that expired in 2006) to the Mysore Race Club ; and, that the huge chunk of land in their possession is developed into a green lung space...More...

My “Time-Efficient” Way To Read Newspaper

But at the same time I did not want to give up my passion for keeping myself updated of all the latest news across the world, ranging from global politics to Indian corporate scenario.

So I have started following a simple formula, which I think many of you people also follow. And what’s that? More

Uttarakhand Government’s Blatant Violation Of Indian Forests Protection Act

And this massacre of trees is being done at the behest of the state government itself. Reason? Well, it is being done for the development of a herbal garden that will be spread over 5 acres of the forest area. In fact, this herbal garden initiative is reportedly a dream project of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. More

Gujjars’ Quota Agitation: Isn’t It A Contempt Of Court?

I would have understood if there were no democratic way to challenge the Court’s decision. But that is not the case. The Gujjar agitators had the opportunity to appeal in a higher court challenging the Rajasthan High Court’s decision. But instead of doing that they went for certain disruptive activities in the name of protests and agitation. More

Freedom fighter dies at 106

Ganga Ba Patel, a freedomfighter and staunch Gandhian till the last day of her 106 years, died at 6.30 am on Sunday.

Ganga Ba was close to my mother's family. "I have never seen her in anything but white khadi clothes. Nor do I remember seeing her wearing any ornaments, not even a bindi. And she was always a skinny woman, never have I ever seen her put on weight. She walked a lot, always walked to our house, even till recently. She ate extremely simple food, without any spices. At her house, we were always served buttermilk, milk, rotlo and such stuff. Whenever we went to her house, she was always busy doing physical work, be it milking cows, cleaning up the yard. Afterwards, when age made this difficult, she was always alert and supervising the household chores", says Miki Desai, my maternal uncle.

To read the complete article, you are welcome here

Nehru and the media

At press meets reporters took turns with questions ; and heard out their subject. Nehru , usually media friendly, was however given to occasional burst of temper. I know of an instance when he gave a chase to a news photographer, brandishing the baton he usually carried with him...More...

A Tale of Two Letters!

Looking at the seemingly insurmountable problems India faced after independence I had heard that our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted Lord Mountbatten to take India back to its fold.. I don’t know how far it is true.. but I can very well imagine as I am going through a similar phase myself.

India’s Parsi Community Is Facing Extinction, Thanks To Their Own Fault

So why is the community on verge of extinction? Well, I suppose we all know the reason. The reason is an alarmingly low fertility rate that has been plaguing the community for quite some time now.

But why does the community suffer from such a disturbing fertility rate? I suppose that is also known to more-or-less all of us.

There are mainly two reasons. More

Year-end post 2

After more than a decade, I go to Sundervan. Friend's out shopping and I have to while away some time. Pani puri would just take five minutes. On a whim, I decide to go inside the park where my parents took me on innumerable evenings. There's something special about reliving childhood. How, you may ask?

Read the complete post here

AI Domestic Loses Spot To IndiGo – Another Indication Of Indian Domestic Passengers’ Preference For LCC?

But it is certainly at least a bit interesting to note that AI Domestic has lost its 3rd position to IndiGo, an LCC (low-cost carrier), and India’s youngest LCC for that matter. More