Death on a Bangalore train

Somebody fished out a tablet strip from his pocket and, as advised by a doctor who was giving instructions on the mobile, we pushed the medicine too...Seemingly the longest journey ever that I traveled, of 12 minutes, ended as the train steamed in to Maddur...More...

Anup Murthy at Batam

Indians and others at the present, can clear Indonesian immigration at the visa-on-arrival counter at the arrival area by paying US$10 and please be wise to bring exact amount or you may get short-changed! They'll paste the entire page of your passport with a nice visa that's only good for one visit!...More...

Putting fun in your blog

Provocation for this piece is to inform and educate oldies on how you put fun in your blog. A couple of TouTube video clips blogger Nandya posted on his blog illustrates my point...More...

Talking product development

The Indus Entrepreneurs or TiE is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, California, USA by a group of businessmen and entrepreneurs of desi origin led by Dr. Suhas Patil...More...

Boston, MA

The best part about friends visiting you from far off places has more to do with staying together than just touring the city...All of us hailing from the same school, we generate tonnes of gossip, talking about totally trivial things that can leave outsiders stupefied...A trivia I found particularly delightful is this 19-second walk-on video the blogger directed, on location...'Dekho'...

Everyman -Philip Roth

The story, told in a no-stopping-for-breath narrative is about death and disease.Probably Roth has got to the stage himself...not one of his best. Still it holds one - the smooth flow of words and narrative...More...

The Emergency: Indian media’s shameful era

The power supply, switched off late in the night of June 25, 1975, wasn’t resumed until two days later...The power cut was...to enable the government to gain time to work out modalities for enforcing censorship...More...

'Tiger' Nat Terry: Tribute to a boxing champ

Sheila Abraham, Nat Terry’s only child wrote this touching memoir...Music and dancing were his passion. He was a great Tap Dancer and the life of any party or get-together, as he loved to sing and entertain the gathering. He was affectionately known to all as ‘Papa’...More...

Actor Satyaraj in a double-act

Sathyaraj, 54, son of Dr. Subbiah, is from an affluent family of Coimbatore. When the family objected to him joining the film industry, he just ran away to Chennai. And once he was involved in the movies, it was a procession of success after success. The one who ran away from wealth making good – theme for a cinema?...More...

Dussehra in Naama Bengaluru...

No words. Just some pictures...View them...

Isn't that cool ?

This is one of the best nooks in our ancestral home at Olavipe. The bench-like structures are called kuliru kallu which literally means cool stone. And they are really cool. Sit there with a book and a mug of beer perhaps...More...

Reinventing Nilgiri’s local media

As a community media initiative The Local is the best thing that has happened to Nilgiris in a long time. But as a publication this undersized, overpriced monthly has much to be modest about...More...

Vincent's case for a Civic Activist award

And perhaps like Vishwanathan Anand, the Kamakshis of this world have to plough a lonely furrow...For community leaders, there aren't even rewards, let alone plaques, dollars and audiences with the Prez...Perhaps, the city's Mayor should institute annual awards for the Kamakshis of our city...More...

Coolax and Chillax...

I think it was in the early 2006 series, that Ranchi Rambo, Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the Indian squad to victory against Pakistan in the third One-Dayer. More than the win, what was significant was that this dude, found an admirer in none other than President Pervez Musharraf...More...

Deep thoughts

Who will take care of them on the flight? Not that anyone needs to, nowadays. My kids are smarter than I was at that age (indeed, they are of the opinion that they are smarter than I am NOW) but they are disarmingly innocent in certain matters. They were lobbying me to buy a plasma TV, which I felt was too expensive (it costs about 100,000 rupees)...More...

The bare footed eleven

Manna, is the representative of the period when Indian football was at its peak. Manna's exploits at the helm of the Indian national team had prompted the England Football Association to rate him among the 10 best skippers of the world in its yearbook of 1953...More...

My 'scrapbook' Mam

From that year, every year, kids from my school have started working on personal scrapbooks. When I saw my brother working on his geography scrapbook, I instantly knew Sabitha mam was behind it all...She is the sort of genius who can think up such wonderful things...More...

Fest zone in Mylapore

Is it possible to make North Mada St. a Navaratri fest zone, asks blogger Vincent,and, answering his own query, writes,'it is, if you believe such celebrations make our city'...Read him...

Zera dekhke Chalo, hey bhai

A post where a video is worth lot more than the words blogger Tanay uses to describe Sara Welch's catwalk....Watch video...

Abe Tharakan talks movies

Mohanlal once said words to the effect that Mammootty wanted to be an actor and tried hard to be one, but he (Mohanlal) happened to become an actor by chance. Mammootty seems to have more professionalism. I wonder if either of them could have emulated the performance of PJ Antony in Nirmalyam...More...

Savage Kerala (contd.)

Shocking. There is no pending case or evidence against Malathi. She is the aggrieved person and a witness, not the accused. The police can pick up any person any where on pretexts that can range from terrorism to what not. But what was the need for the pregnancy tests?...More...

Bobby Jindal and India

Would we have accepted a similar immigrant? We are often very suspect to the extent of being xenophobic...Sonia Gandhi's example is the most debated one. In her case it's not the debate that's objectionable (that's fine), but our lack of willingness to accept that Sonia can be trustworthy, our obsession with her country of birth...More..

Socal Fires

Stuck in traffic, I tried many roads to get back on the highway as the GPS instructed, all the inlets into the 15 North were blocked by Police.Eventually my wife, who was scanning Google maps at home, relayed over the phone that there was a smallish road that joins up in Temecula and I landed up in it..More..

Rajni, Rajni, Rajni....

His films, which are famous for their tastelessly showy and flashy costumes, humorous locutions, jhakas on the fly rustic punch lines and best are his hallmark tricks, that would even put the Hollywood sci-fi flick directors to shame...More...

Of Gowda and Gandhi

If the general feeling in Karnataka is that JD(S) is a great betrayer, and a feeling that may be mellowed down as days pass on, it is not an issue concerning BJP or Lingayats to which community Mr Yediyuruppa belongs.It is one of values of Trust and commitment.. .More. .

My Blog Award and bloglife...

Now these blogging awards are not like the red-carpet ostentatious Oscar awards but these are modest affirmations that there are people who connect to your blogs and enjoy reading the posts. As simple as that. These blogging awards are mirthful ways to recognize your fellow bloggers to show them how much one appreciates what they express in their posts.. .. .More. ..

Inspiration at 200 continues...

It all started two years back, when I used to write certain things and mail it only to a selected set of people. People, with whom I shared the best of rapport and even today, who make it a point to visit my blog regularly for updates. Comments and viewpoints were exchanged with agreements and in equal measure, disagreements. . .More. . .

At Disneyland & Universal Studios

I know the dialogues of Lion King like the back of my hand, having watched it more than 40 times. I always put up a persuasive argument with anyone who says cartoons are stupid. With Disney, I have discovered so much—Disney has taught me to dream, dream without fear or any sort of limitation, and believe in my dreams. . .More. . .

Mysore Dasara: Thank God, it's over

Dasara would come again in 2008; and it wouldn’t be a good idea repeating the mistakes of 2007. Did I hear a cynic saying, we would have a trunover of officials by October next, and fresh mistakes waiting to be made?. . .More. . .

A cultural weekend in Mumbai

My mom wanted to come along too. She has recently taken a liking to Sufi Qawwalis after hearing Abida Parveen on World Space Radio. . . Sheela and the kids decided they would have more fun at Akhil's house. . .More. . .

Maddy's R K Narayan, in your laptop

There is so much of him beyond his books and autobiography that some would be interested in, so I ventured to find some of that stuff. This collection will I hope, help those uninitiated into the world of the creator of Malgudi - Mr Rasipuram Krishnaswami Ayyar Naranayanaswami. . .More. . .

Abe's hockey days in Bangalore

Unnikrishnan of HAL was perhaps the best centre half who never played for India. McBride, again of HAL, was a solid back. He later coached the St. Joseph’s School team and my two sons, Joseph and Abraham were among the beneficiaries. . .More. . .

Where Brand Mysore takes a knock

If production of such shoddy stuff to cash in on Dasara smacked of ’a cheap money-making trick’, its sale at a government publications counter was disgraceful. . .More. . .

Delhi blogger makes waves in Pakistan

Why would a promising young man from Delhi be blogging Pakistan? The question factors in it suspicion of a hidden agenda - could Soofi be a Paki staying in India, possibly ISI-connected. That Mayank anticipated this, but chose to press on with his blog speaks of courage. . .More. . .

Drink to cope with hangover

...the finest natural health drink in the world. You can take it from a glass as well. . . some like the tender coconut water dripping down the chin on to the clothes. Whichever way it is consumed, tender coconut water is good for you, particularly so to get rid of a hangover.. .More. . .

Mysore Infosys 'run' for a cause

We had a mini Marathon in our campus here in Infosys, Mysore on Oct 16th. It was to raise fund for the social forum, 'SOFTEN', now involved actively in helping the needy. . .More. . .

Lakshmi's take on Akeelah and the Bee

For those of you who loved Iqbal, Black or Chak De, this is just the right movie for you....it preaches the same philosophy--that achievement is overcoming problems--and you don't have to be a super-hero to achieve. . .More. . .

Nostalgia: A clock of time

A couple of weeks back when I was at Olavipe, it was not working. Swamy is no more and therefore my brother Jacob is sending the clock to Kothamangalam where, he was told, an expert named George repairs old clocks as a hobby. . .More. . .

Heyy Baby

For those of you who are not serious students of cinema, I suggest less painful avenues of entertainment such as dancing on a bed of nails, going over the Niagara falls in a barrel or, god bless my soul, even watching "Kyun ki Saas Bhi kabhi Bahu Thi". . .More. . .

MLA in a commoners' queue

President’s rule in Karnataka appears to have proved a social leveller. An MLA from the party that helmed the state till the other day, chose to join the commoners’ queue at the governor’s janata darshan. No gimmick, this. . .More. . .

The UN at its cradle

As resident diplomats, we were gathered at the Veterans Memorial Hall to meet the visiting dignitary. In a nice touch, the Secretary General was meeting us in the very room where the UN Charter had been signed in June 1945. . .More. . .

Blog-of-the-day: Ninaivugal...Thoughts

US-based Praveen G Krishnan who can't/and won't get Bangalore out of him. Describes himself as a simple soul keen on making a lot of new friends. .More. . .

'In Rainbows' for zero sum

Yes, if you go to their official website you can download their latest album, 'In Rainbows', for whatever price you choose. Including zero, as I found out. . .More. . .

Sreesanth must check himself

I wonder why cricketers are wasting time and energy on it. When they meet journalists don't they have anything else to talk, other than making statements mocking the rival team? . . .More. . .

Of Bangalore's Gunboat Jack

Many who were in Bangalore during the 1940s and 1950s are likely to have seen Gunboat Jack, or at least heard of him. He had several roles in life: boxer, circus performer, speedster, bar fighter, street brawler, bouncer, tap dancer, perhaps even smuggler.. . .More. . .

Of Mysore Dasara and Chamalapura

I don’t know why Dasara lightings set me thinking of load-shedding, Chamalapura, global warming, and a cash-strapped city’s power bill. I know the festive lights have been a feature for so long that anyone who now questions it as extravagance would be deemed out of his mind. . .More. . .

Super Jumbo is in Singapore

What takes the cake, however, is the Singapore Airlines suite class. For the first time in modern aviation, there is actually a suite, a private enclosure that is more like a small room. The suite class is a step beyond First Class, as they say. . .More. . .

Life@Infosys

.. . . an effort to go through the days to be able to latch onto that one opportunity to go "onsite", earn dollars (that's really fading as an incentive) and buy the assets in life. After this, most of the people who have any meaningful targets in their lives, start looking for jobs that actually pay meaningful salaries and not charitable donations!!. . .More. . .

Ads. that raid our living rooms

Quiet a few would have seen this ad of Akshay Kumar doing stunts jumping from a building and landing pefectly on his feet and flicking a Thums bottle from a speeding truck. When the lady asks' Akhri thums up?' he asks 'Woh kys hota hai'?.. . .I thought the ad was not in good taste on two counts. . .More. . .

All that hype over Mysore Dasara

People don’t talk of Dasara without a mention of Mysore. But how many make it their destination when they plan their Dasara holidays? How much of people’s thoughts on Mysore Dasara translates into tourist revenue for the city?. . .More. . .

Poll drive without poster or burst of crackers

Poll time for us means noisy campaign, traffic-blocking morcha, clutter of wall posters, drum-beats and burst of crackers even at the time of filing one’s nomination papers. . .More. . .

When the Comrades came to Olavipe

I went back inside because a senior supervisor told me that my presence there might make them uncomfortable. After a while the slogan shouting could be heard, faintly at first and louder as the jatha approached. . . More. . .

My October holidays (in LA)

The sad part remains I missed my college trip to Calicut and Waynad...I would rather miss Disneyland to go to that trip...But when I return next Sunday, I'm sure most of my classmates will be twittering and asking me about my trip, while the truth is, I will be feeling hollow inside, learning they probably had more fun than I could ever imagine. . .More. . .

Boating in Chennai's Cooum? Possible!

In the past, the state has floated many projects to 'clean' the waterways. Lots of money has been spent on these projects. And piles of files on this subject now gather dust.Perhaps the time has come for Chennai's people to join hands with Chennai Corporation to earnestly get behind the waterways project.Over to the doers...More. . .

Khalid Hosseini’s Kite runner

I started on this audio book for the first time, complaining all the time that I could listen to the book only when I was in the car, that I could not go back & check things now & then, that I could not feel the pages and all that (or drift away into my own world between words)...More...

Kerala's breakfast range

Kerala has one of the largest choices for breakfast in the world, says Abe Tharakan. Should we, in Karnataka, let him get away with such claim ?...Read him...

Hong Kong - Smog or no smog

Nearby is the "Avenue of the stars" and is a tribute to HK's movie scene. The beginning of the avenue has a tall statue of a woman and this is supposed to be the statue awarded to winners at the Hong Kong Film Awards functions...More...

Sayyaji Rd., Mysore

Mysoreans are all familiar with its significance...Nevertheless,it has not been able to live up to its role as a connector, a public space, a tourist place, not to mention as a thriving commercial space. some thing needs to be done, some trade-offs made. What are they?...More...

Mysore citizens committees initiative

Nothing like this (announcement of nine citizens advisory committees) has happened before in the city admin. during my last three-year stay in Mysore. We once had the Mysore Agenda Task Force (MATF), which appeared less advisory than adversary in its functioning...More...

Threemany.com

The man behind it is my old college mate and room mate, Hrishi Kamat who has frequently, though not recently, performed the yeoman task of scooping up yours truly whenever I inadvertently ingested those few drops of alcohol that disengage the control of the brain from the operation of the lower limbs...More...

Awaiting a VIP, to cut the tape

A public park, revamped at the cost of Rs.90 lakhs, has remained out of bounds for Mysore residents for the last three months. Why? The city corporation couldn’t find a VVIP to cut the tape...More...

Trees are vital

Check out this post for some nice pix...more...

Savage Kerala

A mob gathered immediately and started beating the pregnant woman and her children with hands and rods, punching them and kicking them. According to the media, this show in Edapal Town went on uninterrupted for about 45 minutes. When the police finally arrived and searched the woman, the missing anklet was not found on her...More...

Sahib & Collector

In colloquial Malayalam, Sayip is loosely associated with a Western (white) foreigner. However I discovered that it is mostly a usage conveying respect. Did it originate from the word Sahib? Perhaps! Anyway I have heard the usage ‘Sayip’ associated with one of these two gentlemen who I will venture to introduce to you...More...

Squirrel antics

It’s a tale of valor of a squirrel which braved a camera placed inches near it, not to mention a imposing-looking human staring down at it, grinning manically…..just for that ear of corn. Shows how hungry the animal world is…...More...

The 10 big career change mistakes

Recruiter Avnita Sharma's mistakes list - 10)Thinking you're too old...5)Waiting for the perfect time...4) Too much in your head...3) Too few clues...1) Not seriously focused...More...

Engage in neighbourhood issues!

Adverts put out by the city Corporation, the Highways and PWD departments, the Pollution Control Board and the CMDA...For, in those boring adverts of lines, figures and columns are stories that you and I need to appreciate and understand...More...

Blog of the day: A Life in Books

Blog by a Canadian in Georgia,US, who reads heck of a lot. She set up this blog because "I’d wanted to keep a reading diary for ages so I could keep track of what I’d been reading and my thoughts on those books"....More...

Bangalore weekend filmcamp

This event,first of its kind,is happening at the PG Department of Communication, SBMJC Center for Management Studies, Bangalore.Where independent Indie film makers o showcase their works to other film-makers and critics.The best part would be to discuss, the +ves, the –ves, the lessons learnt, the encyclopedisms, the critical reviews, the point blank views, etc...More...

Mysore writers museum

Praja-Mysore activists led by Mr Arun Padaki, are putting together a power-point proposal for a network of heritage trails in Mysore. Whether or not they make the Walks happen, they are setting a worthy precedent for citizens-official partnership in the city’s development...More...

Kerala: more on coconuts

I hope Indian growers in Kerala can get together like the grape growers in Maharashtra as we are really seeing a trend here which must be allowed to become an accepted trend. Then the marginal cost of a coconut plucker should fade into oblivion!”...More...

To Shirdi on pilgrimage, Shenoy ?

Of late, I have been vexed with questions of an existential nature. "Who am I?" is a thought that often bothers me, though Sheela feels that it is not entirely a coincidence that these thoughts occur after consuming a few beers. So when the opportunity of taking a pilgrimage to Shirdi presented itself, I tarried not...More...

Ooty's check-post sharks

The RTO check-post set us back by Rs.200 on our way in - Rs.150 for the road permit; and our driver was not sure what the other Rs.50 was for. If it was the guy at RTO check-post on our way in, it was the police on our way out of Ooty. An arrangement of convenience to fleeze tourists, I guess...More...

Just (about) seventeen

On my birthday, I thought I should reintroduce myself,as the just--seventeen Lakshmi. This is not one of my usual blogs when I talk about the world--it's about me, as a person. So I’ll tell you a little more about myself...16 things I want to tell you on my birth...More...

Kovai's jumble sale for a cause

The sale attracted the women who worked as maids, cooks or helpers in and around the neighbourhood. For, the goods on sale were a bonus for families which were economically weak...The Vasantha Memorial Trust Jumble Sale in Coimbatore is an event by itself...More...

The Pathan

That was the one and only time I came across one of those majestic Pashtuns – I hope someday I will see Kabul and meet many more – who knows when, but until then, thank you my dost…I don’t know what made you feel like helping us, but you did and we will remember it...More...

October 2 Thoughts

Those who put Gandhi on a pedestal are happy keeping him there, for ever. If the statue on our neighbourhood Gandhi Square is allowed by the authorities to make just one wish, it would be, ‘Bring me down from the pedestal’...More...

Bangalore memories (1951 vintage)

Fr. Boniface D’Souza SJ was the Principal...kind and understanding person, but people were scared of him because of his formidable look. The joke used to be that anyone summoned to his room would not come back in one piece...On the day of Inter College hockey finals I was called to his room. As I waited tensely the principal looked up and said, “Must win today” and dismissed me with a wave of his hand. We did win...More...