Aadiperukku

Aadiperukku or Padinettam Perukku is observed only in the Kaveri delta. The festival name translates as Adi (month) swell or 18th day swell because the waters of the Kaveri river invariably rise dramatically, ......

Indian Cuisine

While browsing through the menu to order lunch yesterday (Sunday, 29th) at a reputed Chennai hotel, I came across the listing ‘Southern Railway Lamb Curry’. It was claimed to be a repast from the Raj days.....

The Nuclear Deal

But even in this set up I fail to understand what is prompting our Prime Minister to go ahead with the deal. Is a deal that was discussed with US at time when it is under the most unpopular President worth all these hungama? One cannot forget that when US ventured into Iraq.....

The Shy Blossom

Monday Morning :Laughter

Ok, you folks who have to hit the office bright on monday morning, make sure you hit it right. Hit it with laughter. And give your productivity a boost. Check this video out. It is short, I promise, and lighten your monday morning blues by magnitudes. ..

10 Alternatives to Plastic Bags

Do we have to wait for a ban on use of plastics to stop using them? Why don’t we initiate on our own, make a conscious effort to stop accepting and using plastic bags?....

Dreamtime

We intend to master
Everything that's faster,
Wider, taller, bigger, more bombastic.....

Nikhil's Annaprasana

It was Nikhil’s feed-ceremony; and elder brother Siddarth played a perfect host to the invited friends – Ankit, Dhruv and Aunsha. He was the first to dress up for the evening. ....

Wanted: Info on Mount Road

I am looking for the Mount Road generation of the 40s and 50s.Because I am preparing for the Mount Road Heritage Walk.A walk which will be one of the many events being lined up for the annual Madras Day celebrations ( Aug.17 to 24 ) this year.I grew up on Mount Road with the offices and presses of 'The Mail' and 'The Hindu' for neighbours.....

An Engineer's Experience

Nabhah Sprusham Deeptam - Touch the sky with glory: The motto of the Indian Air Force evokes a great sense of pride, patriotism and humble veneration of all things airborne, be it a soaring bird, a trail blazing jet or a rocket reaching out to the heavens...

Uncommon Flower Arrangement

Blogs help catch Criminals

Here's some proof of what good blogging can achieve. In Brooklyn, New York, bloggers helped the police bust a drug racket "peering turned to blogging, and blogging turned to action......

A stray thought

My question is, what would it take for someone like me to want to jump into another man's arms? I can't think of a single thing. Very much doubt even a billion dollars could do it (though I am open to offers). Am I too cold and cynical? Is it normal for men to jump....

Red Blister Beetle

Mustang in Singapore

On arrival in Singapore, we were treated to a small reception party and given bouquets. After we headed across to the East Camp side of Seletar, the handlers towed the Airplane to a hangar that I have leased....

The Rowdy in Sunglasses

But the real rowdy in the family is Nikhil. His response to the e-b-to-e-b confrontation is grab Siddarth's hair with both hands for a shake-down....

Babuji 'Ezharai Sani'

Babuji’s ezharai sani period took us all out of Delhi. He was sent to the districts in the south to get administrative training. We were in the south for exactly seven and a half years.....

Net Debris

A good percent of this must contribute to (what I call) Net debris - Expired domains (till they get a new avatar), web pages with poor usability, decades-old e-mail archives and God forbid - older posts of this blog, over time........

Great Soldiers Never Die

Elephant Attack

The shock was terrible. What a sudden, unexpected, fearful and painful death. Manwar's brother had been with him less than an hour before, in the big group that always runs behind elephants - keeping a safe distance, of course. No one tried to injure the elephant or to harm it in any way. ..

Update on the happenings at Chez Shenoy

And he reads his Sanjeev kapoor
And I that Jaffrey dame
As he wipes his brow with grated cheese
And roasts his pinkie in the flame.....

Jill Bolte Taylor - My Stroke of Insight

There is one talk that I listened to today, which even moved me. This is probably the first talk, I have ever heard, where a neural-anatomist - a person who studies the human brain — talks so clearly of a feeling of nirvana. I am not sure, if Dr. Taylor has ever read the hindu texts, but what she talks about, is exactly what the vedas have been talking about.......

Sam Manekshaw

Debacle

The music was easy-on-the-ear (Tchaikovsky and Haydn as I recall) and the lunch was a success, on a well-appointed restaurant ship in glorious weather. Today was a different story! I, for one, found an hour of very modern music hard to cope with,....

Google Saree

The fluttering drapes that adorn the body, the mystical smile that accompanies every fold, the dreams and beauty of an Indian lady are better personified in the saree. Isn't it ?...

Dateline Bangalore

Being in Bangalore is a mixture of emotions: for some it's the excitement of being transported from a small town to a glitzy fast-paced city; for others it's the pangs of insensitive affluence trampling over human sensibilities;....

Playing Fair

What comes to mind, for a lot of non IT-professionals is that, they are being unfairly treated well, and that they are over paid, and that, the compensation is not commensurate with the work they do etc.....

The Right Numbers

The invitation had carried a request that we inform the hosts of how many would be present, and would participate in the lunch. This is quite unheard of in the circles where upanayanams are conducted. Everyone is welcome to eat. Loads of food is cooked, expecting many people to eat....

Love and all that Jazz

If you ask me, I think the truth is that a very different sort of love develops in Indian marriages - and it is not between the husband and the wife. Parenthood - and the love of children - is the Big Love in an Indian marriage. It seems to me that when a child comes along, many couples put romantic love on the back-burner.....

The Deflowering

This lady says she sallied forth to weed her garden bedOnly to find she'd pulled, not weeds, but all her flowers instead!
The weeds, she says, clung manfully to the soil in which they grew,While the flowers simply just relaxed! One pull and out they flew!....

Water-colour

Once in a while our young friend Siddarth, 30 months old, gets into a mood to mess up his hands with watercolours. . .More. . .

My Grandmother

"A thousand eyes are needed to behold your cosmic dance, O Nataraja..." This song is symbolic of the ironies in my grandmother's sightless life.She had lost vision in both the eyes when she married at the age of 12. She mothered seven children, three of whom survived....

Pumpkin

During my childhood I have heard it said in my village that smokers should eat a lot of pumpkin. They had a point all right. Pumpkin contains a good dose of beta-carotene......

Oh! How I need my MPG

The attached picture outlines gas prices around the world. Today gas costs Rs 50/- to 60/- per liter or $5.77 per gallon in India. You then start to wonder, who is at fault? Gas producers & refiners, Gas distribution companies, Federal taxes or automobile companies?......

Harry Potter and you-know-why it works

Rowling and team have spared no effort to produce something that is politically correct, and guaranteed to please everyone the world over. And in case they'd trodden on any toes - they seem to have done a quick review after the book was actually released....

Jackfruit Jam---A labour of Love

So I do know just how much time-consuming labour is involved. Still, when Vatsala repeated the offer, I was tempted and succumbed....

Decomposing Plastic Bags

I was astounded to read about his invention which he presented as a science fair project at his school. In a systematic and step by step manner he eliminated the two strains of bacteria Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas. The bacterial culture he developed decomposed 43% of the plastics in six weeks.....

The Vintage Rally called India

All the people I have talked to, specially those working for NGO's and non profit organizations, express their frustration at the ancient walls of outdated rules and regulations erected between them and their beneficiaries that only serves as a loop hole for opportunists like the above two men to make money or stall work......

Blog as a swear-word

But I've become a Blogger only lately,
I'm no longer calm and ladylike and stately.
If I'm bitten by a dog
I scream 'Blog! You Blogging Blog!' . . .More. . .

Making sense of a semicolon

Two law professors in 1837 dueled, with swords, over its usage. The wounded advocated a semicolon to conclude a given passage; the winner favoured a colon.. . .However, recent years have seen a decline usage of the punctuation mark; possibly because of widespread ignorance about its proper role. . .More. . .

Taare Zameen Par

But now our kids are born into a greater degree of affluence. None of these kids have to provide for their parents so one pushing force has been removed. Parents too recognize the right to pursue a dream. To choose their own path....

Nuclear Deal

Ground realities do not sustain the Indian Communist’s claim that alternate sources like coal can provide the country’s power requirements. Therefore, it is not surprising that the major parties in the country do not oppose the idea....

Dear Popples...

Yes, I am talking about a very respected and elderly person who would be as old as my maa and who dreams altogether in a different perspective, Anouradha Bakshi. Anou’s dream is to save the dreams of others, isn’t it something very special?........

'Bells on her Toes'

I have worn my way through several pairs of toe rings. My first set was obviously worn on my wedding day. It was a pretty pair with the rings not smooth, but twisted in a plait, and had three little bells on each pair, which tinkled sweetly each time I took a step. ...

Speeches by Al Pacino

Very motivational, and very emotional. Great speeches by one of my favourite Hollywood actors.......

'Bed & Breakfast' in Chennai

And that is why the 'bed and breakfast' idea may not really take off even if Irai Anbu and Rajaram and Co. at the Tourism Department sincerely drive this concept.Some of us who host heritage walks in the Mylapore area have also toyed with the idea of convincing families to host tourists....

Kerala Fruits

SJCE Trees

Today, our SJCE campus which already one of the greenest places in Mysore became even more greener. We planted about 60 trees today within the campus, ......

Air Powered Cars?

Trains cheaper than Planes

What struck me was AJ's amazement. For many like AJ, trains never existed, because on the fast lane of tech-driven life there were only the airplanes......

Growing Bananas

Aung San Suu Kyi, Happy Birthday!

Manholeonomics

But this year there is a twist in the tale. Come rainy season, Mumbai is witness to scores of open manholes, and this year, the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is blaming the Chinese dragon for its excruciations. ...

Centenary

June 19, 2008. Today is the 100th birth anniversary of my mother-in-law. The English date is not known, but we know that she was born in 1908, in the month of Aani (June15 – to July 15), under the star Moolam....

Largest LCD Display

Presenting the Barco video wall in the Comcast center in Philadelphia, USA. Costs only 22 million. Anyone want one?...

Gandhiji’s Ingersoll watch

Gandhiji obtained his pocket watch as a gift from his brother while studying in England. While he discarded all material other possessions, he retained the watch and was very fond of it, terming it the only useful possession he had!...

Jain Idols at Aretippur

And there we stood watching with disbelief, idols, relics, stones with inscriptions all lying scattered. As usual, just a blue board stands there declaring the site as protected monument....

In tribute to his mother

Deepak Joshi, an advertising professional in Bangalore, planted 100 trees as a living tribute to his mother.

Flickr founders leave Yahoo

It looks like Catrina Fake has already left, and Stewart Butterfield is on his way out on july. Stewart is apparently known for his wit, and he has submitted, in my opinion, the funniest resignation letter, I have ever seen....

Responsible Advertising - An oxymoron?

Does 'responsible advertising' continue to be an oxymoron? Isn't it time those well-heeled ad professionals fulfil a more ethical role, in the larger sense, to society? It appears that Extended producer responsibilty (EPR) is taking its own sweet time to move.....

Jackfruit

Still the missis

So I merely raise my eyebrows when he presents an example of his goofiness and let it pass. But today, he made me shake my head slowly from side to side and look heavenward as if in silent prayer. The reason is this joke he made up. I overheard him telling it to the kids....

Copyright---AP takes on bloggers

In journalism there is a concept called "fair use". It's related to copyright. Basically it means, a publisher or an editor can quote from another, usually copyrighted material, in his or her publication to the extent that will be considered fair....

Thisis the Missis

I am not the Stalin-cum-Mao Tse Tung that he makes me out to be. But the bits about him being a complete buffoon are quite accurate. And it is not just me who feels that way. I'll give you an example.....

Interiors

Aishwarya Rai interviews

Have you ever watched an Aishwarya Rai interview? It is perhaps the single most tiring thing to watch on TV after the saas bahu serials. After the interviewer finishes his question, you turn to her expectantly to listen to her answer and what do you get? A lot of umm errr hmmm ahem etc before and after each word....

Parking Lot

Missing home

I shall miss them the most. Their place at Mysore, all the time I spent with Thatha and Ajji shall be sorely missed and remembered. Although I didn’t spend that last day with them, and they were in Mysore at that time, I remember them the most. I miss you all. . .More. . .

Plastic chips for washing clothes

For me doing the laundry is the most boring of all the household chores. Washing machines have simplified the job, yet… Well the latest on this is:. . .More. . .

The God Question

Try declaring to an uncle or an aunt, that you do not believe in God. Worse still, ask them *why* they believe in a blue-skinned being flying around on a giant eagle saving the world.. . .More. . .

Satellites tracking

One of the pages on the site says it's a website providing mainly satellite tracking Services. "The software used for tracking is using mainly space surveillance data provided by "Space Track", . .More. . .

Forbidden fruit

“It will make your intestines stick together,” the elders would say. And the reason for that? The tiny fruit contains glue inside. Remove the stalk and squeeze gently, and presto, the sticky liquid flows out evenly...More...

Water Powered Car

it is another Japanese delight. And if they go into mass production as they say, I cannot imagine its implications. Can you?...More...

Happy Father's Day'

This picture was taken by W. Eugene Smith ....., where in he captures the inexpressible sight of a father teaching his son how to dive. This was shot in the 1950's. Vintage pic, but vivid, speaks volumes with just two characters in the frame . . .More. . .

A Tumultuous Week

Sitting in the ambulance, next to her lifeless body, as the driver sped through the NH47, bound for home, I reminisced on various moments of our life together, eyes tearing now and then…More. . .

Spacing out your spending

Instead of going to the pub every weekend, why don't you keep it to the first Saturday of a month? Why don't you take the bus when possible instead of hopping on to the auto always?...More. . .

Microsoft patents mobile manners

Then your culture is questioned when the mobile goes trrriiiiiiing in the middle of a presentation. What about your ethics, how can it ring during a concert? . . .More. . .

Bajji after showers

If you have time, you can do more. Walk down a tree-lined avenue and breathe deep or wander across a wooded campus.Head to the fringe of the beach.Or go to the local market place and look for the bajji stall.Bajjis made at street corner stalls taste special. . .More. . .

His life with the Missus

I have several topics on which I can display my ass-ness. The oil crisis, for one. The state of the economy, perhaps. Or what our foriegn policy towards China should be. But I'm going to settle for my favorite topic - Life with the Missus.. . .More. . .

An actor and a school text-book

it is a sad sign that moviegoers spend fortunes to see these ageing superstars (see picture) cavorting and carousing with charming teenage starlets young enough to be their granddaughters...More...

Mouli's take on Tomboy

Though I find Tomboy exceptionally useful, I had a minor issue with the inability to create new notebooks from within a note. Within hours of the review appearing on Linux.com, Boyd Timothy, one of the app’s developers mentioned in the article’s comments that my idea had merit ...More...

After the rains

He went out armed with his ‘wimbrella’. My son’s boss who gave it to him had said that it could hold its own against the strongest wind. And that claim was proved, said my husband on his return. . .More, , ,

Remembering grandfather

The public believed that the Travancore Maharaja had granted him the privilege to wear it. That is not confirmed. He would remove the headgear only before peers and while praying or eating. A whispered joke was that he even slept with the turban on. . .More. . .

Let's welcome them home!

How many of us are ready to start using solar cookers, in India, which enjoys a rather blessed amount of sunshine for most of the year? A few weeks ago, a friend and I had decided that we should do a solar cooker search - we found not one dealer in the city of Coimbatore, then. . .More. .. .

Art Class this Summer

I stumbled on this short art camp being conducted by one of my friends, Mridula Banerjee. I always knew that she is a very talented lady, but was never aware of the fact she took classes too. Her classes run full merely by word of mouth. . .More. . .

Volunteering at a Bangalore orphanage

Lisa is among the 60 million Americans who take to volunteer work in their neighbourhood, or farther away from home during summer break. A report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that people between the ages of 34 and 54 are the most likely to volunteer; and they do so for various reasons. . .More. . .

Kitchen Implements of the Past

Under June Skies

With temperatures touching new highs every season, we need to keep our heads covered and cool.If you wear a cap or a hat, you get funny looks....

High Order Thinking Skills

But again, what is the use if the CBSE Board keeps introducing “fixes” like these without proper planning? The board cannot be like Microsoft Corp., who loves sending “fixes” and “updates” as soon as a new product or a new version of an existing product is launched.....

Laluji ban gaye Blogger!

The latest that I read in Economic Times is that our good old Laluji is having a duologue with a Mumbai-based media team to start his own blog. His source of inspiration is none other than the Democratic Presidential candidate.....

The Open Era

At the end of the day, as men's tennis has just got absolutely fascinating, and as the Serbs and the Russians have taken the women's tennis to a different level, the matter of realization has just dawned that....

Blogroll with Blogger

On June 5, Blogger released a long-awaited improvisation that lets you add a page element wherein you keep a record of weblogs and websites that you follow regularly.....

When Fingers Talk

Then I heard from my Badagara friends about how these prices were set or fixed in the first place and how huge transactions were carried out on the streets using fingers under a towel. I was amazed.....

Saplings planted at Gokulam Park

Gokulam Park Road residents with the help of SAPGreen , planted 49 trees on june 7th. Ashwin from SapGreen organized the Saplings, transportation,manure and labour.

Chennai Corporation fines

Maybe the City Fathers didn't foresee eventualities like the disposal of broken sinks and faded car covers.I still haven't seen Corporation Inspectors doing the rounds......

Coconut Carving

A problem

The Class Teacher did hint that she takes tuitions when I went for the Parent – Teacher meeting. Should I give up my stubbornness and sent them? Will our kids benefit from spending some more hours studying concepts which should have been taught in school? .....

The Reluctant Intruder

As my husband approached him hand outstretched, he let off such a salvo, that my husband halted in his tracks, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. At that stage I don’t know who was more scared, the little fellow or me.....

Tit for Tat

However, a hapless minister of the West Bengal government himself got the taste of this hooliganism, when some passengers of the train - in which he himself was travelling – paid him back in the same coin.....

McCain vs Obama

The way the candidates involve the media, enables us here in India to follow the election quite closely. In fact, we aren't able to follow our own equally (if not more) vibrant and colourful democratic festival

Where do butterflies go when it rains?

My daughters have asked me this: Where do butterflies go when it rains? In fact I too have asked this to my mother. She was my Google those days, walking behind her holding on to her sari pallu I used to keep nagging her

About that airport green-corridor idea

You can dial a plant, and Janet does it for you. People sponsor planting of saplings in celebration of their birthday, wedding anniversary, graduation, placement, promotion.....

Environment Day Update

Idler's Reverie

There'd be a world of silences,
And we would all then thinkers be,

Shenoy's tagged

I will presently put a sock in it and desist from typing the other two sentences because I don't want to put my audience, a faithful if foolhardy bunch numbering about half a dozen, into a deep coma. That lively bit of prose was about the Roman Senate and was written about the theories of a chap named Polybius (ca.203-120BC, Greek Πολύβιος)who must have been the president of their Comedy Club.

Oorj Swaraj: how very sane, how very possible

Who will not be inspired by these words "Energy sovereignty, or oorj swaraj, for India is no idle dream but a realisable target." As a nation have we become blind? ....

Girls forced to join convents?

Another suggestion by the SWC is that a girl’s share of her family wealth should remain in her own name and not vest with the convent she joins...

Haiku

I am not averse

to verse, if it tells a tale

and tells it well.

Planet Green

Just take a moment and think. Is the place in which you and I live green? Is it more green than it was say 6 months back. If YES, how can I improve it further. If NO, there is something happening in the eco-system that is bringing about this metamorphosis.....

Pradeep's take on the fuel price hike

Tonight Prime Minister Manmohan will address the nation to explain why fuel prices were hiked. Hopefully he will spell out the austerity measures that the government plans to put in place to tide over the crisis.....

The Final Act

Vanara 2: They built a bridge to cross the ocean and get to Lanka. And there they met Ravana's good brother, Vibishana, who came over to Rama's side...

Nokia's Green Cell Phones

Last year this eco-friendly company had launched The Nokia 3110 that was developed from 50% renewable materials. Nokia is also credited to have put alerts to indicate that charging is done and the device needs to be unplugged.......

All that shines is not Silicon

All happy marriages are alike. Each separation is messy in its own way,' Tolstoy may have said in a slight variation of his famous line.....

"The Story of Stuff"

The presenter Annie Leonard has painstakingly put together a 20-minute video on the material(istic) economy, in other words - mindless consumerism.

Z for Zinnias

Thanks to blogging

The predicament ended when I got a long distance call from my long lost friend. I have to thank blogging and especially my blogger friend (who also happens to be my friend’s sister) for having made this happen....

Quote of the Day

The cheerleaders need to be applauded for only in Hyderabad would they have had to hear stuff like, "Arrey dhang se hilao ji, kya pukkat mein aye kya".

A/S/L?

Next stop was one of the million chat rooms. Those days, there was a craze with a chat program called MiRC, which hosted many a room. Just like others, I was drawn into one of the rooms. I realized that chatting could be quite a difficult proposition, with a million short forms doing the rounds. CTC? ASL? GTG!! left me whining.

While the wind blows…

The most intriguing part about the whole thing was that none of us had seen those flowers the day before on those trees! It seemed like the flowers had bloomed overnight and had fallen just like that....

Rob Nani to pay Sudha!

We see complaints that the children nowadays have become TV-Centric or computer-crazy! But in the first place, do we give them playgrounds/ open space to play?Medical college grounds near the Railway station in Mysore are hardly put to use

The choice is out there!

“Will you marry me?” His question caught me by surprise! I hardly knew this guy. He used to drop in home from time to time whenever he was down from the US on holidays as his sister lives in Bangalore. He is a year junior to my eldest bro and his junior at college too.

Case for infrastructure audit

I have often wondered if the basketball court on the school ground has ever been used for the purpose of playing basketball. I have seen the space being used for parking standby power generator, delivery vans and spares whenever they hold consumer fairs on the school ground...More...

Vanishing Haystacks

Once upon a time, haystacks reflected prosperity. The paddy fields would be readied and sown before the rains. In a few months time the crop would be harvested. After threshing and winnowing, the paddy would go into granaries.

Traffic Jams in Besant Nagar

And here in the bowel of the colony are traffic jams on a Sunday evening. Three traffic policemen gamely manage the chaos - the rush headed to Elliots Beach, the streams originating from Vailankanni Church and the MTC buses leaving the terminus in the far corner.

Migratory Birds

Every year in the months of November and December the migratory birds fly long distances to this particular village to breed. By June the chicks are fully grown and these birds are gone.

Rant!

From the airport to the house, A regaled us with tales of troubles she encountered when she landed in India a week ahead of hubby with the baby. She had apparently flown Lufthansa who were very helpful to passengers like her traveling with a baby.