Dreaming of a Christmas Zone in Chennai

Leith Castle is a quiet area of independent houses, gardens and free streets.
I was tempted to call Francis Lazarus, ask him to collect a bunch of singers and request a concert at the end...

In which I have a meal - and other unusual stuff

Here I must resort to aphorisms and mystic couplets like the old masters in the upanishads who had to answer all those questions like "who am I" and weren't allowed snappy answers like "you are someone who could use deodorant"...

Unusual events of 2008

Forget Obama. Forget terrorism. Forget layoffs. The world in 2008 had lots of off-beat events which showed humour isn’t dead even in the worst of times.Reuters has put together them...

The White Tiger

In short this is the story of the transformation of a man born as a servant to the rich and elite, from Munna to Balram Halwai to Ashok Sharma, the successful entrepreneur. The story is narrated in a one-to-one conversation format with few relevant touches of wit...

A Book On Promising Young Musicians

Highlights of each musician’s career have been included smoothly with other information, like their views on music, on their profession and career.Sikkil Gurucharan, for instance, says he has no interest in news or other matters,...

Ad.rage: When you want to smash the box

Each commercial break stretched seven or more minutes; during which they showed 15 ads. What’s cruel, the same set of ads gets repeated in each quarter-hourly break; and a few of these ads are shown twice or more during a single commercial break.

'Tis the season to ... help!

Going with the Christmas spirit, and for a cause VERY close to my heart, I urge you to help the kids that call Project WHY their shelter,their playground, their home and hearth! What is project WHY you say?

BBC/The Box - an idea worth copying

Good ideas are worth copying. The Box - a BBC documentary on the travels of shipping container - ought to give ideas, not just to our media but also social activists groups...

The Story Teller and His Audience

spotted this kathak dancer at the Gateway Hotel in Agra. He was on a little stage, dancing to a piece of recorded music. His audience was a bunch of foreign travellers, several of whom had just made the 5-hour drive from Delhi...

Fruitcake!

I'd rather BE a Fruitcake, than just eat one.
You can recognise a Fruitcake when you meet one.
A Fruitcake's slightly dotty,
In fact a Fruitcake's potty,

Hoysala Trail: The Roads taken in 2008

My earliest tryst with the Hoysalas was probably as a kid when my parents and I had visited Belur and Halebeedu. A couple of years ago, I went to Belur again with my cousins and then...

Santa for entrepreneurs

An entrepreneur needs to know how to make the perfect pitch. If Santa were to be one, what would he do? He’d make a business plan with lines such as “Projections"...

God Save His Own Country!

Here’s a marvelous compilation of painstaking research that will open the eyes of the so called Kerala defenders to the true state of Kerala. And here’s a comment by a commenter called Noble Paul...

Listen to the Hoolock gibbon as he mopes...

A Hoolock gibbbon at the Delhi zoo. He is depressed, no doubt.
Is he just waiting for delayed keeper-supplied meals?
Or is he feeling claustrophobic?

Merry Christmas

This year Christmas seems to be rather subdued. Some say it is in remembrance of the victims of 26/11. If true, that is something noble. There is not much of color lighting. May be it is because of the bad power situation....

Merry Christmas with Jingle Bells

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

An Appeal To Pakistan’s Civil Society

The Pakistani government readily accepted India’s request for sending the honourable chief of ISI to India to facilitate the Mumbai terror investigation. Ironically, within days it went back on its words, claiming that it never made any such promise in the first place.

-25C

The temperature was falling like the NASDAQ, the peak being well below zero. In such a scenario, I dread even to think about the troughs. Added to the traumatic effect of the abysmally low centigrade, one has to cope up with the outrageously painful wind chill....

Winter and Christmas .. Calvin style !

Hmphhhh!!!!

Tell me, when you go to a restaurant, how often do you tell the waiter, just bring me whatever you feel like, don't bug me about it? Or tell them your menu sucks, go get me something else?

Singing roads

Now imagine you living by the roadside and a car speeds through and you hear refrains of say ‘enthoru mahaanu bhavulu’…how would that sound? Well that is roughly what this is all about. Specially constructed roads that emit musical tones as cars speed...

A search engine that plants trees

Ecocho.com is eco-friendly search engine which plants five trees for every 1000searches made on its website. Ecocho uses Yahoo’s search technology to power searches made on their site....

Slipping Through the Fingers

They slip through our fingers, those moments,
Which seemed set in concrete back then.
And I mourn, in contemplative moments,
For they'll never be babies again.

The Lights of Goa

Outside the cubicle

The cubicle life constrains you to only a limited amount of knowledge; The ones coming from the papers, TV and sometimes from other’s experiences. In most of these cases, you only get a spiced view of the reality.....

Oil Prices

Oil price went up.. the world complained and rallied against the high price...
Now the oil price is going down and the world complains even more for the falling prices...And we still expect God to listen to our prayers.

Moore Market and San Thome at Christmastime

Some places live with us. Among my few is Moore Market.
This December I want to go back in time. For Moore Market got a life of its own at Christmastime. Had it survived the fire that helped in its destruction it would have easily rivalled CitiCentre.....

Of Christmases Past

It took me back to Christmases celebrated with great gusto in my childhood. Maybe I’m really getting old turning my thoughts backward. But I thought I'd relive it before it all escapes me.

Wedding, then and Now

People often end up arranging places that they can ill-afford for the wedding reception. Sometimes it is the other way. Social snobs could feel that a venue is below their status. In such cases a whispered apology accompanies the invitation, ‘Sorry, we couldn’t get a better place’.

The weekend that was

Their competing product costs some 12,000 rupees, occupies several gigabytes of space, crashes oftener than George Bush on a bicycle and works at a speed which makes road construction look exciting. So naturally, it is the most successful corporation in the world,......

Rabri Devi, Golma Devi; who next?

One may wonder if there is anything unique about it in a country that has a good majority of people who are uneducated? Nothing unique. We have a role model in Rabri Devi, who was the chief minister of Bihar....

Poppins

Well, he was to me, my Poppins uncle. I used to visit his house on Saturdays after school, (we used to have half day school on Saturdays) and return back on Sunday night, so that the regular school routine from Monday was not neglected.....

Fashion - Review

A typical Madhur Bhandarkar movie - dark, real, exposing real-life, at times, slightly exagerated, but without that, Indian Cinema will not run. Good acting by Priyanka Chopra. I think she is maturting into a fine actress. She portrays the roller coaster ride from small town Chandigarh girl, to hot super model....

Yes I can

I thought it was a very powerful movie which can be quoted as an example to depict how each individual can make a difference by being responsive to situations that is unfolding around ourselves day-in and day-out.....

Green-STEP: Making a difference to the environment

In green-STEP website we have shared information on how each one of us as individuals can take simple but powerful 'ACTIONS' to make a difference.....

Hot Diggity Doggerel

They may bend their brows over timeless prose,
Through which the course of history flows.
Or maybe they write for Mills and Boon,
With men who smoulder and girls who swoon.

Camera Critters

The second is a picture of young Sala who is shown killing a tiger on the " gopura" of the temple at Doddagaddavalli.....

Realities

The same company makes money in reprehensible ways, takes advantage of the ignorance of illiterates, pushes its products on people who didn’t even know they required the product. Wow!!....

All is not lost

The two examples taught me a valuable thing. That all is not lost. There are jobs out there though they may not pay very well. And people, who have lost jobs, should not despair but ride the gloom out with whatever is on offer. Depressions come and go and when the market is buoyant again, things will look up....

More on Fighting Terrorism

India allowed the Americans and the British to interrogate the surviving terrorist. Pakistan possibly cannot follow this example because they have not made any meaningful arrests linked to 26/11. They are just trying to fool the world.

Watching the News at Vadodara Railway Station

don't get to watch much TV, primarily because I don't carry enough weight in the protocol line-up. On the odd occasions that the TV does happen to be unoccupied, my mind is. Occupied, I mean. Not with much, of course, just the usual "what's it likely to be for the next meal? Broccoli or Lettuce?".......

Australia to regulate website access

Australian government plans to test a web filter that will require service providers to block thousands of websites that are listed as illegal in Australia. The list maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority is not available to the public....

The Elite

I have always felt that unless the sensibility of the rich and the powerful in our country is awakened, nothing positive can happen. In a sense it was woken by the Mumbai tragedy since they were more shaken than the rest. Nothing they relied upon was able to save them from the onslaught.....

Little Fluffy Cotton Candies

Flying above the Nordic nations during the dying winter season at an early hour when the sun is dressed in its robe of sybaritic lavishness, had offered me some of the best sights of the earth close to the North Pole.

The Terrible Irresponsibility Of Mr A.R. Antulay

Antulay highlighted Karkare’s association with the Malegaon blast probe – which had made the deceased draw fierce criticisms and anger from the various right wing Hindu groups – and hinted at the possibility of a larger conspiracy (read the hand of Hindu groups) behind the death of the brave officer.

Calling IIT alumni

Every IIT could adopt a slum or cluster of villages, with development levels that are lower than the national average. The adopted area could then become a development laboratory. And to implement socio-economic programmes in the development lab s IITs could draw on the talents and financial support of their alumni.....

$250 teapot anyone ?

The legend of Vavar

You are told by the senior swami in the troupe (the guy who has planted one or more coconut trees at Sabarimala) that Vavar Swami, a great friend of Ayappan is entombed at that location. Later on as you grow older, you marvel at the occasion where there is no religious enmity....

Memo to TV9: Don't Give Up

Film stars, who with one voice, backed the TV 9 channel in calling for Government action. I wish TV 9 doesn't leave this here; would like to see their campaign taken to its logical conclusion,lest we forget Unnikrishnan and his sacrifice......

Horse Puzzle

It is a horse, right? At least it looks like one. Can you make out anything else? …some human figures? Yes? The tail seems to be a human leg....

Late!

What if Santa Claus is late
On that most important date!
If he oversleeps on Christmas Eve
He'll miss the time he has to leave!

An Escape

Well, this time, I came very close to experiencing what a solitary living feels like, and I must say I was considerably surprised by my reaction to it. Initially, of course, I was thrilled to know that we were going to be spending some time in a distant cabin....

Worth Watching

It is extremely surprising that the Arab financed TV in Dubai would allow this to air. Be sure and watch this, it is so powerful I have no doubt she now has a very large price on her head......

The lunar month of Margazhi (Dhanu, Mārgashīrsha)

Just marking this very special lunar month 16 Dec to 13 Jan - my efforts at briefly collating several aspects of the month.
# Krishna says - (Gita, 10/35)
बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम् ।
मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनां कुसुमाकरः ॥

A Shocked Nation Awakens

Like never before a nation has awakened to the need to fight terrorism with all its might. The solidarity resolution by the Indian Parliament portrays that resolve more than anything else....

Iraqi journalist throws shoes at George Bush

If you watch the video you will see that no security ring was formed around Bush immediately after the first shoe was thrown. Bush was fully exposed and vulnerable for taking the next hit....

ID Holidays

We had 10 days of ID holidays and coming back to work was like the first day of school after vacation. I'm sure that the kids enjoyed our reluctance to get ready for work....

Missed Size 10

So now, it was Bush's turn. While Bush was in Iraq, delivering his farewell speech on Sunday evening in Baghdad, a man identified as an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw shoes at him but missed it by a whisker....

A Bagful of Congratulations To You, Mr. Zardari

Dear Mr Asif Ali Zardari, you are not perceived as an ideal occupant of the Pakistan President’s position. There have been negative remarks about the way you carry yourself in public...

Flying shoes at Bush news conference

It happened so suddenly that you couldn’t believe your own eyes. Television viewers the world over watched US President George W Bush duck his head to dodge a throw of shoes from a TV reporter in Baghdad....

Bike parking in Japan

Dhurries of Rajasthan

Another nameless weaver toiling all day long, sitting at his loom at his house… he is weaving a dhurrie (a floor rug), a dream dhurrie, to add color to your crystal studded drawing and living rooms...

Of junked rail carriages, and refugee dwellings ?

Abandoned rail carriages resting on the seabed, they say, is conducive for growth of sea-weeds and other forms of marine vegetation that fish feed on....

A rakhi for trees; vriksha bandhan

The decade-old ritual was the initiative of a village school teacher Mahadev Mahato from Dudhmatia in Hazaribagh district. In her article Moushmi Basu reckoned that Mahato has helped restore nearly 25,000 acres of forestland...

Palette or Plate at Lepakshi?

I thought it was first a giant palette used by the royal artists to paint the walls of the temple..maybe I imagined that the colours for the exotic murals came from here...

Vegetable Verses

Vegetable flan and vegetable pie;
Everybody likes them! So do I!
Full of vim and full of vigour,
Full of vitality to make us bigger.

Customer satisfaction standards

Once in a while, you come across this really amazing company which doesn’t look like the typical faceless corporate. There are just a handful of such companies whose policy is “Break company policy when the customer says so”. These companies go all out of their way to make the customer feel like he is getting value....

Recipe in Rhyme 4: Santa Slice!

When Barbara asked for my recipe
I simply glowed with pride!
When cooking prowess is mentioned
I usually run and hide!

Chennai in December

Chennai in December. It is the place to be!
I am not promoting the city because of the internationally known music and dance season of 1000 concerts.
This is a city that really buzzes.

For those who appreciate Carnatic music

That's not all. For a further treat, Carnatic music buffs can also look out for Markazhi raagam, a first of its kind project that will present classical concert by Bombay Jayasree and TM Krishna in theatres. The worldwide release is slated for 18 Dec 2008.

Chinese Net and Villlage Pond, Nadumuttam

Rabba Rabba

Second, it's one of those Rab, Rabba movies which means it has dangerously high doses of Punjabi. This is standard for Yash Chopra's Yash Raj Films which have Punjab ke khet and several tonnes of Rabba, spread more or less evenly through the 3.2 hours excluding songs. I personally don't have anything against Punjabi, a language like any other, but Yash Raj Films lays it on too thick for me.

Tara's Birthday : A Story for Guppy, Poppy, Nino, Maya and Marek

Tara Doggie is ten years old now. I remember the day she came to Guppy and Poppy's house as if it was yesterday. Mummy and Papa had been thinking about getting a dog for the girls as they were now old enough to take care of one.....

More Americans growing beard

The thought of not going to office was refreshing, but it induced, as it often does, a certain amount of laziness. One result of that — I was reluctant to pick up the razor for a couple of days. But the stubble and the different look added a new freshness.....

Obamas: homeless in Washington

They have Blair House, a guest residence in the WH neighbourhood. But when Barack Obama sought permission to move in there from Jan.5 his request was turned down by President Bush’s aides, according to The New York Times....

North India

Random Person> Hi … You look familiar.
Me> Hmm. I dont recall seeing you (noticing the TCS badge)
Random Person> [Extends hand] Im Rajesh, from TCS.

Abraham, Asha and the Genizah

It was a time before the Portuguese onslaught, a time of the powerful Zamorins, a time when many traders and expatriates from Europe lived on the shores of the Malabar. Syrian Jews lived in Cochin.....

Rajasthani Men and their Moustaches

At Udaipur Palace I chanced to see yet another gentleman with well groomed oustache. He was definitely not paid to sit posing with his moustache.....

Middle East Business Aviation Show Dubai 2008

My participation was also to gather information on how the market was moving for aviation products and to know the pulse of the aviation scene as it is currently.

Wildlife Photography exhibition in Bangalore

Do visit this exhibition if you have the time .It is at Chitrakala Parishad.Gowreesh is a friend of mine and he is also a graphic designer and blogger.

Customer is everything

That is what is meant by exceptional customer service. Zappos in their own words is a service company that happens to sell shoes and handbags and clothing and accessories and eventually anything and everything......

Living Dangerously

The waiters had realised the moment we started ordering that here was a duo not to be messed with. No one dared question us, or suggest a serving of lettuce and broccoli salad in lieu of the Jumbo Surmai Fried. The question might have trembled on some lips but the glint in our eyes made them avert their gaze and run for cover...

Kudos to England cricket team

All the England team members should be congratulated for deciding to return to India, for reposing faith in the Indian system and the country as a whole.But on the other side, this must also be a wakeup call for our administrators and politicians...

The 'Season'

It is the done thing to be seen at concerts, even if you come late, or leave half-way. Women love to dress up in their silks, and with jasmines adorning their hair definitely make it a point to attend. Men are less colourfully attired, but one does now see many T-shirts in the audience....

What a Victory!

What a victory! What a victory!!! I not only could see the excitement in his voice, but also in his whole body language. He was running around as though India had just won the world cup (Cricket, of course, not soccer!). For a second, I was confused and had to check up whether I was on the right website....

Mumbai 26/11: Bloggers chip in

Many of them, bloggers, went beyond giving vent to their indignation; beyond fault-finding, finger-pointing, Paki-bashing, and came up with thoughts on steps we need to take not to get caught napping, again. And then, someone came up with the idea of putting together their thoughts.....

And some more about corruption

How often have you actually met a real live person that you can bribe to get basic services like electricity, internet, water? I have been here 11 years, and not once have I had to do it. The "system" is what I deal with, it was via phone 11 years ago, and over the internet now.....

The magical tongue

The human tongue is fascinating to say the least. Without it you cannot taste, you cannot talk or sing, you cannot feel the temperature of what you are ingesting and you cannot do inane things like touching your nose, picking teeth or checking if they are there, affixing stamps and closing envelopes, whistling for fun or calling attention.....

Lodurva, Jaisalmer

The town of Lodurva was ransacked several times, by Muslim invaders Mahamud of Ghazni in the 11th century when he was en route to Somnath, Gujarat....

The Paratha Chronicles

After four days of salads and fruits and juices, I found myself face to face with a gajar-gobi paratha today. Of all the things in the world that I can't resist, this is one of them. It's actually quite a healthy thing to eat, so for those of you who are NOT afraid of carbs, here's how we made it.....

Lost Limpopo

We moved slowly.
We began to circle the air-strip;
The spotlight dazzled,
Lighting the whole area.

Some Monkey Business to Attend To...

I had visitors today at home...unwelcome though. A couple of monkeys entered my 3rd floor apartment through the balcony while I was seated in the living room, watching a film and trying to work on a story . They sneaked in post lunch. We have an open kitchen and the house is kind of seamless, so an entry inside the kitchen....

Making Sense of the Internet

Now, even Seth Godin is quite unsure about the internet. Its become full!! No, not that there isn’t enough space to fit the data. Its just that our attention is quite full. Probably the first time you used the internet, it was more about finding relevant information in the easiest way. It was about finding information even before it appeared on TV or the papers. Is it the same anymore?....

Human Beings are a Disease, A Cancer to this planet

I often used to wonder why we need to be so complex. Why can't pure logic rule the world instead of bloated egos and innumerable emotions? Once, during those late work hours at office, I happened to have this discussion with my manager. His opinion was that if only logic was the guiding force of the world, everyone would think the same...

Arise India

I learnt that it just started as a group of friends---teenagers who were fed up with extended holidays and thought they needed to do active work of some kind. They were lucky enough to receive guidance and encouragement just when they required it....

Gift For Living

But then, one of them stopped to offer me some wild fruit. I was taken aback and touched. They had cut class to go loafing around. Can I really say its a waste of time or life on a rare fine day?.....

Dear Dr Kalam...

Greetings and salutations from an alumnus of your Alma Mater.

In 2002, you brought a whiff of change to India's topmost office. As President, you represented Change in so many ways - as an apolitical figure, as a Net-savvy technocrat, as a writer and most of all as an Indian citizen who felt as one among the masses and understood only too well thier sufferings.....

Cooch Behar: Rajbari Raash Mela and More

Cooch Behar’s ‘Raash Mela’ is said to be one of the oldest fairs in the country. Raash Mela begins at the time of the full moon in the month of Kartik (that’s a fortnight after Diwali).....

A pleasant surprise

At one particular stop, an elderly gentlman got in and I saw him making his way to the rear side of the bus which wasn’t crowded. Seeing him, a youthful guy, should be in early 20s, sitting in the seat before me got up, and offered his seat to the senior citizen......

Golden Shawls and a Temple

A couple of months ago, our music group Gangamritham was felicitated at the Sai Baba Temple, after we sang there. We were honoured with ponnadais (golden shawls, literally....

Play is all fun and games...

Toys and games are part of every child's life story on the way to growing up. Toys and games come in various types, catering to various aspects of fun - learning, beating boredom, spending those lovely afternoons inside beating the heat etc.....

Rebuild India

Ashutosh Didwania and his team have given a call to all right thinking people for suggestions for “Rebuild India” mission. “We need to form a core group of people who would decide on the subsequent plan of action. Since you all have contributed to the forum, I would request you all to pitch in.....

A new desi delight

It is now official, folks. I have no backbone.

There I was, watching the History Channel, when they suddenly sprang a programme on the history of Chocolate. Fifteen minutes into the show, my backbone gave way, and I raided the fridge, desperate for anything, just anything chocolatey......

Merely Players.

The play was 'Idle Jack' I think;
We were in the Village Hall.
And the fact that none of us could act
Didn't worry us at all!

The Ramappa Temple

The ASI board says that it was built in the 13th century (1243 AD) by a General, Recherla Rudra serving in the army of the Kakatiya king, Ganapatideva......

Word power

Apophasis has been used to a very great extent by politicians. For example, how often do we not hear this: “I want to run an honourable campaign based on national issues and will not stoop to mentioning how my opponent is an alcoholic and a womanizer”.The power of this psychological tool was demonstrated best in a 1900 experiment.....

Ideas for Change, post Mumbai 26/11

Can we ordinary citizens believe that this time, since the rich have been hit, it is likely that the Government will lend the ear that was hitherto deaf to the masses' cries? Let's hope so - CII, FICCI, and corporates have a huge responsibility and can easily make use of this opportunity to revolutionise political thought....

Life without Electricity

Most of the games we used to play did not require any special equipment. Being in a rural area there were so many other means of passing time as well. Fishing for one. Or canoing n the ponds and canals. Chasing butterflies. Catching dragonflies, tying a string to their tails and making them lift stones. And so on......

Pakistan has zero population

Where did all these people disappear?", we asked.The official admitted to being puzzled."We are as yet unable to form a firm conclusion but research indicates that they are either doing construction work in the Middle East or living as illegals in America. Except President Zardari, who is in America quite legally, giving interviews to Larry King.", he said....

Braveheart

Col. N.J. Nair of 16 Maratha Light Infantry is the only Indian to have received the country's two highest awards for bravery, the Kirti Chakra and the Ashok Chakra. He was killed in action in December, 1993, while fighting extremists in Nagaland.Col. Nair was posted in Mal Bazaar in the Dooars in the late 1980s, and at the time he became a close friend of our friend Jose Varghese.....

Public anger at its worst

Politicians have never been anyone’s favourite. But post-Mumbai attacks people are really furious. All the anger has now come out. Lots of anti-politician SMSes are going around. One of them is: ”worry not about people who come by boats, worry about people who come by votes.” This said so clearly where politicians now stand....

Back in Business

We tolerated the electronic media during those dark moments with utmost patience although it was not easy at times, but I believe it is time the media stopped short and did a self study. We lost brave men and there is nothing the country can give their family in return except gratitude. Nothing will suffice since only those who have lost their loved ones can understand the feelings.....

Avaaz - voicing India-Pak solidarity

A global civic advocacy group - avaaz.org - plans to send a message to terrorists that fellow citizens in India and Pakistan stand united in denying extremists their ultimate victory. “If hundreds of thousands sign it, our message will be unmistakable”, says the group’s website. The solidarity message will soon be published in newspapers across India and Pakistan...

Vaaranam Aayiram - review

Brilliant direction - Kudos for the attention to detail - showing the pilot theatre for the 80s period, and older version of the spencer plaza/central etc - MGR movie posters on the wall etc. Also some, fantastic rock-and-roll numbers and dancing by Surya
Good cinematography...

George Orwell & India

How many of you know that Eric Arthur Blair a.k.a. George Orwell - that brilliant writer who wrote moody books like Animal farm and 1984 was born in India and always had a fond corner in his mind for India? He was born in 1903 at Motihari (a place now in Bihar and famous for the giant Buddha statue – and the place where Gandhi first practiced Satyagraha!) in Bengal......

Rajasthani Women, a Mural

I got this mural framed and it was delivered to me yesterday. It took me a little more than three months to complete the mural. 1 to 2 hours of work on it every working day for those three and half months.....

Tootle Rock

They called it 'Tootle Rock' for the words slipped off the tongue,
But it was known as Toot Hill in the days when the world was young.
A flat rock jutted out above the valley far below,
In a way that urged me to take a stone and give it a mighty throw!

Decibel Level

casual remark or a casual discussion sometimes turns into a high temper, high volume debate. Egos clash and nothing remains in control. I try hard and then intentionally fall silent every time the volume of a discussion crosses a certain decibel, no matter the opposition’s stance....

Flies in the soup!

Much has been written about this utterly despicable episode. But in a way I am glad it happened. Glad because when politicians speak the truth, however occasionally it gives us a valuable glimpse into their mindset and thinking. And it is chances like this that will help us better understand this species. Yes, they are a species now of different hues and ideologies......

Memo to Barkha, and the others on TV

And one dreads to read and see news that you and your channel have won (or should it read 'gave yourselves'?) this award and that for covering these sad events. Indian visual media journalists and a few print journalists who worry more about page-3 non-issues need several lessons in sensitivity...More...

The unsung in Mumbai

The man in the line of fire, Look at the him and his smile, the humility writ on his face, he is the one who gets little recognition, the one who is under all the pressure, the one whose life is on the line..More...

Mumbai: The Last Post and after

The smoke from the funeral pyres have merged with the air. The haunting notes of the Last Post have faded away. A shell-shocked nation is slowly coming to terms with the Mumbai holocaust...More

Govt. De-Patilled

This Government has been De-patilled for your safety. On careful review and reflection, the Powers That Be have determined that the main reason for the horrific incidents of 26th November and the 60 hours that followed, have been several Patils...More...

Mumbai: why aam aadmi is angry

Didn’t know Vilasrao Deshmukh has an actor son , Riteish, until I read about their Sunday morning spin around the Taj and Oberoi. Mr Deshmukh was then the Maharashtra C M, and father and son were accompanied by Ram Gopal Varma,...More...

Smile India

An SMS broke the late evening calm in Bangalore. "Look at the Moon" it said. We all rushed out and this is what we saw. It was the heavens way of saying "Smile India! We know you have had a hard weekend!!" ...

Jaisalmer Fort

The houses of the people residing in the fort have intricate work and carvings on their walls and balconies. They almost look like yellow fabric rising skywards...More

Leopold Cafe: Back in business

Didn’t consider posting anything till I read Arun Shanbhag’s blog post, saying he happened by the cafe on Sunday morning and dropped in, noticing an open side-door. ..More...

A sad time

with the skies weeping in Chennai and other places in Tamilnadu, it just kept raining relentlessly during the whole 60 to 70 hours of the terror activity in Mumbai. As the siege ended, and the commandos took charge, the rains abated...More...

Mmbai attack: Will it be the last?

It was so close to the deadline for my newspaper and my bosses decided to delay sending the front page to the press....We got to know from our colleagues in Mumbai, that they could hear the gunshots from their office. After that, events were unfolding at such rapid pace, it was virtually impossible to keep pace with them...More

Varnam Aayiram - a movie

Brilliant direction - Kudos for the attention to detail - showing the pilot theatre for the 80s period, and older version of the spencer plaza/central etc - MGR movie posters on the wall etc...More...

Is it over ?

It has been very depressing the last 3 days and I could not control the way the events affected me. Maybe I should have just stopped watching the news...More...

The positives of Mumbai attack

This terror attack also gave us a chance to know that our country still has brave and courageous people like Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar, Major Unnikrishnan and Gajendra Singh,..More...

They battled for Mumbai

Those seeking to keep non-Maharashtrians out of Mumbai would do well to remember their contribution in battling terrorists at the Taj and elsewhere in Mumbai. So says blogger Abraham Tharakan in a recent post. The point cannot be over-stressed;...More