Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!

What is wrong with these people? Why can't they talk about something else?

Dam, dam, dam dam.. damn!

The above lines may go through the minds of anyone else, but not a single Keralite, even if he now resides in the North Pole.

Frankly speaking, I have never seen Kerala united in such a manner!

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FDI in Retail in India

The debate rages on.
This is one area where ringing in the new may not be quite what the nation needs....
Instead of the friendly neighbourhood, dhoti-clad grocer selling you rice, atta and dal, you will be piling up all sorts of mostly superfluous items on to your shopping trolley and get checked out of store by young, suited and booted, extra-polite MBA degree holders.

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I bellow my flames: An incident of fire

‘Hey, get down!! Get down NOW and head out to the front. We’re trying to control the fire.’ It was a Police Officer with his flashlight. As I rushed inside to let everyone know, my heart was throbbing. ‘Quick, fire, evacuate.’ What do you take with you?More..

Art and Wine

http://parayilat.blogspot.com/2011/11/art-and-wine.html
What is art? What is the connection between art and wine? These were some of the questions a few of us discussed some days back. It was at the Art & Wine event at Ramada Resort that was promoted by Paul George (on the right in photo), a well known art connoisseur and business man of Cochin, and Sulu Wines. The opening lamp was lit by Mr. K. Ramachandran Nair (on the left in photo), who has contributed so much for the promotion of art with his galleries.....

Is Team Anna a threat to democracy ?

Britain’s academic and a Labour peer Bhikhu Parekh, in a recent lecture on the crisis in Indian democracy, is reported as saying, a growing public support for Anna Hazare-style protests, led by unelected campaigners, bode ill for Indian democracy...More..

Indian Govt. Mulling Institutionalization Of Community Policing

It is undoubtedly a very significant development. It is now an established fact that appropriate involvement of community always enhances the quality of the governance. This explains why it has now become such a popular practice for governments across the world to partner with local community members for carrying out various tasks and activities (one notable example is that of “Community Forestry”). More

Talking books, unread & reread

The bookshelf in front of my desk has often had me wonder, ‘would I ever be able to read all those books before my time is up’. I am 73 . Browsing the Net and channel surfing have pushed reading books to a back-seat in my re-ordered daily routine...More

Shine On, Shorn Or Long!

Long or short, women are fascinated with the styling and grooming of hair. If it is curly, we want it straight. If straight, we want it wavy.

I used to long for wavy hair, I remember, and hated it when the ends of my plaits stuck out like broomsticks. While as children we suffered the weekly oil massage and following wash, we now realise now that it helps bring a rush of blood to the roots and stimulate them. During the days I was growing up, there was a biweekly ritual of massaging the head with coconut oil.I still do it, though the biweekly massage seems to have become bi annual! Well almost.

Thalai Diwali

This year’s Diwali was Danielle-Kartik’s Thalai Diwali, the Diwali they celebrate as a couple for the first time. I sent them a mail from which I quote two or three sentences:
“In those days – I am talking about 75 years back -- newly-married couples used to wait eagerly for Diwali, the reason being they had to wait a year or so to start living together as man and wife.

Gin and Tonic http://parayilat.blogspot.com/2011/11/gin-and-tonic.htmlGin and tonic

The midday drink of the sahibs when they ruled India was gin and tonic.... The British had a purpose in taking that drink other than alcoholic aspect. The ‘tonic’ is quinine water which prevents/cures malaria and is health wise beneficial in several ways

Petroleum products manufacturing and pricing policy

Three years back I had written a post titled Tackling the oil crisis. One point I failed mentioning then was that the vehicles should be kept in good condition. Anyway, let us have a look at what could be done to handle the situation:

Ms. Manusmriti Of India Becomes The 4th Generation Cop, Makes World Record

And now Manusmriti has lived up to the legacy of her family by joining the IPS. She has joined the Union Territory cadre. She and her father have also made the record of being the only serving father-daughter IPS duo. A bright student, Manusmriti is an alumnus of Delhi’s St. Stephens College and London School of Economics. More

The gentlemen of the highways...

I’ve been traveling extensively since I was a kid. When we were small we rarely spent a weekend at home. Weekends were synonymous with travel. We hit the road every weekend and I went to school on Mondays with a note to explain missed weekend homework. Karnataka has something called Dussehra holidays that comes as a welcome break during October. Dussera hols lasted ten days and we traveled a little further like Darjeeling or Jaipur or Kashmir. Summer break usually meant a holiday in Kerala or abroad. My Dad’s love for driving has seen us driving through pitch dark jungles roads, getting a puncture in deserted places and getting stranded on a mountain with a ruptured fuel pipe. But he was an experienced driver and had a remedy for every eventuality...more

AN EXPERIENCE

The young man just looked at my face and gave the girl a ‘thumbs up’ sign. The girl walked back and after a short time came back wearing another pair which did not suit her at all.

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THE LETTER I DID NOT SEND

We are back after spending six months with our children in Seattle and Newport. Our return trip on October 17, a Monday, from Seattle was also via London – a British Airways flight with a one hour stop. One hour to make the connecting flight to Chennai! When I realised that, panic master that I am, I started worrying about it – will we make the connection or not? What would happen if we did not? Read below

What actually happened