All Is Well That Ends Dry Spell

The drought was over. What other news, I asked. Plenty. The elephant had crashed its way through the fencing around at least four houses, eating all the bananas planted there. No one in the garden was upset. The elephant was lucky.....More

Bhargavi nilayam

Then its back home . At night times home felt more secure somehow!! Because the outside was darker and inside was brighter! During day time it’s the opposite! ...More...

Let us work towards better copra production

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Namma Chennai in Lok Sabha

Interesting people are stepping into General Elections 2009. You may have read about Meera Sanyal. If you haven't, you will get to see her on TV and read about her in your newspaper. Meera has not even filed her nomination but she is dominating some of the Q and A programmes on television...More

Bling

I took this motley crowd out to our Botancial Gardens last week. They’ve never been before so it was a joyous occasion. Their first car ride too...More

Amazing Grace

Newton’s life story is amazing. Son of a ship master, he went out to the sea at the age of 11 with his father. He was forced to join the navy after that and was caught while trying to desert. Later he was exchanged to a slave ship...More

Shopping: a stress buster for women?

One of the popular stereotyped – and possibly sexist — characterisation is that a number of women use shopping as a stress buster. In fact, a survey in Malaysia did indicate that “nearly 75 percent of women in Malaysia believe in retail therapy...More

Are you voting?

For those in Kuwait, you can join Earth Hour 2009, by turning off your lights at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March and sign-up here at earthhour.org. As usual there are skeptics for this one too… some says it maybe just to bring glory to certain organizations and individuals eying the “Global” awards...More

"Slumdog Millionaire" – Such An Enjoyable Movie

While I will not say that the storyline is very innovative (though certainly imaginative), what was really innovative was the presentation style. “Narration through flashback” is nothing new in movies. But usually it is a “continuous flashback”...More

Playing with the Raagas

All said and done, it is important to enjoy good music. Over the years, as I tried to explain the finer notes to my brother, he would say, "Unakku sangeetha nyaanam illatiyum, nanna paatu keka mattum theriyum", I have grown up listening to different kinds of music...More

Cisco’s curious week

HBR has a great article (I love HBR articles that get delivered to my email … small and crisp and full of information) on CISCO’s curious week - and how the giant has been playing around with Disruptive Innovation for quite some time. In a recent workshop I attended, I learnt that this is also called Paradigm Shift...More

Very Sound Rules

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Earth Hour Observed

For the second consecutive year, our apartment complex, Salarpuria Silverwoods, observed the Earth Hour successfully. By 8.30 the Silverwoodians switched off their electrical appliances...More

There Is An Alternative!

If you think of the political scene in our country, over and above despair, the query ITNA (Is There No Alternative) invariably brings up the cliché 'TINA'. Perhaps we can now look forward to an immensely possible alternative...More

Suraj Mal and the 2000 Fountains

The roads were good and our driver was safe, and (thankfully) there are no hair-raising road stories in this account. More camels, several unlicensed, made-up people carriers on a tractor chassis...More

Stop the practice of Animal Sacrifice

Despite awareness due to spread of education, superstition still persists amongst some innocents which are fully exploited by charlatans and unscrupulous poojaris promising unlimited wealth and prosperity will be theirs if they kill animals and propiate gods...More

Bianca Toothpaste Freebies

In the 1960s, we had Binaca Toothpaste. It was a popular brand and most homes had either Colgate or Binaca. But the humble ‘Nanjangud Toothpowder’ was always there… ...More

Bridges and Rivers

The two rivers join to form Tungabhadra. We crossed the river at Mantralaya , but there was hardly any water there.We moved on and the River Krishna stopped us...More

ward no 10, bed no 27

That was perhaps the very instant when I was taught the true meaning of the fox's secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. Yes I realise today, as Manu is fighting for his life, that he was the one who taught me to look with my heart...More

My Heart Beats...

If I rejoice the marriage of my maid Suman and give her a saree then i feel the same joy when my tailor Rashid miya is blessed with a daughter and give her a doll. For me being secular doesnt mean to down grade anybody...More

Free Speech

Do not assume to know what something means unless you truly know, do not take something written in artistic prose to be something other than it is. Mostly, if you do not like it, I remind you of a fundamental right we have...More

Who took the fun out of travelling?

A week or two, max. And then it's vacation time in Mumbai. The burdensome Board exams wind up and so do the other less-dreaded end-of-year ones in each school and college. Time for kids to throw their books away. My son is planning a bonfire."Wait," I screech," let's see your results first! "Who cares! that's another month or two away. In the meantime, it's time to wipe off the worry lines and ... holiday!. ..More

Malayalees in Pakistan

Due to the deep cultural divides in Malabar after 1921 Mappila revolt and the subsequent partitioning of Pakistan a sizeable number of Malayali Muslims moved to Karachi . . .More. ..

Earth Hour

Earth Hour came and Earth Hour went.
As for us our time was spent
Lounging in the candle glow
Listening to the radio. . .More .. .

Air Deccan Gopi in the fray

Air Deccan Gopi appears to have an enlightened contempt for party candidature. “I don’t want to mortgage my ideas,” he says. Which makes a smart quote, but poor operating strategy. Ideas don’t get you anywhere in politics; cash, caste and community clout matter.. . .More. . .

Elephants of Jaipur

... What fascinated me more were the 30+ elephants; all dressed and colored going round in circles and making other formations! I had never seen so many colorful elephants together before, my childlike wonder surfaced and I stood there immobile. More...

My son's graduation

I was surprised when I received an invite for my sons graduation ceremony! This is the first time I am coming to know of a graduation ceremony for Pre Primary. . .More. . .

And Pretty Maids All.......

My sister Viji would walk me around the lawn, and she would would make a 'doll' for me using a flower and a bud। Can you imagine how thrilled a little girl would be to get a doll which looked like a princess with a flowing gown? More..........

The Carrot Eyewash

How does it feel when one of the great near-gospel truths of your childhood is ripped apart?'Devastated' doesn't even begin to cover it, right? Imagine how I felt when the papers published the secret behind one of the most strongly held beliefs of our childhood ... carrots are great for the eyes.

A 'butterfly' story

On Valentine’s Day she was surprised to find a small packet at her door. In it there was a platinum heart with a tiny diamond engraved. . . . She phoned her husband to find out if he had arranged it. “No”, he said. . .More. . .