“No Pillows, No Blankets”

Yesterday (Aug.23) I took an early morning flight of a major Indian airways from Cochin to Chennai.. Usually there would be the airline chaps to help needy passengers with baggage and checking in. I required assistance because of a back problem. Looked around for support staff. No luck. 

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A Few Thousand Words

Flanked by its belt of defensive jungles is that city
Whose doors are never closed to those who seek the prize
Lovely like the pericarp of the many-petalled lotus
The navel of the dark-hued Lord.....

An update

I earned the Fulbright scholarship and am now studying journalism at my dream school: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism, in the city of New York.

It's humbling how many "dream" milestones God granted in 2011.

I assume I shall be hard-pressed for time as the semester rolls on, but this blog is too dear a place to let it remain quiet.

See you with more posts, more musings. And soon!

I blog at Life Rules

Sungei Serangoon River - Singapore

On the other side of the river from the housing estates is a wet land reserve, a haven for small birds and large ones like the Sea Eagle. Some wildlife enthusiasts have also encountered wild boar! In Singapore, where there are wet lands, there are water monitor lizards. All 10 minutes from where I live!

About Pencils

The pencil was one of the most fought for item among school-going brothers or sisters at home.  Everybody wanted the longer or new pencil.  When I used to visit my maternal grandparents' house, I used to get attracted to the shortened pencils of my uncle lying in the shelf with his books.  See more...

Creating Gen Next Engineers

The motivation to convert young men and women into efficient technicians on whom the future of the country depends is noble. First requirement for this of course is an engineering college. Take Kerala for instance where there are quite a few of them. As long as friendly politicians are around the necessary clearances don’t pose a problem. Thereafter it is a simple process of accounting, sometimes in the books, sometimes outside them. If you happen to hear the tinkle of money, don’t be surprised.

The new lower class

We drove into the Oberoi and I watched as the driver quickly retrieved the bags and deposited it with the bell boy. Shaking my colleague’s hands and bidding him good night and promising him to pick him up in the morning, the driver came back to the car. He got in looked around and asked me tersely where I wanted to be dropped. The sudden change in tone of this amiable man was startling. He drove out quietly when I gave him my address. I asked him a few questions about the road near my house that was under repair. I wanted to avoid it. First he refused to answer and then when I repeated the question snapped that it was still under repair. I asked him to bypass the road and gave him directions to the bypass. He replied rudely that if he was going to deviate then it would cost me more. By this time I had had enough and snapped that if he charged me more than whole days hire rate then he can find himself another company to work for...more

A Font Type Inspired by Gandhiji

"Mahatma Gandhi - A different type" aptly sums up the design of a font inspired by the Mahatma. You can download the font from gandhijifont.com.

Let's strive to keep everything simple!

A. Raja’s Ridiculous Attempt To Drag The PM’s Name Into The 2G Controversy

Mr. A Raja’s desperation to defend himself is understandable. But he must realize that espousal of any baseless reasoning to wash his hands off can hardly dilute the charge against him. Rather such acts will leave his image to be murkier. More

Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting - how I have done

I collect from a rooftop area of about  380 square feet into the sump through filters. Using that calcuator, I get about 65,000 - 70,000 litres per annum. A rough figure from wastage from 'first flush' deducted. The sump capacity is about 7000 litres.  We will be using municipal water supply usually but during the regular rainy season, I stop the supply and utilize rainwater which keeps topping up the sump. See more.....

Indian Boardrooms

Pic courtesy - The Hindu
In Indian boardrooms, we hardly see any colour and some sense of national identity. Why do we don dress that is appropriate in some other climate, and also use extra energy to cool. Big Paradox!

A Travancore Lady by Raja Ravi Varma

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General Election To Be Held In Egypt – A Good News, But…

However, there is one issue that is preventing some people from becoming completely happy and relieved. The Military Council has barred international monitors from observing the poll, and has chosen Egypt’s judiciary to play that role. More

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Agreement – The End, Or The Beginning?

All this may be taken as a sign that the GTA has been successful in placating the grievances/feeling of discrimination/etc. of the so called sons of the soil (sorry, all of these local people are not indigenous to Darjeeling), and now they are no more interested in having a separate Gorkhaland state.

However, the matter might not be that simple. While Bimal Gurung himself did not say anything about Gorkhaland demand, the occasion saw many of his supporters raising slogans like “We Want Gorkhaland”. More importantly, on the sidelines of the signing of the agreement, a couple of GJM leaders told journalists that the GTA agreement was not going to put an end to the struggle for Gorkhand state. Rather that demand will very much remain in place, and in fact that is their ultimate goal. More

Let There Be “Shoot-At-Sight” Orders Against IM And LeT Operatives

The idea might not appeal to so-called intellectuals who are obsessed with catchy words like “Human Rights”, “ethics”, “morality”, etc. Well, I have due respect for the philosophy of “Human Rights”. But I am sorry to say that I do not feel it to be more valuable than the lives of my fellow Indian citizens.  More

From Venad to World Focus: The Travancore Royal Family

The photo above must have been taken many a decade back. It captures the grandeur of the Travancore Maharaja’s royal carriage in front of Sree Padmanamaswamy Temple, Trivandrum. How does it compare with Sree Chithira Thirunal, the former Maharaja rushing one morning to his deity in an auto rickshaw that I described in The last of the Travancore Maharajas?

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Wild Elephants run amok in Mysore City!

Morning of June 8, 2011, the news about a few (wild) elephants which had entered the city was spreading like wildfire all over.  Our mobile phone received a call too. Those who had cable TV network were watching live coverage of the 'event'. The local TV cameraman was there to catch the action. See more....

Temple's Riches

The Lord's abode is in the news, because material treasures have been found in secret vaults under the temple precincts.
I can't help contrasting this event with the other incidents where treasure taken away from India have been merrily auctioned away.
If kings and chieftains elsewhere in India had also reposited / donated similarly, Indian history and civics and perhaps even geopgraphy would have been very, very different! More...

A Temple of Gold

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Trivandrum is in the news the world over for its colossal collection of gold and gems. The Kerala High Court had ordered the Kerala State Government to takeover the administration of the shrine. For fear of contempt of Court, I am not saying anything about the judgement.

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