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- Archives: April 2008
- Interview: Asif Ali Zardari - A Date With Destiny
AZ: I am married to the grave of Bibi.
- Movie Review: Jodhaa Akbar - Disappointing
The well-intentioned Bollywood historical epic about the famous pair falls far short of expectation
- Save India Family Foundation Merges With National Commission for Women
In keeping with the above-board nature of the NCW, the SIFF has said they would be using real names and contact information in all communication
- It's Either Forgive or Forget
Barring that of course, for us less worthy mortals, there is forgetfulness which is a form of escapism.
- Paradigms of Power
Gandhiji in his loin cloth was far better clothed than those in resplendent robes of office unaware of their nakedness.
- Backpacking Armies and Their Local Influence
Everyday life in Hampi was largely not influenced, but things were much different in Pushkar.
- Movie Review: The Blue Umbrella - Rustic Bond
A film about the adult longing for childhood by the most Indian of Bollywood directors
- poetry: at the water's edge
If the waves could tell stories to the walls...
- Mumbai BlogCamp 3.0
Tarun and the gang did put a decent effort and clearly showcased an improvement from their previous stint.
- Movie Review: Jodhaa Akbar - Mystery Solved: Why There Was No Birbal?
Read on and find out why Birbal was not in this movie
- Book Review: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
What is the purpose of education if it does not serve a transformational and redemptive purpose ?
- Check In To The Yacoubian Building
Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany's latest book is a triumph.
- Autotelism Versus "Unity of Art, Use and Beauty."
Art is inspiration meeting medium. It flows from the soul and should not be intentionally subjugated to causes, ideals and whims
- On Cricket Commentators
Cricketer-Commentators have proliferated in recent years, especially since the advent of Cable TV.
- Photo Essay: London Evening Gloomy Skyline
A gloomy look at London
- Community Photo Frame
A city is a burial ground for the concept of a community.
- MLK: As Close To The Ideal American As We Have Produced
40 Years since Martin Luther King Jr. was killed; He is one the country's true moral heroes.
- poetry: foggy dawn - february 18, 2008
the note asked the last one to leave the booth to extinguish the candle
- A Counter Culture of Courage
With the culture of apathy being the prevailing theme, displaying daring and courage is living by a lonely counter culture.
- To Hike or Not To Hike
The question that ‘should the fees for higher education institutes like IIT and IIM be hiked or not’ is one such question.
- Photo Essay: St Paul's Cathedral, London
St. Paul's cathedral, a Photo Essay
- UPA Drowning
The final days (hopefully) of the spineless UPA Government have begun. I have had enough of Mrs Gandhi and Dr. Singh
- Voices We Do Not Hear
One cannot but connect the protest of the Vaishnavite seers without reflecting on the changing trajectory of the Tibetan resistance.
- QuestNet Reopens as Lotus Marketing in Sri Lanka?
QuestNet reopens under a different name and starts the cheating business again
- Book Review: Moby Dick
Surprisingly, while I did find that I had marked at least hundred pages as worth revisiting, I was more disappointed than not, after finishing the
- Shoaib Akhtar: Cricket's Enfant Terrible
In the last several years his off field antics have earned him more headlines than his on field performance.
- The Common Man
Is he the one who is today fading in the shadows of anonymity?
- There Is A Lot We Don't Know About Our Bodies
Women and the secrets kept from them about their bodies.
- Torture Relay - Why Tibet Matters
Why Tibet is still important in today's world, and why one must protest peacefully against authoritarian rule
- Just War - Theory and Practice
There is another strand of human thought around the Just War theory, which goes back centuries and millennia.
- Do Not Spit, Bhagwan Ke Wastey!
Education, class etc do not guarantee sensibility.
- Returning Home
Returning home is always bit of a strange experience.
- Movie Review: Khuda Ke Liye
Fanaticism, racial profiling, feminism, generation gap, lost identities of people moving from the East to the West - Khuda Ke Liye covers it all with
- Travel Report: A Short Trip to Egypt
What are the main highlights that an average tourist should try and catch on a visit to Egypt?
- Derivatives Losses in Indian Companies
This article attempts to provide a background on derivatives losses incurred by Indian Companies and the way forward.
- Goa - The Ride From Heaven To Hell
How do we safeguard the last few remaining havens of peace in our country?
- What is India?
Yet I am not entirely pessimistic about this. There are many more pieces that hold India beyond this.
- Food or Fuel - A Hobson's Choice
What is worrying now is not that food shortages are happening but the reasons why they are happening.
- The South Asian Water That Is Indian
A critical analysis of Indian water policy and water projects on the Ganges.
- Indian Supreme Court Upholds OBC Reservation
SC upholds 27% OBC reservation in central higher educational institutes
- Protests and Sport
International sport has always been fertile ground for political protest and dissent.
- Indian Retail and Consumers – A Followup
There are those fingers on the machine that have mastered the art of manipulating the system and hence you.
- The New Immigrants
The third wave of desi immigrants to hit American shores is changing the fabric of this nation--for the better.
- The Great Reservations Debate
If the Constitution guarantees equal rights, this decision should not be equated by taking my rights to satisfy someone else.
- Meet The Parents & Their Expectations
It is truly sad for a relationship to end, not because of the couple's differences but because of other people's views.
- Travel Report: Cyprus - And The Walls Came Down
It seemed like the epitome of ignorance on the part of the mostly European tourists especially when I got to see the wall.
- Poetry: smiling crocodile
"... what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank could describe events [apartheid] in South Africa."~Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Student Suspended For University Criticism on YouTube
Is this going to be related to a freedom of speech case or a defamation case?
- One-track Minds?
Our kids have benefited from that, so much so, that sexism is just not an issue with them, not even for our girls!
- Recycling Ships
I love ships, I adore their shapes and I love their behaviour.
- American Influence on Indians
An article about America's ever increasing influence over the rest of the world.
- The Choices Women Make
Ten years ago, I would have laughed at the very thought of cooking.
- A 'Walden'esque Life
Pure bliss, I realized at the end of our stay, was in not doing anything, just lazing around with great food and warm company.
- Photo Essay: Pinner Parish Church
A photo essay of a tiny village church in England
- Tibet - The Myth of Shangri-La
Beneath the smiling face of the 14th Dalai Lama that we see on TV interviews and at public functions there is a worried man.
- The Great Indian Laughter Show
Betterment of the nation - Hmm. What the fuck is that? No seriously.
- Book Review: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson is a luminous book where nostalgia, beauty and realism blend.
- The Spice of Life
Really spicy foods are so few and far between that I want to list all the sources.
- Of Lilliputians and the Brain Dead
A bit like, you don’t shell your egg like me - so I must kill you, isn’t it?
- Book Review: The Food Revolution
A must read for all of us who have no idea about how our food is "manufactured" these days.
- The Highlands of Himachal
At 10,000 feet, it is difficult to take that people would be living a life that is not entirely different from the plains.
- Book Review: Head First Software Development
A Brain-Friendly Guide to Software Development
- The Truth Behind Rising Female Foeticide in India
do you think this really is the situation everywhere in India?
- Bebo's Disappearing Act
Kareena Kapoor is now a size zero, but will she contribute to the growing problem of anorexia in India?
- Foreign Investment Causes Child Labor?
Does foreign direct investment cause child labour?
- IPL Launches with Kolkata Knight Riders Victory in Bangalore
In an opening ceremony more suited for Miss World than cricket, much glitter, light and sound were deployed to create the illusion.
- Get Off Your Toilet: It Is St. Upid's Day
The US media buying and selling WMD allegations and the Bush Administration peddling it: both qualify as stupid.
- Manohar And Rohan - A Tale of the Indian Middle Class
The story of Manohar and his son Rohan is also the story of the Indian middle class renaissance, a transformation that happened between three to
- Zardarigate: Who's Afraid of Judiciary?
The raid on NAB basement to destroy incriminating evidence maybe an offshoot of the tripartite understanding between the Bush, Benazir and Musharraf.
- Indian Supreme Court Gives Relief to Commercial Landlords
Court finally allows landlords to reclaim commercial property for their own use
- Book Review: Anil's Ghost - Michael Ondaatje
The narrative is basically very thin – a well-meaning expatriate trying to provide moral lessons to South Asian natives is an old gambit.
- Chennai Police Facilitate Minor Marriage
What is the best thing to do in such a situation?
- The Angry American Generation
The current American generation is the angry generation
- India-Bharat-Tenjiku: One Reality, Many Perspectives
The public images of the Desi cultural area, their appearances, evolutions and effects in social life
- An Offering to the Goddess
In the little lane behind the Mumbadevi temple, doodh pedhas are still made the old fashioned way.
- Shajar al-Durr - The Only Sultana of Egypt
The only female ruler of Egypt other than Cleopatra and Hatchepsut and the only Sultana of Egypt.
- IPL T20 - Kolkata Knight Riders Defeat Deccan Chargers
It might have brought back memories of power failures in years gone by in the Calcutta of old, but was apparently a floodlight failure.
- Book Review: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
The reader does not need to have wallowed in macher-jhol all their lives to feel the tug of the character's struggles and triumphs
- Increasing Communication – Declining Communion
How many of us still have old letters – papers yellowing with age and fragile ?
- IPL Twenty20 - Bangalore Royal Challengers Stun Mumbai Indians
Each game has its own tenseness, and there really seems to be no such thing as 'too much cricket'.
- Book Review: Churchill's Triumph by Michael Dobbs
The story of Yalta Conference, a perfect successor to "Never Surrender" and the perfect ending to Churchill's War series.
- Book Review: The Innocent Man - John Grisham
The first non-fiction legal offering from Grisham's pen. A powerful case against suspicious convictions.
- Photo Essay: I Love Beauty Parades
The story of beauty pageants and why i love them.
- The 'Ex' Factor
Are you comfortable being friends with an Ex?
- Book Review: First Light by Sunil Gangopadhyay
First Light is of course a work of historical fiction but it very vibrantly resonates in the present.
- Smallest Format Retail - The Pani Puri Wala
These Pani Puri walas are probably the smallest format of retail. They just sell one item.
- India - Bharat - Tenjiku: One Reality, More Perspectives (Part 2)
The public images of the Desi cultural area, their appearances, evolutions and effects in social life
- Pope Benedict XVI Visits America
The rich ritualistic aspects of the Catholic church has always held a greater visual appeal than the informal Protestant kind to me.
- Desi Pickle, Foreign Spice
Mangakari, one of my favourite South Indian pickles, uses a spice from Afghanistan.
- Old Photographs, Memories and Digital Photography
Poor toddlers – they would never know what value a half-torn, wrinkled sepia photograph holds
- Earth Day Post: Minimizing Foot Prints
Plant trees, conserve, reuse, recycle - restore earth's health
- Book Review: Young Dick Cheney: Great American
This book offers a respectful look at the Cheney years from birth to soul death - a span of about 18 years. Respectful of the
- Homosexuality : Ab-Normal?
So if we're talking about society and the challenge posed before it, here's what it is.
- India's Lonely Honeymooners
The typical man and woman will live and die without seeing even the tip of the iceberg of alternate sexuality.
- The British Government and Corrupt Practices
The corrupt saga of British Aerospace and the shameful behaviour of the British government
- A Goddess for Summer
In Mumbai, a small community from Andhra Pradesh worships the Goddess Mariamman every summer, seeking protection from the dreaded pox.
- The Wealth of Water
Everyone woke up early to catch the running water before it ran out. Vessels were scrimped on to avoid washing.
- 'Marriageable' Off Your Radar Please!
I have learned quite a few pearls of wisdom dealing with ‘marriageable’ (pre and post) people - and here I am sharing the precious few!
- Those Days and These Days
is it possible or even desirable to remove the influence of religion and caste from the political process ?
- Mock Democracy
In a culture fundamentally defined by individualism the electorate is most astonishingly not viewed as individuals but as so many distinct blocks of votes.
- A Bad Habit Called A Reality Soap
Why are reality shows irresistible?
- Book Review: Playing - Melanie Abrams
I have to admit that I hated Melanie Abrams' debut novel Playing immensely before I read it.
- The Greatest Nation On Earth Goes To The Polls
Why I am truly amazed by the great American soap opera
- IPL Twenty20: Mumbai Indians Lose Sorely To Punjab Kings XI
The poorly named Mumbai Indians have had a string of bad luck, or perhaps bad captaincy, in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 series.
- How Wikipedia Conquered my Reality Soap/TV Addiction
I realised I was watching most of the reality shows I liked because I liked seeing who would get eliminated next.
- IPL Cricket - Neither Quite Nor Quiet
If the whole idea of IPL was entertainment, it seems to be dishing out added spice and controversy to make it an even bigger hit.
- Cartoon: Soaring Food Prices
UN: A sharp rise in food prices has developed into a global crisis.
- I’ll Be Gentle: A Poessay on Lenny Bruce
There are exceptions where gentleness ought to be practiced in moderation
- The Merits of Deforestation
Deforestation is Good. Really. Believe me.
- Shrinking Childhoods
The whole child rights framework is derived from the fact that children exist and have special needs and rights.
- Thoughts on IPL
I'd watch Real Madrid play Manchester United at Old Trafford rather than Mumbai Indians play Chennai Super Kings.
- A Weekend With Madhu Kishwar
Ms. Kishwar believes that the key to fighting poverty lies in unleashing the talents and energies of the poor that have been kept suppressed by
- IPL's First Victim: Harbhajan Singh Banned For 11 Matches
The bowler was found to have acted without provocation and did not intend to appeal the decision.
- Indian Hockey Federation Suspended by Indian Olympic Association - Games We Play
No nation in the world plays as many sports disciplines as we do with official blessings.
- Why Neither India nor Pakistan Should Rely on America: Part I - Who Really Runs America?
Et tu, America?
- Preparing for Sunset
It is time for everyone to begin preparing for the sunset years.
- The Marriage of Technology and Religion
Like hot water and noodles, we've cleverly mixed Religion and Technology to serve up God in an instant.
- Recovery Agent : Evolution of the Gentleman Goon
So are debt collectors going to be India’s latest export? It would seem to be so.
- Fiction: Blind Date
She was more the 'hook up' type than the 'sync up' type. He smiled at the cheeky thought.
« March, 2008 || May, 2008 »
- Interview: Asif Ali Zardari - A Date With Destiny
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