Home theatre

Friday 30 November '07

It begins when a couple has their first offspring. All unsuspecting visitors are ‘treated’ to performances by the prodigy.

Vegetariano in Spain

Thursday 4 October '07

Asking for vegetarian food in Italy and France without an inkling of either language did not pose too much of a problem.

From Lulu to Lone Ranger

Thursday 14 June '07

A few days ago I came across a thin comic book stuck between the shelves of my cupboard. This was the reason, of course, it had survived several bouts of vigorous spring cleaning.

Doghouse days

Friday 11 May '07

It was a subtle, yet non-corporal, punishment meted out to errant students in boarding schools — they are sent to Coventry, where for a specified period no one would have anything to do with them.

Sunset at the border

Friday 30 March '07

For a long while I had wanted to present myself at the Attari-Wagah border at sundown, to watch the ceremonious taking down of the national flag.

Lather in the eye

Saturday 3 February '07

Grooming classes for soap operas are big-time. Here is the checklist: nubile young girls are more in demand, boys only stand a 1:3 chance.

Rick retrospective

Thursday 21 December '06

What will happen to Kolkatans during the monsoons?

Shooting stars

Thursday 23 November '06

It's over a month now, and each morning we are ‘treated’ to newspaper reports of yet another episode on the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie story.

If you have the time

Tuesday 26 September '06

In the ‘50s, what was the most coveted gift any family member travelling abroad brought back? A Swiss watch, of course.

The dark held no terror

Saturday 22 July '06

And a little light went a long way

Not by rice alone

Thursday 15 June '06

A friend once told us this apocryphal story. His father was asked by an American sociologist who travelled extensively in India...

Transit times

Saturday 29 April '06

It was in April 1997. I was returning after a ten-day orientation course in London. I headed for Heathrow to return to India via Frankfurt...

Apathy, 360 degrees

Tuesday 21 March '06

Public response is out of sync with private trauma