Author: charukesi

I don’t do this often, but I found this (from Reader’s Digest) really good : Pearls of wisdom leave our mouths every day in an unthinking and mechanical manner. If only we would stop and listen to ourselves, we would mend our lives.

Made a wonderful discovery recently. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro…. The book is the story of Mr. Stevens (Antony Hopkins in the movie, which I would love to watch), a butler at Darlington Hall, who had been serving Lord Darlington for many years. Darlington Hall goes through several changes following the death… Continue reading The Remains of the Day

Here I was, fuming about the finger-printing of Indian wannabe US-bounds for visa purposes. And I heard this story about finger-printing of individuals wanting to book for a darshan at the Tirupati temple. To begin at the beginning, it is now possible to advance-book your darshan at the Tirupati temple and my sister-in-law who is… Continue reading God goes Hi-Tech

A while ago, Ripples had complained of the Hindu’s indifferent editorial on the elections results in an attempt to be its usual neutral self. As if to make up, The Hindu today carries a special eight page supplement on Verdict 2004, an analysis of all the factors that contributed to this extraordinary verdict. Was the… Continue reading Did ‘India Shining’ do the BJP in?

Remember this old story about the ant and the elephant? The ant hitched a ride on the elephant’s back across the jungle, and just after they crossed a rickety bridge, the bridge collapsed completely. To which the ant said, wow! I never knew I had so much strength… I made the bridge collapse… Point? The… Continue reading Whose decision?

I was at a traffic round-about last evening when I witnessed a minor accident. Nothing disastrous but an elderly person fell from the motorcycle he was riding. As a few passers-by (including me) went to his assistance, I noticed a traffic policeman standing a few feet away, watching. By which time traffic was also beginning… Continue reading A policeman’s duty?

Just when it seems like the dust might just have a chance to settle down, Sonia Gandhi throws a volte-face. Or was this what the lady had intended all along, and we, from our positions of seething moral indignation never seen it? Or was it just that we were too busy laughing at jokes about… Continue reading Kaun Banega(i) Pradhan Mantri?

BBC correspondent Sanjeev Srivastava traveled to the US to figure out if India was shining there or not. Writing in the Outlook, he says, we are shining, yes, but not in super power league. Spare me. Instead of this, I suggest a visit to the US consulate. A friend working for a software company (surprise… Continue reading Is India Shining in the US?

Pictures from Abu Ghraib continue to shock the world. Otherwise decent sons-of-the-soil (not to mention daughters, the pride of their communities) Americans grinning happily at the sight of Iraqi prisoners cowering in fear and shame…. Reports that American soldiers are taught methods of breaking down the enemy’s psyche notwithstanding, it seems unlikely that the occupying… Continue reading The power of power?

Make that mauled… At Spencer’s Plaza last evening. Sunday evening, and with a holiday the next day (today is elections day in Tamilnadu), Spencer’s was choc-a-bloc. No space to breathe freely, forget moving…. So much disposable income? Is India truly Shining? Dina writes about malls in Gurgaon with their glass facades and Dalli types. Bangalore… Continue reading Malled in Madras