At home in Chennai, the TV is always on, background noise to drown the noise of the T nagar traffic. And for my parents, noise that is vital in an otherwise silent house with just the two of them. And so kolangal kolangal, la la la la it goes in the late evenings, and news… Continue reading When the fates conspired
Category: Indiawatch
Culture-Society-Development-Politics-Quirks
Reclaim the night. And the day…
As Annie has said so eloquently, the new year brought. Reading news reports and specifically, blog posts on this incident, I realize now that I was expecting some comment on how the women were at fault – partially if not entirely. Bracing myself for that line. They were asking for it? In what way, please?… Continue reading Reclaim the night. And the day…
Hay threshing jugaad
I finally saw washing machines being used for making lassi in Amritsar and I thought I had seen jugaad at its best – till this recent experience on the roads in rural Karnataka – stacks of hay and wheat(? rice?) laid out on the road early in the morning, passing heavy vehicles threshing them, free… Continue reading Hay threshing jugaad
Mumbai for Maharashtrians?
My husband left home this morning as usual for work – and called me five minutes ago (at 1 p.m.) from Bandra flyover – he has been stuck in a traffic jam since morning and taking detour after detour to find himself now in what is possibly the mother of them all. The only consolation,… Continue reading Mumbai for Maharashtrians?
Outbargaining Bill bhai
I am sure you have all read this one by now – How to Negotiate like an Indian — 7 Rules – Anything you found particularly fascinating? Like this line for instance? Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia, a CA transplant from Bangalore, credited the bargaining skills he learned in vegetable markets at home for getting Microsoft… Continue reading Outbargaining Bill bhai
Bangalored no longer?
Time has this interesting article – India’s Call-Center Jobs Go Begging – about how young graduates are no longer interested in these once-attractive high-paying jobs. Young people say it is no longer worthwhile going through sleepless nights serving customers halfway around the world. They have better job opportunities in other fields. Kiran Karnik, president of… Continue reading Bangalored no longer?
Puja and pandals
It is that time of the year when festivities are in the air – some of us more cribby types might say, traffic jams are on the road. Thanks to those huge puja pandals everywhere – one larger and grander than the other. Our local pandal at Vashi is modeled on Angkor Vat – says… Continue reading Puja and pandals
Go trail my daughter
Today’s Hindustan Times has this piece on the front page – Sherlock Holmes has a dandiya job – which means ‘parents hire sleuths to stalk flirty youngsters’ as they go around whirling and twirling to Phalguni Pathak’s dandiya music this Navratri. “They want to know who their girl is with, whether she is having sex,”… Continue reading Go trail my daughter
In all fairness
Like everyone else, I watched Shah Rukh Khan cheer for the Indian team at SA (later, I also read that he was praying – like everyone else was, said he). And just after that, I read Neha’s post Fair, lovely, handsome and blah!. Reminded me of something I read a long long time ago –… Continue reading In all fairness
The farewell party
With every year, the number and visibility of sponsors increases. The paints on the idols are brighter, the crowds louder, the competition fiercer, the frenzy scarier… There is something touching about the way the emotions of an entire city (much of it at least) ride the streets along with Ganpati headed to the sea. The… Continue reading The farewell party