and browns… The hills so green and alive for most of the year, brown and parched, just like the trees dotting their backs. An hour on the super smooth expressway and then a left just after Lonavala. Happy and bright sunflower beds on one side of the narrow road, sugarcane fields on the other. The… Continue reading Saturday afternoon blues..
For want of a scooter, a life was lost
The gift of a daughter – is not enough – it is the gifts that the daughter carries to her husband’s home that matter… As I finish reading Subhadra Butalia’s book The gift of a daughter – ‘encounters with the victims of dowry’, my thoughts are with the countless married women who go through this… Continue reading For want of a scooter, a life was lost
Musing on classical music
The sun was just beginning to set as Shubha Mudgal wrapped up her concert with a mellifluous dadra, the bright yellows of her sari perfect foil to the dark colours of the sky. We were at the IMG Janfest at St. Xavier’s college this Sunday evening. The evening began with Shubha Mudgal’s deep voice which… Continue reading Musing on classical music
Catch of the day
If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you will have noticed the sudden and sharp increase in the frequency and numer of photographs I have been posting of late. I would like to say that I discovered my interest in photography when at the tender and impressionable age of ten, I… Continue reading Catch of the day
Metroblogging Mumbai Meet
That was quite a Mouthful… Akshay announces this blog meet up organized by and for metroblogging on Tuesday, 31st of January at 6 p.m. at the Carter Road – Cafe Coffee Day, Bandra (West). Do drop in – midweek blog meets are bound to be fun! For more details and to confirm your attendance, please… Continue reading Metroblogging Mumbai Meet
The devil defanged
Many years ago, when Indian advertising was all about inane, if catchy jingles and cloying family values, along came an ad which caught the imagination of the public like few other ads of that time did. The devil sprang on to your screen every night, rolled his eyes, bared his fangs and urged you to… Continue reading The devil defanged
Penguins in the air
Time to ring in the new and throw out the old… for most Indians, it is not the new year’s day but a day two weeks later that marks this phase of hope. Co-inciding with the movement of the sun northward, or Uttarayan; longer days and happier times. Worship of the sun god; thanks for… Continue reading Penguins in the air
Disbelief and defensiveness : the SBI story
Seen the latest SBI campaign? On TV is Chimanlal Charlie and others who have lost bets. Because they did not believe that SBI actually provided the services they heard about. For instance, the third TVC, titled ‘Papad’, has a man rolling out ‘papads’ at home, while his wife watches. His sin was that he disbelieved… Continue reading Disbelief and defensiveness : the SBI story
Life on the fast lane
A recently married friend visited us at home this Sunday; she works in Pune and her husband here in Bombay and they have worked out a clever, if taxing whose-turn-is-it-this-time routine to spend time with each other over the weekends. Well, this time it was hers and so she was in Bombay and in the… Continue reading Life on the fast lane
Mobile phones and potato-onions
Some people never learn – make that some companies. Remember how Reliance mobile had started out in India – with those “dealers” who sold you the mobile phone and then vanished – or if were present, had no clue about handling after-sales queries and complaints? Remember how Reliance called them not dealers but entrepreneurs under… Continue reading Mobile phones and potato-onions