For the past few weeks the Hero Honda Hockey jingle has been playing non stop on radio stations. You would think India must be on the verge of winning the world cup. Ha! dil mein dam bhar lo, fir dil ko hockey ko Win the cup they didn’t, but to their credit the Indian...
The Joys of Life At A Big Corporate – Part I
Every once in a while somebody sends out an email to a mailing list that turns out to span the entire office. Very often this results in a barrage of emails from people asking to be removed from this mailing list. Fun begins when the thread explodes with people asking others to refrain from...
The Case Of The Exploding Tandoors
Breaking News: Fans of Chicken Tikka Masala beware. The tandoor in your favorite desi restaurant may not be safe. These ill-maintained tandoors have been blowing up all over Birmingham of late. As if the damage to their digestive system from the super spicy Indian food wasnt bad enough, food patrons now have to bear...
Kajra Re: On Ice
This seen during last month’s US Figure Skating championship. A Bollywood medley rendered on skates. On Ice. Meet Americans Charlie White and Meryl Davis, rocking the house Bolly style. For a country which had three participants at the ongoing Winter Olympics who didn’t make any news beyond attending the opening ceremony in mismatched...
Mile Sur Mera Tumhara Rehashed
Can you truly recreate a legend? Probably not. But you can certainly try! Most of my generation grew up listening to that immortal classic Mile Sur Mera Tumhara back in the days of Doordarshan. That song/video will forever remain one of the most amazing memories of my childhood, never failing to give me the goosebumps....
Video: Life At IIM
Check this out… The story of IIM, told in the space of 5 odd minutes. Pretty niftily done too! There’s assignments, summer placements, girls (just the one), a temple, divine intervention, and success at last. All elements of a masala movie rolled into a fraction of the time. Interesting stuff. Here’s another one. Oh,...
And The New Year Is Here. Happy 2010.
2009 was a busy year with a lot happening in the twelve months. The Indian elections, and the Congress’ stunning victory. The BJP’s continued internal drama. The global economic downturn. India’s rise to the top in world cricket, and the continued decline of the national sport (Hockey, in case you didn’t know). 3 Idiots....
10 Lessons From 3 Idiots
The latest Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots is being widely acclaimed as one of the best movies of recent times. I managed to catch a show last week, and came back impressed. Not just impressed. I learnt a lot from the movie. What follows is ten important lessons in life that the movie taught...
Burning Cars And Stupid People
My name is Kalpana. A weird incident happened earlier this week as i was going home after getting my hair done. I saw a car burning on the road, and i think there was someone inside. I have seen a lot in my years on Delhi roads, but nothing comes close to this one....
Worst Advertisement Ever?
Is this what old age and lack of work does to veterans? But then we also have reigning superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan doing ridiculous ads for diverse brands such as Chyawan Prash and Hair Oil. Maybe it isn’t about lack of work. Maybe it’s all about the Moolah!
Who’s The Slumdog Now?
Dear Danny Boyle, We heard that you left India in a rush because you were ‘really, really tired‘. What happened? Did you happen to travel in a Mumbai local train? We are sure it couldnt be related to the fact that your child stars wanted some more from you. All Azharuddin wanted was a...
World’s Most Powerful People
Forbes, the magazine famous for compiling lists of the world’s best/most/biggest/richest people/organizations just gave us a new compilation. The world’s most powerful people. In compiling our first ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People, we wrestled with these questions–and many more–before deciding to define power by four dimensions. First, do they have influence over...
The Importance of Raj Thackeray
Ram Kadam, the mustachioed warrior out to protect Marathi Asmita assaulted Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi while the latter was taking his oath as member of the Maharashtra assembly. The reason was that Azmi refused to pay any heed to the MNS warning to all MLAs to take their oaths in Marathi, and proceeded...
Bravo, Manu Sharma
That’s how it is done. They pointed a finger at you, and you voluntarily went back to jail, leaving your aging mom to fend for herself. What superlative sacrifice! This should serve a lesson to the media hounding you, and all those people who said that you should be given strict punishment for the...
Blood On My Hands
Of late I have taken to hunting. In a big way. No fancy rifles for me. A Lakhani Hawai Chappal does a great job! The best part is that the more i kill, the more there seem to be. Its like the akshay patra of Mahabharata, the bowl that was always full of food. Somewhere...
Who’s the Real Swine?
Dear Times of India, I was appalled by the cartoon in today’s newspaper. I have long held this paper in high esteem, and somehow it hurts to see such a distasteful statement. I know it is fashionable to declare one’s secular credentials. I know that people have coined a term pseudo secularism for this...
All About Returning To India
So you thought you will just pick up your bags and move back to India? Not so fast, tough guy. Returning to India is a very complicated decision that must be taken very carefully. Here's a compilation of things to do while moving back to India.
Google Doodle Contest – My India
Indian kids are a very creative lot, going by the shortlisted entries out of several thousand submissions for the Google Doodle contest. Check out what India means to our young ones, and vote for your favorite design!
No Indian Style, Please
This seen in the men’s room of one of those swanky Gurgaon offices. So who among us has ever tried this? I would like to hear from you. Most people wont even be fit enough to balance themselves from the slippery, narrow perch high above the ground, me thinks. Not to mention the drop...
Royal Rumble in the Skies. Air India Style.
A Stewardess. A Disgruntled Purser. An Angry Pilot. 100 odd Amused Passengers. One Hugely Embarrassed Airline. The Maharaja witnessed his first in-flight Mughal-e-Azam at 30,000 feet above sea level on Saturday, as two members of the cabin crew—one male and one female—slugged it out with the pilot and co-pilot. (Click the image to...
O Gandhi. Where Art Thou?
All along i kept telling myself that your method of non violence was a silly concept that just delayed Independence. But today i feel that more than gaining independence it was the discipline that you taught your children that was your greatest gift. You united them all. The Punjabi, the Marathis, the Tamils, Bengalis,...
