Where the wild things are 3

I travelled to Hampi recently and was blown away by the palace and temple ruins, and the fascinating landscape it was set in. To make it even more interesting, I stayed in a wildlife resort nearby. When I was asked to sign the visitor book, I peeked at what everyone else had to say. You ...

Happy homecomings 17

The epiphany came to me on a chilly morning many years ago in Melbourne, Australia. I was standing in the aisle of a supermarket, trying to determine the answer to an important existential question viz. Could green olives be an effective substitute for pieces of raw mango in Tambrahm curd-rice? My thoughts were interrupted when ...

The truth in our stars 6

As we prepare for the arrival of a new year, one must ponder the wisdom of our great leaders. I am personally inspired by the honourable man who said in Parliament that “Science is a pygmy compared to astrology.” This is an astonishing statement. The problem, dear friends, is that for years, we have been ...

The Moral Police wants you 14

So many disturbing things are happening in the country. You must have heard of that disgusting incident in Kochi? I hesitate to write anything here since this is a family paper, but some boys and girls were caught red-handed in a coffee shop. It seems they were doing all kinds of depraved things—talking to each ...

Maps for lost pizza 3

It was a weekday night and we were having the usual family argument about whether to watch Masterchef Australia or Kaun Banega Crorepati. “This is the episode where someone wins seven crores!” my mother said. Against that, my argument of “But we’ll find out today whether the Red team’s croquembouche was too biscuit-ty or not!” ...

Match fixing 2

In 2012, a precocious ten year-old girl filed an RTI query with the Prime Minister’s office. She wanted to know when the government had declared hockey as India’s national sport. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports responded and said that there was no official declaration that hockey was our national sport. In fact, they ...

Brewing Trouble 1

In the annals of history, they will mark the noughties as the beginning of the end of the traditional South Indian brahmin wedding. Mehndi and sangeet ceremonies are now common additions. At engagement ceremonies, the bride and groom cut three-tier cakes and exchange rings. Diaphanous zardozi sarees, once dismissed as North-Indian gaudiness, make regular appearances ...

Time and again 3

I got to a meeting exactly on time the other day, braving stormy weather, heavy traffic and a rather large cow that seemed to think it had been called to a higher purpose in the middle of the street. I walked into the meeting room feeling a bit flustered, but then I saw that the lady ...

A word of advice 7

Earlier this year, the Maharashtra government decided to allow homeopaths to prescribe so-called allopathic medicines. This caused alarm in medical circles, and now the decision itself has run into some trouble. But most people said it was all unnecessary fuss. After all, ours is a country where you can get your ears candled and your ...

Adventures of a reluctant domestic goddess 5

My friends and family keep sharing cooking articles with me. They send tips on how to get the seeds neatly out of a pomegranate, and articles labelled “15 Foods you can make while pressing Like on Election-Selfies”, or “How to cut tomatoes like Rajnikanth–You have been doing it wrong all your life”. This is all ...