Arthshastra
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Arthshastra
A chronicle of ideas on politics, culture, media, and the everyday — through the lens of the Indian diaspora.
He helped raise two kids
We are planning to buy a minivan and last weekend I went to test drive a few. Now, you don't expect...
Dec 28, 2009 · Society & Culture
Why Good Ideas Die In India!
Flouting rules comes easy to us, unless of course someone is there with a danda monitoring us. The...
Jan 11, 2009 · Indian Affairs
A tale of two love stories in Bollywood
The mid-1980s were the best of the times, they were the worst of the times for Bollywood.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_322\" align=\"alignleft\"...
Aug 09, 2010 · Reviews
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Who really killed Laquan McDonald?
Jan 03, 2016 · Politics & Policy
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The 10 conservative principles
Jul 16, 2010 · Politics & Policy
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The real significance of the 'Pink Chaddi' campaign
Feb 21, 2009 · Indian Affairs
🇮🇳
A Shameless Act!
Nov 28, 2008 · Media & Opinion
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Where's the Hindu outrage?
Sep 21, 2008 · Politics & Policy
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Back After A Hiatus
Sep 10, 2008 · Politics & Policy
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Hillary Math
Jun 03, 2008 · Media & Opinion
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All
Business & Tech
Indian Affairs
Media & Opinion
Politics & Policy
Reviews
Society & Culture
2008
Media & Opinion
Gas Prices
2007
Indian Affairs
India - Sizzling economically but a moral pygmy!
A lot has been made of the fact that a large number of Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are going back to India because of her sizzling economy and a desire to be...
Politics & Policy
Skilled immigrants welcome?
From the middle-east to New Zealand, it seems that the skilled immigrants are much in demand. In an article on Aug 20, New York Times says:\r\nEven countries...
Politics & Policy
Defy the gods!
Got a link to this magnificent 1996 commencement speech by Salman Rushdie from a SAJA email list. For the first five minutes, I could not stop chuckling at the...
Politics & Policy
This opinion about US politics has been Outsourced...
The Indian American blogosphere has been hyper-activated the past few days since Obama campaign attacked Hillary Bill Clintons' \"support\" for Outsourcing....
Media & Opinion
So long suckers!
\r\nA great majority of the skill based non-immigrants waiting to legally immigrate to the US (in simple words, temporary worker visa holders waiting to get...
Indian Affairs
A Journey Down the Ganga
Philip Reeves, the National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent has just finished a brilliant radio series on his journey along the Ganga river in India. In five...
Reviews
Hindi Movies : must watch list for an Indophile non-desi
Many of us know that the only thing true about India is that no single element represents the whole of India - her wonders, complexities, contradictions and...
Indian Affairs
Intrigued about the British Indian Soldier
Most of us grew up hearing the stories of valor of Indian soldiers who fought and gave their blood in the wars that India fought since its indepnedance. I have...
Indian Affairs
Turkana Boy
What is the most dangerous product or idea exported from the US to the world? Foodies might say Big Mac and Coke! Rugby purists might say American Football!...
Media & Opinion
Doonesbury!
Reviews
Ranji Superball : What if India had a SuperBowl
As the spectacle of the 41st Superbowl unfolds with Peyt Manning leading the Colts towards a well contested win, miles away and hours ahead, Wasim Jaffer...
Society & Culture
Sidney Sheldon : an Indian's Tribute
Sidney Sheldon died earlier this week after a well lived life of 90 years. I am not an expert on his literary works nor his life but I can say that his work...
Business & Tech
Look who's back at Dell!
Michael Dell is back at the helm of his namesake company. A few years back, when Apple Inc. was in the doldrums, someone had asked Mr. Dell, basking in the...
Society & Culture
Where is ACLU when you need them?
So if you are flying to Minneapolis, Minnesota - that beautiful city with that greatest monument to the American consumerism, the Mall of America and would be...
Politics & Policy
A Muslim Martin Luther King?
I've been thinking about writing a post on how the Shia-Sunni violence in Iraq has driven a spear right through the heart of the concept of pan-Islamic...
Indian Affairs
The decaying Metropolis , the finally-arrived Regal capital and the eternal-hopeful small town : State of 3 homes
Recently, my friend (and the lead contributor here at Arthshastra.com) Vikas, during his recent home visit, had this comment on the 3 cities which have been...
2006
Business & Tech
Why we love Google?
There are a lot of companies that pay lip service to out-of-the-box thinking but Google is the best example of a company that has made a religion out of this...
Politics & Policy
If I did it.....
Maureen Dowd with her caustic with and biting sarcasm is one of my most favorite op-ed writers but today, she outdid herself with this opening paragraph in her...
Society & Culture
Thanksgiving: A uniquely American harvest festival
Harvest festivals are celebrated all over the world and Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November is one of them. However, there is...
Politics & Policy
Morning Again!
After the 2006 mid-term elections, a lot of people in the US, including yours truly feel this way.\r\n\r\n\r\n
Politics & Policy
Rumsfield Resigns and President Bush Pledges to Work With Democrats Again
Yes, that is the headline that the New York Times is leading with tonight. I never thought that I'd see that headline, or if I did, it would include a couple...
Politics & Policy
The Muck Stops Here!
If you are a keen observer of politics like I am and if you've seen political campaigns in India, specially in the Hindi belt, you know how dirty the election...
Media & Opinion
Where Are The Comments?
My apologies for deleting all your comments accidently. I obviously did not mean to, but I ran an incorrect query on my database (I am a cheapskate and my...
Politics & Policy
Is Islam A Peaceful Religion?
\r\nIs Islam a peaceful religion? Is it a violent one? Does Quran teach violence? Does it teach love and peace? Are all Muslims violent? Are some of them...
Business & Tech
Ban Indian Companies from the H1B program
\r\n\r\n\r\nA recent IEEE report scrutinizes the Labor Condition Application (or LCA for short is a form that needs to be filed by a company wanting to hire...
Reviews
Lage Raho Munnabhai: The Mahatma as A Sutradhar
\r\n\r\nOh these pesky sequels, they are always a tough act, specially if the original has attained the status of a beloved classic, as it has, in the case of...
Society & Culture
The Lean Mean Fighting Machine aka The Human Race
Here is a reality check for all you guys who hold candles at the Wagah border, send out emails containing messages of peace and communal harmony, roam around...
Indian Affairs
Indra Nooyi's Graduation Remarks
\r\n\r\nGood evening, everyone. Dean Hubbard, distinguished faculty, honored graduates, relieved parents, family, and friends, it's a distinct pleasure to be...
Indian Affairs
The World According to Azim Premji
I stumbled across this month old article in Stanford Alumni magazine. I imagined that a lot of blogs would have linked to the article but a technorati search...
Indian Affairs
Giving Thanks on Independence Day
If there is one single person who should be thanked this and every Independence Day and who is not and cannot be thanked enough is Mahatma Gandhi. Every day, I...
Business & Tech
Websites that suck - www.citinri.com
A review of Citibank's website to serve non-resident Indians and why it sucks big time.\r\n\r\n
Society & Culture
Yeh Hai Bombay Meree Jaan!
\r\n\r\nLike potholes on the Andheri-Kurla Road during rainy season, suddenly, the western media is full of stories on and from Mumbai. The cover story by Time...
Politics & Policy
Global Warming: The US, India and Gandhi
Global warming activists have been hitting all the right notes lately. There's the Al Gore Movie, An Inconvenient Truth, there's the report by the National...
Society & Culture
Shillong - India's little rock and roll town
BBC's Soutik Biswas has a superb piece on the flourishing blues tradition in Shillong. A must read.\n\n\n\n\nIt is Friday night in the north-eastern Indian...
Media & Opinion
On Bloggers
In this cartoon below, Calvin's dad makes me think of bloggers in a sense. There is just so much opinion out there passing as facts in blogosphere that...
Politics & Policy
Mocking 60 Minutes
\r\nIs it a requirement to do a favorible story, if there is none? That does not stop partisan Carl Moore, a staunch conservative to mock 60 minutes...
Society & Culture
Striking Down of the Knock and Wait Rule
So lets say that you are a policeman and you have a warrant for searching the home of a person who is suspected to be a drug dealer. Would you rather go to his...
Society & Culture
There are businessmen and then there are businessmen
No matter how much you might hate Microsoft and its products, you cannot help praising its founder, Bill Gates and now, with today's announcement, Bill Gates...
Politics & Policy
Stooping to Conquer
Karl Rove, the architect is back to his dirty tricks using national security as a wedge issue in this election year:\n\n\nKarl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political...
Media & Opinion
Best Political Cartoons of The Week
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Society & Culture
Dilbert Does It Again!
Asok the pernnial favorite gets the stick again!\r\n\r\nAll copyrights - Scott Adams. Please visit http://www.dilbert.com.
Business & Tech
Pop Goes The Apple!
Apple computers closes its shop in India. Indian outsourcing companies have been at the receiving end of criticism for quite some time now for over promising...
Society & Culture
The Enron Verdict: Lessons for India
\r\n\r\nIn December 2001, Enron – a high and mighty US corporation that was at one point of time, the seventh largest in the country, and whose executives were...
Politics & Policy
US Marines killed innocent Iraqis in cold blood?
CNN is reporting:\r\nA decorated Marine colonel turned anti-war congressman has said Marines killed at least 30 innocent Iraqi civilians \"in cold blood\" in...
Media & Opinion
Dilbert!
Media & Opinion
Aishwarya and Gurinder: The new power couple in Bollywood
As if the colorful yarns spun on screen were not enough to keep people engaged, there has always been a parallel track of extra-marital affairs and spicy...
Society & Culture
Elections in India: The Stupid Manifesto
\r\nEvery country’s people have a date with destiny. For modern democracies, that date comes in the form of an election day and probably its mundane and quiet...
Reviews
Book Review: Cobra II - The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
As the Bush administration's Iraq policy continues to unravel, and April proves to be yet another cruel month for the US forces in Iraq with 69 deaths, Cobra...
Society & Culture
The West Wing
\r\n\r\nThere cannot be a better time than this to get hold of the entire DVD set of The West Wing and watch it right from season one. At a time when the US...
Society & Culture
Making sense of illegal immigration
One of the very few commentaries that make sense on the issue of illegal immigration was published today in the Washington Post. Robert J. Samuelson makes a...
Indian Affairs
India-US nuclear agreement
Jim Hoagland of the Washington Post meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and comes back...
Indian Affairs
Immigration Debate In the US: Where is the Indian Lobby?
For the last month or so, I have been watching ever-growing rallies of immigrants in cities across the US. An overwhelming majority of them are of Hispanic...
Society & Culture
Rummy gets a Brownie!
Remember \"You are doing a heck of a job Brownie?\" Of course you do! Well after Defense Sec. Rumsfield was under attack by a number of Generals, President...
Indian Affairs
When will India assert its leadership?
Nepal is suffering through a Mao insurgency and a King who is averse to democracy. This country is literally in India's backyard and yet India does not seem to...
Society & Culture
Need I say more?
Society & Culture
Feminism sans Borders: Utopia or Reality?
What happens when you bring together five kindred individuals, who have extensively worked on issues related to feminism, violence against women and...
Indian Affairs
Feminism Sans Borders - the Transnational Feminism Conference
When I first read that the South Asia forum in Madison, Wisconsin is organizing a conference on Transnational Feminism (thanks temporal) I was not sure what to...
Indian Affairs
Soniaji - I was wrong
After the last elections, when it appeared that Sonia Gandhi might be the next Prime Minister of India, I went ballistic with anger. An immigrant in a foreign...
Society & Culture
Got Beer?
I'd be hard pressed to give you the exact year and age when this life long love affair started, but sometime between the 9th and the 11th grade, I had my first...
Society & Culture
The Dutch Immigration Brouhaha
\r\n\r\n(Picture courtsey - New York Times)\r\n\r\nThe Dutch Immigration authorities have come up with a new weapon in their ongoing struggle against...
Society & Culture
The Liberals are coming!
With President Bush's approval ratings in the dumps and the Republicans in Congress in serious danger of losing their majority - their could be a big change of...
Society & Culture
Cafe Bolero - A Little Cuba in Chicago
One of the many great things about Chicago is the eclectic selection of food available in downtown and near the downtown area. Unlike many other larger...
Society & Culture
Desi Confusion - Part Deux
In my previous post, I wrote about the various ways in which DESIs try to come to terms with an alien culture and in trying to reconcile ourselves with the...
Society & Culture
Desi Confusion!
\r\nOne day we arrive - at O’Hare, at Newark, in Detroit, in Atlanta, in San Diego and in San Fransisco; holding our I-20s, H1/H4 papers or other visa...
Society & Culture
Coast to Coast - The Ports Deal
More than two hundred years ago – the Americans overthrew the rule of their imperial masters with a shot that was heard around the world. Racially and...
Politics & Policy
Why my friend?
\r\n\r\n\r\nAN INDIAN sailor was allegedly beaten to death by his colleagues on board a Norwegian oil tanker in the first week of February in the international...
Society & Culture
Jaane bhee do yaaron!
Many years ago, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was on the verge of becoming the Prime Minister of India, I read somewhere that he developed cold feet. He felt that...
Media & Opinion
Looking for Comedy in The Muslim World!
As you read about the continuing riots over the caricatures of Mohammed, I urge you to please shed a tear for Al Brooks – the comedian who went looking for...
Society & Culture
I support freedom of speech!
Indian Affairs
State of The Union-India
Listening to President Bush’s state of the union address on Tuesday, I felt a surge of pride when I heard India (along with China) mentioned as a potential...
Indian Affairs
Paritrana-getting to know them a little bit more!
My interview with Paritrana's national treasurer - Chandrashekhar.\r\nEver since this news item was published in the Times of India about Paritrana, I have...
Indian Affairs
Walmart critics - all fart and no shit!
Anti Wal-Mart crusaders are all fart and no shit. Consider exhibit A – a guy from down under, a place which apparently does not even have a Wal-Mart, claiming...
Society & Culture
Happy Republic Day!
Happy 26th January.\r\n\r\nAnd thank god that I was not born in China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or in one of the many such intolerant, dictatorial societies...
Media & Opinion
Lajja!
Nicholas Kristof, that tireless New York Times journalist is in India these days giving us a unique outsider's perspective of problems plaguing the country....
Society & Culture
Ganesha-Copyrighted!
(click for full size image)\r\nI saw this ad the other day in a newspaper. Two things had my attention immediately:\r\n\r\n \"Worldwide rights for EkDanta held...
Media & Opinion
The Beatles
So I finally finished reading the hefty 1000 page biography of The Beatles by Bob Spitz. It took a long time but I had such a fun time reading it. I am a big...
Society & Culture
Mithu!
Warning for all the infidels (and not the Taliban kind :) ) across the world. Be very careful if you have to cheat.\r\n\r\nA parrot owner was alerted to his...
Society & Culture
Happy Birthday Benjamin!
Today is Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday. If you had asked me about Mr. Franklin about 10 years ago, I would have described him as a scientist who...
Indian Affairs
Mr. Bachchan, Tirupati and Indian Charity
Is anyone else disgusted by the recent news item mentioning that Mr. Amitabh Bachchan will be donating jewelry worth Rs. 1 Crore to the Tirupati Temple...
Indian Affairs
Is India ready to be a great world power?
Is India ready to be a great world power? Is she ready to stake her claim to world leadership in its true sense and not in the pseudo-self-congratulatory...
Media & Opinion
Oh the irony!
\r\n\r\nSaw this picture of Germans protesting against Iranians getting nukes on CNN.com. Not that I want the mullahs to have nukes - not by a long long shot....
Indian Affairs
Devon Avenue, Chicago
Amrit’s post on the Writing Cave asking if we hate ourselves going by the amount of filth lying around in Indian cities compelled me to dust-off (no pun...
Politics & Policy
We the people, Them the politicians. The Twain Shall Never Meet
Indian Express (who else?) reported on Sunday that the government of India is ready to release a 15 point program which will mandate spending based on...
Media & Opinion
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
Watched Al Brooks on Letterman tonight describing his experience in India and Pakistan as he was filming his latest movie – Looking for Comedy in the Muslim...
Media & Opinion
Shalom for Sharon
In his illness, Ariel Sharon brings together and exposes the two extremists from two different religions as if to show that regardless of religion, the...
Media & Opinion
You go kid!
Nine year old Ajay Puri was honored by Prime Minister Singh at the inaugural session of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The prime minister congratulated him and asked...
Media & Opinion
Lions caged
\r\n\r\nAt the Lion Country Safari, you could drive through the park with the fearsome creatures right next to your car. However, due to foolishness of some...
Society & Culture
Main hoon con!
Everyone’s favorite star, the big B is now also a farmer. He bought agriculture land in Pune claiming to be a farmer from Jaunpur and yet cannot produce...
Media & Opinion
How Indian Express Got Its Groove Back!
Nothing could have made me happier than watching Indian Express getting its groove back. That effect has been augmented by the newly available e-paper from...
Politics & Policy
The Communist Manifesto
The hypocrisy is unbelievable, the pathos staggering. If it were not for the fact the main player in this Orwellian drama is one of the parties that holds a...
2005
Society & Culture
Good One!
Politics & Policy
Terrorist attack in Banglore
The terrorist attack in Banglore on Dec 28th has made a lot of people nervous about the outsourcing industry. Of course, people who’ve been against outsourcing...
Politics & Policy
What makes the US tick?
What makes the US tick? What makes it the most powerful nation in the world? Well the events of last month provided us with many examples all leading to the...
Politics & Policy
French!
Now why do you think that the people who are against Globalization, American hegemony, America's corrupting influence on the world, Capitalism and it evil...
Indian Affairs
Jack of all master of none
I am nothing if not eclectic in my reading tastes. Well that's a euphemism. A less charitable person would call me \"Jack of all and Master of none\". In any...
Indian Affairs
Bill Gates and Indian Billionaires
As we read about the world's richest man's now almost annual trip to India and his commitment to eradicate disease and provide support for education an obvious...
Society & Culture
Something to ponder over
Turkey is the only country in the world with less support for evolution than the U.S. (From Nicholas Kristoff’s column in today’s Times).
Politics & Policy
RIP: M.R. Kutty
\nM.R. Kutty was killed by Taliban in Afghanistan. Behind all the bickering on whether Pakistan was or wasn't behind the attacks, an essential question still...
Politics & Policy
Drucker on India
Read this in one of the obituaries of Peter Drucker. It is surprising how much of it still holds true and also how much of it does not, thanks to two people,...
Politics & Policy
Our politicians
Oh the depths to which our politicians would stoop to get votes. Hindustan Times is reporting today about posters in Mumbai that congratulated Margaret Alva,...
Politics & Policy
My two cents for the French
So what’s plaguing France? I was listening to a podcast by a BBC correspondent today. He was interviewing a 20 year old leader of a gang of half a dozen Muslim...
Society & Culture
Paris Burning
So what's going on in France? It seems that last night riots spread to other parts of Europe as well.\n
Indian Affairs
Rosa Parks Of Pakistan
As I noted in one my earlier posts – Jean Feraca’s program, “Here On Earth” on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) holds its own amongst all the programs on the...
Politics & Policy
Contradictions Abound
There are so many contradictions in this post. It only reflects the complex world that we live in and that everything is not black and white – there are always...
Politics & Policy
Atlas Shrugged
In her iconic novel \"Atlas Shrugged\", Ayn Rand described the struggle that goes on between creators of wealth and the class of people who depend upon the...
Indian Affairs
Another dowry death
Yet another woman burnt to death for dowry in India. Previously when I’ve written about dowry deaths on my blog – I’ve received some comments that claim that...
Politics & Policy
Global conspiracy against Congress?
Is there a global conspiracy against Congress and more specifically K. Natwar Singh? Haa haa haa, you gotta be kidding me! This is the worst attempt at...
Society & Culture
Courage
Indian Affairs
Behind Gold's Glitter
“Over the last year, sales surged 11 percent in China and 47 percent in India, a country of a billion people whose seemingly insatiable appetite for gold - for...
Politics & Policy
Political discourse in India
\n\n\"BJP and Youth Congress activists clashed in Thane on Saturday morning over posters put up by the BJP protesting Bollywood actor Govinda’s alleged link...
Indian Affairs
Tasteless Advertisement
This is one of the most regressive advertisements I've seen in print media. For those who are not fluent with Hindi and/or the background of this festival-...
Indian Affairs
Astrologer predicts death - but fails to die
So I was in sunny San Diego, California for a conference this past weekend. I met up with my old roomie from Chicago and his wife. We went to a good Mexican...
Politics & Policy
Toyota's new invention
Now here’s something really interesting. Toyota Motor Corp has developed a derivative of the Cherry Sage shrub that is optimized for absorbing pollutants from...
Politics & Policy
Ignoring the world around us!
Did something important happen in the world in the last two days? Something that might have long lasting repurcussions on our own peace and security? Looking...
Media & Opinion
TOI's bad run continues
\r\nAnother dubious achievement of the Times of India. On AB's birthday, they devote an entire page to him - the top half is a glowing article and the bottom...
Society & Culture
Google 2084
\nThe president and publisher of Parade Publications envisions what Google's home page may look like in 2084 (Courtsey NY Times. You can visit the NYT page...
Indian Affairs
Vibhishana
The other day I was thinking about Vibhishana; yes, yes Ravana’s brother Vibhishana! How many other Vibhishana’s you know?\n\nI am not sure what made me think...
Politics & Policy
Muslim vote bank politics
This seems to be very alarming:\n\n“According to some reports, Tehran is also looking to build bridges with other political outfits in India, especially those...
Politics & Policy
Dial a Puja
Here is another instance of ritual getting an upper hand over spirit. Apparently you can dial-a-puja on your mobile as if you are ordering a pizza and...
Politics & Policy
Hinduism's lack of moral center
Hinduism’s lack of moral center has been apparent for quite some time. How else do you explain the dowry killings, the killings of infant girl child in many...
Politics & Policy
A Thousand Words
\n\nThey say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Look at this picture - I plucked it from some website with an article on the left's protests against...
Society & Culture
Fortune At The Bottom of The Pyramid
CK Prahlad is fast becoming one of my favorite columnists/authors along with Thomas Friedman and Maureen Dowd (the last two of New York Times). There was an...
Indian Affairs
Bribing to cuddle your child in Banglore
Yes – it’s that age old bane of our country – corruption and bribe. NY Times is reporting a story from Banglore on how parents of new borns have to pay bribes...
Politics & Policy
What gives?
Times of India is carrying an article on its website on how some IITians find jobs in Indian bureaucracy to be more exciting than with a multinational...
Media & Opinion
Doonesbury On blogging...
Garry Trudeau continues to poke fun at bloggers......\n\n
Politics & Policy
National Public Radio
Being a political junkie I am always on the lookout for interesting articles to read, TV shows to watch or radio programs to listen to. While I was in Chicago...
Politics & Policy
Blogging and Politics
The Indian middle class is famously apathetic to politics. If poll numbers are any indication, we Indians treat Election Day as just another holiday. If the...
Media & Opinion
On the self importance of bloggers
Doonesbury - in its own unique stype mocks the self importance of bloggers (click on the image to expand).\n\n\n\n\n
Politics & Policy
On Narsimha Rao
This one is from the archives of Outlook published in January 2005 but only recently caught my eye. In Congress – all the glory belongs to the Nehru Gandhi...
Indian Affairs
Heard on Jay Leno
Jay Leno reading from a news item: \n“A group of Muslim scholars today denounced any form of terrorism.”\n\nJay Leno reacting to the article\n“Thank you folks...
Indian Affairs
American Founding Fathers
I finished reading the book “1776” a couple of days ago and it has filled me with a new found sense of awe for the American founding fathers. I’ve been in the...
Indian Affairs
1776 and 1857
I am almost half-way through an excellent book by US historian David McCulough called “1776”. As the title of the book signifies – it deals with the events...
Indian Affairs
Mangal Pandey - The Movie
So I went and watch Mangal Pandey at Loews in Woodfield Mall this weekend. I am not sure why people have been so eager to trash this movie. It is an...
Media & Opinion
7/7 inspired jokes
Every nation finds a way to deal with national tragedies. While in the US it was rage and anger after 911 – it seems that the British have learnt to joke...
Indian Affairs
Nine years for ticketless travel
Times of India is reporting something substantial on its first page for a change today – even though it is below the story where Karishma Kapoor calls her...
Indian Affairs
Widen your horizons with Times of India!
Did you know that Raveena Tandon, Moon Moon Sen, Koena Mitra, and Rajkumar Santoshi all have kidney stones?\n\nYou did not? See this is what happens when you...
Indian Affairs
The myth of discrimination
A lot of us are prone to forming opinions on half baked truths and conventional wisdom.\n\nThe prevailing conventional wisdom in India before I left was that...
Indian Affairs
A Passage From India
A Great article by a second generation Indian American in today's New York Times.\nI particularly loved her grandfather's retort to an Englishman upon being...
Society & Culture
What A Sad Day
What a sad day for London indeed.
Society & Culture
A Tale of Two Cities
I am extremely happy that Paris lost its bid for Olympics. I would have been happier had NY City won it but I can live with London hosting the games as well....
Indian Affairs
Pathetic Times of India
A few days ago - TOI was gloating at its high circulation numbers. Apparently, a full 30% Indians turn to TOI for their news. According to TOI - the reason for...
Politics & Policy
Spelling Bee
Anurag Kashyap – a second generation Indian-American won this year’s spelling competition continuing the great run of success that Indians have had in this...
Politics & Policy
May 11th, 1998
Seven years ago – on the late afternoon of May 11th I was lying on my bed in my studio apartment in Jodhpur when I felt a slight tremor. Thinking that an...
Politics & Policy
Western Hubris
Imagine that the US has a black President and a woman as the majority leader in the Congress. Imagine that UK has a Muslim as its Prime Minister. Imagine that...
Indian Affairs
Can she win?
Imagine you have a relative who you love a lot and you know is brilliant. She can score straight As when she puts her mind to studies. She can be brilliant in...
Indian Affairs
Only I - no We
This posting is in response to an article in Today's TOI http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093110.cms \n I am not sure whether to call it irony...
Politics & Policy
Religious Right : India and US
It is amazing to see uncanny similarities between the Hindu religious right in India and the Christian religious right in the US. Just like the cow belt in...
Indian Affairs
Bombay gets closed circuit TVs
Times of India is reporting that Mumbai will have 100 closed circuit TVs to monitor crime across city. Reminds me of something that Chicago has done too and...
Indian Affairs
Excuses..excuses
An anonymous person posted a comment on my blog ( treat all spelling mistakes as sic). I guess a point by point rebuttal is in order. \nWithout defending we...
Indian Affairs
Losing my faith….cont'd
It is common in India to see paan residue being spit all over the place or people throwing out their garbage in the open. Of course – one cannot do such things...
Indian Affairs
Losing my faith….in Indians
Losing my faith….in Indians It started as a trickle – I believe in 4th or 5th standard when I realized that kids who went for tuition at Mam’s home always got...
Politics & Policy
Smells like Emergency?
The Pioneer is furiously asking in today’s editorial if the incidents of the past two weeks in Jharkhand and Bihar do not remind one of 1975 and Indira...
Politics & Policy
The House that Sonia Built
It would have been almost comical were the consequences for the country had not been so serious. Yes, I am talking about the great Indian secular media...
Politics & Policy
Secular Media
There is a great editorial in today's Pioneer. Please do yourself a favor and read it:\n\nhttp://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=EDITS...
Politics & Policy
Charade of Democracy
I am not too sure if everyone has been following the charade going on in India after the recently held state elections. Same old drama, same old script and...
Indian Affairs
Times of India editorial content for sale?
While I was trying to google some details about Times of India one story caught my mind. It was published last year in May and it basically contends that the...
Indian Affairs
Page 3
So finally I got around to seeing “Page 3” the movie by Madhur Bhandarkar and loved every second of it. While a lot of people are talking about Page 3 as...
Politics & Policy
Outlook
Our good old Outlook magazine is at it again. During the days when Vinod Mehta was the editor at Pioneer I used to admire him so much. Never did I think at...
Indian Affairs
Exception proves the rule
There is a good article in today's Times of India by Chidananda Rajaghatta (\"Indian 'whizkid' bowls media with NASA googly \"). Read between the lines of this...
Indian Affairs
Wynand Papers
For anyone remotely familiar with Ayn Rand's works should know what I am referrring to. In \"The Fountainhead\" Gail Wynand is a media barron who came from...
Indian Affairs
Times of India
Now, left to my own devices – I would never bother commenting on Times of India. In my opinion it is a tabloid in broadsheet format – which is fine by me but...
Politics & Policy
View - Counterview
Times of India is soooooo cute. I am so thankful to their editors that they put so much energy in writing cute headlines for their mundane articles. In fact -...
Politics & Policy
Seema Sirohi
She is the Jason Blair of India - rather of Outlook. Sitting from her comfortable perch in Washington DC, she feels qualified enough to write about first and...
Politics & Policy
Land of chanakya
Indian media has become one giant circus with Outlook leading the pack. Times of India reads like a tabloid, while no one reads Indian Express. The Hindu has...
