Melbourne really is psychic
Yes, this city does tend to enter and travel through your synapses and into the layers of your mind faster than you would imagine… and I am talking about the effect based on my online exploration of the city. Yes, I’ve been to Sydney and the memories of that trip remain fresh, unjaded, and full...
What I love about a village
The difference. The difference between two things, places, beings, concepts, and creations is what holds the greatest fascination. The moment you are near an Indian village, you know in your mind that this isn’t a town or a city… and it isn’t just the size or the population that gives this impression. It is the...
‘I’ means a lot
When I say ‘I means a lot’, I mean a lot. I mean a life. I mean a life that is safe. I mean a life that is safe despite the hazards on our roads. I mean the roads. I mean the roads that I walk or drive on. I mean the rules. I mean...
The time to change has arrived
The year was 1990. I was on my motorcycle near ISBT on the ring road in Delhi. An old couple on a Vespa scooter slipped and fell… and a few cars screeched to stop, swerve and go their way. I parked my motorcycle on the side and ran to the dazed couple, helped them get...
In defence of spending
I am not an economist nor am I a business consultant, so do not expect this post to be overflowing with graphs and the sort of definitions that meander everywhere before saying: ‘I admit I am lost!’ Let me just say that it is too tempting to talk of an economy that is contracting or...
Maximum engagement
One hears the MEA spokesperson mention ‘maximum engagement’ so often these days… but then so does the person on TV debating on the social media interactions, or the activist shouting hoarse for women’s safety, or even the hordes of MBAs from big and small institutes when they discuss market intervention or product projection. But all...
Yes, the Gods ordered
Even I would never have believed had Arjun Rampal not told me the story. Well I’m talking of Arjun and Rampal, two of my best friends who love walking up and down the ramp in every major fashion show all over the country. In our circle of friends we call them Arjun Rampal as it...
Reimagining our world
Politicians are forever doing this. I mean, reimagining the world. They have glorious day-dreams of cleaning up the safes of the rich and the poor, the mighty and the insignificant, the tax-payer and the cheat… they love clean safes. Even their safes in their homes are generally clean, unless the transfer to their Swiss bank...
Harlots of destiny
Madhur, a very good friend, wrote on facebook: ‘The best learning in the world is from understanding life. Most people never learn.’ This happened to one of the more agreeable updates on facebook… most updates by most people are frivolous forwarded messages and so when something like this comes along, it tickles the thought processes...
Banking for the unbanked
You’d be right if you think we in India have enough banks… but you’d be wrong if you think that every Indian has a bank account. You’ll be correct if you think that most banks in India now give the option of an online interaction… but you’d be wrong if you say that every Indian...
Please read my diary
Let me share a secret with my readers today. When I was in school and had just discovered the charm of poetry, the first thing that I looked for after I wrote the first four line stanza, was a diary. This was in 1971 and I was in Class IX then. I went into my...
Failure is just a bruise, not a tattoo
Team: Maximus Dramaticus Read the previous part of the story here Darkness has strange properties. It appears to swallow everything that comes its way but what no one realises is that it is cunningly selective. ‘Just try walking on a dark road where stones are strewn,’ said Jennifer to no one in particular, ‘and...
