A queen for a pawn

It was like one of those moments when you absent-mindedly touch a light switch and get an electric shock. I was idly checking a news website today morning and was startled to read the “Breaking news” of Benazir’s assassination.
Perhaps politics is a game of chess played by ruthless, cold-blooded players. A knight sacrificed, a rook [...]

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A guide to taking matrimonial photos

It’s that time of the year, when all your friends are getting married, or running off to India to “see” assorted girls. You look around and realize that you are the last bachelor in your group. You are sick of going to weddings and receptions and watching your friends snag all the pretty girls.
It’s not [...]

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Dr. Brother

I went to the hospital when he was born,
He looked so tiny, so forlorn.
We grew up together, and we fought
Like any set of siblings ought.
Over the years, I’ve watched him grow
With eyes of pride, for he’s my bro
Soon, he was in university
And not any old one, but IIT.
More years passed, and one fine day
He set [...]

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Great minds..

Ha! I love Cathy

To think I needed a whole post (and five-hundred odd words) just to make the same point..
But all you doubting Thomases, and even-more doubting R, I am not alone!
Can I order that Coach bag online now? With free shipping, too! (I have a Free Shipping coupon code!)

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A pie full of apples

I made apple pie yesterday. All right, some of you are going “so?”. But notice, the two readers of this blog who actually know me in person have just fallen off their chairs on hearing this.
I am a little saddened at this reaction, but not really surprised. I was, after all, unanimously voted as “family [...]

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Weekend mornings

She wakes up, and gets ready to go out
Hurriedly wears a sweater, still inside out
Her jacket, her cap, no half measures here
Black leather gloves lined with cashmere
Her boots, then rushes out in the snow
Walks as quickly as the slippery ice will allow
Reaches her mailbox, grabs the paper and
slowly walks back home.

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The Coupon Collector

We all know the two rules to shopping. Life takes Visa. For everything else, there is Mastercard. Don’t ask me what “everything else” means – Entertaining expenses in Heaven? Ice packs in Hell? I don’t want to know.
But there is also a third rule – Stores take coupons.
In childhood, I collected stamps. For some [...]

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A “cold” day in Mars

Picture Courtesy NASA
The spacecraft touched down slowly on Mars. A hatch opened, and an astronaut looked out. He then stepped down slowly onto the red Martian soil. The first man had landed on Mars.
The astronaut took his first step on Mars. Then he sneezed. He cursed silently. Neil Armstrong had said those unforgettable words when [...]

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Why I say Sevai

Most weekends these days, I make sevai for breakfast. It is really tasty and filling and also low fat. Most importantly, it is really easy to make. Why else would I even consider cooking it on a Saturday morning?

I don’t remember eating sevai too often while in India. Back then, packaged rice noodles were not [...]

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When you come in to sleep tonight

When you come in to sleep tonight
Could you consider, for a moment
That I would rather sleep all night
Than learn how the Test match went?
If my eyes are tightly shut
I am asleep, or pretending to be
You may like to speak to me, but
I would rather sleep, you see?
Please don’t walk up to me
To tell me the [...]

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Unequal music

Last night, I watched excerpts from Mitt Romney’s speech about his religion. He spoke beautifully about his faith and beliefs. But he did not once mention the elephant in the room – polygamy.
This post is not about Mormonism, or any other religion. Many of the Hindu gods I worship also have multiple wives. This post [...]

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A ragtag bunch of thoughts

I have been tagged by Dipali. I know, it had to happen some day. I remember reading blog posts of people who were tagged. Posts like “10 secrets I don’t want anyone to know”, or “10 statements that will get me into big trouble”. Thank God, I would think, I don’t have to do anything [...]

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Dashing through the snow

Growing up in India, I had never seen snow, except on television. Snowstorms were something I only read about in books. I would imagine fierce blizzards, the snow falling fast and furious, sounding like a tropical thunderstorm, only slightly louder. Snow looked so much bigger than rain drops, surely snow fall had to be louder [...]

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Remembering Bhopal, and trying to forget

Twenty three years is a long time. For some people, it is the sum total of years they were single. For others, it is length of their entire career. For me, twenty three years is life after Bhopal.
The year, of course, was 1984. In later years, I would read George Orwell. 1984 would then acquire [...]

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