India

May 2014

September 2013

February 2013

Two day strike – what they want

By |2013-02-20T02:02:56-05:00February 20th, 2013|India, Politics|

A simple napkin calculation says an average household needs to make Rs.1.4 lakh a month to be in middle class in India by global standards of consumption. So if you make less than a lakh a month, you are struggling by global standards. Shouldn't everybody make at least Rs.10,000 a month?

November 2012

Ajmal Kasab and Amish school massacre

By |2015-07-29T16:37:44-05:00November 21st, 2012|India, Papa Bear, Politics|

Ajmal Kasab who is dead now, was given due process, and legal help by the Indian state. That's definitely something Maharashtra and Union governments can be proud of. We are not Somalia or Afghanistan or Gujarat. And we did much better than USA on prosecuting terror related cases. The Indian state can some more credit for the fact that they never gave up on due process in Afzal Guru's or Kasab's case despite the cacophony of 'Bharat Rakshak's on social media.

March 2012

February 2012

Kerala History: Glimpses from 1956 to 2011

By |2024-06-09T12:53:25-05:00February 4th, 2012|Good Read, India, Kerala, Papa Bear, Poetry, Politics, talkies, Trivandrum, Trivia|

Because rather than big events, we have focused on big patterns. And while we disagree on a lot many things here - political, cultural, developmental, social, and personal, I hope we all agree that Kerala got it mostly right in the past 55 years. Because Kerala is the No.1 state in India, here we go, and as always we would like to hear your thoughts.

July 2011

Delhi Belly – Review

By |2020-05-15T21:49:52-05:00July 11th, 2011|India, Movie Review, talkies|

Delhi Belly has a very clever storyline by Akshat Verma to start with, but the treatment by director Abhinay Deo, and an intuitive musical score by Ram Sampath keeps the movie grounded and prevents it from going over the top. This script could have become very loud on screen, but despite the butt cracks, and incessant meditation on kitsch, Delhi Belly is a smooth ride that takes you along quite well.

June 2011

10 Constitutional changes and a mango lassi

By |2015-05-15T03:55:10-05:00June 9th, 2011|India, Politics|

...need a Prime Minister who can explain this to the nation. This is where I miss the Nehrus, and Vajpayees, and the Vishwanath Prataps of yester years. Manmohan Singh over the past years has alarmingly proved his impotence as a leader, and while we are at it, an honest impotent leader. The new-India seem to care more about the "honest" part than the political impotence part. The new-India does not seem to hate political impotence, they just hate politicians making more money than them.

December 2010

Best way to spend Rs.5000

By |2010-12-16T16:01:21-05:00December 4th, 2010|Announcement, India, talkies|

For 15 years, Outlook magazine has kept the right distance from India Today and Frontline. From Manoj Prabhakar's revelation of the match fixing scandal to the Niira Radia tapes, Outlook has defied the establishment cronies. In consistently publishing 33 page long articles from Arundhati Roy (who is unequivocally hated by their target middle class audience), Outlook has made sure we hear the dissident voices. I have subscribed for years now. It's worth it.

November 2010

Malayalam Cinema’s Mindspace

By |2023-01-29T13:03:25-05:00November 28th, 2010|India, Kerala, Politics, talkies, Trivandrum|

Now for the blockbusters from the past 22 years - 1988 - Chitram , 1989 - Ramjirao Speaking , 1990 - His Highness Abdulla , 1991 - Godfather , 1992 - Pappayude Swantham Appose , 1993 - Manichitrathazhu , 1994 - Commisioner , 1995 - Spadikam , 1996 - Hitler , 1997 - Aaram Thampuran , 1998 - HariKrishnans , 1999 - Friends , 2000 - Narasimham , 2001 - Raavnaprabhu , 2002 - Meesamadhavan , 2003 - Chronic Bachelor , 2004 - Sethuramaiyer CBI , 2005 - Rajamanikyam , 2006 - Classmates , 2007 - Kadha Parayumbol , 2008 - Twenty:20 , 2009 - Pazhassi Raja.

August 2010

Apni aazaadi to bhaiya

By |2010-08-18T22:21:22-05:00August 15th, 2010|India, Poetry, Politics, talkies, Video|

Boring isn't just the only problem but he clearly eluded the core issues of public distribution, price rise, and made a quarter-hearted plea to the naxals - which forget the naxals, cannot even bring my angry four year old cousin to table for talks.

July 2010

Go to Top